Hip Pain

First the good news: Last week Doug had his regular (four times a year) checkup with Dr. Myers, his oncologist. The MM panel shows no MM protein in the blood. Yea! Still in remission. Praise God.

Now the hip pain. Since last June or before, Doug has had intermittant left hip pain. He tried a series of chiropractic treatments which did not help. He tried a series of four accupuncture treatments in July, which did help for several weeks, but the pain came back. It seemed to come and go, depending on how much Doug was on his feet.
His regular doc prescribed physical therapy, which did not help. Finally in early October she ordered plain x-rays of the low back, hip and pelvis - results were negative.
The pain not only continues but is worse. Doug is taking oxycodone 7 mg. If he sits or lies down for a time, the pain goes away, but resumes if he is on his feet.

 This last Monday, the doc ordered a CT scan. Now, finally, we got an indication of what might be causing the pain. The scan shows "multiple irregular areas of demineralization." Basically thinning bone. There are several areas of lesions on the hip and proximal femur ranging in size from 1.5 cm to 3.8 cm. The usual contrast could not be given due to Doug's 'abnormal kidney function' (it has been stable for quite a while).

Tomorrow we have an appointment for a consult with an orthopod in a neighboring town.