Okay, ticking off the boxes. My Ultrasound maneuvered by an awesome Kiwi technician, showed "all good" _He then immediatly had the radiologist look at it, and reconfirm. Good guys, I appreciate the quick diagnosis.
As I've said before my cup angle is perfect
Metal levels are 11 x the "norm"
It has been suggested that they are a "warning" of things to come
But it ain't here yet, and I am going to relax and do all I physically can
Cheers
Excellent news. Just keep checking on the causes and monitoring any other symptoms.
It must suck to have the nagging feeling that something isn't right. I like your attitude that you well press on though.
Best wishes.
Dan
Wow cwg, both really good (no pseudotumors, etc) and puzzling... I really wanted you to get a handle on what the heck is causing those higher levels. Keep digging, there has to be something going on.
Otherwise, good news.
Good to hear there are no pseudotumors. I hope they can figure it out sooner or later. Meanwhile, thanks for sharing your story.
Pat
That is good to hear, but as Dan points out, I can certainly understand the nagging question. Another person who has been dealing with this stuff who I think has a great attitude is B.I.L.L. I haven't seen a post from him in a few weeks and I think he was approaching a potential revision. Anyway, it's nice to hear you have a few answers.
In Dr. McMinn's video interview with Vicky Marlow, part 2, he describes 10 patients that had fluid accumulation whereas only one actually had pseudotumors.
This was for his 3095 patients.
All 10 had revisions, however.
Brilliant! Thank you for all the time it took to write that. I will respond to a couple of things.
My BHR was performed in HK by an Australian surgeon, Jan 2007- nearly five years ago
Two surgeons at two different hospitals, two sets of xrays, here in Vancouver, have told me my cup angle is perfect. There is no "doctor club" where I am concerned. I just moved to Canada, not that long ago.
My ultrasound shows no pseudotumours
Am waiting to hear on my CT scan
My blood work was very carefully taken, twice 3 months apart. Special tubes were ordered and an expert blood drawer did the deed. They were then sent to Toronto to a special lab.
* I just returned from NYC a few hours ago and listened to a voice message from the toxicologist, who I have been unable to reach yet.
Good news is it sounds like my Cobalt is down a little bit and the Chromium even more. Still high, but less. Won't know the levels until he and I speak later- My Chromium was higher than the Cobalt the first time. It was 11 times out of the safe zone and I think the Cobalt was like 7.- Just on instinct I stopped all my supplements before the second blood drawing, even though none of them appeared to have chromium in them
Thanks for your interest
Next I'll try and figure out who you are- smile
cwg, Vicki is definitely someone whose help you should use. She is very active with HR patients as an advocate and is in contact as Pat is with the top surgeons. She is also the owner and operator of the web site she pointed you to. She is the "Pat" to that site as far as I know.
cwg,
If Vicki takes an interest in your recovery and offers to help, jump on the opportunity. Nobody has better one on one relationships with resurfacing surgeons than she does. She helped me pick my surgeon. She also attends the important orthopedic shows, including the upcoming one in February in San Francisco. She'll help you get to the bottom of things quickly. And, she's also just a very good person.
Boomer
Appreciate everything people are saying and the incredible support and information provided on this website! BOOmer, I am silently cheering you on with every posting. Moving forward. Your story will help so many others!
I will stop my threads soon, unless things change. ALL my tests, xrays ultra sounds and CT scan look great. The only thing going on are my metal levels, which actually have come down a bit. Not the Cobalt it turns out, but the Chromium, by half. (from 66. something to 34. something) Cobal still around 25
There is no full understanding of possible immune consequences with this stuff in the bloodstream, but I have no pseudotumours, and this is almost 5 years after the BHR.
I feel incredibly lucky and my numbers are high but lower than others, so I too am moving forward
Be well everyone