There’s a medical term you can use to impress your friends with. Avascular has to do with the lack of blood flow. Necrosis means the death of bone, organ, or other tissue due to a lack of blood supply. Avascular Necrosis is a condition where a lack of blood supply causes the bone or bones in the affected area to deteriorate.
Avascular Necrosis is a condition that occurs in healthy people and Sickle Cell patients alike. With people who are healthy, it’s usually a result of some serious injury. In your case, the sickle cells prevent the blood from circulating throughout your body correctly. This can cause the bones in that blocked area to break down, flatten, or become brittle. The hips, shoulders, and vertebrae are most affected in Sickle Cell patients. For some, as they grow older and the condition becomes more severe, a hip replacement may be necessary. Many patients, like myself who have this problem, may require daily doses of pain medication to ease the discomfort.
Though I do have some deterioration in my hip joints, it currently hasn’t interfered with my life at all. My back, now that’s a different story. The flattening or “fish-boning” affect in my vertebrae is pretty severe in my back. Since my teenage years this has caused me to experience daily chronic back pain. In fact, rather than Sickle Cell pain crises, it’s my back that causes me to take heavy doses of pain medication on a daily basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment