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Post by red dog on Jul 1, 2015 7:13:01 GMT -8
Two and a half years ago, I was miss-diagnosed with hip joint cartilage loss. My doc kept telling me it was minor and I was 15 years away from needing hip replacement surgery. (In other words, “Man-up and deal with it”)
6 months ago, the pain level in my hips was such that I was going through Advil Liquid Gel Caps like jelly beans. A big bottle of 120 caps was not even a two week supply. Even at that rate of consumption, 10 minutes was the absolute maximum I could tolerate standing/walking. Needless to say, my hiking/backpacking career was over. I DEMANDED to see an orthopedic Dr. Well, the orthopedic doc said “There is nothing wrong with your hips, but your lumbar spine is a mess”.
Another referral, MRI, more X-rays … Another diagnosis, this time ‘advanced lumbar stenosis with serious neurogenic claudication’. Translation … Pinched nerves in my spine. The surgeon explained some potential corrective surgery that sounded pretty scary. Me- Will I be able to hike again? Doc- Yes Me- Let’s do it
I am now 6 weeks post-surgery and my hip pain is gone. Vanished. It was Magic. I am still doing physical therapy and have a 20 lb lifting limit, but I am on the path to full recovery !
I’m glad I didn’t get rid of my backpacking gear over the last two years … I’m going to be needing that stuff soon.
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Post by lostone on Jul 1, 2015 10:05:01 GMT -8
Wow!
Glad you were insistent! And also glad you are on the mend!
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schlanky
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Post by schlanky on Jul 1, 2015 13:44:29 GMT -8
Congrats on getting it properly diagnosed and corrected.
I had a foot/leg problem for a couple of years and three doctors misdiagnosed it. My pain etc was nowhere near the degree you experienced though. I eventually found a local orthopedic specialist who'd previously been a team doctor for a college soccer team and figured someone with a sports medicine background would be a good fit for me. He was fantastic. The diagnosis---all that pain in my foot and leg was coming from my lower back. The other doctors had all treated the symptoms and never found the cause. With the correct diagnosis, some minor treatments have mostly cleared up what had been a nagging problem.
It's a good thing that you pushed and finally found the right doctor. In addition to the physical part of it, that has to be a huge lift mentally to be able to move around better. I hope the rest of your path to recovery is smooth!
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jul 2, 2015 14:04:10 GMT -8
Wonderful!
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Roger
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Post by Roger on Jul 4, 2015 9:16:40 GMT -8
I have similar problem. The pain in my hip is due to the messed up spine similar to what you described. So far I have not done the surgery thing. I have been in PT and that has helped a lot but some pain is still present especially when I try to lift stuff. I may end up on the surgical table but not quite ready to do it! Glad to hear that your outcome has been good.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 18:19:00 GMT -8
I believe the correct terminology is called "Spinal Stenosis" now I may be wrong, but I just had the same issue. 2 and half months ago I was on a back packing trip in Iowa (Yellow River Forest) we were carrying heavy packs (maybe 50 pounds) we did a 4 day trip lots of switchbacks and high (and low) elevation. when I got back a few weeks later I had this indescribable pain in my right leg, the next day I was in so much agony I had an MRI it was called Spinal Stenosis also referred to as a Herniated Disc. (L3L4) the disc was pinching the nerve that ran down my right leg. the steps I had to go through before surgery were 1. lots of meds 2. injections in the back (3. therapy after two month of torture I had the surgery last week, leg pain is gone, the incision still sore, when I asked my doctor if I could back pack again he said you can do anything you want its your body, however if it were me NO WAY IN HELL. he said the chances of this re-occurring are greater when stress is put upon those dics. He said I'd be better of doing day hikes and move your base camp around by car, when I think of that pain. I think I'll do whatever I can to keep my back in tact.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Nov 11, 2015 5:42:09 GMT -8
Excellent news!
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Nov 11, 2015 5:44:10 GMT -8
when I asked my doctor if I could back pack again he said you can do anything you want its your body, however if it were me NO WAY IN HELL Just keep in mind that most people would say "no way in hell" to backpacking regardless of the condition of their back.
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