I kept the appointment with the hip surgeon today. He put my hip through its paces, then sat down with my x-rays and informed me my hip does not need replacing. I have a serious bursitis that can be fixed with a serious injection of cortisone. This injection is done with ultrasound guidance. I took the first appointment, six weeks from now. That is how backed up a national hospital is by Covid
I took the appointment of course, and came home and put in a call to my pain management office, late this afternoon. They do ultrasound guided cortisone injections; I've had one in my thumb, some years ago. Best of all, they are not backed up with Covid patients. And I cannot abide this pain for six more weeks!
The absolute worst part of not being able to stand is not being able to cook decent food. I've had frozen meals for the last two weeks. To not confuse myself, I decided to stick with the same manufacturer for a week. I picked Marie Callendar for this past week. The week before I pulled seven random packages from Kreiger's. Two weeks of trash. Horrid, horrid food. I've lost five or more pounds, which I don't need to do.
My former restaurateur daughter says she will grocery shop with me this weekend, and run her discerning eye over the offering; we can do better! To be continued...
So sorry you're going through this. That pain sounds like something we'd like fixed asap. And not least because you need decent food in order to deal with it. Can your daughter maybe cook and freeze some meals for you?
ReplyDeleteSort of a good news/bad news thing, eh? Very smart to access the procedure more quickly through your pain management clinic. I hope your food situation improves with some fresh groceries.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had an appointment so quickly and that you didn’t need your hip replaced. Relief from cortisone soon I hope. And better meals!
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion frozen food is inedible. I'm hoping you come up with a better solution pronto.
ReplyDeleteAwful when you cannot stand....I don't know whether 'ready meals' are better in the U.K., but those I ordered for mother were distinctly palatable.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry for the pain! I hope it's soon fixed. I'm trying to think of good frozen dinners and I can't. Marie Callendar makes good pot pies, as I recall. But it's been a long time.
ReplyDeleteGood that you don't need a hip replacement. I hope the cortisone does the trick.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad for you that you don't need the hip replacement and that you could get an earlier cortisone injection at your pain management office.
ReplyDeleteYou probably already know this, but try to eat meals with creamy or cheesy sauces or gravy rather than tomato or broth-based meals because they'll give you more calories. And don't forget high calorie desserts (ice cream, cheesecake, pie, pudding), and meal replacement drinks if you are okay with the taste (it's also easier to drink, not eat, less palatable items) - there are some higher calorie versions of those. Milkshakes are good too. When my husband was ill and had lost so much weight, these are the foods recommended to him to try to put some weight back on. Unfortunately he didn't really like creamy foods so it was still a struggle.
Bursitis is painful as I know. Many years ago I was told I had bursitis in my heel. I was treated with ultrasonic radio waves in the foot doc's office. This amazingly reduced the fluid and joint pain in the heel and the problem has never returned. Hopefully your pain can be brought under control, the sooner the better. Good food is a must. Can you order in from a restaurant? Alternatively, Kansas City Steak delivers outstanding products and they ship to your home. The prime rib is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteHopefully the treatment comes sooner than later.
ReplyDeleteLast time, I was glad to hear you were getting a hip replacement. This time I'm more glad to hear you don't actually need one. But having to wait for the cortisone is hard, that kind of pain makes normal life impossible, or nearly. glad to hear your daughter will help you shop, those frozen meals are never very nice. I have a few in the summer when it's just too hot to cook and I've had enough of salad. but they really aren't worth what you pay for them.
ReplyDeleteOh such good news that your hip doesn't need replacing. I get bursitis in my shoulders and it hurts like the dickens. Hoorah that you can get your cortisone injection sooner than 6 weeks (I would hope so!!) Although I know you're in pain, the situation will soon be a thing of the past. I loaded up on Marie Callendar's dinners just this evening! They're just about the best tasting of all the frozen dinners. I rely on them because it enables me to fix Robert a different meal each night with no leftovers. Easier on me too as I just don't cook that much anymore. Your post has made me feel much better...
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for all the pain you are having but I'm so glad you don't need a hip replacement. I hope the pain management office will be able to get you in for the shot soon. I sure wish it was possible to get decent frozen meals but I have not found any yet either plus many are very high in sodium.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party. I am very glad that you don't need a hip replacement and even gladder (is that a word) that your pain can be addressed in under six weeks. Frozen meals are so often a travesty. I hope with your daughter's assistance you can find some that you can eat.
ReplyDeleteFrozen junk food- so sorry, ICK! Pain is such a pain!
ReplyDeleteI don't stand and I cook decent food. Maybe some sort of stool you can sit on with wheels and that you can scoot around easily would help until you have had the injection or perhaps daughter can help you batch cook some stuff you like and put it in the freezer for re-heating...another thing you might do is find a physical therapist and ask for some tips on how to relieve that pain ie ice or heat. Good luck with your injection.
ReplyDeleteWe feel for you with the waiting..pirate has to wait three weeks for a phone call to discuss his test results...put back from ten days which was bad enough.
ReplyDeleteHope you can get back to decent real food soon!
Maybe your daughter can cook some decent food for you too. Lots of dishes can be frozen.
ReplyDeleteHip bursitis sounds very painful. Are you able to work out what is causing it? It could be something unexpected like a chair you use. I've had bursitis twice, heel and elbow, both painful. After I'd worked out the causes - back of shoe too stiff and edge of computer desk - they both cleared up on their own in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteI am so very, very glad you don't have to get a hip replacement. No matter how far they've come with the surgery, it is STILL surgery and a sort of carpentry done in the body and that is a lot.
ReplyDeleteThere's got to be a better solution for your meals. There just has to be. This is not just a matter of food-enjoyment. It is your health! As you well know.
So glad you don't have to have the hip replaced and I do hope you get the injection soon. Not being able to stand for long with my own issues, I relate to the frozen food thing. Daughter does prepare tasty meals and freezes them for me. But the bilge of some manufacturers is disheartening.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
Glad you don't need surgery. Hope you can get an appointment sooner for the cortisone shot.
ReplyDeleteSo many of the frozen meals are just not healthy. Glad your daughter is assisting to find you better choices.
Hope you get relief from your pain soon.
Prayers you get relief soon from the pain
ReplyDeleteDelaying an injection that will alleviate pain feels cruel to me. It can take weeks before the shot kicks in.
It took almost a month for my knee injection to produce good results.
Boston Market frozen Sweet & Sour chicken is a replacement for pizza, a real treat for me.
I hope you can get that cortisone shot much sooner. For those in bad pain, they should bump them to the front of the line! For your food, have you considered getting take-out from favorite restaurants and freezing the meals? I did that for my husband. For frozen dinners from the store, he likes Stouffers Lasagna, and the stuffed bell peppers. He likes the Devour brand of frozen dinners as well. And any of the turkey and dressing offerings. We got to get you fattened up!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you don't need surgery and hopefully your clinic can get you booked in quickly for the shot. I hope your daughter can help you find good frozen meals. I keep a small stash of Swansons TV dinners for the very rare times I am alone for a meal. But the portions in them are small too.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear that you don't need hip replacement surgery! And impressed that you found another place to get your cortisone injection without so long a wait. That's great.
ReplyDeleteAs for the cooking problem - we don't use a lot of frozen foods, but since we haven't eaten out in over 2 years, I do get tired of cooking every day. So we have used Marie Callendar's meals and a few Michael Angelo's and Amy's. The boys like MC pub style pot pies and I think her scalloped potatoes and ham. Not the same as home-made, but pretty good. As for gaining back the weight you lost, there's always ice-cream! (not to replace meals though)
I trust this other place can target the injection just as well.?
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the shot. Cortisone shots can be miraculous. I had some in my shoulder once, and the results were amazing. When I went back in for a followup, I told the doctor that the day of the shot, I'd gone home and unloaded a truck load of firewood. He grumped a bit. I said, "Well...you didn't tell me I shouldn't." He said, "Well, I didn't know you were going to be ridiculous."
ReplyDeleteI hope your results are just as miraculous. Side note: don't unload a truck load of firewood. It may not be said, but it is implied.
I've got 10 pounds I can lend you. You don't even need to pay it back! Good luck!
Could your daughter maybe just cook extra of whatever she is having and then you could have it to eat when she gives it to you or you could freeze it.
ReplyDeleteI have gotten tired of my own cooking, so now we pick up some fast food for dinner. Many of the frozen dinners sold in the stores are things that I can only stand to eat occasionally. I will be glad when it gets cool enough to use the oven for roasts and baked potatoes and carrots cooked in with the roast; meat loaf, an pork roasts, baked chicken. I like things that I can cook in the oven and my husband and I have 2 or 3 meals from. I hope you have your cortisone shot soon.
Oh Joanne, I am feeling with you! The good news is that you don't need surgery - the bad one are the pains that can swallow ones energy and joie de vie. I hope they will soon be able to become better! xxx
ReplyDeletehelp you, of course.
DeleteConstant pain is a bit unnerving. Hope you get your shot sooner ratherer than later. Happy you won't need surgery, since the hospital is a scary place nowadays. HeWho needs more work on his heart, but, since he is considered to be stable, we don't want him in a hospital with any covid patients.
ReplyDeleteYes, horrid foods. I won't let G get them. You should be able to bake a potatoe and serve it with lots of butter. You won't lose more weight that way. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better soon. If you lose more weight you'll blow away in a good wind. Marie Callendar's is usually pretty good for frozen cuisine.
ReplyDeleteGood that you don't need a hip replacement. And good that you can get the cortisone injections fairly quickly. Here in the UK there are longer and longer waits to see a consultant or have surgery. The NHS is no longer the envy of the world, it's underfunded and short of staff and giving a generally third rate service.
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, Joanne! I'm so sorry for all the pain you have to suffer. We're having problems here also with COVID patients taking up all the room in hospitals. I hope your daughter will be able to find some good meal offerings for you.
ReplyDeletePeople who don't vaccinate and then say it only affects them, are just stupid. Stump stupid, even. Glad you're not replacing the hip. I had cortisone put in my trochanteric (spelling approximate) bursa. It did help. Hope you're helped, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping you have better food soon!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have something better to eat by now and really hope you don't have to wait six weeks for treatment.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
I'm glad you were able to get an earlier appointment, and I'd be glad to give you a few extra pounds.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had a tv dinner since I can't say when. Maybe 20 years? I sometimes got them for a work lunch when I wanted something hot and easy to prepare. I decided i was better off microwaving a potato and topping it with cheese and veg, so that became a, standard work lunch for awhile.
Some people find protein powders convenient to use and they like them. I am not one, but do have some on hand, again, for an on the go thing or if the power goes out and i need calories right away.
Oh, my. I've missed quite a bit, Joanne. You've moved house!
ReplyDelete