For several years now, I have been having a lot of issues with pain in my left leg. Mostly in my knee and hip that I thought was stemming from some old knee injuries that I had received several years ago. Unfortunately the pain has only gotten worse and the last 2-3 years have been unbearably hard especially in the midst of caring for my ailing parents. I put off going to the doctors because I just couldn't afford it.

I have had many people tell me that I need to go and get checked out but because of the financial situation I am in, I just couldn't bring me to do it. What changed was the fact that I had a lady at church who has become like a mom to me get a hold of me and she pretty much put me in my place this past Sunday.

Yesterday I had an actually appointment at the health department and they looked at my leg and sent me to the imaging center for x-rays and they expected me to come back the following Thursday. This morning, the nurse practioner that I saw, called me and we discussed the results of the x-rays because she felt that what she saw was urgent enough to get me seen sooner.

Always, the good news is that my knee has some arthritis in but that is not what is concerning. One of the things that is has the nurse practioniter concerned is my hip and the fact that I not only have severe arthritis in it but it is partially dislocated and I have been walking on it for who knows how long. My estimate is about 6 years now because that is when I lost my range of motion in that leg.

The other thing that has this nurse concerned is that on the x-ray there are some spots on the bone on my thigh that did not come out clearly on any of the x-rays so there is going to have to be further test done.

This situation is really scary, even more so than the things I had to deal with when Mom and Dad where sick. Right now, I am waiting on a call back about a referral that was put in for me so I can see an orthopedic about getting this mess straightened out.

Right now, there is couple in at church who are helping me deal with some of the details of what is going on because I am in the process of needing to find another place to live before the end of the month is up as well as find what type of services that I can now be qualified for that can help me financially. There are some things that I am going to have to rethink in order for me to have the best outcome with all that I got going on.

Sorry about the post being so long but I could use some good thoughts, prayers, whatever you want to call it.

Oh God, kativicky, I am so sorry!!

Everything is piling on you all at once, and I am SO SORRY for what you are going through!

I don't have any wise words, but I do care, and I do feel for everything that is slamming you.

Good thoughts and energies going in your direction from here, and I hope that all of this starts to become more dealable with extremely soon.

I really am so sorry for what you are going through.

Good thoughts headed your way :)

Earlier this year I finally dealt with an ankle that had been causing me pain (and making me limp!) for over a year. Turned out to be loose bone fragments, a partially detached ligament, and some "reactive arthritis."

Two (minor) surgeries and some cortisone injections later, I'm walking (and even running!) pain-free. Totally worth it.

Follow this through, and get fixed up.

Good you are finally getting to see a doctor about these things. You probably need a complete physical workup. But based on your findings, you're dealing with the issues that are the most pressing.

Work through them one at a time if you can, and deal with them head-on.

Sending prayers, good thoughts, and hugs your way for the very best care possible between you and your doctors!

Yikes!!!!

Hopefully things aren't as bad as you are worried they may be , you never know so I'm, sending big hugs and good thoughts your way. Please keep us posted !!!!

I certainly hope the doctors can help you feel and move better and I'm sorry you have to move with all of this going on. Take care and be better soon.

Glad you finally got it looked at. Hope you are able to get it fixed.

Kativicky, I know that you are worried, but it sounds like you are in good hands and that everything is getting checked out. Take one step at a time.

The condition led to osteoarthritis. Even though I was relatively young I had to have hip surgery. Anyway, been there and experience that "referred pain" where sometimes it felt like something was wrong with my knee also. Once I got my hips fixed (with hip resurfacing) and essentially learned to walk again, my knee pain went away. Now, 18 years later, still doing fine.

When they say you have a "partially displaced hip" are they talking about hip displasia? This is actually a fairly common condition, especially among women. If it is severe and seen in infants t can be partially corrected using a spica cast. Often it is small issue so it doesn't show up until the patient is older and osteoarthritis secondary to the hip dysplasia occurs.

Anyway... what's important is that if you have to have surgery you are likely looking at about 4-6 weeks with some restrictions on weight bearing (mobility but on crutches or a walker) and movement (can't bend completely at hip to put on socks, for example). These can be addressed with some aids, like a reacher, etc, but it may make it difficult for you to care for your parents. Hopefully you can cope. Best of luck to you.

Right now I am not sure what is going or how I even did this myself. I am hoping to see an orthopedic sometime in the coming week and find out more about what is going on with my hip and what can be done to fix it. My other big concern is the issue with my thigh bone and the spots they found. I won't find out what that is all about until I see the orthopedic and have more imaging and test run on that.

(((Kat))) I'm so sorry you are going through this pain. I wish I could take it away for you. It's good that you were able to have it looked at and on the path to getting it fixed and on toward recovery. I'm so glad you have friends nearby to help and encourage you. You're a brave fighter, Kat. My love and well wishes to you.

((Hugs)). We are here to hold you up. Best wishes, you will be in my thoughts.

Sending you my best. I know you’ll get this taken care of! You deserve to feel better!

just about made me cry. My kneecaps began dislocating on a regular basis when I was 8 or 9, and I would have to go to a doctor, have the hugely swollen joint aspirated, and then be in a cast for about 6 weeks.

I got them surgically repaired as a teen, so they didn't dislocate any more, but ended up with artificial replacements years later. MUCH better!

Sending you vibes for the best possible outcome!!!