Bursitis, anyone?

Katybug

Katybug

Senior Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
I've seen 10 or so doctors today -- not kidding, but only because I was working a very small catered event. Small in that I was the only person helping other than the lady washing dishes. I small-talk chatted w/those who may have been able to help, but wouldn't have dared asked free advice. I've heard complaints all too often.

My dr diagnosed it a few mos ago by pushing in on what almost sent me through the roof, but it's never been as bad as today. I can barely walk. I haven't done anything that could have caused anything differently, tho it seems to be behind my knee cap instead of in front.

Anyone else been through this...and any suggestions as to what to do for relief other than OTC meds and icing? It's warm, swollen and only hurts when I stand on it. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
 

I would suggest taking the supplement MSM (Methyl-sulfonyl-methane) on a daily basis. I don't have bursitis, but I use Natural Factors brand, 1,000 mg capsules, for pain resulting from inflammation. You can also try a good quality DMSO cream, applied topically. Just be sure that the skin is clean and free from chemicals, bacteria, etc. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART00325/Bursitis.html
 
Thanks, it's definitely inflammation, SB. Can't wait for a tad of relief.
 

Commiserations Katy, I'm crippled up with fibromyalgia at the moment, started yesterday and usually lasts 2 to 3 days so your misery has company at least. A lot rave about that MSM, I haven't tried it, should have perhaps, just never got a roundtuit.
 
Another thing that may help Katybug is quinine, either from tonic water or supplement. Di, a friend of mine, elderly gal, got great results from using the Magnesium Malate that I sent her to try for her Fibro. It was the Source Naturals brand, big horse pills, but she had no complaints about swallowing them.
 
Diwundrin said:
Commiserations Katy, I'm crippled up with fibromyalgia at the moment, started yesterday and usually lasts 2 to 3 days so your misery has company at least. A lot rave about that MSM, I haven't tried it, should have perhaps, just never got a roundtuit.
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Let's both try it, Di. Can't make it any worse than it is! My heart goes out, as a close friend is beyond consolation w/pain from fibromyalgia. It's far more challenging than what I'm going through.
 
SeaBreeze said:
Another thing that may help Katybug is quinine, either from tonic water or supplement. Di, a friend of mine, elderly gal, got great results from using the Magnesium Malate that I sent her to try for her Fibro. It was the Source Naturals brand, big horse pills, but she had no complaints about swallowing them.
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Just added it to my list of your earlier suggestion. I appreciate your response.
 
Katybug said:
Let's both try it, Di. Can't make it any worse than it is! My heart goes out, as a close friend is beyond consolation w/pain from fibromyalgia. It's far more challenging than what I'm going through.
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Okay Katy, well team up on it... presuming I can even find it now. Like Jilly I bought the powderd form and it's vanished into the pantry or a drawer somewhere. It's in quite a big bag so should find it ok.

My fibro has hit me in the back of the hips this time so it's literally a pain in the arse.
 
Di and Jilly.....I hope the MSM works for you.....don't know if you remember but I bought some after Barry recommended it on SHS, took it religiously for around 6 months......no help to me.....but who knows, it might help you.
I've had my back,leg and hip pain for over 7 years now, no-one can actually pinpoint what the problem is.....the latest physio I'm seeing at the hospital reckons mine comes from my lower back region and she can fix it.....yeah!! I've been told that before and I'm still waiting.
They've diagnosed everything from bursitis, piriformis syndrome, osteoarthritis,sciatica and now lower back.....think they've just about covered everything and they still don't know.....xrays,MRI,scans,natural therapies,cortisone injection into hip, nothing worked.
I'm at the stage where I'm thinking I'm stuck with it whatever it is, at least it won't kill me eh?:indecisiveness:
 
dbeyat45 said:
Commiserations KB. I had inflammation of the hip bursar a couple of years ago but it went away of its own accord .... thankfully.
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With any luck, dbey, mine will do the same. When my dr diagnosed it, I was just asking since I was there on a more pressing matter. There was no pain at the time 'til she pushed on my lower knee. She made no suggestions for relief, as she always does -- so I guess we deal w/it as best we can.
 
Have you tried any of the OTC "sports" creams like Icy Hot, or the patches? I know they're probably not strong enough to do the job, but it's just a thought ...
 
Casper said:
Di and Jilly.....I hope the MSM works for you.....don't know if you remember but I bought some after Barry recommended it on SHS, took it religiously for around 6 months......no help to me.....but who knows, it might help you.
I've had my back,leg and hip pain for over 7 years now, no-one can actually pinpoint what the problem is.....the latest physio I'm seeing at the hospital reckons mine comes from my lower back region and she can fix it.....yeah!! I've been told that before and I'm still waiting.
They've diagnosed everything from bursitis, piriformis syndrome, osteoarthritis,sciatica and now lower back.....think they've just about covered everything and they still don't know.....xrays,MRI,scans,natural therapies,cortisone injection into hip, nothing worked.


I'm at the stage where I'm thinking I'm stuck with it whatever it is, at least it won't kill me eh?:indecisiveness:
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I am so sorry for what you're going through, Casper, makes me feel bad for even complaining. I'm nowhere near where you are in discomfort. But at one time I was in a hell of a mess and could get no relief from my dr after many, many visits. He was obviously frustrated he couldn't diagnose it on his own and told me..."it obviously won't kill you." Why wouldn't a respectable dr reach out for x-rays of some sort when a patient had symptoms for 7 mos? Do they hate to admit they can't just pluck a diagnosis out of the air?! I changed dr's -- to a female, I might add -- and got an MRI ordered that day. I was on the surgeon's table later that same wk with what he called a badly ruptured cervical/neck disk that should have been taken care of much sooner. To this day, 10 yrs later, I have radiating nerve burning in my wrist....all because that blankety-blank dr wouldn't order an MRI for me....and his words..."it's not going to kill you." aaarrrgghhh!!!! So I hate you are feeling that way, Casper, the way this dr wanted me to feel. Let's keep on hoping for relief for you as well.
 
Cas have you seen a podiatrist or someone who can assess your walking style? I got rid of that particular brand of lower hip and leg pain by using arch supports and as soon as my feet and stance straightened up the pain went away. You may have one foot that 'rolls' slightly, it doesn't take much misalignment to transfer the strain up the leg and into the knee and/or hip. I went that track of all kinds of gurus doing expensive technological whizzbangery and finally found a 20 buck pair of support insoles cured it!

Check the wear pattern on the soles of the shoes you wear most and if it isn't even, and very close to identical on both then it may pay to check out if your feet are causing the problem. When mine were checked it showed all the wear was down the outer edges of the soles, one more than t'uther.
 
Phantom said:
If you can pin point where the pain is then your Dr can give you cortisone injection

Works for me
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Since it wasn't active when I was last there, it wasn't mentioned. At this point I am in major limp mode, so if Sunday with a day of R & R/and ice doesn't do it, I hope she'll agree on that. Thx!
 
Diwundrin said:
Cas have you seen a podiatrist or someone who can assess your walking style? I got rid of that particular brand of lower hip and leg pain by using arch supports and as soon as my feet and stance straightened up the pain went away. You may have one foot that 'rolls' slightly, it doesn't take much misalignment to transfer the strain up the leg and into the knee and/or hip. I went that track of all kinds of gurus doing expensive technological whizzbangery and finally found a 20 buck pair of support insoles cured it!

Check the wear pattern on the soles of the shoes you wear most and if it isn't even, and very close to identical on both then it may pay to check out if your feet are causing the problem. When mine were checked it showed all the wear was down the outer edges of the soles, one more than t'uther.
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Thanks, Di. What is the brand of support insoles that worked for you? Bursitis aside, I have the worst feet in the world and I swear it's because I'm convinced the padding of them wear off w/age. Dr says not, that she has feet like mine, needs support, and she's young enough to be my daughter. Whatever, I want the best support I can get, something as good as you're using.
 
Diwundrin said:
Cas have you seen a podiatrist or someone who can assess your walking style? I got rid of that particular brand of lower hip and leg pain by using arch supports and as soon as my feet and stance straightened up the pain went away. You may have one foot that 'rolls' slightly, it doesn't take much misalignment to transfer the strain up the leg and into the knee and/or hip. I went that track of all kinds of gurus doing expensive technological whizzbangery and finally found a 20 buck pair of support insoles cured it!

Check the wear pattern on the soles of the shoes you wear most and if it isn't even, and very close to identical on both then it may pay to check out if your feet are causing the problem. When mine were checked it showed all the wear was down the outer edges of the soles, one more than t'uther.
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You know Di.....that thought went through my mind much earlier in the piece, before I saw some of these so-called "gurus"....I know the outer edge of both shoes (heels) wear much more than the rest of the sole.
That may be just worthwhile investigating....we have a foot clinic right across the road from here and I can get a referral from my GP for them....I'll definitely look into that as I've just about tried everything else.
Thanks for jogging my memory on that.:thankyou:
 
Orthoheels Katy but there are other brands and you may have to check out a few to find the best for you. They are misnamed as the ones I get include the arch support and taper to end just behind the ball of the foot.
They need to be firm moulded ones though, the gel ones just make it worse.
 
Katybug said:
I am so sorry for what you're going through, Casper, makes me feel bad for even complaining. I'm nowhere near where you are in discomfort. But at one time I was in a hell of a mess and could get no relief from my dr after many, many visits. He was obviously frustrated he couldn't diagnose it on his own and told me..."it obviously won't kill you." Why wouldn't a respectable dr reach out for x-rays of some sort when a patient had symptoms for 7 mos? Do they hate to admit they can't just pluck a diagnosis out of the air?! I changed dr's -- to a female, I might add -- and got an MRI ordered that day. I was on the surgeon's table later that same wk with what he called a badly ruptured cervical/neck disk that should have been taken care of much sooner. To this day, 10 yrs later, I have radiating nerve burning in my wrist....all because that blankety-blank dr wouldn't order an MRI for me....and his words..."it's not going to kill you." aaarrrgghhh!!!! So I hate you are feeling that way, Casper, the way this dr wanted me to feel. Let's keep on hoping for relief for you as well.
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Thanks Katy.....I'm glad you've found another GP.....sadly, not all doctors are caring but my GP (female) has been fantastic, very sympathetic to my pain and really trying to get to the bottom of this wretched pain.....if she orders an MRI it will cost me heaps as I don't have private health insurance and the government doesn't cover pensioners MRIs unless they're ordered by a specialist. She recently referred me to outpatients at the public hospital hoping I'd see a specialist and he would then order an MRI, but unfortunately, for some reason I ended up in the Physio department of the hospital which my GP and me were not very impressed with......been down that road before.
I think I'll try the Podiatrist as Di suggested.....can't do any harm.:dunno:

 
Parts of this discussion remind me of my T'ai-Chi classes and how I taught beginners the "Stride and Stance" basics. Heavier people tend to walk with their feet pointed out, duck-like, while skinny people and those with certain hip problems tend to pronate or roll inward.

I taught how to point the feet straight ahead, heel/toe movement and straightening / elongating the spine. It isn't always easy to learn, though, especially after a lifetime of doing it the wrong way and not even being aware of it.
 
Diwundrin said:
Here's a link to an ad, the price has sure gone up lately. The top ones pictured are what I use, I think, mine are brown, but they look the same. It shows a diagram of foot misalignment too.

http://www.badbacks.com.au/shop/product/1595/243/orthaheel-everyday-orthotics
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Thanks for that info, Di. DH has problems with what I think might be sciatica, and we notice his shoes aren't 'worn' evenly, if that makes sense. Hopefully some type of support sole would help him with that.
 
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