I did something yesterday that I have been terrified of doing for over ten years. I got a cortisone shot in my hip. I have heard horror stories of cortisone shots. That the needle is ten inches long; that it is really painful; blah, blah, blah. I am a big baby; I don't like pain. I am a terrible patient.
Ten years ago, I fell from a scooter while on a crazy ride in Italy. About one month later, I was seized with hip pain so intense that I could not sit . I could only stand and I could lie down. So I would be driven to work while lying down in the back seat and I would stand all day at work. I suffered this pain because I was terrified to get a cortisone shot. How much sense does that make? After about six weeks, the pain went away. Whew, saved!!
So fast forward ten years. Last fall, while in Cuba with my daughter, I began to have discomfort again in my hip. After walking for a while, I found it necessary to sit and rest. I was becoming an old woman. I don't like that image of myself. My daughter commented that I was not quite a spry as I had been in Mexico three years earlier. Ouch!
In April, while at EPCOT with one of my other daughters, the same thing happened. I had to stop and rest much more than normal. My daughter offered to rent an electric power chair for me. "No thank you", I said, " It's not that I don't want to grow old. It's just that I don't want to grow old, JUST YET. "
Well, the old hip hasn't gotten any better. In fact, it's gotten worse. I am having trouble working in the garden; I have pain all the time; it is wearing me down. After sitting in the car for only thirty or forty minutes, I have to get out and stretch. I am taking a cross-country trip in the fall. Can you imagine how long that trip will take if I have to get out and stretch every thirty minutes?
So last week, I went to see an Orthopedist. He took x-rays of my hip and identified an inflamed bursa, the sac on the outside of the hip that connects to all the other muscles and ligaments in the leg. He suggested one of two things: either a cortisone shot or medication such as Celebrex. Well, the other thing I'm terrified of is medication with insane side-effects.....like Celebrex. So, guess what? I made the decision to put on my big girl pants and get the shot.
My appointment was scheduled for yesterday. Now, I have worried about the shot all week. I have awakened in the middle of the night worrying about the shot. I have researched the shot, the side effects of the shot, the needle size for the shot, ad infinitum.
So this is how it went:
1. I positioned myself on the table, lying on my side.
2. Mr. Doctor Miracle came in, swabbed my "bursa" spot
3. Mr. Doctor Miracle sprayed something on the spot
4. Mr. Doctor says, "Are you alright?"
5. I say, "Of course I'm all right; you haven't put the needle in yet".
6. Mr. Doctor the Magnificent says, "Yes, I have, we're finished."
7. I become effusive and have to control myself not to kiss Mr. Doctor
I can't believe I have put off comfort because of my irrational fear of a cortisone shot. Today, the hip area is sore but in about three days, Mr. Doctor said my pain will be only a memory. I should be fine to travel across the country without having to stop every thirty minutes. I'm a Big Girl now!!
5 comments:
I don't think you'll regret doing this.
I have had bursa sacs removed from both hips and while I was waiting for the surgery I had 2 cortisone injections (spaced out) in each hip. I felt as if I was walking on air, I was so pain free and the doc froze both hips first so I wouldn't feel the needle quite so much.
I have never regretted the surgery either and when the cortisone wears off as it surely will in a few months, I hope you might consider the surgery.
I was a cripple for years. I am a barber and had a barber shop so I worked for 43 years, six days a week standing and that's what did it to me. I could barely move for years until I had this surgery and I have never looked back.
I hope for your sake that the steroid does cure you permanently but it doesn't always happen.
Enjoy your pain free travels!!!!
well...that is a GREAT tale! I am looking forward to hearing about you walking on air :-)
Bless your sweet heart. I'm a new reader, so that sentence feels perhaps too familiar, except that I've been there with knee pain and fear of the needle.
I'm not a good candidate for surgery and things don't get any more comfortable with the passage of years. I'm of dreadfully ample size, being now in my hedonistic phase, and when the doctor was suggesting a shot in the hip, I asked if he had a needle that long. His answer, which I'll always treasure, was "You're not my widest patient".
Oh boy Shirley. I sometimes have to get cortisone shots in my knees and those are killers. They touch bone, I mean they really hurt. I haven't had the shots in a while but my hip is starting to feel like a hot needle is being driven in and my knees are in excruciating pain. I may make an appt, but I'm scared. I salute you for your bravery. Take care.
great story, thanks for sharing. I feel for you.
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