Dr. Cortisone ( or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Ache) - 136 days post-op

It's been a while since I checked in here. Three weeks in fact. To be honest I just got sick of whinging about the aches and pains I was, and still are, putting up with.

I've been receiving treatment on my hips and groins twice a week but I'm not sure it's doing much. I'm doing some stretching and a strengthening exercise too. Christ it's slow going though. I'm not getting anywhere. Still getting the aches and pains in the outer hip ranging down to my calves at times. So I've decided what will be will be. I've tried my best.

A few weeks ago the exercise physiologist I'm seeing suggested I go back to see my surgeon John O'Donnell to investigate the possibility of adhesions on my right side. It's where the scar tissue adheres or sticks to the repaired muscle. Happens in lots of different surgery according to my sister, an ER nurse. It can be very painful. It would require a simple surgery to correct it.

Once again I drove down to Melbourne to see John (via Portarlington for a job - 2.5 hours in the car). He didn't seem overly concerned. Why would you when you pick up $100 for 3 minutes?

Anyhoo, he thought I had inflammation that could be treated with an x-ray guided cortisone injection. I organised one with Lake Imaging in Ballarat and had it today, however they used a CT scan to do the guiding.

It was a strange experience. They took some shots of my hip, put a grid on my hip then took another shot and took some measurements. The needle stung a bit as it went in and through the joint capsule, but once the local anaesthetic kicked in I barely felt anything as they pumped the steroid into my joint.

Apparently I will receive the full benefit of the cortisone in 7-10 days.......hopefully.

P.S. I'm an old Stanley Kubrick fan.