Hip Replacement Because Of Wegener's

[Chadwyck]

Hello everyone, I'm back! This may seem like the odd story but I can't believe I survived so many secondary issues as a result of Wegener's.

So, as of March 2011, I'm finally in remission from Wegener's that's the good news. The bad part was during my treatment last year, it was the last week of November 2010 I noticed I was having a hard time walking on my left side. This was 4 days after my 4th treatment with cyclophosphamide and prednisone. At first we thought it was my body reacting to "coming off prednisone" which was totally false! It was in fact, being on prednisone at 60mg for the first 30 days last year in addition to my thalassemia low hemoglobin which triggered the early damage to my hip joint.

Well the good news is I have an upgraded left hip. After getting my hip "renovated", LOL I am doing much better. I still use the crutches, however, it's now temporary considering the problem is now fixed. What a loonnnnng journey this is. I didn't realize so many newer complications could occur as a result of Wegener's. But hey, I'm the Canadian trooper for this. :biggrin1: I promised I would keep you all in the loop so here it is. I'm still off work until further notice so I'll be back peeps!

Chadwyck

[Al]

Well the good news is I have an upgraded left hip. After getting my hip "renovated", LOL I am doing much better. I still use the crutches, however, it's now temporary considering the problem is now fixed. What a loonnnnng journey this is. I didn't realize so many newer complications could occur as a result of Wegener's. But hey, I'm the Canadian trooper for this. I promised I would keep you all in the loop so here it is. I'm still off work until further notice so I'll be back peeps!


Good report, Chad. Hobble, f you need to, but keep on truckin'! Interesting, though. I woke up in the middle of last night with a sore hip and I got to wondering about you. Doesn't mean that I want to follow in your footsteps...!

Al

[HopeinTN]

Glad to hear you are doing well!

[Chadwyck]

Thanks Al. No, don't follow these footsteps... not a good idea. :tongue1: I just find it weird that a major surgery like a hip replacement is in the picture just because of prednisone. The doctors who got the news were stunned, especially that I'm not even 40 yet.

[Chadwyck]

Thanks HopeinTN! Yep, I'm going to do what ever it takes to get past this.

[Dryhill]

Glad to hear things are on the up for you Chadwyck and especially that you are so positive about things. :thumbsup:

[drz]

Glad you are doing better and making progress toward recovery. The one thing we all learn from this forum is that GPA and the side effects of its treatment can be very varied and unpredictable. I guess we can never assume any part of our body is safe.



Thanks Al. No, don't follow these footsteps... not a good idea. :tongue1: I just find it weird that a major surgery like a hip replacement is in the picture just because of prednisone. The doctors who got the news were stunned, especially that I'm not even 40 yet.

[Chadwyck]

This is something I started questioning recently... is GPA, (Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis) the new name for Wegener's??? I sometimes get it mixed up with Microscopic Polyangiitis, MPA.

[drz]

This is something I started questioning recently... is GPA, (Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis) the new name for Wegener's??? I sometimes get it mixed up with Microscopic Polyangiitis, MPA.

Yep, it seems official since I had to resign my consent form for the longitudinal study for GPA. The old form read Wegener's so Mayo and other places doing the study must have made the name change. Still have yet to see it on my medical reports or insurance claim reports but maybe next one will have the GPA diagnosis.

[Sangye]

Congratulations, Chadwyck! I hope your hip works well for many years to come. :thumbsup:

[Al]

This is something I started questioning recently... is GPA, (Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis) the new name for Wegener's??? I sometimes get it mixed up with Microscopic Polyangiitis, MPA.

Actually, Chad, GPA and MPA are pretty much identical (and just as evil) twins. But those who name these things are kind of chagrined that Herr Wegener was a rather big-time Nazi. So the idea is to take away the honorific. Personally, I just make the observation that it doesn't matter all that much now; the guy is dead in any case.

Al