Barbara Musta
Aug 28, 2014, 04:08 PM
I recently went to the dr for pain in my hip left all the way down on the outside of myleif I move wrong its painful took x-rays and said degenerative arthritis. And gave me flexerill and meloxicam I don't know if this is right cause it came on suddenly and when I lay down pain is worse
joypulv
Aug 28, 2014, 05:26 PM
If the X rays were read correctly, and there's no reason to think they weren't, then you are just suffering suddenly instead of slowly, and that's quite possible. Degenerative arthritis, osteoarthritis, or just arthritis - something almost all of us get as we age. I have it everywhere and don't need x rays to tell me so. Most of mine has been slow developing, but I had a sudden attack one day last winter, and was in intense pain for 18 days, with months of slow 'recovery' of sorts, not really back to where I was. That's life, that's old age.
You don't say how old you are...
It's quite possible that your pain is from one nerve that hits right on your hip cartilage that is degenerating. It's possible that the nerve's origin is what is affected, such as at your lower spine, also from arthritis and age. There's no easy way to pinpoint the origin of most pain associated with arthritis. Doctors don't generally do nerve testing because the test itself is painful, and because there are so many nerves. A few, such as the sciatic, are obvious. Most are not.
The two drugs you were prescribed are appropriate for inflammation and to some extent, pain. Talk to your doctor about taking Tylenol and ibuprofin. I take both. I have Vicodin on standby. I don't want to take it unless pain is excruciating, and I mean excruciating. It causes constipation, but worse, is quickly tolerated and you need more and more, and you can't get it by law.
So... if your MD says OK, I would take both time release Tylenol and ibuprofin, warm baths, heating pads, long underwear, especially the synthetic kind that's sort of a compression pantyhose, and gentle movement as often as you can. Don't sit or lie down too long. Walk around a little each hour. Lie on your back with a pillow under your knees, and do gentle pelvic lifts for your spine, even if your spine doesn't hurt. HEAT HELPS. Heat will be your best friend.
You say it's worse lying down, so will have to figure out how to find the right position to sleep. I spent weeks working on a comfortable bed, and it wasn't memory foam, which wasn't soft enough (yet a sagging mattress is worse). I finally invented something that works - an air bed (make sure it's the kind with an electric pump) tied with rope to a firm foam mattress, but more than half empty of air. It's squishy and it took a while to figure out how not to fall off, but it works for me. Plus the height off the floor is important, for ease of getting in and out of bed.
You could check out recliners too, even for sleeping in for a while.