AN INEXACT SCIENCE

Most people tend to believe that when you are sick or injured, you go to the doctor or hospital, they ask you questions, run a few tests then do something or give you something to fix you up. Over the years I've learned that even the most educated & experienced medical professionals don't have all the answers. Often times medicine is an inexact science at best.

I was reminded of that these past few weeks while looking for answers to my almost constant hip pain for the last several months. In the past month I've seen three different health care providers & received three different theories as to why my hip hurts like hell.

After a couple of visits to my chiropractor with no improvement, I made an appointment with my primary care doctor in late November. She asked me questions about my pain, poked, prodded & came to the conclusion that I had arthritis coupled with trochanteric bursitis. She suggested I get an x-ray (which confirmed the presence of mild arthritis) & try round the clock ibuprofen for a week to knock down the inflammation. That didn't help. Next we tried a cortisone injection into the bursa sack. That didn't help. She referred me to physical therapy & an orthopedic specialist.

Of course, referrals to other health care departments seem to travel at a snail's pace, especially when you are hurting. I'd like to think they can do things quicker when you have a really serious condition. Last week I saw the physical therapist for the first time. After extensive questioning, he believes that the cause of my pain isn't arthritis or bursitis but the hip flexor muscle which has tightened up over the years causing pain when it stretches. He believes an exercise program targeting the hip flexor is the place to start. I was heartened that maybe it was something which I could diligently improve over the next few months.

This morning I saw the orthopedic specialist. He again questioned me extensively about the pain type & location. I explained that I had already received diagnoses of arthritis & bursitis & a hip flexor issue. He had me lay down & moved my leg up, down, sideways with bent knees & straight asking me when it hurt.

When finished, he said simply, "It's your hip. It is wearing out & you will ultimately need hip replacement surgery." I replied, "Well, hell. That's not what I wanted to hear." In the meantime he suggested a cortisone shot into the hip joint (rather than the bursa) that is done with an x-ray to make sure the placement is exact. He is sure that will help but it cannot be done more often than every three months. He suggested, & I agreed, that we wait until a few weeks before our big cruise in April. I have scheduled it for March 15.

So, there you have it. Three different diagnoses from three different health care professionals. I'm going to do my homework - researching online & talking to anyone who has had hip replacement surgery. If you or anyone close to you has had hip replacement surgery, please let me pick your brain. I am continuing the physical therapy & exercises just in case that does indeed help. Maybe the injection will work & last longer than three months. Or maybe it will ease up when the weather warms up. I am keeping an open mind & treating surgery as an absolute last resort. At almost 68 years old I have never had major surgery in my life.

I won't rule out any results which are outside of the box of conventional wisdom when it comes to all my options. I am reminded of the time almost four years ago when my dad had half of his foot amputated due to cellulitis & gangrene. It was not healing after weeks of hyperbaric chamber treatment, a couple of surgeries, lots of debriding & numerous wound care procedures.

My dad's fantastic surgical podiatrist made appointments for him to be seen at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, THE best hospital for tough cases in Northern California. The head of their Vascular Surgery department did a procedure on my dad to examine the blood flow to his foot. He found me in the waiting room & told me, "It will never heal. He needs a below the knee amputation."

That fantastic surgical podiatrist looked at me the next day & said sincerely, "I don't think that's true. I think it will heal in time." He went above & beyond, making house calls, providing wound care & finding a brace to keep his weight off of the foot. And guess what? It did heal, slowly but surely. My dad still has that leg today. Although it is missing half a foot, he can still walk with his walker. Even the best doctors don't have all the solutions. Medicine is most definitely an inexact science.