Plot twist

Things have taken another interesting turn for me and have shaken and stirred everything up. But now the dust is settling and I can breathe easy again, I hope! To summarize, I am still running but am unable to get past 1-1.3 miles. My legs simply quit at that point. It isn't the pain that is stopping me (I can mentally block that for a good while) but just purely muscle fatigue. It isn't the same thing as they're "weak" because my muscles are now nice and toned and can harden right up, but plain and simple they just quit working. Then the aches and pains really start. So, besides that I'm still planning to do the Fun Run in October.

A few weeks ago I had a really bad sharp pain in my symphysis pubis when my cat pushed off my lap. It happened a few times with that and a few times with twisting movements. My right SI joint also felt/feels awfully painful, like I need to shift it or pop it, and the pain feels like it's ripping apart sometimes. So since the pubic pain was new, I called Dr. Z about it. He was curious about this and said it's enough to prompt him to order inflammatory blood tests on me. If it's not an inflammatory condition then it's definately malalignment. Blood work was done right away, and a few days later, I got the call that a test called HLA B27 is positive. This is a genetic marker for a rheumatoid disease called ankylosing spondylitis, or AS. Basically it is an inflammatory arthritis that eventually fuses the spine and SI joints, while also affecting the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles. I then had to see my rheumatologist to determine if I really do have AS, and if so, can I still have surgery on my hip?

The rheumatologist is the same who diagnosed my EDS and hypermobility. He eased my worries by telling me that although I have the symptoms of AS, the signs are not there yet (no sacroiliitis on xray, nor spurring or bambooing of the spine). But, if my back/SI pain persists or worsens, then we need to get a CT and/or bone scan because these are more sensitive than xrays, and usually damage takes a long time to show up. Once that happens, then we talk about treatment. But that's another blog, another time.
He said that even if I had active AS, he would/will still clear me for surgery. So the hip scope is still a go.

Dr. Z is fine with it but does want me to come down before surgery to have a pelvic ultrasound. At first it sounded like we would be doing a pubic symphysis injection and rectus femoris and SI joint injection too. But now I'm not sure. This new twist in events has got all of us with our panties in a bunch. I had a pretty long and serious heart to heart with Dr. Z. Beyond him being unhappy that AS could be in the picture, he is worried what he's going to find in the hip and he's worried he's going to make it worse.

Last, I finally confessed I saw Dr. T about my miserable malalignment and the recommendation was for the derotation of the femur and tibias. I wanted to mention this to him because the rheumy felt most of my pain really is from my malalignment. Dr. Z was actually very cool about it. He is glad I saw Dr. T since he is one of the best in the country for derotations. As he put it, two heads are better than one and getting second opinions is a good thing. I mentioned wanting to stick with him (Dr. Z) for the derotations if I ultimately decide to go that route, but....Dr. Z deferred and told me I really should have Dr. T perform that surgery. He told me that if he or his wife were going to have that done that he'd want Dr. T to do it over anyone else.

But, as for now, I've got 4 weeks left before my run and 5 weeks before my scope. I'm very busy, busy, busy in the coming weeks! Lots of changes, lots of news, and lots of self reflection to decide what's going to be best for me in the long run.