“Get the damn cortisone shot!” This was the constant advice from my dear friend Mary Lou, who got tremendous relief from it when she had her own hip-related problems. Others echoed the advice, but it took me a little while before I was able to act on it. First I had to get an appointment with a specialist (that’s where I was when I wrote the previous entry). After looking at X-rays, the specialist decided that this was more arthritis than the bursitis my PCP had diagnosed (although there might be some of that as well). So he decided I should get a cortisone shot in the joint, and if significant pain remained we might try another one in the bursa.

While all this was happening, the Vanyaland blog was kind enough to take notice of my situation – thanks again to Michael Marotta (as well as Matt Graber and Sasha Alcott for the amazing quotes).

I got the shot on Nov 23. It was supposed to take seven days to work, but I was told it might take as long as ten. So I wasn’t very happy when two weeks passed with no improvement. Luckily I had procrastinated in setting up a follow-up appointment with the specialist, since it was on the evening of the 15th day that I started to notice a lessening of symptoms.

By the time I got to the specialist’s office, walking and standing had become much easier.  It still hurt to stand completely straight (like a soldier at attention), but even that was manageable. So the specialist decided we wouldn’t do anything more for now, and that I should come back if things got bad again. I asked him how long I could expect relief to last, and was told it could be any time from a few days to months. So I’m guessing this isn’t a permanent solution. i asked him if a hip replacement might be necessary if things did in fact get bad again, and he agreed that it might be.

So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if that happens. In the meantime, things have continued to improve. I wouldn’t say that I’m 100%, but I’m no longer ruling clubs out for inadequate seating, or worrying whether I can get through an errand. The cane is still at the bottom of my stairs if I need it, but I’m hoping I won’t for awhile.