A Flyover Blog

Unremarkable

No, that's a good thing to hear... when your neurologist says it. My MRI turned up nothing in my back that was out of whack, which is a huge relief. Turns out the problem is a little farther south - in my piriformis muscles. I've never heard of a piriformis muscle; didn't even know I had them. They are small but important muscles that attach the top of the femur to the lower spine and serve to stabilize the hip. The sciatic nerve runs under or through this muscle, so if it gets injured (usually from over use) it puts pressure on the nerve and that causes pain and tingling down the back of the leg into the foot.

"That's weird, DK. How did you get it?" I'm glad you asked that. I found out that Piriformis Syndrome (it actually has a name) is found mostly in women, women who walk or run. The other risk factor for this injury is the piriformis working overtime to compensate for weak abs, which occurs after abdominal surgery - like the hysterectomy I had last Spring. Bottom line: I'm okay. My feet still tingle and the backs of my legs hurt, but I have an exercise regimen now to help correct it. My neurologist also gave me some very low dose muscle relaxers to take at night because my overall state is Extremely Tense, due to my injured hand. I never relax. Ever. So she's going to give me a little shove. This will go away when the piriformis muscles heal. So, has anyone else out there ever had Piriformis Syndrome? I'd love to know how long it took you to mend.

Sidetracked

Four or five days ago I noticed that the soles of my feet had suddenly begun to tingle. Odd. I attributed it to my shoes. But here we are starting a new week and now, not only are my feet tingly, I have pain in the backs of my legs, too all the way up to my lower back. It's not horrible pain; it's achy and makes it uncomfortable to sit. I decided it wasn't getting better on its own and I was beginning to worry compulsively (which I do very well) so I took some Advil, bought a new office chair, and called my neurologist. I have an appointment anyway next week for my hand. (For those of you not up to speed on my hand, it's a loooooong story.) My doc is suspecting sciatica or a herniated disc and promptly set up an MRI. When I say promptly, I mean 2 hours later. So, I had my very first MRI this afternoon. Creepy. I don't do small spaces very well, but I was a trooper and tried to find "my happy place" for the 20 minute proceedure. It was like being trapped inside a refrigerator in Best Buy during the Christmas shopping rush. I hope she calls me and says "take some more Advil and give it a few weeks." I really don't want another medical drama this Spring. Prayers along those lines would be much appreciated. I've never had trouble with my back, although I did fracture my tailbone pretty badly in 1987. I'll let you know what I find out. Stay tuned...

January 17

My sassy little Carolina Wren is back this morning; I'm taking that as a sign that this is going to be a good day. I have two bird feeders right outside my office window, and they've been very busy this morning. We had freezing drizzle overnight and the windchill is about 15. I am happy to report that I am feeling normal again - which is terrific after the 24 hour odyssy through the Land of Weird I had thanks to that one little Cymbalta I took Tuesday evening. The creepy crawlies, headache and distorted vision were bad, but I think the worst part was the song - Pistelero an obscure tune by Roy Orbison played in my head for 6 hours straight. Don't ask how it got there; I have NO idea. I finally chased it way with Thunderstruck by ACDC.

My good friend Patty (who lives on the East Coast) is helping me choose some books and tapes on meditation and pain management, since traditional medicine is not going to be of any further help. She sent me some info on Jon Kabat-Zinn. So last night Mitch and I went to Barnes & Noble in Springfield; I bought a book and a beginners tape by Zinn. Confession: This whole area of alternative medicine is uncharted water for me and seems to be filled with lunatics. And Christian non-fiction isn't? Yeah right. Okay, I guess every area of study has its nuts. But the fact that they keep these books with Tarot cards and the paranormal stuff gives me pause. Honestly, I'm thinking I should probably wear a garlic clove necklace and carry a cross on my quest to find "complementary therapy" that works for me. Am I over-reacting? I think my Midwest is showing. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Photo by 10,000 Birds.com

Scratch the Cymbalta

I just spent the entire night waiting for this stupid pill to wear off. I finally decided to try the sample of Cymbalta my neurologist gave me because my hand was driving me nuts. You know, I don't do drugs very well. So about an hour after I took this little 30 mg pill everthing in the room looked a little too bright and too close. Then the headache started. Right after that I got the creepy crawlies - you know, like ants are crawling over your entire body.

I thought this drug was supposed to stop the pain in my hand, not simply divert my attention. Heck, I could have accomplished that myself - just hit my foot with a hammer. I'm drinking Dasani like it's going out of style trying to flush this thing out of my system. My hand is no better, by the way. I won't be taking any more of those.

Now What?

I try to fill this blog with happy, uplifting posts - or humor; I do that too. I haven't been very happy or upbeat for the past few days. Frankly, I've been in tears since last Thursday. That's the day I went to see my sweet Chinese neurologist again. If you're new to this blog, I have been struggling to regain the feeling and full use of my left hand and arm for 10 months now. What happened? A young nurse botched the removal of 2 IV's after I had same day surgery, resulting in IV infiltration. That, too, was handled incorrectly and now after months and months of neurologists, tests, therapy and waiting I got my prognosis - the damage is permanent and will not get better.

We discussed alternative therapies such as accupuncture, accupressure, and nerve blocks. Those won't work. These therapies work on an isolated nerve, usually close to the spine. This damage involves tissue damage and nerve damage and there is no single site to pinpoint. My neurologist gave me some Cymbalta to combat the constant pain and fatigue. I finally took the first pill a couple of hours ago (I really don't do drugs very well) but I'm feeling weird so I won't be taking any more of those.

I'll be talking about this a lot in the coming days. I promise I'll try not to bore you to tears. Right now, I'm just trying to regroup.

You're Kidding Me, Right?

Frustrating day at therapy yesterday. Testing didn't go so well; I lost ground - again. This is not a complete surprise. I've been telling Perky Therapist that I feel like we're chasing the same 6 symptoms around in circles - numbness, pain, loss of strength, loss of feeling, stiffness, muscle spasms - all of these have symptom subcatagories. Seems like I make progress on one front only to lose ground in another.

For the first time she wasn't so perky about a prognosis and she suggested that nerve block idea again to get the radial nerve to calm down. We covered nerve blocks in my last post, so you know how I feel about that. Perky Therapist is making her report to my insurance company and doctor, then we'll go from there. I went to the park and walked three and a half miles after therapy to regain my perspective. I left the trail with this truth: I didn't do anything to cause this injury and I can't do anything to fix it. All I can do is focus on something else. So, look for more posts about writing - which is the best therapy in the world for me.

Thanks for your continued prayers,

DK

Therapy Update

Tomorrow, I'm going back for another therapy appointment - this makes 10 in case you're counting - during which Perky Therapist is going to test to see if we've made any progress.

Last time, she determined that my entire median oops - make that radial nerve is "on fire" from the chemical damage - all the way up to my spine. That would explain the chronic pain in my shoulder and neck; I thought it was simple tension caused by the pain in my hand. Perky Therapist suggested a nerve block. I said, "NO" very emphatically. Nerve blocks involve injecting drugs into the nerve to deaden it for several weeks so it can rest.

Is she nuts?

I mean, I'm IN therapy because of nerve damage caused by a botched IV. So why on earth would I let the same nursing staff that caused the damage, take another whack at me? Does this make sense to you? I didn't think so. Believe me, my flat rejection of this notion was more colorful than I am portraying here. But this is a G-rated blog, so you'll just have to use your imagination. I'll let you know how the tests come out. Stay tuned...

We Got A Plan!

Okay campers, gather round. I got a bit of good news at therapy Tuesday. When my perky therapist retested, I regained some feeling in my fingertips. Bad news: my fingers were a little weaker than they were 3 weeks ago. Yeah, it's a mixed bag, but it's something. In 3 weeks she'll retest again. Then we'll see if I'm really gaining ground...

In other news, Mitch and I met Craig (our book designer) after therapy at the local Barnes & Noble. We spent an hour running up and down the aisles looking at books of all sorts in search of a great new format for the fiction series I'm writing. Teaser: I found a perfect book format... in the bird fieldguide section. Aren't you curious? Good! More on that project shortly...

We had a great birthday dinner with nephew, Blake, last night. No, I didn't get a picture of him. Again. I promised you a photo, so I put this cheerleading Whippet in its place, because this dog looks almost as thrilled to have its picture taken as Blake does! lol

Have a great Thursday!

Big Day Today

Big day planned today. I have therapy this afternoon, followed by a meeting with Craig - our book designer extraordinairre. Subject: the design for our new fiction series. I would like to break out of the traditional an oh-so-tired publishing format for adult fiction. Kids' fiction is filled with interesting and innovative books. The non-fiction shelves aren't boring either. I'd like to do something visually unexpected with this series. I hope Mitch, Craig and I are able to come up with a game plan this afternoon.

Following our meeting, Mitch and I will head across town to celebrate nephew Blake's birthday. I wanted to show you a picture of Blake today, but he's more camera shy than the illusive Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I'll try to get a picture of him at dinner tonight.

Happy Tuesday!

Thanks for the Encouragement!

Okay, the fog is starting to lift. I'm talking about emotional fog; mine set in last Wednesday after I met my new neurologist.  Good news: she's a tiny Chinese doctor with a great sense of humor and - best of all - she listens!  Mitch and I like her very much. Bad news: Both the radial and median nerves are damaged in addition to the chemical neuropathy. It's been six and a half months since the injury occured.  She said I may see some small improvement in the next few weeks, but the damage is irreversible. "Small improvement" is a far cry from the "return to normal" I've been pushing for.

My perky little therapist says we should give it six more weeks of therapy to see how much strength we can build. I think she was a cheerleader in a previous life. That's good though; I'd much rather have a perky optimist working on me than a depressing shrub. Needless to say, the past few days have been rocky and I haven't been fit company. Poor Mitch. He's a trooper.  I decided that the very best thing for me to do is jump headlong into another writing project - a big one - so that's exactly what I'm going to do. Look for new project notes this week.

Work. The best therapy in the world.