Worldwide Beekeeping
General Discussion => Any and Every Thing => Topic started by: Les on April 17, 2016, 09:44:11 am
-
Hi Folks, I know I have been among the missing lately. Been sitting in the corner poohing (as my kids call it).
I have been dealing with chronic hip pain and they have me on crutches. In two weeks they are doing an x-ray guided injection into my hip. I wait all winter for outdoors, gardening, bird watching, etc. and this happens now. I was given warning signs last fall but just thought I'd pulled a groin muscle and figured it would heal up during the winter. Nada, zip, nope! Come January the hip pain started and the rest has been three ortho doc's later and I have turned into mush. So bummed out and miserable. Even had to postpone our wedding. I still have two northern Nucs coming in May so that will bring a smile to my face. I miss my bees. Unfortunately, Ken will have to step up to the plate and become the "beekeeper" for now.
Les
-
Les, i took those shots in my knees, it helped for awhile but it got so bad that they didn't last very long before i needed another one. The last time i went to get one the doctor wouldn't give me one? He said you know what you need to do, i did and it changed my life, no more pain in the knees.Just saying. ;D Jack
-
Personal stuff must always come first Les. Your health comes before anything. We will always be here for you when needed.
I have a good friend Volker, who just had hip replacement surgery on Wednesday. I visited him in the hospital on Friday and he went home yesterday. It is amazing how quickly this stuff goes for some folks. Not saying that's what's in your future, but even that isn't so bad.
-
The doctor's words to me were we want to get you out of pain but I am not ruling out surgery.
Interesting that they think the bone is dying due to use of cortisteroids from my years of Asthmatic/Bronchitis. If the disease doesn't get you, the cure will LOL. Ken is going to find out how much I do around here LOL! I just said to him we need to get fertilizer for the evergreens. This perplexed look came to his face. I said, to him you never knew I fertilized all the shrubs each year??? This will be interesting .........,.......
-
Welcome back Les....get better!
-
Glad your back, I'm really sorry to hear your in pain. I'm sure they can patch you up for a while until everything is more convenient for you. You'll be back to doing the waggle dance before too long. You maybe be able to add in a new step or two. :)
I
-
Hey Les, Bummer! It's hard to get knocked down any time in life. But at least this won't kill you! Any woman who takes on bees has got to be one tough gal! You got this! Love ya bee sistah!
-
OH HOW I am also feeling sorry for Ken...
Once upon a time... my best friend would see me struggling, and volunteer to mow the yard, feed the chickens take care of the horses etc, etc... Help me pull fence and replace posts, and generally BE THERE if I needed a hand, despite the fact that she worked full time....
Full time... is a strange way to describe a job where you work nine to five.... Since my wife moved away for a time, I have been working 9 to midnight, 7 days a week.. NOT including dusting, laundry, general cleaning, weed eating and trimming, even just COOKING!!! I have lost 12 lbs and am still going down, because I am JUST too tired to eat... No, not eat, too tired to make the mess and clean it up! The load without her occasional help seems to more than triple.. so yes, he is about to get an education! Les, you should prepare to be worshiped!
Honestly, I hope you can get some relief for the pain. Being in constant pain is no way to live. Everyone associated with you suffers as well. I'll be thinking about you with my fingers crossed!
Scott
-
Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. We hemmed and hawed the other night about getting the two Nucs in May. I said, "maybe we shouldn't do it now with everything going on". I was prepared to go to our bee club meeting and offer the Nucs to anyone but I got to the meeting and just couldn't give them up. I miss seeing them buzz around the yard and most of all just watching the behavior at the hive entrance. So, probably not one of my wiser decisions but we are going to persevere and continue. I can't wait....I might not be able to do all the maintenance but I can sure crutch my way out to the back of the yard and pull frames to see what's happening inside.
I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads, "Beekeeping, better than TV anytime" and after these many weeks being stuck on the couch I am convinced of that even more LOL!
-
Atta Girl Les! This is my favorite bumper sticker, sitting right along with the bee poop on my truck :D
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs31.postimg.cc%2Fybhkk5pef%2FDSCF0478.jpg&hash=67ded58fc9f67a9eb1b23061785f1b5cf28cbec3) (http://postimg.cc/image/ybhkk5pef/)
-
les, very good to hear from you, and for myself understand where you are coming from.
like jack, been there done that. the steroid injections may give you relief for a little bit of time.......for me, they barely lasted one month. (steroid injections both hips) you may be different. in the end, if the orthos/surgeons are telling you the bone structure is dying......it will only continue to deteriorate, it cannot repair itself and you will continue to suffer. steroid injections are only good for so long and at some point, good orthos won't order the injections and/or the docs that do them won't administer them. (happened to me, but i understood why).
had my first total hip replacement last july, i waited 6 months, and had the 2nd one on feb 1, 2016. osteoarthritis (wear and tear), no cartilage left, bone spurs developing, (bone trying to heal itself) so essentially bone on bone. so much pain les..... when my surgeon told me about a year ago now i needed surgery, i was't wasting time, i said get er done. i haven't looked back, and like jack said, changed my life, and am getting my life back for all the things i love to do.
as far as the bees......yep been in your shoes..........my prince stepped up and we have managed to maintain our hives through pre and post surgeries, and many other things. it's just what our spouses do, thick and thin, bad and good, whatever all the sayings are...... and i am guessing you would do the same for ken if the 'shoes' were on the other foot. hmmm wait, hips?........... :D
you hang in there les, don't get discouraged. (and yes i was and sometimes get frustrated, but i am in no pain) if they say you need surgery go for it, don't put it off, it only makes the muscles work harder to protect the joint and recovery time longer........ya won't look back........
also, just know i am thinking of you and wishing you the best.........don't give up the bees!.........
-
So yesterday I went for x-ray guided steroid injection into the hip. Very cool watching the procedure and I had a great radiologist that I could actually understand what he was saying. Anyway, the verdict is osteoarthritis but he said it is not that horrible yet. Surgery not recommended at this time. As Riverbee mentioned, the recommendation is to have these injections as needed and wait as long as I can for replacement. I did have great relief after the injection. Radiologist stated relief could last 5 months or more. He said that the reason I had so much pain depends on where the joint wear is taking place and putting pressure on the joint. He also told me I need to slow down.....it's an age thing. He jokingly said there are new inventions called chairs and couches and I should try them. I laughed and said to him that is NOT happening!!!!! Bees are coming on the 15th and I am itching to get back in there.
Jen, I think there will bee some apitherapy taking place on this hip 🐝🐝🐝🐝
-
Nice to see you back les. Hopping the injection lasts a long time, you don't need the pain.
-
hang in there Les, glad to see you back in the conversation. :)
-
Hi Les :) 8) So glad you're getting some relief! Pain is a monster! I have a friend that had injections for about 4 years in her lower back. They lasted about a year each injection. Wishing the best for you.
-
As mentioned in my other post, the injection lasted for a couple days but the pain came back. 😖😖
-
Dam Les sorry to hear this. Get the docs to take care of you proper and good. You do not want to be dependent on pain killers to make it through the day.
-
Sorry to hear about your arthritis, Les. Take care of your back. Get someone to help you lift your bee equipment.
-
Les, we have Angel's in all medical fields here in the U.S. and everywhere, didn't understand that until I was 49 yrs. old. So ,I'm wishing you a speedy recovery
-
hey les what mikey said......
"Les, we have Angel's in all medical fields here in the U.S. and everywhere, didn't understand that until I was 49 yrs. old. So ,I'm wishing you a speedy recovery"
"the injection lasted for a couple days but the pain came back."
osteoarthritis........it's not going away les, and it's not always about age, it's just wearing them out........cortisone injections only get us 3 months maybe. the injections i received gave immediate relief but didn't last more than 3 weeks for me and the doc would not give me anymore......the docs say because it didn't last/work the first time around, they really are hesitant to give them again, mine flat out refused, i get it, or did get it at the time (both hips). no cartilage left, bone on bone, with spurs developing.
constant pain.
i cowboy-ed up and said DONE! no slowing down for me, no couches and sitting around. consider getting surgery done, one at a time, 6 months apart,
you won't regret it!
that's what i did, now going on 8 months for the first one, almost 4 for the second one.........no pain!
just want to say, the longer one puts off the surgery, the longer the recovery will be..........meaning getting your muscles to the hips, thighs, pelvis, etc... (all affected) back in shape..........
wish you well les!
-
Riverbee, thanks so much for your insight. Well, the injection benefits have already worn off. I am so uncomfortable today that I cannot find a good way to lay my leg. To add to it, I cannot take any pain meds except Tylenol because my stomach feels like someone has taken a blow torch to it. I go back to ortho on the 23rd so we shall see what he recommends. Right smack at the beginning of gardening & bee season. I absolutely hate this!!!!
-
les, good to hear from you!
i thought maybe the injections might not last but we are all different. sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. i was one on the ones that really only saw about 3 weeks of benefit. sure was heaven at the time while it lasted (went to alaska with two hips full of cortisone............ :D :D :D)
like you bee season, gardening season, FISHING SEASON, i get it! never took any pain meds, and tylenol really probably never did anymore for me than take a bit of edge off. lol, not even sure if it did that?!
just know, thinking about ya, and plz post updates, let us know!
-
I went through the cortisone injections with my knees. The first injection worked for about six months, the second worked about two months and the third injection worked about a week. I didn't go through the injections on the other knee. I just opted for surgery to get this lingering pain behind me. Unfortunately, or fortunately, according to how you view it, it appears it is time for surgery. When it becomes bone on bone, life is tough. Good luck!
lazy
-
...Right smack at the beginning of gardening & bee season. I absolutely hate this!!!!
Speaking as a person who has experienced chronic pain, everyone should know that few things grate on your good nature more than constant pain. I encourage you to be as proactive on this as you can be Les. Good luck! :)
-
Les, I may be late in joining this thread (I don't know how I missed it till now), but I thoroughly empathize with you and Ken. On other threaads I've mentioned how my wife suffered till she finally had her hip replacement. You can't imagine what a diffference it made to both of our lives. When one of a couple suffers, so does the other, each one in their own way. Like RB has reported, there is a while when you suffer as you recuperate, but the constant nagging pain is gone and the world becomes a happy place again. My wife is as happy as she was before the osteoarthritis developed and her "repair" was so successful that she never even thinks as if something in her body was exchanged (that is, until the detectors sound off when she has to go through a security gate). From the sounds of what you describe, it seems a certainty to me that you'll eventurally decide in favor of the hip replacement, and then regret not having done it sooner.
I hope you consider us all as your friends, and as such, look positively at the advice so many of the posters here have expresed.
We all only want what is best for you and that is to have you feeling healthy and happy, painlessly.
-
Efmesh, you sure did touch a chord with your post. I feel so "less than", especially having to ask so much of my dear sweet Ken. I have tried to explain the exhaustion of being in constant pain but unless you have been there, it is so tough to relate to. Last night I was home alone due to Ken having to work and just broke down in tears. My poor sister get's this phone call from a weeping idiot. Thank goodness for big sisters!
I pride myself on being a "tough old lady" so this is definitely humbling. I truly appreciate everyone's insight and support and will let you know what happens. Thank goodness I have bees again, they are a welcome distraction.
-
Saw ortho, quote, "I am not prepared to do surgery on you yet, your hip is not that deteriorated. I want you to go for PT for 4 weeks and I'll see you in 4 weeks". And so it continues 😖
-
les.............questions......
what 'level' are you at with deterioration?
do you have cartilage left or is it minimal or gone? do you have a narrowed space between the ball and socket or no space? your x rays/or mri etc........do you have a 'white crust' around the ball and socket?............ (advanced osteoarthritis)
did your ortho say why?
sorry les, sort of, and sorry i ask......i am not questioning your doc, just been there...........not sure physical therapy is going to help, just my very humble thought from a long distance les......with all the pain you have described?! dang!
-
The doctors usually have more experience than all of us put together---and they are objective too. We feel your pain, but he reads your x-rays and understands your situation better than us.
We still feel for you---but follow his recommendations. Who knows, Maybe(??) PT will help.
-
When it becomes bone on bone, life is tough. Good luck!
lazy
That's what I had. A year after surgery I am out climbing around catching a swarm in a trap!
-
Les:
On the upside, after knee replacement my legs were perfectly straight. Before surgery they were quite a bit bowed. It made me slightly taller, and that helped with my weight to height ratio. :):):)
As stated above, listen to your doctor and make YOUR own final decision. You are at the age where the doctors are concerned that you will wear out a knee replacement and need another one. The second replacement will be more difficult. The doctor is making a decision from outside of your body. If it hurts bad enough, get it done now and start enjoying life. I still remember how painful stairs were in my life. They are no problem now. Again, good luck.
lazy
-
Riverbee, I watched the screen as they injected the hip with cortisone. Even the radiologist noted that my deterioration is not that bad. There was some narrowing in the area of the ball and socket. The ball does not appear white or crusted. My sister has issues with her Psoas muscle in her right hip (groin area). My very first symptom was a sharp pain in my groin and continued to get worse until the pain moved into the hip. I am starting to think that my issue might be the Psoas muscle. It is one of the biggest muscles in our body and wraps from the groin, around the hip into the lower back. My sister has found relief from myofascial release. This is done by some massage therapists. I will start PT next week and I am also going to seek out a massage therapist that does this type of release. Certainly can't hurt.
-
Hey Les! Guess What! In my massage practice I work the psoas muscle All The Time! A lot of therapists work that muscle these days due to how much we humans sit down so much more now... due to computer jobs.
Do you have lower back pain?
-
Hey Mammy, what's psoas muscle?? i'm just an old sprout cutter, don't know this stuff? By the way are you asking Squirt if she's a pain in the Butt?? :) Jack
-
Hey Jack Sprat Could Eat No Fat! :D
This is a psoas muscle, it's a real bad boy for causing pain.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.cc%2Fdgh15knqz%2Fpsoas_muscle_yoga_anatomy_3_D.jpg&hash=8995f5b2e7026368741a803170b0f29b4899da79) (http://postimg.cc/image/dgh15knqz/)
-
les, thanks for answering my questions. i wish you well and hope you find the source of what's causing the pain!
thanks for the pic jen!
jack, are you looking to be picked on? cuz i have time to pick on you.............. ;D........................ :D :D :D
-
mammy, i can see why that could hurt clear to the bone. :yes: Hey Squirt, i was defending you from Mammy,the very idea of her asking if my little buddy was a pain in the back side :o. I've started picking on perry a little because i know he's in his busy season and slow to fight back. Got stung 8 times yesterday and just setting around scratching this mourning trying to stir things up. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Jack
-
...Right smack at the beginning of gardening & bee season. I absolutely hate this!!!!
Speaking as a person who has experienced chronic pain, everyone should know that few things grate on your good nature more than constant pain. I encourage you to be as proactive on this as you can be Les. Good luck! :)
Lee,
All the pain that comes with aging made me realize why old people often seemed so grumpy when I was a youngster! :)
Les,
Sounds like you are in miserable pain. Sweet Wife has introduced me to simple yoga exercises that actually give a lot of relief and reduce my use of pain and muscle relaxer meds.
-
Hi Neil :) I've been doing yoga for 15-20 years now, most every day. Really helps my spine and hips thru the day.
-
My doctor recommended yoga. Haven't had time for it yet. ;)
-
Wife had the shot for her neck.. they told her it "wasnt that bad" so, the shot went in.... lasted two days, then she was in tears again... Life was not that great, both because I knew how bad she hurt, and because she could be downright mean when she was hurting.. I finally told the doc that he was either going to do something, or I was going to hire a lawyer. I couldnt take seeing her hurting that bad any longer, I was done with the BS.... therapy, PT, massages, pills... I honestly believe they TRY to draw it out to get as much money as possible. NO ONE should be in that much constant pain, EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At which point she was scheduled for surgery.. her neck IS better, but still bothers her when she sits about too much... in her case, she seldom sits, so its working out OK at this point.
I hope you find relief, your a good person. DONT let them pull your chain any longer than necessary.
Scott
-
Necks are a chronic problem to solve. So many moving parts, and so many things attach to the neck and upper spine. Through my years of massage and pain therapy, I have found that heat on the neck is comforting and reduces pain. Even in the summer it's a good idea to keep the neck warm at all times. Large heat packs the size and width of small towels, filled with rice or flax seed, microwaved a couple minutes, work wonders on necks. The kind that can wrap all the way from the back of the neck to the front.
-
Mammy, my wife uses buckwheat to fill the tubes, says it holds heat longer. She has made several and gave them to family and friends. They love them, i don't because when i get ready to plant buckwheat i have to go buy more seed. :o Jack
-
Jack Sprat, this is the size of my heat packs. So versatile, it covers the neck and shoulders and upper back. Or, you can heat it up, lay it down on your bed or couch, and heat up your entire spine, or lower back.
I like flax seed the best so far, but haven't tried buckwheat. I'm intrigued, where do I buy buckwheat?
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.cc%2Fh3gdxbx8r%2FDSCF9311.jpg&hash=3a4c4b4ef27afebad4b7832bb469bd44a04eca0e) (http://postimg.cc/image/h3gdxbx8r/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs33.postimg.cc%2Fwqum7etxn%2FDSCF9314.jpg&hash=75510ea5c80557e541920f659d4f7ed84e123f3d) (http://postimg.cc/image/wqum7etxn/)
-
I get mine at the MFA feed store, they have to order it and i can get it the next day or two.My wife and everyone she has gave one too say they will never be without one again. Jack
-
Cool! I know where two feed stores are in our area. Thanks Jack :)
-
Jen, I do have lower back pain too!!!