Hello,
I discovered this website a few years ago and have some pretty interesting information to share. According to the list of POIS types, I would say that I had either a 1 or 7, or some degree of both. My symptoms were horrific, but to clarify they included brain fog (difficulty thinking and slow response time), impaired memory, headache, physical fatigue (low energy level), runny nose (cold symptoms), insomnia, stiffness and pain in muscles and joints, severe anxiety, suicidal thoughts, flu-like symptoms for around 3-5 days plus bed ridden. Would finally feel normalish after 7 days. If I abstained 2 weeks then much stronger.
To give some history I will try to make it quick. I was an alcoholic by age 16. That lasted 20 years till I got sober at 36. I was in a nearly fatal car accident at age 18 where I flew out of the driver side window about 100 yards (football field). I only had a concussion, no broken bones etc. However the traumatic experience started to show it's wrath later in life. Around my mid 30's I started feeling quite dreadful everyday. One day out bowling I felt a slight twinge in my right hip. Soon the pain worsened and I had it X-rayed by my Chiropractor (big mistake). They found nothing. Long story short 7 years later I had a CT scan on my stomach because of stomach pains. My stomach appeared fine but the doctor ranted on about Avascular Necrosis in both of my hips, and my right hip had completely collapsed. There was no cartilage, just bone on bone. I then went to an Orthopedic Surgeon who indeed confirmed my condition and said the only remedy was a full hip replacement, as the tissue around my hip was dead. And once tissue dies, it does not come back to life like Frankenstein.
The strangest and quite possibly the most life changing experience then happened. Once I had the 1st hip replaced I noticed that my POIS symptoms were almost cut by 80%. I had never linked the two, nor can I find anywhere on the internet that suggests these two subjects are related. Since you cannot do hips back to back I had to wait another year for my left hip. I had the other hip replaced end of last year and now I do not have POIS whatsoever. I will say that I am on the AIP (Auto-Immune Protocol) and I was B12 deficient. So these could play a big role in the recovery as well, since Niacin did help some when I had POIS before my surgeries.
Has anyone else even heard of this before? Has anyone who has severe POIS even checked to see if they have AVN in their hips? AVN can be caused by a number of different factors but some include Alcoholism, Steroids, Severe Traumatic Events, other underlying conditions.
They say it takes years for AVN to develop, and even when present it is nearly undetectable the 1st year in an X-ray. To know for sure you should see an experienced Orthopedic Surgeon, as many doctors don't even know what AVN is, let alone POIS.
While there are several different types of POIS, it would make sense that dead tissue would cause the body to react in an awful way. The hips are close to the groin.
Think of a pristine river where clean water runs smoothly. Now toss a dead rodent into it, what happens? It contaminates the water. The body is no different.
Feel free to reach out if you want more information or have anything to share. I have been working on my health issues for over 25 years, and while I still have a long way to go, I am POIS free now.