From Bad 2 Good 2 Bad

[LOGAN13]

Short story...I had my left resurfaced almost 2 yrs ago & am very happy.

Long story is I was 36 when the pain started & I was sure it was my lower back. At 40yrs old I was told my problem was my hip. I researched as well as fought the inevitable & finally gave in to have my left hip resurfaced when I was 43. At my 1 yr check up I told my surgeon I still had issues but was assured all was well with my new hip. Now @ 45 it has come full circle. A CT scan reveals I have a slipped disc in my lower back(non medical term).....all my pain is on the left side.

I realize this site deals with hip resufacing....But is there anyone out there who has had to deal with both problems?

Tim

[Dan L]

Tim;

I have a degerative disk between lumbar and saecral (pelvic) spine, but it has not been operated on, it is mostly not troublesome, except when I gain weight in my gut.  I had 2 disks in my neck fused 20 years ago, and those have been OK for many years.

Be very careful about diagnoses of "slipped disks"; studies since I had mine fused long ago, show many in the population have them, but have no symptoms/problems, so they could possibly not be the source of your pain.  Treatment has evolved today away from surgery for slipped disks, more towards PT and conservative treatment including weight loss, particularly if in your lower spine.

Dan

[blkhank]

Tim,

I have a very nicely herniated disc between L6 and S1,herniated all even all the way around. Which when this gave out in June. All Dr.'s said that was my issue ,until a third opinion said I needed a hip.

This herniation has been present since 1997 when I was 33. Since hip surgery it hasn't bothered me for the first  8 wks.

 I became more weight bearing and standing up for longer periods of time 3-4 hr my lower back started hurting.I have very weak core muscles from not riding my horses. I keep that under control with acupuncture and chiropractor, however my chiropractor can't adjust my lower back till the six month mark. So physical therapy has thrown in some exercises for the lower back . So I'm just hanging in the till the top heal better. So your not alone

[FlbrkMike]

I had an episode with my lower back about 6 years ago and was told that I have "severe degenerative disk disease" (whatever that means) after having x-rays done.  It sounded like a death sentence until I found out that it's pretty common for our disks to compress to a certain degree as we age.  I did PT, which didn't really help, and then started noticing that I had hip pain too.  They told me that it was hip flexor tendinitis.  Did PT for that as well, with no real effect.  After another year or so of back and hip pain I finally went to an ortho who photographed my hips and basically seemed surprised that I was still walking.

Why did no MD or PT even hint that I might have osteoarthritis in my hips before that?  Seems like it should have been considered by somebody at some point.  Anyway, I had my two hips done last year and not only is the hip pain gone but my lower back pain is 95% gone.  Just shows that we really need to be proactive about our own health and not expect anybody else to necessarily go out of their way to figure out what's wrong.

So, now I'm getting numbness and pain (mainly burning numbness) in my right arm, from my shoulder down the biceps and the inside of my forearm down to the area between my thumb and forefinger.  It comes and goes.  I told my primary doc (an internist) about this back in October, but he basically told me that what I was describing was impossible because the ulnar nerve goes down the other side of my hand.  I guess he never heard of the medial nerve   . 

At my one year BHR follow-up with Dr. Ball a couple of weeks ago I described my arm numbness and they immediately took pictures of my cervical spine and referred me to another ortho that specializes in the spine.  Turns out I have some arthritis in C5 and C6 and what they call cervical radiculopathy causing the numbness.  The pain is from too much yard work - swinging a chain saw around and wheeling my wheelbarrow up and down hills.

Getting old really sucks 

[John C]

Hi Tim,
I think that it is pretty common to have both back and hip issues. About 25 years ago, I had six month period of severe pain in my hip area, that many health practitioners thought was coming from my hip, but finally an MRI showed that a herniated disc was crushing a nerve, and a discectomy (removing the herniated portion of the disc, along with as much remaining disc tissue as they could reach) solved the problem immediately. About 15 years later, I started having lots of pain in the opposite hip, which resurfacing fixed up nicely about three years ago. My other hip is starting to go, and an MRI of my back came back with lots of worrisome wording in the report. It seems to me that if we use (abuse) our bodies hard, both of these areas are going to show wear and tear, and the challenge is figuring out which one is causing any current problems.

[Woodstock Hippy]

Slipped disc, herniated disc, bulging disc, sciatica; I've been told it's all the same thing.  My physiatrist calls mine, L4, L5, S2, herniated, the MRI Tech said more like bulging, so what do I know.  Over the past 10 or so years, I've had 3 epidural steroid injections when thing got bad.  It seems for me that swimming has been the key to keeping my back loose and avoiding further problems.  Now I've got two new hips and I've retired from heavy construction and the back feels great.

Try PT for the back, stretching, swimming, injections for the back.  At last resort; surgery.  A good friend of mine just had fusion surgery and just like us hippies, the first thing he said was ''I don't know why I waited so long''

Good luck with your back.

[blkhank]

Ahhhh, the wonderful hand issue. No curvature in my neck has caused numbness . In my thumb and my first to fingers.However all I have to do is move my head and all the feeling comes back.

But everyone but my primarily says it has to be "carpal tunnel". I argue with the neurolgist that I don't want the EMG done. For one thing its not going to show anything and two I respect the electric.

As they were putting in my epidural prior to hip surgery I tell every one,Dr.'s ,RN'S ,CT'S floor cleaners etc. To please please support my head during surgery because of my neck. Of coarse that was't done.

So 5 hrs post op my hand swells,most horrific pain that I've every had, what hip? Hand was winning, and they want me to get out of bed and 50% weight bearing.

So since surgery Jan. 6 I have no feeling in those 3 fingers of my right hand,but the hip is good:) who needs fingers. Have to love it.

[John C]

As far as the herniated disc/ bulging disc/ sciatica issue; here is my understanding. The disc sits as a shock absorber between the vertebrae. It is composed of an outer ring of fibrous tissue, surrounding a jelly like substance in the center. The best analogy I heard was likening it to a jelly doughnut. If an area of the fibrous tissue weakens, but does not completely tear, the jelly will cause a bulge in that area, like a bulge on a tire that is weakening, but not flat; this is a bulging disc. If the fibrous tissue gets a complete tear in it, then some of the jelly will push out through the tear and extend outside the disc; and this is a herniated disc. Either one can press on the sciatic nerve, causing sciatica. Mine was a herniated disc, so they went in and removed the material that had pushed out through the tear.

[LOGAN13]

Thanks everyone..Your input is appreciated.

First & foremost I am doing as I always done...Focusing on helping myself. Eating right & exercising...I am pretty good at that. I am on  my feet 8hrs a day at work and have to deal with that. Lastly overdoing things...I sometimes lack the smarts to knowing when is enough.

It's funny how many people (who do not get it..lol) have the cure for me. Slow down....take a break from all the exercise or take pain meds. Never once is stop working suggested..lol. People not in this position just cannot understand that when I slow down I cease up. Use it or loose it huh..lol.

Getting older does suck. I will forge on....Thanx again everyone & best of luck to all

Tim