Thread: Bit depressed; advice?(long and whiny)

I've been a ME dancer for more of my life than not. I started this hobby BEFORE my marriage-and we celebrate our 25th next month. I've spent untold amounts of money, time and effort on lessons, workshop, books, DVDs and costumes than I care to think of. I have an upstairs room that is half full of stuff including drums and swords. When I decided to get a tattoo last year my main concern was costuming with it.

That's how much I identify as a dancer, even if it's not my 9-5 job.

15 years ago, I developed an autoimmune disorder and both feet, almost overnight, developed severe arthritis. Many drugs later and I thought I'd have to quit. Fortunately, I found an amazing Podiatric surgeon who rebuilt them both. It meant (between the 2!) a year on crutches, but with a light at the end of the tunnel I got though it and everything was well. That was 6 years ago.

3 years ago I developed pain in my left hip. It started to get bad but I got proactive. I called on both my Rheumatologist (who has been my physician since my Sjogrens was diagnosed) and a Rehab/pain specialist. Rheum. Dr diagnosed degenerative osteoarthritis which would only get worse-I refused to accept it! Rehab Dr. said yes, there's arthritis, but ou you're in your late 40s of course you have some arthritis. She diagnosed a soft tissue injury-difficult to pinpoint what but perhaps the IT band or one of the deep ligaments and sent me to 8 weeks of bi-weekly physical therapy. That and a weight loss helped a lot! The pain never entirely went away, and I lost some mobility, but I could dance and teach (and hike and wear cool shoes).

About 3 months ago the pain became debilitating. I've tried stretching and resting. Heat and cold. Walking with a cane. I even had to have a bone spur scraped off a foot and took 3 weeks off from dancing with no improvement. I have an appt with my rheumatologist, but he can't get me in until JUly 28. It got so bad last week that I called my PCP and begged for a course of steroids. Which helped a lot, but I took my last dose last night and the pain is almost back.

I'm sorry for the length of this. I'm scared. I think that I've got arthritis bad enough to require a hip replacement (at 50!) and I don't think I can dance with one.

Can I? Does anyone know? I'm tempted to go back and delete all the above and just boil it down to this: can I still be a dancer/teacher/performer with an artificial hip or should I start thinking in terms of finding a new hobby (and a new identification).?

Thank-you in advance; can someone cheer me up with good news?

Short answer is, I don't know. But my friend, whose husband is only 50ish, had a double hip replacement a couple of years ago and he is now way more mobile and happy than before. And, I used to dance with a woman who had similar problems, and she had to stop dancing. She replaced it with drumming - she was also a musician in other fields. But her shoulder wouldn't let her, and she stopped that as well. She had a shoulder replacement and when I saw her she said it was just amazing. She is not, that I know of, doing music, but it sounds as if, if she wanted to, she probably could.

Google says most sports are OK after a hip replacement, unless they are really hardcore high impact....

I had a troupie who is still going strong after a hip replacement...6 months off...and she is better than new! I need a knee replacement myself for Ankylosing Spondilitis...coming to grips with this at 54...hang tuff!

People get hip replacements so they CAN do stuff, CAN have a better quality of life, CAN exercise. Good luck!

My husband just had a hip resurfacing done in February. Before that, he was VERY crippled in movement. Now, well, he's gained back all of his mobility.

More importantly, he's not hurting all the time. We'll be taking ballroom lessons together in the fall.

If you have the surgery, pay attention to your physiotherapists. They'll be the ones who really get you up and dancing again. It may take a while before you can do mayas, camels and hip drops/lifts, but you might be amazed at how soon you can move to music again.

Good luck.

Oh! I found this for you...

Dancers Hip Page

I don't see why not, but I'd consult thoroughly with your doctor and/or a physical therapist.

If, for some reason, you end up not being able to dance, you can still be involved in the community. I know it wouldn't be the same and it would be bad at first, but you could coach dancers, vend, produce events, etc. You may even still be able to teach; I've heard of teachers using one person to demo the moves while the teacher goes around, correcting everyone. It may be a good way to start a teacher apprenticeship thing.

Good luck with your health.

Oh, K, I am so very sorry; this royally poops!

Firstly, it's true- replacement joints are supposed to make things work BETTER and often enable people to do things they've been unable to do for years. I'm thinking of one man I know who was barely able to walk for many months before a double hip hip replacement; now he can run.

And I can only offer what I've learned from struggling through illness and disability of other kinds in order to continue in dance:
1. Never give up the creative work you love. Modify, adapt, wait when you must - but DO NOT GIVE UP. When you give up, you're done. When you have not given up, you are damn well NOT done.
2. Adapt, adapt, adapt as you go, and use every adaptation as a creative opportunity. Rather than "I can't do that any more," something more like, "instead of doing that, I'm going to introduce this other interesting and exciting thing I've come up with that works better for me."

As you know I'm in my fifties, and I think from time to time, what will I do when some damn thing happens so I really just can't dance any more? And I do think of things: costume work and jewelry making, which I love, I could do for other dancers . . . zilling with a band . . . organizing events.

We are all mortal and nobody gets to go on forever. But we can squeeze the MOST of the sweet juice out of the lives we get.

I'll be thinking of you. PM me any time if I can help. That includes venting and whining rights.
Rosette

I don't have advice.
I am so sorry you are in so much pain, and going through this!
I hope and pray all will work out for you!
(((Hugs!)))

I'm so sorry that you're going through this!!

I've had students with hip replacements. They were beginners, so it's difficult to say what would have happened if they'd already had skills. The main difficulty I've seen is just a slight difference in range of motion on that side, and it doesn't appear to be related to the new hip so much as the muscles there being very tight post-surgery.

Post-surgical muscle stiffness, in general (judging from my gentle yoga students who've had heart surgery) seems to vary tremendously by individual. Those whose doctors advised them to remain immobile for a long time after surgery, and those who are generally stiff, tense individuals seem to lose the most range of motion. Those whose doctors encourage activity as soon as possible after surgery, and whose bodies tend to be softer/more flexible to begin with have a full, glorious range of motion, as if they'd never had surgery.

I hope you're able to get through this and still dance!

p.s. People I've known who've had shoulder and/or hip replacements mostly have said 'wow, this is amazing, I wish I'd done it years ago!'

(unlike knees and backs, which doctors don't seem to be able to fix quite yet. Take care of your knees and back!!!!)

A friend of ours has a degenerative bone disease, and had to have a hip replacement at only 37 years old. He was a snowboarder before his hip started to go, and now with his replacement hip he's on the slopes boarding again - according to him, as good as new.

If all goes right, you will be dancing again! It is hard to see the light through the pain but it is there. If the pain is consistent, you may also want to see someone who specializes in pain management, they can do a world of good psychologically.

Unless they put you in a wheel chair, I wouldn't give up. And good luck to you, the absolute best.