FacebookTwitter
Hatrack River Forum   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Forum » Active Forums » Books, Films, Food and Culture » I'm a little nervous...

   
Author Topic: I'm a little nervous...
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
I'm not used to being nervous. I'm 42 years old, and I tend to avoid things that I know will make me nervous. And the things I can't avoid, I generally deal with in a fairly laid-back manner. Like, if there's nothing you can do about it, why waste time and energy and nerves freaking out about it.

But I'm a little nervous. I've told y'all the story about the elevator fall I had about 2 months ago. So anyway, the MRI I had a week after the accident showed a bulging disk in my lower back, and a "dorsal annular tear". My leg has been hurting for the whole time since it happened.

But the orthopedist I saw doesn't think that the pain can be adequately explained by the back injury. He took an x-ray of my shin and found nothing. He did a bone scan, and they found nothing.

And then yesterday, he sent me for an MRI on my leg. And that's the part that's making me nervous.

I got to the MRI place, and the tech told me that the doctor had ordered two MRIs, one with contrast and one without. That what meant was that he was going to do an MRI on my leg, then inject me with gadolinium (only a little poisonous, but not radioactive), and then scan me again.

So I lay there getting scanned for over half an hour. And then the tech comes in and tells me that he showed the results to the radiologists while he was doing the first set (in progress, I guess) and the radiologist told him not to infuse me and not to do the second set.

Naturally, I asked why. And just as naturally, he said he couldn't tell me. I have to wait until Monday sometime and talk with the orthopod.

But it seems to me that the only reason they'd stop like that would be if they found something. I talked to my Dad about it (he's an ENT and a surgeon), and he told me I shouldn't worry about it, but that they probably did find something.

My guess is that the "don't worry about it" comment was along the lines of my usual policy of not worrying about things that I can't do anything about. And I thought I was doing fine, but I woke up at 3 in the morning last night (I wake up a lot in the night because of the leg pain) and couldn't stop myself from thinking about it. After an hour of not being able to fall back asleep, I went downstairs to lay on the couch and read, and at some point, I guess I did fall asleep.

But I'm twitchy. I have way too vivid an imagination, but I'm coming up blank.

Pardon me for venting.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Enigmatic
Member
Member # 7785

 - posted      Profile for Enigmatic   Email Enigmatic         Edit/Delete Post 
They probably just detected some budding superpowers in your leg from the first MRI, and didn't want to give you the gadolinium for fear of destroying your powers before they could fully develop! (Because everybody knows "gadolinium" sounds like the sort of rare element that would be a superhero's weakness.)

So of course they want you to come in on monday so that the Secret Super Squad can convince you to fight crime with your new super-leg! They couldn't just tell you about it right away because it's secret, you see. Your super-leg can probably run really fast, or kick badguys extra hard, or um, make toast! Or something like that.

So you see, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

--Enigmatic

Posts: 2715 | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Kayla
Member
Member # 2403

 - posted      Profile for Kayla   Email Kayla         Edit/Delete Post 
Damn. I hate it when they do that! [Mad]

Let us know how it turns out. But, if it makes you feel any better, I'll also be obsessing about it.

Man, between you and the other guy with the weirdo blood tests, I don't know what to do with myself this weekend.

Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
Oy! Good luck with things, Lisa. It sounds like they found something. But that might not be all so awful, no? It's awful when they can't find anything, but you know that there is something wrong, because you are not feeling right. If they have found the problem, then they can make a plan for fixing it.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Goody Scrivener
Member
Member # 6742

 - posted      Profile for Goody Scrivener   Email Goody Scrivener         Edit/Delete Post 
I would hope that they wouldn't make you wait like this until Monday if the news were bad. So relax, 'kay? {{{Lisa}}}
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Treason
Member
Member # 7587

 - posted      Profile for Treason   Email Treason         Edit/Delete Post 
Enigmatic- [ROFL]

Lisa, I'm sure if it was (as Tante would say) something serious
they wouldn't have you waiting til Monday. I would hope not, anyway.
Good luck, and I hope they know what is wrong now and how to fix it!
[Kiss]
-Nikki

Posts: 870 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
romanylass
Member
Member # 6306

 - posted      Profile for romanylass   Email romanylass         Edit/Delete Post 
I'd obsess too, Lisa. I'll say a prayer for you.
Posts: 2711 | Registered: Mar 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks, all. I have a feeling I'm going to sleep worse tonight than I have the last two nights.

Wanna hear something truly demented? The vague thought crossed my mind that it might be cancer. Like I said, I have an active imagination. But the twisted thing...

What bothers me about that prospect is primarily the fact that it would probably blow my lawsuit to hell and gone. And only secondarily the whole cancer thing. <sigh>

And then, maybe it's some sort of nerve captured in a way that can only be fixed surgically. I don't like anesthesia, and I doubt they'd be willing to do it locally and let me watch. That might actually be cool. I've assisted twice in surgery, and to my great surprise, it doesn't bother me at all.

Or maybe they saw some sort of necrosis in the tissue, but I can't imagine them seeing something like that and letting me wait all weekend.

See, this is what happens when you watch too many episodes of House. <sigh>

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Treason
Member
Member # 7587

 - posted      Profile for Treason   Email Treason         Edit/Delete Post 
You find out today, right?
Let us know!

Posts: 870 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
So I called the doctor's office. The doctor's secretary isn't in today, but the doctor will be in this afternoon. I spoke with a different doctor's secretary, and she was very sympathetic. She told me, though, that my doctor would probably get back to me after hours today. Problem is, Sukkot starts tonight, so if I don't hear back by about a quarter to six, I won't be able to hear until Wednesday night after 7pm. Thursday, in other words.

So this secretary decided to be helpful, and called the hospital to get them to send the results over. They told her it would be another 2-3 business days. WTF, right? I mean, that's insane. She asked them to try and send over "wet results", which is an expression I've never heard before, but seems to mean preliminary results.

I am falling down exhausted from lack of sleep and from pain, and my leg is lurking around the corner with a rusty serrated knife and a nasty grin, waiting for me to drop my guard just for a second.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Goody Scrivener
Member
Member # 6742

 - posted      Profile for Goody Scrivener   Email Goody Scrivener         Edit/Delete Post 
Waitaminnit.... they told you last week that they'd have results today. Now they're telling the secretary another 2-3 days? Something sounds very odd here. Although if it really is another 2-3 days, it sounds like they wouldn't have answers until after Sukkot anyway.

Medicos, is 6 days realistic for MRI results?

Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Kayla
Member
Member # 2403

 - posted      Profile for Kayla   Email Kayla         Edit/Delete Post 
[Mad]

Man, this sucks.

I hate people who think they are so important that they can keep you in the dark about your health until it is convient for them to let you know. If they know something, they should tell you what it is.

[Mad]

Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
TheHumanTarget
Member
Member # 7129

 - posted      Profile for TheHumanTarget           Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
I hate people who think they are so important that they can keep you in the dark about your health until it is convient for them to let you know. If they know something, they should tell you what it is.
Way to jump to conclusions... If there's one thing that I've learned in my many dealings with medical facilities it's that if a timeline slips it's usually because there's another patient that has become the priority.
Posts: 1480 | Registered: Dec 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
*sigh* Radiology techs are ALWAYS telling patients that results will be immediately sent to the pcp. In reality, MRIs often only get read on weekdays. Even if this radiologist DID read it, he had to dictate it, and the dictation people probably didn't get it till Monday. Then they type it. Then the doctor reviews it. Then they can send it to the clinic by snail mail or fax. So if you get a study on a Saturday, yeah, it's going to take several days. If it was something that needed immediate intervention (broken bone) then the radiologist would have called someone on Saturday, of course. There could still be a problem on it, but if it isn't something that needs urgent treatment, it's gonna take days. I could just kick radiologist techs sometimes. I get all sorts of patients calling nonstop, every two hours, for two days, always insisting that it must be here, cause the tech said so.

As far as docs telling patients when there is a problem, yeah. A lot of docs NEVER tell patients what is wrong or what their diagnosis is. Just: go here, get this, go there, do that. Take this. Take that. I think it's terrible.

OTOH, if I order several tests on a patient, and the first test to come back is positive for something non-acute, darn right I'll wait till all the tests are back so we can make one phone call to the patient and do all the explaining and ordering and recommendations at one time. It is frustrating to the patient, but means a lot less problems in the long run. Or if I get an MRI, I might want to wait for the hard copy so that I know exactly what is shows so that I make the right decision. Also, usually I can't refer a patient for something until I get that hard copy.

Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
rivka
Member
Member # 4859

 - posted      Profile for rivka   Email rivka         Edit/Delete Post 
The study was done Friday, Theca.
Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Gryphonesse
Member
Member # 6651

 - posted      Profile for Gryphonesse   Email Gryphonesse         Edit/Delete Post 
unfortunately, it's a legal liability issue as to why they can't tell you ANYTHING. Too many twits have sued for the wrong reasons and now we all have to wait to hear it in person from the doctor after fifteen people have looked at the test results. I hope all goes well. Please keep us posted, and be SURE to grouch at the doc for making you wait.
Posts: 262 | Registered: Jun 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
Still applies. Not all radiologists read MRIs. I don't know what time she had her study. But it is possible that the radiologist reading MRIs were done for the day, or that the dictation people were already done for the day by the time it got dictated. Or maybe the radiologist had to do some thinking and compare it to another study and that held up the official report. All I'm saying is, things take much longer than you might think. It seems so easy. It's not.

I don't think the doc deserves to get grouched at yet. What's he done?

Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
rivka
Member
Member # 4859

 - posted      Profile for rivka   Email rivka         Edit/Delete Post 
I agree with that. [Smile]

But it is nonetheless very stressful for the patient, neh?

Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ludosti
Member
Member # 1772

 - posted      Profile for ludosti   Email ludosti         Edit/Delete Post 
I would imagine that your first MRI showed something noticable (but obviously not life threatening) which is why they didn't do the second MRI (why subject you to that, if there is something obvious the first time around?). I also know MRIs are much more complicated to read that Xrays (heck, I've looked at xrays before and some things are really easy to spot, but MRIs pretty much look like a bunch of funky colors to me).

I understand how frustrating it can be waiting for results, but I'm confident that your doctor will call you as soon as they know something difinitive.

Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BannaOj
Member
Member # 3206

 - posted      Profile for BannaOj   Email BannaOj         Edit/Delete Post 
In the ER I went to for my gall bladder it was actually pretty cool. They have a doc on call at home specifically to read MRIs and ultrasounds and everything else (what kind of doctor is that?) The scan is instantly digitized and the operator simply e-mails it to the on call doc. The e-mail program automatically triggers the doc's pager, so they knew to check their e-mail. They read the scan, and the diagnosis was back in under 10 minutes. On the other hand that was in an ER.

AJ

Posts: 11265 | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
Right, they had an ER doc on hand who was qualified to tell you about it. AJ, the person at home was a radiologist on call. A lot of ERs have radiologists from home on weekends/afterhours. The problem with StarLisa's scan is, she didn't have a doctor seeing her Friday so there was no-one to hurry the process (doc to doc) so it is just going through ordinary channels.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
My Dad, God bless him, just called. He asked me if I'd like him to call the orthopedist and ask him what's up. See, my Dad's a doc as well, so he can do that kind of thing.

He just called back after talking to the doctor. Apparently, my MRI hasn't been read yet, so the doctor is going to call and talk to a radiologist and get some results over the phone, and will hopefully call me back sometime in the next two hours (my Dad explained to him about me not using the phone on Sukkot).

He did tell my Dad that he wasn't looking for a tumor, and that he thinks it's probably just trauma. But it's still up in the air. As is my head. <sigh>

Theaca, I just think they could have at least told me why they changed the test order in the middle. That's obviously going to raise an alarm, right? They need to realize that they're dealing with people, and not machines.

*FLASH*

That was the orthopod's office. Apparently, the MRI showed soft tissue swelling. That's it. But that's obviously not going to account for 2 and a half months of pain. Which means that it's the stupid disk in my back after all.

Now all I have to do is decide whether to take some Vicodin and pass out or try to stay awake for dinner tonight.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
BannaOj
Member
Member # 3206

 - posted      Profile for BannaOj   Email BannaOj         Edit/Delete Post 
*files radiologist into memory bank*

I didn't think it would work for non-ER stuff, but was worth a mention. If it keeps dragging out maybe she could ask for an on-call radiologist.

[Frown]

AJ

Posts: 11265 | Registered: Mar 2002  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
"Theaca, I just think they could have at least told me why they changed the test order in the middle. That's obviously going to raise an alarm, right? They need to realize that they're dealing with people, and not machines."

Ahh, I see what you are talking about. Some radiologists do talk to patients. I know mammogram radiologists do, a lot. But in general a lot of radiologists don't. And the techs aren't allowed to. I honestly don't know but I think most people are left in the dark like you were (except about breast studies). I don't know if there is a way to fix that. See, radiologists can see what the bones and nerves look like but since they aren't treating you medically they often don't know exactly what is going on. It takes the doc ordering the test to interpret it properly based on your history and exam. If I ever get to know a radiologist I'll probably ask what their procedure is in cases like yours.

Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
The Rabbit
Member
Member # 671

 - posted      Profile for The Rabbit   Email The Rabbit         Edit/Delete Post 
You are absolutely right Lisa, it was absolutely irresponsible and cruel for them to change the procedure in the middle and not explain why.

Part of the problem may be that technicians aren't allowed to make diagnoses, so they often refuse to say anything at all.

Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Treason
Member
Member # 7587

 - posted      Profile for Treason   Email Treason         Edit/Delete Post 
"Theaca, I just think they could have at least told me why they changed the test order in the middle. That's obviously going to raise an alarm, right? They need to realize that they're dealing with people, and not machines."


On a side note about them treating people as machines:

I went to the ER once for a very bad back spasm. I couldn't get up and walk, I could barely even move. When the guy was taking the x-rays he didn't speak to me once. He put me on the table and proceeded to flip me this way and that like I was a piece of meat. I was crying out in pain because it hurt me to move at all and I asked him if we could go a little slower. He didn't answer me, nor did he stop moving me around or even slow down. It was the creepiest thing I have ever experienced. I grabbed his arm and said "Look at me. I am your sister or your daughter or your mother. Please, I am a human being and I hurt. Please go slower."
Didn't work. It still gives me the shivers to think about it.

/end rant

Posts: 870 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Treason
Member
Member # 7587

 - posted      Profile for Treason   Email Treason         Edit/Delete Post 
Well, Lisa...
Do you know what it was?
Or do I have to wait til Wednesday to find out?
[Frown]

Posts: 870 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
I doubt she can post till Wednesday night... I have a feeling the results are nebulous enough that she won't know much till she can see the orthopod again.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Treason:
Well, Lisa...
Do you know what it was?
Or do I have to wait til Wednesday to find out?
[Frown]

As far as I know right now, there are two things. One is what I posted before Sukkot started:
quote:
*FLASH*

That was the orthopod's office. Apparently, the MRI showed soft tissue swelling. That's it. But that's obviously not going to account for 2 and a half months of pain. Which means that it's the stupid disk in my back after all.

Now all I have to do is decide whether to take some Vicodin and pass out or try to stay awake for dinner tonight.

And the other is the bulging disk they found in my spine.

Swelling tissue can impinge on nerves, and a bulging disk can mess with nerves.

I took a couple T3 Monday night, and slept long and hard. I even dreamt that the pain was gone and that I was all better. What a tease, huh? I tried the T3 thing last night, too, but I woke up at 12, at 1, at 3 something... and today was bad.

The orthopedist wants me to do physical therapy. The neurologist may want to give me a lumbar epidural block, which to the best of my knowledge involves them putting me out, and then injecting cortical steroids into my spine. Which may not be as bad as root canal, but sounds somewhat less fun than having a bone set.

What I can do right now is go and watch Lost in about 45 minutes. And then maybe one of the shows I taped over the holiday.

Whoopie. I am so over this. I keep saying that, and I keep getting more and more over it. And yet it doesn't seem to be getting over me, which is the problem.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
The neurologist may want to give me a lumbar epidural block, which to the best of my knowledge involves them putting me out, and then injecting cortical steroids into my spine. Which may not be as bad as root canal, but sounds somewhat less fun than having a bone set.

Having read up on it, it doesn't sound much different than the epidural I was given during labor. They don't put you out, but give you "a medicine to relax you" according to the sites I read (unless you're me-- I can't have most of those; paradoxical reaction caused me to hallucinate for 4 1/2 hours last time they tried that.) Then they numb the site and do the injections. Not so bad as getting a bone set at all in my mind! But then, I've never broken a bone, so I may be overly scared of that. Definitely not as bad as a root canal, though, and if it takes, it's generally supposed to be good for 7-10 days.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
And what happens after 7-10 days?
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
Oh honey! I wish you a refuah sh'leimah. Ask a couple of doctors what would be best.

A woman I work with, young thing, like 23 years old, had the bulging disk thing, had a laminectomy, and now is pain free, and okie-doke.

But her recuperation took some months.

Moad tov!

-- Shvester

Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Theaca
Member
Member # 8325

 - posted      Profile for Theaca   Email Theaca         Edit/Delete Post 
One thing to keep in mind is, if they do the injection thing and it resolves your pain, even temporarily, you'll know THAT is where the problem is. And that is good information to have.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ketchupqueen
Member
Member # 6877

 - posted      Profile for ketchupqueen   Email ketchupqueen         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:

And what happens after 7-10 days?

They do it again and you're good for another 7-10 days or sometimes longer. They keep doing it until your pain is resolved, through other treatment or whatever.

The point is to allow you to function while they try to treat it (although you can't drive or anything the day of.)

Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Originally posted by Tante Shvester:
Oh honey! I wish you a refuah sh'leimah. Ask a couple of doctors what would be best.

A woman I work with, young thing, like 23 years old, had the bulging disk thing, had a laminectomy, and now is pain free, and okie-doke.

But her recuperation took some months.

Moad tov!

-- Shvester

Moadim l'simcha, Esther. And I know I'm going to regret asking this, but... what's a laminectomy? It sounds like removal of a plastic coating.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
Laminectomy information from my google search.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Treason
Member
Member # 7587

 - posted      Profile for Treason   Email Treason         Edit/Delete Post 
"They do it again and you're good for another 7-10 days or sometimes longer. They keep doing it until your pain is resolved, through other treatment or whatever.

The point is to allow you to function while they try to treat it (although you can't drive or anything the day of.)"


That sounds like it will at least help. [Frown]
Sorry Lisa!
((((Lisa))))

Posts: 870 | Registered: Mar 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
Spinal surgery? Uh... I don't think so.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
kmbboots
Member
Member # 8576

 - posted      Profile for kmbboots   Email kmbboots         Edit/Delete Post 
We may be neighbors (in a geographical sense) as I live in Evanston. Do you need anything while you are laid up? Groceries? Chores?
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks for the offer. And... I may take you up on it. Right now, we have people from our synagogue doing all sorts of stuff for us.

We probably are almost neighbors. We're near California and Touhy. A few blocks north, and we're in Evanston.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
kmbboots
Member
Member # 8576

 - posted      Profile for kmbboots   Email kmbboots         Edit/Delete Post 
I'm in SE Evanston. Feel free to take me up on it. I know from experience that back stuff is no fun! I only have access to a computer at work, but e-mail me and I'll give you my phone #.
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
We're near California and Touhy.
Ellsworth Tooey?
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
Toohey. And I never made that connection. I grew up here, after all.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
kmbboots
Member
Member # 8576

 - posted      Profile for kmbboots   Email kmbboots         Edit/Delete Post 
I guessing you are okay for the weekend? I could e-mail my phone number (as I don't have computer access during the weekend.
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
I am, thanks. Friday late afternoon was, well, bad. Really bad. There was this piercing sharp pain in my right thigh (not a cramp) that was so bad I was crying. At which point my partner came over and told me I was taking a Vicodin. Vitamin V, as I'm starting to call it.

A friend of mine gave me an article that was in the New Yorker about RSD. I'm very afraid that that's what it is. One of the treatments they've found that's really helpful for RSD is electro-stimulation. Interestingly enough, that's the only thing that's given me any relief so far, when my physical therapist did like 15 minutes of electro-stim.

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
Oh, honey! I pray that you don't have RSD. That's a good thing to avoid. It is on my list of "Conditions that I Hope I Don't Get", a couple of slots below Alzheimer's.

If I were with you, in Chicago, I'd give you warm comforting back and leg massages. Not in a romantic way, mind you, but more like a friend and caring nurturer.

*sends virtual massage*

Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Lisa
Member
Member # 8384

 - posted      Profile for Lisa   Email Lisa         Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks, Esther. And there's no discoloration and no weirdness with temperature. But the areas that are sensitive to touch are very sensitive to touch. And this whole thing is so much worse than it should be, based on the actual accident. And there were just things in the article that really (gawd... this really isn't intentional) struck a nerve.

I never even heard of RSD until two days ago. Did you know that there's some doctor in Germany who is treating it by giving a dose of ketamine big enough to induce a 5 day coma? <shudder>

Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Tante Shvester
Member
Member # 8202

 - posted      Profile for Tante Shvester   Email Tante Shvester         Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Did you know that there's some doctor in Germany who is treating it by giving a dose of ketamine big enough to induce a 5 day coma?
From the Mengele School of Medicine, I presume?
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
ClaudiaTherese
Member
Member # 923

 - posted      Profile for ClaudiaTherese           Edit/Delete Post 
This is more consistent with what I am seeing in the professional literature. Pain management professionals seem to be finding that chronic pain responds differently to medications and other treatments than does acute pain. (e.g., this is why electrostim and non-narcotics have been heavily researched)

Hope you feel better soon, starLisa, regardless of the cause.

Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2