hello, I am 49 and was diagnosed with trochanteric bursitis few months ago. I have started with strong pain on the upper outer side of my thight list January and after several attempts following MRI results I was prescribed with Cymbalta 60mg/day. I am on this medication (+ sulpadol) since March 2014. I also underwent to a nerve block procedure on April 23, 2014. I had physio agopunture and muscle stimulation. Although the pain has slighltly dininished, I am still experiencing discomfort. I work as Sr Engineer and spend most of my day at my desk. walk in the evening and doingo some exercising when I have time......
I have recently moved to UK from Ireland (were I received treatment indicated above) and was wondering if there is anything else that I should do to help with resolution of this problem.
thank you in advance
regards
Monica
hi Monica
very interested to read your post and the fact that you were put on cymbalta. I also have trochanteric bursitis and the pain has been getting worse. I was on cymbalta 60mg/day also, but for depression not for the bursitis. how odd. is your cymbalta also called duloxetine?
i'm now on a lower dose of cymbalta (duloxetine) and i wonder if that is why my pain has increased?
hello
that's could be a possibility..... I have tried to stop cymbalta as it mwas givinh me some problem with my liver however I had so many side effect .... including increasing of pain so I had to start again. I logged on a couple of forum and red that stopping or even reducing cymbalta is a complete hell in term of pain and other effects I am still wondering on why my GP in Ireland put me on this medication without advicing me of this.... anyway i guess it is too late now to wonder. For sure I am looking for a better solution to either treatient the bursitis (which is still there) and to get rid of this treatment which is giving me so many problems......
i've been offered an injection of steroid and anaesthetic. due to have that in a couple of weeks' time.
wondering if there are any types of cushions / supports that you could attach to your chair at work which might help?
hello,
I had epidurl injection with steroid and anestetic last may,unfortunatelly it did not work GP said I may undergo to another one but have to waith another couple of months before that ......hopefully :-)
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Hello Monica. Have you been feeling better now? I can see you're an educated woman so I wonder why didn't you question your dr. about the prescription of an antidepressant to treat hip inflammation. As you know cymbalta is an serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor i.e an anti depressant. On the other hand the condition you have, trocanteritis, is an inflammation. If you need mood enhancers it would be better to opt for St John's Wort (for serotonin) and a good Vitamin B complex + mineral (not forgetting Zinc) and supplement with extra Magnesium and Glucosamine (better with Chondroitin). Women in "middle age" have hormonal imbalances and on their own they generate many physical problems and "myalgias". You should check your hormones. It's likely they're imbalanced. Perhaps Oral Micronized Progesterone (OMP) would also help you sleep (the lack of which causes fibromyalgia for eg.) and a bit of bioidentical estradiol. But your hormones should be checked. A "myalgia" without inflammation, tough, is not the same as trocanteritis which causes pain but has indeed an underlying inflammation.
In fact have a look at anarticle that came out on the Guardian on how "Anti-inflammatory-drugs-could-fight-depression-immune-disorders".
Isn't this curious? So inflammation causes depression not the other way around.
Following an anti inflammatory (excluding dairy or in small amounts organic only but no milk, no wheat, etc, etc) is appropriate. Also, besides of getting you "middle age" ailments addressed with proper support from hormones and nutrients trocantheritis must be treated with adequate physical therapy and for as long as it takes. In my view rotating several methods is better. Troncanther pain/inflammation many times also causes lower back pain that gets worse if your spend a lot of time sitting. So it's better to use ( a dr Oz suggestion) a neck pillow under your butt (that's right!).
What else: is there a good antiaging MD? That would save you a lot of time and trouble.
All the best. X.
thanks a million Teresa,
I have just signed up with a new GP here in UK (....forget about my previous and unfortunatelly useless GP in Ireland) and she gave me a lot of helpfull suggestions... I have also got the chance to see an orthopedic and he changd my d=medication, have some positive feeling/expectation on this ..... I have started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
happy new year
Hello Monica, I've read your pervious posts and have been experiencing very similar symptoms as you described. I have had this pain for a week nowand haven't had much success in easing the pain. I have an appointment with my doctor to get a formal diagnosis but am pretty sure it's what you have. I am a runner and am 45 years old. The thought of not running causes distress for me. I pray you're doing better and will let you know how I'm doing.
As always diagnosis must precede treatment.
Trochanteric bursitis does occur, often in rheumatoid arthritis. The more common
cause of pain on the prominence of the hip, usually worse when lying on that prominence at night and when climbing stairs is "gluteal enstheopathy". This is an inflammation at the point of attachment of the powerful buttock muscles to the upper thigh bone. Increased body weight is often a factor in its cause. It should be revealed with competent MRI interpretation. Steroid injection into the site is usually curative. That injection is placed more accurately when performed under the x-ray visualisation.
Thank you so much for responding. I am an active runner and I pray that this is temporary :-) I am going to have my doctor examine me carefully for proper treatment.
I too have been diagnosed with this very painful ailment in my left hip. I had a steroid injection on 2 January which took the pain away after approx 5-7 days however 7 weeks later it returned. I have been told you can only have 3 injections so I'm waiting until nearer my holidays before trying to have another one. The physio who gave me the injection simply asked me to point out where the pressure was worst and put the injection in at that point so I'm wondering, taking into account what jp66967 said about X-ray visualisation would have been better. This is affecting my sleep and I dread lying down at night which is when it is the most painful. I hate taking tablets and to be honest don't think ibuprofen help. Is there any stronger medication anyone would recommend? Don't want to take anti depressants. Will it ever go away!
Seven weeks freedom from pain after the injection tends to point to the diagnosis of trochanteric enthesopathy being correct. The fact that the injection took some days to work might mean that the injection was some distance from the "target" and the steroid slowly penetrated the tissues before reaching its intended destination. It might also mean that the injection, although on target, caused (painful) bleeding at the site, which took some days to resolve. Anti-inflammatory medication applied via a "patch" can help, but this is most effective in the slim and skinny.
Hello Monica
I am a 55yr old woman and have just recently been diagnosed( last week).I have had pain however for two years. Prior to this I had been told I had Sciatica....So I have been doing all th wrong things which have irritated the condition and now my pain is almost unbearable. I am due to have the injections next friday at the surgery however I do not think any x ray will be used.
I have found that swimming really relieves the pain and I have been going on a regular basis... Also there is a device called a TENS which you can buy for use when sitting however I have yet to try it myself
I have a Tens machine which, at my worst, was an absolute life saver! They can be found for around £15-20 and are worth the gamble. I had such a bad back due to the Trochanteric pain that I used it to get through some otherwise grim days just to sit or just manage around the house and eventually at work. I had a steroid injection a month ago and doing quite well, occasionally taking ibuprofen or putting ibuprofen gel on my hip.
I haven't tried swimming so will see if it helps. The worst part of this is becoming less active.
I have hip bursitis in both hips , and had herniated discs in my low back and neck . I have studied a lot about this and received injections in both bursae three weeks ago , and it helped a little . You can use Voltaren gel on the hips and take anti-inflammatories, however resting the hips is the best thing and then starting physical therapy , like swimming and stretches are good . Also have your doctor get you on prednisone. Also get magnesium chloride , it comes in an oil which is applied to the skin which really helps heal this also . It's such a bear to heal trocanteric bursitis so you may need to do several things , also drinking alkaline water along with these things I've mentioned it helps heal it with time , usually two months . Good luck to you I know it's painful at night but using a foam pillow to lay on that side takes the pressure off of it and I have it in both hips so it's very difficult and I can't lay on my back because of a neck injury . Those new pillows are what you would use in the car or on a plane . God bless you and wish you a speedy recovery.
I meant use a neck pillow, under your hips and position it so that the opening is around the bursa so that you can rest on that side . Prednisone can help a lot. Also anti-inflammatories whether pills patches or gel , the gel is called Voltaren.
A cortisone injection at this site should be done with the aid of ultra-sound, etc. I have just been diagnosed...horrific pain....and will start with Physical Therapy. I took mega doses of Alleve which did nothing.
I have been started on a med named ''Modic''.
I took only 1/2 tablet yesterday and 6 Tylenol spaced out..
I had improvement by bedtime !!
Today, I took a whole pill and the pain is greatly decreased....the sharpness especially.
I hope you can get this drug where you are.
You probably mean "Mobic". This is an anti-inflammatory, sharing its generic class with many other anti-inflammatory medications which are widely used and widely available.
The following is an extract from a list of its possible side effects:
"This medicine may cause life-threatening heart or circulation problems such as heart attack or stroke, especially if you use it long term.
Mobic may also cause serious effects on the stomach or intestines, including bleeding or perforation (forming of a hole). These conditions can be fatal and can occur without warning while you are taking Mobic, especially in older adults"..
Yes, I too have been battling this for six months end after the second ultrasound guided steroid injection three weeks ago I am starting to do better by using many things . First a lot of natural anti-inflammatories such as clothes which you can put in powder form capsules., Vitamin C and 5000 mg of fish oil a day , also vitamin C and glucosamine and lots of it per day. Do stretches twice a day , especially the easy yoga ones where you are stretching those five muscles. Don't work or sit for long periods of time . And for sleeping I found that a neck pillow, helps you sleep on your side by positioning it around your bursa . I have it on both hips , and I have herniated and bulging disc in my back and neck . So I went for the first three months and lucky if I got one hour of sleep at night . Since been on two rounds of prednisone and the Cortizone shots and all the anti-inflammatories and stretching and foam roller I'm starting to finally turn the corner away from so much pain . You have to do a lot of physical therapy when the inflammation is down and look forward gluteal muscle strengthening PT . You can find those online . I got my trochanteric bursitis in both hips after a car accident because I had sacroiliac joint dysfunction along with a bad back . My heart goes out to all of you who suffer this horrible horrible painful disease . I just know that it takes a lot of work end giving up sugar white flour end eating lots of red berries, almonds , green tea capsules end anti-inflammatory foods and spices . God bless you and I pray you find results because I know it's possible to get rid of this.
My name is Connie and I just put a long post on the board but I forgot to tell you that it's most important that you get a walker and don't put any pressure on your hips especially when getting help from a chair , end limit for walking as much as possible. I just posted the long letter which explains a lot of the things that you have to do simultaneously over a period of time and rest to heal trocanteric bursitis . I hope you feel better soon