84gtguy

then of course my hips got hurt. at least they didn't pop out of the socket. i've got artificial hips on both sides so falling is not a good thing. stinks having to worry so much about them, but at $200k into them, i want them to last!

thegetawaycar

who built you!? who are you working for?! ANSWERS DAMMIT!!!

but seriously, what happened that needed new hips? I remember you telling us about your back...

audithepeanut

Would it be out of place to ask why they were replaced? (curious but dont want to pry)

84gtguy

i was diagnosed as having severe, unmanageable asthma. the doc had me on tons of steriods for long periods. ie, a normal asthmatic might be on like 10mg for a few months, then off. i was on 60 mg for 1 1/2 year at a time. these were huge amounts of steriods, plus i took other inhaled steriods (though it is debateable wether inhaled ones actually enter the blood stream or not).

well steriods are nasty on the body. they actually eat your joints and bones. since i was on such huge amounts, that's what got me. my hips had slid down my leg bones about 2 inches. that's right, i shrunk 2 inches. the ball at the top of the bone that connects to the hip socket was completely eaten off on both sides. then the bones had fractured in several places so i was literally walking on 2 broken legs. the steriods also made the bones "spongy" so they had little to know structural support. i could go on but it get's pretty graphic.

i was in incredible pain for about 1 1/2-2 years. the surgeon decided it was way past time to replace them (i was 35 at the time so they wanted to wait as long as possible). he went in to replace the first and found it was so bad we needed to get the other out as soon as possible. i had both replaced within 2 months.

i went with a new hip that's not been on the market for long so they don't know much as far as results. since i was rather young, they thought this was my best bet since they hope to almost double the life of a standard hip. that also means they get the big bucks for them.

well, to bring the story to an end, the steriods they gave me for asthma destroyed my hips.

the worst part, i never had asthma, ever. it was always my heart trouble rather than asthma. if my doctor then would have done a couple more tests, i would never have been on those steriods. sadly, the doctor did do a test in 96 that showed i did not have asthma. he even wrote "possible heart" on my chart in handwriting. instead of looking into it, he just decided to treat me for asthma. that also made my heart much worse.

that's the short of it.

oh, and yes, i do have a lawsuit going against them.

84gtguy

oh, the doctor that built me is howard berglund. i am working for an undercover gov't agency. : )

stevenmurray

I was uncharacteristically huffing and puffing on the treadmill. Who want's to look lame at the gym so I went to my MD. A sign of getting old. Tommorrow an echo cardiogram. I'm starting to behave more and more like my 83 CGT. Some days certain things just don't work.

audithepeanut

Thats awful im sorry, Do you have full mobility and function?

Whitjr

Are just no fun. I had my R knee replaced last march. Rehab is the killer part, tho well worth it.

I sympathize, dude! Gotta take care of things, it's really forced on you when you have that stuff done. It's good to see that you have sense of humor still, tho.

Hang in there!

I must admit that I liked joint replacements much better when I was in my 20's when all I had to do was twist up another one!

Whitjr

The good news is that this is relatively easily controlled by medications and a good exercise program. good luck with it!

boxerfan

Good thing those new hips held up to the fall.