Patience is NOT one of my virtues

So I've always known that patience is not one of my strong points... I want what I want, when I want it...... now I know that is not realistic, and something I need to get over/work on..... maybe if I learned to relax and let go of a few things that I have no control over I wouldn't have so many stomach problems with ulcers and anxiety and whatnot..... but eh... I'll work on it ;) SOOO in the meantime... while I'm waiting for my appeal to go through with my insurance company, I've been calling every day to check on it, and they tell me every day that it WILL take the full 30 days... which would be Feb 12th..... maybe i'll give them a little bit of a rest and not call again until next week ;)

So since I have no new's for you guys on that front..... I just want to talk about Hip Chicks for a quick minute... I touched briefly on it in my last post I believe... but I am really happy and proud of the way its going. I started Hip Chicks about a week and a half ago and we already have over 100 members. I created Hip Chicks because I've realized how helpful and mind easing it can be to talk to somebody going through the same thing as you are...... I've talked to a few people about it outside of my "Chicks"...... and as much as they try to sympathize and be supportive, and as much as I appreciate it.... It's just not the same as being able to talk to, and vent to somebody who actually FEELs your pain.... I've noticed that Hip Dysplasia really has an effect on my body of course, and on me mentally.... I have a pretty high pain tolerance... hense all my tattoos ;) ..... BUT Chronic pain... pain you have to deal with every day of your life is another story... Just because I have good days, and just because i'm smiling... and Just because you can't SEE anything "wrong" with me...... doesn't mean that I am not in pain... it just means that I've been dealing with it for so long that you have to learn to build up somewhat of a tolerance for it.... but sometimes you just can't deal with it and you have to let go and cry or get angry, or feel sorry for yourself.... but then you pick yourself back up, and carry on with your life as best as you can..... thats what being a "Hip Chick" means to me..... I created Hip Chicks as a place for everybody who goes through what I go through or more on a daily basis can get together and talk... to vent, to get advise, to feel "at home" ...... honestly I didn't expect such a big outcome, but we have over 100 members now and it keeps growing..... reading the posts and watching everybody interact, and seeing the amount of support everybody is able to receive makes my heart so happy..... happier than I could have imagined.... One of my chicks wrote... " I have felt a bit lost in a cloud till this morning when I found this group and instantly felt solidarity. It really helps" ..... and another said " HI hippies, I just found this awesome site where I know I can finally feel at home." ....... It's when I read things like that is when I feel like crying..... not sad tears, but happy tears.... You have no idea how important it is to be able to express your fears, and your anger, and your frustrations to people who understand.... it makes you feel not so alone. I am so happy that Hip Chicks is a place for people to be able to do that and to get the support they need and to make a few new friendships :) To all my Hip Chicks coming up on their surgeries, keep smiling... stay strong.... you'll be on the "other side" soon..... and to all my chicks recovering... keep up the GREAT work!! I am so proud of you all and thanks for being my inspiration. I love you guys!! xoxo

It Isn't easy being a Hip Chick....

BUT having my other Hip Chicks support makes it easier!! :)
I don't even know where to begin . . . So much has happened to me medically in the last 3-4 years. So I guess I'll just start from the beginning..... but I must warn you.... I type as how I would talk...... and when I talk, I tend to ramble.... soooo..... I'll try and stay in order ;)

So for as long as I can remember I have had issues with my hips/legs ...... but only off and on, and only when I walked around for hours at a time.... I remember going to Florida with my family for my nieces cheer competition years ago..... but the sad thing is..... that I don't remember much of the competition and much or our stay there besides the day that we went to an amusement park there and by the end of the day I was limping and crying in pain ...... Fast forward a year and I'm having problems with my right knee ..... off to physical therapy I go.... Lots of physical therapy and shock therapy to my knee ( something in my knee wasn't working ) and I'm all better.... for awhile that is........ The one thing I remember from therapy was my therapist asking me if I had been put in braces when I was little...... huh?? wait....what? WHY would I have been? Should I have been?? Apparently he thought my legs were a little crooked ....... I had no idea what Dysplasia was at the time....... so in one ear and out the other that tid bit of information went.......... Fast forward another year and there I am joining a Boxing Club ..... oh yes... boxing ...... It's an AMAZING stress relief.... and apparently I stress a lot according to the stomach ulcer I had when I was 12. My friend Roena and I were there EVERY day after work... taking about two classes a day.... we were pretty hard core about it ..... Monday - Friday...... after awhile we started doing some running ...... I have always LOVED running..... but I was never very good at it... never very fast and my legs have always been so weak.... but still.... I loved it... and I was determined to keep working at it....... and then one day...... as we were upstairs stretching and getting ready to go on our run...... my friend looked down and informed me that my ankles were hanging over my shoes...... my what was what??? Yeah... my ankles and all the way up to my calves were so swollen that it was hanging over my shoes....... What the heck was going on?? It didn't hurt, I hadn't fallen and hurt anything, I couldn't understand why I was swollen........ but I decided that it was probably just best to skip the run and the workout and go home and put my feet up for the night....

my legs were still swollen a week later..... so I went to the doctors.... at the time I had Kaiser...... and the "diagnosis" that I got was that I sprained my ankle...... " But they don't hurt" .... " Well it's just a sprain... the swelling will go down soon " ...... "WHAT?? are you kidding me?? I sprained BOTH of my ankles and I didn't know it? Really? I either fell or twisted BOTH of my ankles without knowing and without it hurting?" ........ yeah ok .... that was the FIRST of many useless "diagnoses" that I have gotten within these last few years........ Nobody could tell me what the swelling was from ...... they checked my heart, they checked my veins, they ran every test imaginable on my blood and nothing..... so i figured I would just deal with it.... it didn't hurt so I was ok....... the swelling went on for a year.... they would stay swollen for months at a time with maybe a week in between of being "normal" ........ and then one day... poof........ the swelling was gone...... never to return again...... SWEET! BUT as soon as the swelling disappeared........ then came the pain...... At this time I had switched my medical coverage to Sharp...... so back to the doctor I go....... xray after xray .... blood test after blood test.... nothing... so off to an Orthopedic Surgeon I go........ "nothing is wrong with you" .... so back to Boxing I go....... more pain.... so off to the Rheumatologist I go........ more xrays, a bone scan, more tests... blah blah blah....... they can't find anything "wrong" ........BUT my blood work did come back as Suggestive of Crohns Disease....... so off to the Gastroenterologist I go..... a Colonoscopy, Endoscopy, and Capsule endoscopy later....... "nothing" so they throw me in the "IBS" pool....... so back to the Rheumatologist I go...... still "nothing" .... so i get thrown in the "Fibromyalgia" pool ......... NOT buying it..... but completely frustrated with all the doctors and tests and CRAP that I decided to stop trying...... I have a relatively high pain tolerance so I can just deal with it right? Just learn to live with it....... WRONG! just dealing with it made me depressed..... being in pain every single day of your life gets old...... and frustrating..... and when NOBODY really understands and NONE of the doctors can find out why you are in pain, it starts getting to your head........ you start thinking that maybe it's all in your head...... maybe you're just being a baby.... Months and months go by with me sinking further and further into my depression ........ so much to the point that I am currently on Depression/Anxiety medication....... which helps... but the pain is still there........ The pain finally got to be to much for me, that back to the doctors I went about three months ago....... and I FINALLY found somebody who can tell me whats "wrong" with me.......... I have mild bilateral acetabular hip dysplasia ...... basically my hip sockets are shallow...... the acetabulum doesn't cover the femoral head sufficiently... which makes the hip unstable..... without surgical intervention, over the years, as the femoral head and acetabulum move without correct alignment, the cartilage in the joint wears down prematurely and unevenly. The result is differing degrees of osteoarthritis, depending on the severity of the misalignment. The osteoarthritis can occur on the joint head or in the socket itself, and eventually the need for a Total Hip Replacement........ There is a relatively new procedure called a PAO.......What is a PAO? Periacetabular Osteotomy. The mother of all hip surgeries. A procedure that cuts the hip socket out of the pelvis to allow the the socket to be repositioned and then screwed back into place. This allows the ball & socket to move fluidly, preventing cartilage damage and preserving the joint in patients with faulty hips. The PAO preserves & enhances the patient's own hip, not replacing it with artificial parts like a hip replacement. Why not a hip replacement? Although the recovery is said to be easier with a hip replacement, they are not ideal for younger people as they need to be revised frequently, leading to a possible 7+ additional surgeries for someone my age. Also, active people generally can not resume their higher level of activity............... Fortunately for me, one of the well known PAO Surgeons is in San Diego....... unfortunately he is not on my medical plan...... SOOOOO I was of course denied authorization to see him....... I am currently going through an appeals process with them and I should know the results within 30 days..... SO in the meantime...... here I am...... just pluggin along...... I have created a Network/Support group called Hip Chicks........ and that is keeping me busy.... I have met a lot of new friends and have gotten some great support..... while also being able to help other people connect and support each other, and its a great feeling!!!

So there you have it....... that's my story..... and im stickin to it..... haha, just kidding........ but really.... there you have it........ I will keep updating here as more things happen..... as soon as I get the results from my appeal, you guys will know :) Send your good thoughts and well wishes my way because I need them .... Talk to you guys soon ;)