Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Got a date! New hip coming

Thanks Rumble. That's encouraging and explains why I'm still functioning fairly well despite the full thickness tear and the absence of the tendon. I think I've found ways to compensate andnthenther muscles are picking up the slack.

Thanks Inanna for your always-kind responses. Making it easier to shoulder made me laugh! Just what I needed.

Best to you Wendy with upcoming surgery and recovery afterwards.

Tim

Good luck

To allay your anxieties a little I shate the following. My most recent replacements were with my left shoulder fairly useless since it is fully fuded.

The girls were only 2 so I couldn't imagine functioning well on crutches, navigating through them and caring for them.

The reality is doc had me putting some weight on new hope within 2-3 days of surgery so balancing was easy with cruches and one good arm and left


My biggest concern turned out to be my down haste moving about because I was so mobile so fast.

Good luck. My wishes and prayers to you and a speedy rehab

Thank you Tim. I'm very grateful for all the kind support I get from KA

That does make me feel better about the dodgy shoulder, Steve. I've watched a video that shows how I have to use either a walker or crutches and in both cases the patient is partially weight bearing on the new hip. In some ways, the bigger problem may turn out to be the fact that the second hip is also so painful that I may not be able to do the exercises as well as I should and that may slow down the rehab. We shall see. I just keep on trying. It looks like I may be able to sit the candidacy exam for my PhD before my surgery which will get one stress out of the way.

Good luck with the surgery Wendy. I'm glad you have a date set. I hope you recover very quickly. So very sorry about the shoulder. Was it caused by the disease? I had my rotator cuff that bad before. It took two surgeries to get to where it was workable and they told me that eventually it would need to be replaced. I get the whole bionics thing. I have an $80,000.00 pain pump in me and rod's and screws in my back. Just saving up now (mentally) for future surgeries. Best wishes Wendy.

Wendy, I am glad you are going to get it taken care of. I have been thinking of you. I am sorry your shoulder is such a bummer.
Will be praying.

Joyce

Hi Pea,

Yes - all the damage is a result of RA. Constant inflammation can cause tendons to become brittle and prone to tearing. I suspect my shoulder had been getting worse for years and at some point the tendon tore right through. Partial tears are more common. The other shoulder also plagues me but isn't as bad. Will have to be careful not to get a tear in that one.

In both my hips, the cartilage has been completely destroyed by RA so I'm down to bone on bone with no gaps any more.

I've been on methotrexate for several years but the rheumatologists had been quite dismissive of me for several reasons - I tend not to get much swelling, I'm seronegative, I have a very high pain tolerance so could carry on working etc. which gave the impression there wasn't much wrong with me. As a result, all this damage occurred without anyone realizing. Now my new rheumy is very concerned and is working through the protocols required in British Columbia before you can be considered for a biologic. It's requires me to do a six month trial of mtx plus one other DMARD - in this case plaquenil - and, if that doesn't work, then another six months with a third DMARD added in. After that, I will be eligible for a biologic. The shame is that, if a rheumy had realized how seriously I was being damaged by RA, they could have started this protocol much sooner.

Ah well!

Does your pain pump work well?

Hi Possi,

I knew you would be thinking of me - I could feel it! I will be relieved to get the first surgery out of the way I'm pretty exhausted from pain right now and a bit foggy from pain meds!

I regularly remind myself that I can handle this because it's nothing compared to what Possi and some other folks on KA have to deal with!