Had a Bone Specialist visit Wednesday.

[Penny]

Have been seeing a specialist in Springfield for quite sometime now for all the joint and muscle pain I have. He says that my right hip ha a lot of break down and has shown my case manager and I my exrays and has said eventually I will need a hip replacement. I have had a total of 4 shots for pain in my hip over the last year or so. Any way I have switched Drs to a new one in Bloomington that I saw for the first time Wednesday who took all new xrays and said there is no way anything is wrong!!!! There is no reason I should be in pain. It could be psychological (you don't say that to someone with a mental illess, that seems to be all anyone wants to blame everything on) :soap: or it could be caused from one of your meds.

Well, did a liitle research and my thyroid med, lithobid, lamictal and lithium all can cause joint and muscle pain. I have been on these meds quite some time. As I cant see my self getting off them , I guess I have to live with them. I hate drs. That don't believe you!!! I feel degraded.

 

[Nakamova]

You might want to get a third opinion, just to make sure -- it seems odd that the docs would have such different interpretations of your x-rays.

You should also ask about having Physical Therapy to help with the pain -- it can potentially make a huge difference. My mother started having hip pain last fall. She got a shot for the pain, but after it wore off she started P.T. and now the pain is gone.

 

[Penny]

osteoarthritis and hip reserfising are the two spesialtisy of the first orthopedic dr I went to. One of the reasons I also changed was because it was closer for my case manager to get me too. I cant drive and I have to rely on the mental health center to take me. The pay for all gas too, which is a blessing as the closest place is an hour away. They take care of ALL drs. apt for me. I don't have to worry about rides anywhere. I can pick my own drs and set up my own apt within reason if it fits in their schedule or I might have to reschedule it or let them. They have been very good to me.

 

[lindsayschu2]

Well here is a long shot: How is your vitamin D level? These meds can really deplete vitamin D, and low D can cause muscle and joint aches. Nakamova might able to validate/invalidate that theory, but I know I was deficient in D and had the same kind of thing going on. Just one thought!

 

[Penny]

I had a stroke in July 2012 and had my thyroid removed in Dec. 2012 due to cancer so they now have me on high doses of calcium, vitiman D, folic acid, iron, and a B12 shot once a month. On top ofI was already taking lamictal as a mood stabilizer when I started having seizers, my neuro just upped it quite a bit more than my psch had it. My nuero put me on trileptal and Topamax too. My psych has me on lithium and Cymbalta. My neuro has me on aspirin and Lipitor for stroke. My life revolves around meds. AT least I have one, right!!

 

[Nakamova]

If the pain you are experiencing is due to the meds (and that's probably a good bet) you still might benefit from PT, or possibly from mild exercise like gentle yoga or swimming.

 

[Penny]

I will talk to my GP about PT as they do it in the back of the building her office is in. I had my PT done there after my stroke.

I go walking everyday (regular walking /not fast) for around 20 minutes to a half hour. There is no where to swim around here. I live in a little town of 1,200. We are so lucky to have a YMCA but there is no pool.

Thank you both for talking with me. I feel really alone in all this right now. I just feel like its been one problem after another medically the last 2 years and I'm ready to break, especially since my family and I have stopped speaking through all of this ( long story ). My kids are still there for me though and we live in the same little town together. That's what matters!!!!

 

[valeriedl]

I had severe back pain for years. If I turned the wrong way pain would shoot clear down to my foot. I even ended up in the ER by ambulance a few times because I couldn't move. I went to several drs, even specialists. I had all sorts of tests done - x-rays, CAT scans, MRIs and I don't know what else but according to all of them nothing was wrong. They would just give me pain meds and send me to therapy which none even helped a little bit. I had steroid injections in my back but that caused seizures, the injections didn't help either though.

I found a new younger dr who recently came to the area and went to him. He took one x-ray and told me I had two herniated discs. These had been there for years because they were almost bone on bone. It wasn't something that had just happened overnight. He suggested all the other things that the other drs said - pain meds, therapy and so on. But he said the only thing that was really going to do any help was to have surgery and have screws put in.

I decided to have the surgery. He told me that if I were to have a seizure during the surgery there was a chance that I could end up paralyzed. He said that usually when people are under anesthesia they very rarely have seizures. I think the other drs (who were older than him) were afraid to do the surgery because of the chance of a seizure and that's why 'there was nothing wrong'.

I would defiantly look for another dr to see. If you know there's something wrong then there is! It's not normal to hurt all the time!

 

[Penny]

This second dr. was younger than the first but seemed more closed minded. I was hoping it would be the other way around. Since case management is taking me I know they wanted him to be more open minded to . I hope they will try another dr for me. If not I will see if my daughter can travel. With her work schedual and car ($900 car that Dad keeps repairing) hopefully we might make it. lol

In Oct. 2010 I had a car wreck. My car went off the side of the road, air born and into a corn field. I fractured a vertabra in my lower back. I don't know anything other than that as they gave me no other info. I just spent a lot of time in pain on tramadol with a lot of other meds for my Bipolar 1 and PTSD. I was in the hospital 3 weeks. So maybe that might be part of it. I will talk to GP. Never really thought about it until you mentioned your back.