Barb
Hi Jean, I am really sorry you are hurting so bad! I am well familiar with Legg Perthes and with bulging discs. I am the founder of th Legg Perthes Support Group International and also my mother-in-law suffered with bulging discs. With the discs, my mom was totally bed bound for 3 mos. She was in excruciating pain. We got her to start taking glucosamine and chondroitin (a supplement you can find at Walmart) and in three weeks she was just about back to normal. She was good enough that when she went to the orthopedist, he thought she went to someone else for her neck fusion. Neither he, nor the pain management specialist, the physical therapist or chiropractor seemed to give her any relief. She took the Sundown brand. Make sure if you try it to get one that will give you 1500 mg glucosamine and 1200 mg chondroitin. The glucosamine helps rebuild synovial fluid which cushions joints and vertebrae and chondroitin puts elasticity back in connective tissue. I myself, have been able to cancel heel spur surgery (and also got rid of tennis elbow from carrying my perthes kid in a body cast) by taking glucosamine and chondroitin. It has helped tremendously. By the way, I am also assistant director of the National Osteonecrosis Foundation out of Johns Hopkins Medical School. Dr. Hungerford who started the foundation (to find a cure for Legg Perthes and osteonecrosis) is a world-reknown orthopedist-he invented the artificial knee. He is doing a long-term study on the use of glucosamine and chondroitin on the arthritic knee. This really does have a medical value. Feel free to contact me at bkelly@dol.net Barb