When I was a kid, my dad used to joke with us when we were sick or injured that he should just take us out back and shoot us. (This, of course, is a reference to what happens to old horses and does not indicate that my dad has a horribly violent personality!)
Today, I am feeling like my dad's approach might be the best one for me. I am "only" 48 but I feel like I'm 100 years old and falling apart.
I had my MRI today. There were a few theories floating around about what was wrong: torn cartilage, bony hip impingement, bursitis, all of the above. They were going to do an arthrogram, where they inject dye into the joint to highlight the structures, but after the regular MRI pictures were taken, they decided not do proceed with the dye. The answer was already obvious: Advanced, bone-on-bone arthritis. I know this because I spoke to the radiologist when they were finished re-arranging my molecules.
What the heck? I mean, you might expect a little bit of "early degenerative changes" like other x-rays of my joints have shown in the past, but honestly, bone-on-bone?
Couple this wonderful discovery with another little age-related problem I have. Not to go into alarming detail but I have to have a hysterectomy in the next few months. What I need done is sort of specialized surgery so the waiting list is longer than usual. This means I'll probably have it next spring, just in time to screw up the race season for next year!
OK. It's looking more and more like this old grey mare really does need to be taken out behind the barn and put out of her misery. But, call me stupid, I'm not quite willing to lay down and die or be put out to pasture yet. The hysterectomy may be poorly timed but I'll get over that and will actually be better off afterward. Next week, I will see the doctor at the sports medicine clinic to talk about the MRI results and, more importantly, the implications they have for my future in triathlon. I'm pretty sure that there are people with arthritis who still participate in sport. Maybe there are exercises that can be done, pills that can be swallowed, weight that can be lost that will make it possible for me to do an ironman someday. Or maybe there won't be an ironman in my future but I can still do lots of short distance triathlons. We'll see. I'm not going to totally panic until I know more. I will wait and take it as it comes.
However, one thing I am going to do right now is go and take a few Glucosamine Sulfate capsules for whatever it's worth!
Ugh. :-( But no reason to give up. Sorry you've been having it so rough lately... but glad at least you're getting some answers.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to swim with any groups this winter?
I will know better what my training plan will be once I talk to the doctor. I don't know if I should see this as a set back to manage or a "wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee-you're-never-doing-triathlon-again" kind of thing. If I swim with a group, I'll probably go to Kinsmen in the mornings. I might get a personal trainer and really work on strength training, which would benefit my hip and my shoulder, which still bothers me sometimes.
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