Look away if you don't like needles

That image isn't really relevant to this blog post, but it is relevant to me at the moment, and a wonderful earworm, so there you go!

I had the cortisone injection in my hip today.  Not a minute too soon as the pain in my hip has been on a steady increase.  Pete and I went on a little walk around Hermitage on Sunday, a litter picking event organised by the parish council, which was a lovely stroll, but by the end of it I couldn't actually bend down to pick up litter anymore, and my hip was very sore for the next few days.

So, I was a bit nervous!  I'm not so bothered by needles anymore, but I'm not a fan of the unknown, nor of medical procedures, so I'm glad to get it over and done with.  Now I've had one, at least if I have to have another I will know what to expect!

I had to get into a lovely hospital gown, and then sit and wait for the radiologist.  It felt warm in the room and I could feel myself getting hotter and hotter, which was probably a little bit of nerves too.  The specialist, Mr Ahmed, was really nice - he explained exactly what he was going to do and his manner was very organised and efficient which I really appreciated.  I signed the forms to say yes I agree to you sticking a really long needle into my hip (eeek!) and then got on the bed.
The nurses got me ready (at this point I was pleased I had done a half decent job of de-fuzzing my legs etc. beforehand - honestly, there is no dignity in these situations) and took an initial x-ray of the joint.  When Mr Ahmed had cleaned the area and put a sterile sticky surround thing on me, he was ready to inject the local anaesthetic into my skin.  It was a sharp scratch but not too bad and over quite quickly.  I could see the monitors that displayed the x-ray images above my head over my left shoulder, so I distracted myself by looking at them.  Then things started to get a little uncomfortable as he positioned the needle into the joint.  He injected a bit of dye to help ensure that the anaesthetic and steroid end up in the right place.  I felt uncomfortable as opposed to outright pain, but I did wince a few times.  He got the needle right into the place where all my joint pain comes from, which of course initiated said joint pain.  I said to him that was probably a good thing, as that is where the drugs need to be, and he agreed that it was.  And just as I thought he was about to start injecting stuff into me he said 'All done' and that was it!  Needle removed and dressing put on.  I was pleasantly surprised how quick it was and how relatively pain-free.

I was told that I should avoid doing too much today, because the anaesthetic they put into the joint could obviously have the effect of allowing me to cause myself an injury in the joint without noticing, but that tomorrow I am free to do whatever I would normally do!  The steroid will apparently take up to two weeks to begin having an effect, and the anaesthetic wore off within a couple of hours, leaving me in a slightly sore state at the moment.  He did warn me that it would probably be sore for a few days, and he wasn't wrong from what I am experiencing at the moment!  I am finding it painful to be in a sitting position, so essentially my hip wants to be in a position of least resistance.  As long as I stick my leg out and slouch in a chair I can just about forget about it though!

I'm so hopeful that this will provide the relief I need to get on with things again.

A bit of a Funk

So, this happened on my newsfeed after my last blog post.  What exactly is facebook trying to tell me?!!!!

To be honest, facebook doesn't need to tell me, I am well aware that there is no more running, for the moment at least.  In fact, I am struggling with just the day to day currently if I'm honest!
The hip pain is most definitely wearing me down, and I am booked in for the cortisone injection to try and relieve it.  It is worst when I am laying down and try to move (turning over in bed for example), when I try to lift up my leg to step into the passenger side of a car (sometimes, I have to use my arms to help lift my leg) and generally when I am sitting down, and getting into and out of a seat.  I also have good days, where I have barely any pain at all, and not so good days, where I am feeling it all the time and it regularly clunks.  I can't pinpoint what causes one or the other, it seems to be fairly random!

I'm a bit nervous about the injection, although I am also looking forward to having it done as I am hopeful that it will provide some relief.  I've spoken to a few people who have had cortisone injections into various joints and all have positive stories to tell.  I have gone from a complete needle-phobe, to someone who isn't really that bothered by these things (having had seven operations since 2011 has something to do with it!), however as I have since learnt that there will be no sedation or GA as I had initially been lead to believe, I have been having a bit of a wobble!

I have also been having some pretty random pain in the joints of my fingers recently, so am in dire need of registering with a doctor (yes I know, we have lived in this house more than a year now!) to get that checked out.  It's difficult to avoid thoughts of the 'A' word, so I need someone to set my mind at ease - google is not helpful, as if there are other things that cause it, they are waaaaaay down the list on any search you run (and as such I have not come across them yet!).

SO.  I would describe myself at the moment as being in 'a bit of a funk'.  I am having to talk myself out of bed each morning, and even more so to get myself into the office.  I am fine once I am there, in fact more than fine, so I don't really know why I have only got myself in there once so far this week.  I also feel completely exhausted all of the time.  It's one of those things, I can't explain it, and I know I have a lot to be grateful for and thankful for and happy about, and I am all of those things a lot of the time.  Just at the moment I have to give myself a talking to each morning to get myself going.  So if anyone feels the need to give me a hand, drop me a line at 7am tomorrow and persuade me that getting out of bed is going to be worth it!