I'm only 38 for fuck's sake
Two weeks ago I woke up on a Sunday afternoon. My leg felt strangely hot. I tried to get out of bed, but my leg didn't work. I ended up stumbling my way to the bathroom where Ryan had to come help me up. We spent a couple hours telling ourselves it was just a muscle cramp or something, but eventually went to the ER. I was checked for blood clots, strokes, and x-rayed for any obvious spinal fractures. Nothing was found so I was sent home with a referral to my primary doctor.
That began a couple stressful weeks. The day after my leg quit working, I started a new position at work. I already have a shadow over my reputation because of the work I've missed due to health issues, so it was tough to pull my new boss aside on day 1 and give him a schedule of my upcoming MRIs and doctor visits. Fortunately he has been pretty understanding so far.
My primary doctor was stumped. By the time I saw him I had realized the numbness, pain, and burning went all the way up to mid-chest. He said "well it looks like a pinched nerve, but with most of your right side involved, you'd need to have blown out most of your spine from C-(something) on down."
Take note of that comment, folks, because that's where the scary shit lies. Instead I worried a lot about his next comment: possible Multiple Sclerosis. The "blown out most of your spine" comment sounded reassuringly impossible.
Next visit was the rheumatologist. He was uncharacteristically tense, and I knew why: the arthritis drug he'd put me on has a rare side effect - MS like symptoms. It can also make underlying MS worse. The kicker is a few months ago he put me on more of the drug than is recommended... I could smell the worry about liability coming off of him. He told me to stop the Humira injections, referred me to a neurologist, and scheduled some MRIs.
I finally saw the neurologist yesterday and had a lot of my worries alleviated. After checking me out he said I clearly DON'T have MS. Hooray! But then he commented on my cervical MRI results and ordered a round of thoracic ones. That's coming next week.
After I left his office I went to pick up copies of my MRI results, since I want to make sure all 3 doctors can see them. I read the written report and it said I had major deterioration of the vertebrae around C6/C7. I forget the other terminology, but it was something about those putting pressure on my spinal cord.
C6 & C7 go to the hands, where I don't have any trouble. The neurologist is concerned about the thoracic ones. So... if my spine is damaged where I'm currently fine, I'm a little worried about the MRI results for the areas where I'm actually and truly fucked - the mid-chest down on my right side. Based on internet reading I'm hoping something like cortisone shots or anti-inflammatory drugs take care of things... but I'm afraid of back surgery taking me away from my job for a longer period of time. And fuck, on a more basic level, I'm just afraid.
I'm going to focus on the positives: I don't seem to have MS. My hands are fine despite the problems around C7. I can still walk, even though I can't feel anything but burning and pain in my leg. I'm not dying. I have friends going through a FUCK TON worse right now. We have family members who may be dying. I am still very fortunate. I just... want this to go away soon.
That began a couple stressful weeks. The day after my leg quit working, I started a new position at work. I already have a shadow over my reputation because of the work I've missed due to health issues, so it was tough to pull my new boss aside on day 1 and give him a schedule of my upcoming MRIs and doctor visits. Fortunately he has been pretty understanding so far.
My primary doctor was stumped. By the time I saw him I had realized the numbness, pain, and burning went all the way up to mid-chest. He said "well it looks like a pinched nerve, but with most of your right side involved, you'd need to have blown out most of your spine from C-(something) on down."
Take note of that comment, folks, because that's where the scary shit lies. Instead I worried a lot about his next comment: possible Multiple Sclerosis. The "blown out most of your spine" comment sounded reassuringly impossible.
Next visit was the rheumatologist. He was uncharacteristically tense, and I knew why: the arthritis drug he'd put me on has a rare side effect - MS like symptoms. It can also make underlying MS worse. The kicker is a few months ago he put me on more of the drug than is recommended... I could smell the worry about liability coming off of him. He told me to stop the Humira injections, referred me to a neurologist, and scheduled some MRIs.
I finally saw the neurologist yesterday and had a lot of my worries alleviated. After checking me out he said I clearly DON'T have MS. Hooray! But then he commented on my cervical MRI results and ordered a round of thoracic ones. That's coming next week.
After I left his office I went to pick up copies of my MRI results, since I want to make sure all 3 doctors can see them. I read the written report and it said I had major deterioration of the vertebrae around C6/C7. I forget the other terminology, but it was something about those putting pressure on my spinal cord.
C6 & C7 go to the hands, where I don't have any trouble. The neurologist is concerned about the thoracic ones. So... if my spine is damaged where I'm currently fine, I'm a little worried about the MRI results for the areas where I'm actually and truly fucked - the mid-chest down on my right side. Based on internet reading I'm hoping something like cortisone shots or anti-inflammatory drugs take care of things... but I'm afraid of back surgery taking me away from my job for a longer period of time. And fuck, on a more basic level, I'm just afraid.
I'm going to focus on the positives: I don't seem to have MS. My hands are fine despite the problems around C7. I can still walk, even though I can't feel anything but burning and pain in my leg. I'm not dying. I have friends going through a FUCK TON worse right now. We have family members who may be dying. I am still very fortunate. I just... want this to go away soon.