Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Quick update from Wendy

Hi everyone,
I'm sorry I'm not around much at the moment. I try to drop in when I can but my PhD is taking a lot of my time. I've now finished all my course work and waiting to take my candidacy exam. Then the research starts in earnest. Of course, I'm still working full time, have three grandchildren, and we're finishing up building a new house that I hope will be ready by September, so there are a lot of demands on my time.

An update on my RA and my hip: I had an MRI two weeks ago, after a long wait, and the results are not good. I had a bad fall more than a year ago which injured my right hip. It seemed to improve and then worsened again in the fall. A CT scan in February ruled out a fracture but the MRI showed what I had suspected - a labral tear. Unfortunately, I've had the injury for so long that I also have a large (4.8 cm) paralabral cyst that is going to make the repair trickier. The MRI also showed up damage from my rheumatoid arthritis - sevdere joint space narrowing with some associated subchondral bone marrow edema and osteophytes (bone spurs) as well as a 2 cm cortical erosion just above the hip. They didn't MRI my left hip but that has been much worse as well for the last months, just not as bad as the right, so my guess is I have the same level of worsening RA damage in that hip but it doesn't hurt as much because I haven't also injured it.

Now the wait for the orthopedic specialist to see what it will take to repair the labral tear and remove/drain the cyst. My original hope was that they could do this laproscopically but the cyst is right next to my quadriceps tendon so they may not risk it which could mean much more intrusive surgery.

Grrr... the solution is - don't fall over!

Dang. Sorry to hear this. Please keep us posted, and I will keep you in my thoughts,wishing you the best!

Thanks Jan.

Hi Wendy...good to hear from you.

You do have a lot going on in your life. Congratulations on completing your course work, good luck with the exam. Sorry to hear about your continued problems with your hip, and now the cyst, nothing seems simple when you have overlapping problems...how are your pain levels?


Congats on the new house also, that has to be exciting!!! Good for you...I hope the new house will be easier to manuver and fit your needs for years to come.

Glad you checked in, it was nice hearing from you.

Thanks Jeff. The new house has been designed with all the main accommodation on the ground floor and wider doors for wheelchair access. Hope I'll never need it but it seemed like a good idea. Also, the shower is wheelchair accessible. I'm hoping we'll move in around September.

My pain levels have been bad for about eight months and slowly worsening. Before that, the RA seemed to be well controlled by methotrexate. Which was why I was willing to start the PhD. So it's a bit frustrating that the mtx doesn't seem to be doing the trick any more. One factor may have been that I was on a reduced dose for about 6 months because of a shortage of the injectable version of the drug.

It's nice to be able to jump back onto KA when I'm feeling challenged and see all the supportive and friendly faces.

Wendy, I am sorry about your pain and the injury. [hugs]

However, I'm very glad to hear about the new house and your PHD coming along!!!

Please check in when you can ... especially to let us know how you're healing. OK?

Love and hugs,

Thanks Kat. I'm curious to see what the orthopedic specialist thinks he can do about the labral tear and the cyst. Once I'm through that then it will be a case of getting the rheumatologist to assess my meds and their effectiveness. I hate to take such a toxic drug as mtx if it isn't actually working.

I hope all is well with you.

Congratulations on finishing the course work and good luck with the house.

Hopefully somehow you get an ortho who is wise and capable enough to do the labral tear repair laproscopically.

Good luck with the many things on your table.

Wendy, I am so glad to hear from you. I am so sorry for all of your problems and thrilled for you about the new home.

Enjoy the grands all you can. The first thing you know they are grown too.

Hugs.
Possi

Thanks Steve. I think capable is the key word. If not capable would hope wise enough not to attempt it!