Neck Shots - Take I

Two Saturdays ago I went in to get a Nerve Conduction Velocity test. It was too bad getting jolted, but at the end of the test the Doc let me know that in addition to the pinched nerve in my neck, I have a pinched nerve in my lower back, which I had suspicions about, and I have the beginning of carpel tunnel syndrome in my right wrist. I turn to the guy and said, "So basically your telling my the right side of my body is going to shit?" He laughed, I sighed. He said he would write everything up for my neurologist, but on the up side he didn't think I would need surgery for anything. So that's a plus.

Tuesday, I went in for my first epidural cortisone shot in my neck. The nurse offered me 10 mg of Valium before the procedure to calm me and in light of Valium not doing a whole heck of a lot when I had my biopsy, I asked if she could give me something stronger. I explained and she said that was all they give out, so I took it. I guess 10 mg at once was better the 5mg. I didn't seem to nervous going in, but I certainly didn't feel "ooolala" afterwards either. So, I received the first shot, the doc certainly got in the right area because he hit my nerve two because I felt two jolts go down my right arm while he was doing whatever it was he was doing back there. Afterwards, they want to know if there's any improvement, and well, I really couldn't tell. I was in any constant pain when I went it. My arm would just go all number with the tinglies when it wasn't in motion and I couldn't tell that there was any great improvement right then and there.

The nurse told me what warning signs to look for when I went home and gave me an ice pack and off I went. My sister dropped me off and I went inside to lay on the couch with the ice pack on my back and rest. When the numbing agent began to wear off, then I really started to feel the weird pain of what had happened. It was all in my upper spine area and my neck. I didn't get a fever, nor did I get a headache, but pain was certainly there. Nothing intense, but before I went to bed, I searched through my medicine cabinet to see if I had any pain killers left over from my surgery the previous summer and found that I still had a few Percocets. I took one and went to bed.

The next morning I really didn't feel any better. I felt very tight in the upper back and in the neck area that I couldn't really turn my head, so I didn't feel safe driving to work. I called in sick and stayed home for the day. It's been almost a week now since my shot and I feel as if I've gotten very little relief from the first shot. The numbness doesn't act up as much, but it's still there. Several people who have had cortisone shots in their neck or back have all said how they have felt instant relief the minute they sat up from the table. Me - not so much. Only one person has told me the shots didn't work for her and she ended up having to do the surgery in the end (HI Ellen!!) I'm still hanging on to the doctor's belief that I don't need surgery and the fact that sometimes it just takes more than one shot for some people. I seem to fall into that "some people" category.

Anyhoo, that's all for the medical updates for now. My next shot is next week as is my next appointment with the neurologist. So we shall see....

More Medical Misfires and Weekend Getaways!

Back in June I had gone to the doctor because my right arm was bothering me. I was having these annoying numbing and tingling sensations. I was pretty sure I had a pinched nerve even though I had never had one before. So I went to the Dr and told him what was going on. He asked me if the sensations were in my hand. At that time, they were not. So he thought it was probably something muscular and sent me home and told me to do some yoga. I swear folks, that's what he told me.

I was walking to me car, shaking my head because I knew it wasn't anything muscular. I danced for 15, I played volleyball all through high school, and I grew up in the northeast so I have shoveled my far share of heavy, wet snow. Believe me, I have had my fair share of pulled muscles in the back and arms, this was not muscular. But, we always want to believe out doctors know what they are talking about and I think I just didn't want to deal with yet another medical issue after being slammed with what I feel is three issues in a row. I just didn't want another one right now.

So, I went home and did daily stretches for the next couple of months. The sensations were getting more intense when they came instead of less and now the sensations were reaching my fingers. Finally, I had to face the facts that there was definitely something going on with my arm and I called the doctor back. This time he diagnoses a pinched nerve, sent me to get X-rays and to see a neurologist for the next steps. I went to see a neurologist that my friend highly recommended and she took a look at the X-rays and to what I was describing and concurred that I had a pinched nerve, that it was severe and that I shouldn't have waited this long and that I might have done some irreversible damage to the nerve in my arm, but she won't know for sure till she runs a tests. Then she referred me to go see a spine specialist that can help me alleviate some of the pressure on the nerve before we do some physical therapy because I have too much pressure on the nerve right now for PT to be able to work on its own. She also sent me for a cervical MRI.

So, last Saturday I spent the morning at an Open MRI center getting an MRI done on my neck. Even though it was an open MRI machine, because they were scanning my neck my face had to be directly under the machine. I am not claustrophobic, but I do have issues with this being very close to my face. So I had to keep my eyes closed. Then about halfway through the process, I could feel that the air was blocked in from of my face and that was started to get bothersome, like I couldn't get enough air in my breathes because an object was in the way. Luckily it was all over before I went into any sort of a panic.

Tuesday I saw the spine specialist and he says that according to my MRI, I have two disks at the bottom of my neck that are bulging out to the right, which is why they are pinching that nerve. He recommends a series of three cortisone shots into my neck to alleviate the inflammation that is putting the pressure on this nerve (one shot every two weeks). He let me know exactly what could happen if I continue to let the pressure build and push on the nerve. Eventually the nerve will die and I won't have very good use of that arm because of it. I asked him what I need to do after these shots alleviate the pressure to try and prevent this from happening again. The usually PT and because of my job he wants to me learn some relaxation stretches and he thinks possible a muscle relaxer therapy at night and then I asked the dreaded - what if the shots don't work - question. Let's just say, I hope ths shots work, and leave it at that.

Of course, I come home and call my mom and let her know the outcome of everything and Dr. Mom just has to come out. "Well, are you going to go get a 2nd opinion? You sure you can't do something else? Are you sure you have to get the shots? You don't want to take drugs everyday or your body will get use to them and when you really need htem they won't work! You know I have this things with the nerve and pain and the doctor wanted to do surgery but I didn't want to have surgery so I didn't and I still have the pain, but I didn't have the surgery!" *yeah, I'm still trying to find the logic in that last one too - if you figure it please let me know, because I'm not having any luck* My neck was probably MORE tenses after that phone call then it was while I was processing all this information sitting in the doctor's office!

Anyhoo, so the verdict is, I'm getting 3 cortisone shots in my neck starting next Tuesday. And yeah, I'm scared of a needle going into my neck!

On a brighter note, I so needed a weekend getaway! Me and a few friends did just that this weekend. We took off Thursday night for the weekend. A friend has a house on the MD bay and so we went. Four of us got away for the weekend. The weather was crappy, but we didn't care! Friday we went on a mini yarn crawl and visited Frivolous Fibers in St. Michael's and then we headed up to Island Yarn Boutique on Kent Island. Here's the loot that I got on the yarn crawl:

From left to right: Wullenstudio Sock yarn - Flying Purple People Eater (not purchased on the yarn crawl, but acquired on this trip since I came up with this colorway and named it!), Jojoland Cashmere lace in maroon, Blue Heron merino silk in Sandstone, Jojoland Cashmere Sport - 1 maroon, 1 black.

The rest of the time we spend knitting and eating out in wonderful restaurants!! I managed to get most of the body on my February Lady sweater finished!! I know the pictures not the greatest.

I also made great progress on my Halloween Horcrux socks!! I cast these babies on LAST year for Halloween, but Halloween came and went and they didn't get finished and then I stopped working on them this year! My girlfriends call these the phallic looking socks, and for good reason:

I'm trying to convince my friend Sheila to dye me a skein of her Monster Mash color so that it stripes nice and thick like this:

But I don't think I have her convinced that she needs to do this :( Oh well, I will try again next Halloween *heehee*

If at first you don't succeed... skydiving is probably not for you!