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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Oh, the irony.

I got my age group award plaque from Rock 'n Roll in the mail today. I went ahead and propped it up by the crutch I relied on for the past month.

So, how've you guys been? Missing my miserable injury, reinjury, and new injury recaps? Of course you have been. I got hurt again and took a break until I had a sort-of diagnosis.

Briefly, I was having a STELLAR week of training - killed my track workout, knocked out a perfect progression long run, had a lovely yoga stretch day that made me feel 10 years younger - when I got hurt. The week ended in Atlanta, visiting friends, and I jumped in a 5k kind of last minute. I wanted to test my fitness, and this race had a gift card for overall winners and a history of slow winners :)
Looking back, I can identify weird hip and groin pain during the race warmup, but I didn't pay attention then. Mile two of the race I suddenly stumbled in excruciating groin pain! But I was winning the women's race, so I plugged/limped on to a pathetic 20:xx win. I wanted that gift card! And I paid for it by being totally incapable of walking by the end of the day. In fact, as soon as I got home from my trip, I borrowed crutches and called my doctor. He told me stay off it, it was almost certainly a pelvic or femoral neck stress fracture and pretty serious.
Smiling right after the race, before my hip completely called it quits 
Well, it took so long to try to get an appointment with my regular sports doctor, that I ended up seeing a different doctor: Wade Van Sice, a hip specialist. He's great! And I'm glad I went. He suggested a hip labral tear and did a steroid injection, plus MRI.
I do indeed have a hip labral tear on my MRI, but Dr. Van Sice is not sure that's the cause of my pain. The steroid did not help the pain, and some people run on labral tears with no problem. He put me on a trial of gabapentin (an anti-seizure medication generally used for neuropathic pain) to see if perhaps there was nerve / spine involvement.
A week into my course of gabapentin, and I'm 50% better. He's probably right! His interpretation of the situation is that I may have had this torn labrum for a very long time (it may have caused last year's lingering thigh pain, and is almost certainly my REAL diagnosis for groin pain, not osteitis pubis!). The tear on the MRI may be an artifact - old, not a source of new pain at all. Or it could be worsened, and I could have two sources of pain right now: nerve, and labrum.

So where am I now?
- Have to schedule MRI of spine to look for pinched nerve or compression
- If negative, will discuss surgery to repair labral tear. It's basically the only treatment, but Dr. Van Sice isn't positive I'll do well with surgery based on position and condition of labrum.
- My activity is limited by pain: ie, do whatever you can and still tolerate pain. Now that I'm on gabapentin, I've actually felt much better, so much so that I've gone on a few runs. I do still feel the area (I definitely do!) but it's not very bad and it isn't causing a limp.
- "Competitive running" is over and done for me. I mean speedwork, long runs, races - that's history. I'm ok with that. I was getting slower and slower anyway. Now I just want to be able to tool around the park for some fresh air.
- I miss everyone. All the running bloggers. All my real life running friends. My running group. It's time to get back, even if I'm just hanging out and not running.

So that's my story. I'll keep you updated. Have a beautiful weekend!

33 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry you've gone through all this! I think there's a lot to be said for tooling around in the park (but you are so talented, it makes me sad you are giving up racing. I know you don't have much of a choice...). Hoping you get the pain managed and recover quickly. Take care. :)

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    1. Thanks, Marie. Right now just a three mile park run feels wonderful and it satisfying enough - hopefully my attitude towards that won't change!

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  2. Yes. I have most certainly been missing your posts, Gracie.
    What a way to go out of a race. I am sure you are all sorts of frustrated.
    In a way, you must be relieved to know what the source of all the pain for so many months was, but not to the tune of not running how you like to.
    Would you consider surgery that can improve the tear? ~> http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4527645

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    1. Yes. We'll consider it once we rule out spinal cord issues. I'll do whatever I need to to recover even though surgery isn't really something I want!

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  3. I was worried about you! So sorry to hear about your injury but having a good doctor makes all the difference! Boo to injury but glad you are back to blogging! And hope you have your shower back too. :)

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  4. A couple of things...first, I had a labral tear but compounded with dysplastic hips (all of this unbeknownst to me until a year ago) it all degenerated to severe osteoarthritis and led to a total hip replacement one month ago. Good for you for getting some imaging and a seemingly sound diagnosis early in the game... unlike me. Second, a really good friend of mine (and a blogger...runningforbling) had labral surgery a year ago and is now setting huge PR's and running pain-free. Good luck with all of it.

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    1. Thank you for the link! I read a few threads on Letsrun and RW forums that were all bad outcomes, so it's refreshing to see the other side. Great reading. Thanks.

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    2. And...get well! Please! You must have a high pain tolerance to get to that point without a diagnosis - I couldn't even put weight on this thing and it's just the labrum.

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    3. Thanks! I definitely went through periods where it was almost unbearable. In 2007, I wanted to die because of the pain. I seriously went around literally dragging my leg behind me wearing slippers because no shoes were comfortable. I pretty much cried and was majorly stress all the time. So fun to be my family :( Good times ahead!!!! :)

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  5. Gracie- what on the world?! I have not been on top of things in the blog community but was excited to see you racing again. I'm sorry your 5k victory ended up with crutches and a doctors visit. I'm glad you got a diagnosis and this new dr. seems to know what is going on and how to treat you. I hope your healing is fast and complete!!

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    1. :) Thanks. I do like the new doc. At least he's not condescendingly calling me a hypochondriac like the last guy.

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  6. Hello Gracie - so sorry to read this.
    I hope the path ahead is filled with new hobbies, new adventures, and most of all "healing."

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  7. Hi Gracie, I still read blog though no longer blog. Sorry about the injury saga. I really like this doctor and his conservative approach. You can always find someone to do surgery, as this is how surgeons get paid, so I really like how cautious this doctor is, and how he is not operating to fix something that might not be the cause of the pain. Running is more than racing and getting fast, and I am sure you'll be able to adjust to whatever comes your way! Good luck!

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    1. I like that, too! If I'm going to have surgery, I want to be 100% sure it's necessary.

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  8. Wow, that is a wild turn of events. Hopefully you are able to heal up, and figure out exactly what caused all this. And hopefully you can get back out running again, even if it's just casually. Not sure that I would rule out races right now, over time if you become 100% - never know.

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    1. I might do a casual race, just to complete - for example, the Greek Fest race comes with free entry to the Greek Fest, and it's a great way to kick off the fest - but I wouldn't race it.

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  9. I have been wondering where you are as I noticed you hadn't posted in awhile. What a huge bummer. I hope they get to the bottom of the issue and that you are back to full health soon. It's funny how having a prolonged absence from a sport like running shifts your perspective. I thought my life was over (ok that's dramatic) when my doctor said no more marathons but after 10 months of 0 miles, I am very thankful that I can run 6 pain free. I hope you get back to that point soon.

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    1. Absolutely! I haven't been running marathons or even high milage in quite awhile, so that helps - now just making 3 miles is a treat.

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  10. Stupid stupid injury. You know, I would rather be slow and happy and still running at this point than push too hard and get injured. I'm sorry Gracie. I think you have the right plan here...heal up, and then yes! tool around in the park, go on those happy endorphin filled runs that make you want more life but not too hard that keep you from enjoying life. Glad for the update.

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    1. Exactly. Running is no longer fun when it's causing multiple injuries!

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  11. So many hugs and sympathies. I think we may have parallel running futures, and hearing your content attitude helps remind me that running is happiness no matter how fast we get to go.

    Looking forward to your updates, don't leave us hanging! I am just as interested in your injury updates and discoveries as the ole running and race recaps.

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    1. Thanks so much for the sympathy! Hope we both get a firm diagnosis soon and a clearer picture of the future...right now my $$$ deductible is clouding my crystal ball.

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  12. Well, that really really really sucks. :(

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  13. UGH!!!! So sorry, girl. I hope you find the answers you need soon and can get fixed ASAP. Big hugs!

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  14. Oh no! I'm so sorry this has happened...I hurt my back a few years ago and my doc told me that maybe I shouldn't run anymore. I was devastated and it seemed like a quick answer versus trying out some options. Hope it gets figured out and you can work out something that fits your life...and hopefully no surgery!

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  15. I bet I would love NOLA Jazzfest, I just went to the main site and I saw a pic of Trombone Shorty on the front page lol! He killed it at Coachella. Also saw that Preservation Hall Jazz Band were playing, they were awesome at Coachella too. Seems like it is mainly jazz the majority of the day, then at night they have acts of all kinds? Public Enemy? Phish? Cowboy Mouth? Christina Aguilera? I know I would have a good time there!

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    1. It's all kinds of music, just at different stages (gospel stage, acura stage, shell stage, etc). I've only been once and I live here! But Trombone Shorty does other local acts, too, of course, so I've heard him a few times. So good.

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  16. Oh no - so sorry to hear that. I'm glad you found a doctor who seems to know what's up. Hang in there, and I'm looking forward to your updates.

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  17. lol okay glad it isn't just my mind playing tricks on me with the big wallet! I didn't mention this in my post, but my right ankle has also been hurting just a bit - I was thinking that maybe it was related to my wallet as well, so hopefully it improves now. I also just bought another new wallet that is tiny, so hopefully it improved lol

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  18. Ugh! While that sucks, it's great to have a(nother) plan of attack. I'm glad you won't struggle with it mentally and hey, at least you went out with a win?

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  19. Sorry to hear about the pain / injury (seriously, I *REALLY* feel you on that) and that you're done with "competitive" running, but on the other hand, it must be a relief to have someone tell you something definitive. Glad you're still able to do some running without risking further damage!

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