It's been awhile

This is my first post in a few days. I am in the process of switching high speed carriers and I am using dial up for a few days and my phone has been on the blink. Anyway much of the same going on. I am still waiting to hear from my attorney about my Social security claim. And I still am full of aches and pains. I am really getting tired of sitting around waiting for other people to decide my future. Social Security denying me time after time. My surgeon pushing to have me to have my hips replaced. I know that I am not the only one in the world with problems, but, when I think anybody really can't care a whole lot about other people when faced with so many of their own!

Definitions

I guess that I have been calling the disease that I have by different names. That's because there is several names for the disease and although that can be confusing to people as it was to me at first, all of the names that I refer to in this blog are really about one disease and not multiple diseases except for the arthritis that I have.

The most popular name for my disease is Avascular Necrosis. It is also called by the names of Osteo Necrosis, Aseptic Necrosis, and probaly many others that I don't know about. It all boils down to basically the same meaning, which is bone death!

Good Day

Monday was a relatively good day for me. I mean pain and ache wise. I tend to decide whether I had a good day by whether or not the pain is bad or if it is bearable. I think that since I have arthritis along with the main disease that my arthritis is better when the weather is warmer outside. I still had my aches and pains,but, they were better!
Woke up and my telephone service was out. I have had a lot of problems with my telephone and SBC is perhaps the worst company that I have ever had dealings with. They just can't seem to fix my phone so that it works correctly. This is the 5th problem I have had with my phone in the last 2 months. And when you are practically bedridden your telephone means everything to you. It is your contact with the world. Having someone call you just to see how you are feeling that day means so much. It's like you still are connected to the world. I had to call SBC repair today and of course they politely told me that my phone would be fixed by June 9th. Seems like a long time to me, but, I have come to expect really poor service from them and have switched my phone service to another provider. Hopefully the switch is made soon!!

New Post

Having a pretty good day so far. Pain and aches are tolerable. Even though that can change in a heart beat.

I applied for Social Security disability in Nov. 2002 and I have been turned down twice.I am at the point where I go before the judge and then hopefully I will receive the benefits I am entitled to. It is hard to live for over 2 years without bringing home a paycheck.
I try to keep my spirits up and mind off of what I know the future holds. Multiple operations and rehab is not my idea of fun! So I try not to think about. I have to schedule a physical therapy appointment so that my doctor can figure out what type of support equipment I need. I guess I will do that Monday.

New Post

I should give a little background on how I contracted the disease. About 10 years ago I had double pneumonia and was placed on many medications to fight it. There were antibiotics, pain medicine, and for me the most horrific medicine out there prednisone.I was discharged from the hospital and had difficulty breathing over the next several weeks. Then the pesky pneumonia bug raised it's head about 1 month after I had contracted it the 1st time. Of course this meant more antibiotics, pain medicine, and another round with that killer prednisone!!!!

Unfortunately as they say, I won the battle, but, lost the war! Although there are many causes of avascular necrosis, prednisone and other steroid type medicines are the major cause of this disease.

My life is now full of pain and depression. A typical day for me is getting up whenever I just happen to wake up. I could sleep for 3 hours or 20 hours depending on how much pain medicine and other medication I have had that day. I wake up every day so stiff from arhritis(another complication from the disease) that instead of feeling 39, I feel 90! I have to take my pain medication (morphine and methadone) and my arthritis medication(lotrel) and lay in bed for several hours just to be able to get relieved of some of the stiffness and pain. I can't do anything physically demanding like bend over or walk very far without my hips throbbing and sending shooting pain up my back and into my neck. Just taking a shower leaves me so physically tired I have to rest for 15 minutes or so afterwards.

I am going to try and update this blog as much as I can, but, hopefully everyone will be understanding if I miss a day or two. Till next time.......

Hello

My name is Roger and I am a 39 year old male that has osteonecrosis of both hips. If you don't know what osteonecrosis is I will explain it the best way I can.
Osteonecrosis is a disease of the bones that comes from a part of the bone not being supplied with blood for a period of time. This causes the area of the bone involved to die. The word osteonecrosis literally means bone death!!!
Unfortunately not alot is known about the disease. It is estimated that 15 to 20 thousand people a year get the disease. There are different ways to get the disease, alcohol abuse,steroid use and other causes. My doctor thinks mine was caused by steroids that I took when I was being treated for severe pnuemonia.

I think I have been in the advanced stages of the disease for a few years now. Living life with constant pain is not my ideal of fun. See you later