*warning: the next entry is "lengthy"...
Answers... finally!!!
So, as you all know I have been going crazy waiting and wondering what exactly happened to the relatively healthy girl I once knew...
Since April 6th I have seen 4 different doctors, had 3 CT scans, 3 MRIs, an ER visit and had my arms poked again and again and again to do lab work. 3 of the 4 doctors told me that I needed to be evaluated by a neurologist for MS, possibly Lupus... spending 6 weeks wondering if I have a chronic illness like MS has been completely exhausting!!!
I finally had the appointment with the neurologist this past Tuesday... all I could think about the weekend prior to the appointment was to prepare for the worst... prepare for him to tell me I have MS, or worse, Lupus.
Blessing in disguise...
The evening before my appointment with the neurologist my entire body was completely overcome with extreme pain... and when I say extreme... I mean indescribable... worse than labor pain in my opinion. I refused to go back to the ER, so luckily a good friend of mine who is an ER nurse was in town for the night and she somehow got the pain to subside enough that I could sleep for a few hours.
The neurologist...
The neurologist took one look at me and said that he was 99% sure that I don't have MS simply because of the amount of pain I was in. Apparently MS is painful, but not the kind of pain I was feeling all of the sudden. All of my other symptoms are very common in MS patients... the numbness in my arms and legs, muscle stiffness, difficulty walking, loss of strength in my hands, etc... He said, had I not walked into his office with the pain he probably would have pursued testing for MS, which would have resulted in a very painful spinal tap... just the sound of that makes me cringe!
The diagnosis...
We talked extensively about my symptoms, specifically my headaches. I had told all 3 doctors prior to him that I was having headaches and they ALL told me to just take ibuprofen... hmmm. After an hour of questions he determined that my headaches are actually a secondary symptom. The pain was actually originating from my cervical spine. I've been complaining since December that I've been unusually tired... that my head felt too heavy for my neck to support, and all I wanted to do was rest my head and sleep. Then the constant "headaches" started in February. Needless to say, the doctor was very concerned at that point and sent me to have another MRI... this time of my spine. The findings... herniated disks and a bunch of nerve damage. This kind of injury would cause numbness, pain, weakness, etc.... Oh how I wish that a doctor prior to him would have asked about the headaches! So, he has put me on bed rest for the next 2 weeks (yes, 2 MORE weeks of lying in bed!) while we get test results back and put a treatment plan together. I am opting for physical therapy... he is supportive of that. We'll see how that goes, taking it one day at a time.
The culprit...
Well, there has to be a cause for the injury right? Anyone who knows me knows that I've been on my own for 6 years now and because of that I have just learned to do everything myself. I'm actually quite stubborn about it! (and there are a few of you smirking right now because you know what a pain I can be!)... Anyway, I was packing up the Christmas decorations... 3 pretty heavy containers, a boxed Christmas tree that has a warning label on the box that reads: Team Lift, contents weigh over 75 lbs., and a very heavy solid wood armoire that in my opinion needed to move 8 inches to the right in order for the room to look balanced. After trying to move the armoire with no success, I called 2 of the young men in my ward... it took BOTH of them to move it those 8 inches. That's not all... apparently I aggravated the injury further in February when I took a trip to Las Vegas with my friends. I was miffed that the airlines were charging to check bags, so I packed 2 VERY heavy carry-ons... I showed the airlines! :)
Yes, feel free to call or email me with your mockings... I will be spending yet another 2 weeks lying in bed, bored out of my mind... the more humorous the email, the better... just be gentle! :)
My stubborn, independent attitude came back to bite me REALLY, REALLY hard!!!
4 comments:
Oh Heather, I am so sorry about your herniated discs, but I'm SO grateful it's not MS or Lupus. I hope the treatment can be swift and hopefully painless? I love you and hope you feel all the way better, soon!
Oh the power of a definitive diagnosis. Glad I could be there for you that night. I love you! Keep me posted and if you ever need me at 3 am again you better call!!
I'm laughing because that could have easily been me nine years ago. I one day asked Heavenly Father what I needed to change in my life. The answer: Become less independent. I promptly tore the ligaments in my foot two days later and had to take his advice.
Will you need surgery to fix your discs, or are there other things you can try first? From now on, you are grounded from lifting or pushing heavy things! Younger folks don't mind a bit helping us, we just have to ask nicely. :) I'm so GLAD you now know what's the matter. Limboland is nice to walk away from.
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