Big News!

I apologize for the lack of update- but wanted to wait until I had some results back before I spilled all the information. Recently I've been following the lead on my left hip and went to go see Dr. Cooke from the Hospital of Special Surgery about it. He did x-rays and a thorough exam last week and discovered that my pubic bone is eroded in the x-ray, which means the tissue around it might be inflamed. He also thought a had a labial tear in my left hip because of my pain and lack of movement.

So following this lead, I went yesterday into NYC to go get an MRI done at the Hospital for Special Surgery. I must say, although it was an 8 hour ordeal to actually get to the city and back, I was very impressed with the Hospital and everyone working there. My actual MRI took about 2 hours- they did a long series of my left hip and then a series of my pelvis.

Today Dr. Cooke called me to give me the verbal report of the MRI (pictures coming in tomorrow.) I do have chronic inflammation around my pelvic bone because it is eroded, however it's not currently inflamed. But it looks like it has been off and on for a long time. The big news is I do have a huge labial tear in my left hip, which extends anterior to posterior. My veins are also swollen on my left side.

I am probably one of the few people who are ecstatic to find out they have a huge tear in their hip. And my doctors believe that it is the cause of all my pain. So where do we go from here?

First of all, apparently I am still allowed to play tennis. I've been playing for this long on a bad hip, and I wouldn't be causing myself more harm. I am making an appointment to get a cortisone injection next week into the inflamed area of my hip. This might eliminate my pain and my body might repair itself. It's only a 15 minute procedure and I can be active within 2 days.

If that injection doesn't work, it seems like the next step is surgery- an arthroscopy that would repair the tear. This surgery has a recovery time of 6 weeks to 2 months, so I might wait to get it until after the tennis season is over (if I do need it.)

I am going to try and post pictures of my x-rays soon, as well as photos from my MRI if I can get access to them. And of course I will keep you updated about my injection next week. The good news is it can't be worse than the steroid injections I got into my vulva this past summer!

New Development

It seems like I have some pretty exciting news to report. However, I'm trying not to have expectations because I have gotten my hopes up so many times before. I went to physical therapy very early Friday morning and we talked about how difficult it has been for me to sit and the general increase in my pain levels. I also have been doing the hip exercises which are simply lifting my left hip in three different positions. Even though it is minimal movement, it hurts a lot, especially when compared to my right hip.

As we were talking, we decided it's time to get x-rays and an MRI of my hip to see if there's any possible problems. Stacey has had four patients with vestibulitis who all either had a tear in their hip muscle or their bone was scraping the nerve. As you can see by this picture, the hip is located right next to your pelvic floor, sit bones, and all the muscles that have been giving me difficulty. For the first time in my life I am hoping there is something wrong with me. If they do find something in my hip, it can be corrected by surgery. All four women who had hip problems do not see Stacey anymore. It took them awhile to get better, but they still got there. It would be so comforting to actually know an end was in sight. I wouldn't mind if someone told me the end was 5 years from now. At least I would know there was going to be an end.

Luckily, I don't have to go all the way to NY for my hip to be looked at. Unfortunately, the doctor can't fit me in until February 26th. I'm going to call every day hoping for a cancellation. Tennis season officially starts February 8th, so I would like some answers before we really get into the swing of things... no pun intended. My best case scenario would be finding something wrong with my hip, but still able to play this season, and worry about surgery the beginning of May. But, of course my health does come first, and if I have to sit out this season, so be it.