Treatments – Massage

    Once my knee swelling starting going down, and the nerve blocks started kicking in, my chiropractor suggested I start getting massages on my leg. Since the avascular necrosis was caused by lack of blood flow, the thought was that massaging the area would stimulate blood flow. And! Massaging the area would also help …

Amazing Post From LivingLifeOnCrutches.com That Really Hits Home

I came across this post on twitter after @ChronicPainDad tweeted it out. As I started reading I thought this would be great to post on my facebook wall. The further I read the more and more I felt that it was me behind these words. Especially at this point…   “Anywhere I go, my crutches …

Treatments – Nerve Blocks

  One of the first treatments, other than medication, that I tried were nerve blocks. I would meet with my Pain Management doctor and assess my pain. From January until June I went once a month and received a block. I received a lumbar sympathetic nerve block and the hope was that it would help …

Illness is Tough not only on YOU, but your loved ones

I felt like I just kept sinking and sinking deeper into a black hole and was slowly finding it hard to see the light at the top. (Catch up on why here) Think about it… if you are in constant pain, you can’t do what you used to do, all of your friends are doing …

Finding the Right Doctor

How have you come to find your doctor? Through friends? Through referrals from other doctors? Searching online? All of the doctors I spoke to didn’t really know any AVN specialists to refer me to. I was forced to go online and do some research of my own. Through this experience I’ve really found that medical …

Spending QT with my Bed.

After getting out of the hospital, my family and I celebrated a very low key New Years at home and then it began… Me. Laying in bed. All day. Having nothing to do. But not caring and not wanting to do anything. During the month of January we visited several orthopedics and specialists to try …

A Very Merry Hospital Stay Part 2 :)

I actually ended up getting a little more sleep since I was hopped up on pain meds in the hospital! (Read about why I was there here) Next morning the orthopedic surgeon came in to check out my knee. Everyone’s reaction to my knee was “woaahhhh”. It was still incredibly swollen. My cultures had come …

A Dead What?

Catch up on the story here. Christmas time is my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE! The lights. The music. The spirit. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh I just love it. When I went to get a bone scan of my knee and the technician gasped saying that I lit up like a christmas tree I was happy with the reference, but …

Medications – Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Neurontin

  After receiving the diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, I wasn’t really sure what to expect in terms of medication. I was currently taking vicodin to help with the pain, but what else, other than the nerve blocks, would help? My pain management doctor prescribed Neurontin/Gabapentin. First I started with a low does, something …