Possibility of Avascular Necrosis?

Hi - I was wondering if anyone has had to deal with Avascular Necrosis? At the end of my Prednisone taper, I started to have pain in my groin, lower back and hip. It isn't all the time but has been nagging at me for about 15 months. About a month or so ago, I started to have knee pain that has prevented me from doing my normal daily excercise. The hip never bothered me that much. I'm only 26 - I don't think that joint pain like this is normal.

With that all being said, I went to the Ortho to get my knee checked out. I'm waiting on MRI results. I didn't put the Avascular Necrosis and hip pain together until recently.

Do you all think that I should ask about Avascular Necrosis for my hip? I know that high doses of Pred for long periods of time can cause this. I don't really think that my dosage/length of use would cause this though? I was on 60mg for about a month and then tapered for 6 weeks - so in total, about two and a half months. I've been off Pred since May 2010.

Hello. Yes, we have had a few people here have hip replacements due to Avascular Necrosis. I can remember 5, well, four people, but one guy had both hips replaced.

I also don't think you've been on Prednisone long enough, but stranger things have happened. When in doubt, check it out.

You should definitely tell about the hip pain although I wouldn't suggest a diagnosis to the doctor. It may be, quite likely actually, that the hip pain and your changing your gait without even realising it has put pressure on the knee.

Or vice versa.