Hi all, a quick breakdown,
have an emergency situation, been in ER all day just to get STAT MRI ordered by neurosurgeon from UC Davis spine center Dr Panchal is my neurosurgeon there, I had the MRI done in Fairfield by where I live, will be picked up by ambulance and taken to UC Davis for surgery if that is what he says is best..
I have several spinal problems, 1. syringomyelia with chiari malformation 2. severe spinal stinosis of the c-spine with herniation's and other bad things, degeneration and so on, many pinched nerves 3. he did a “flick finger test” on my middle finger and said it was positive and made sure the other 2 doctors in the room wrote it down, did that test 10 times to be sure
the past week I have had paralysis complete left side of body from head to toe, mouth so numb feel like shot full of Novocain, most of the bad numbness has somewhat subsided but still comes and goes, teeth staying numb,,,
I am praying it is from the srynx at my c-7, my c-1 through c-5 are severely unstable, his concern is it can paralyze me for life if the surgery not done to correct it in time!
He mention a fusion type of surgery, all was a blur to me, he asked me to stay and have testing there, but had to get ride from insurance and they had a time schedule to keep so I told him I had to go home and he made me promise to go to ER today and I did, took all day to get the MRI done, and by then he had gone home, so hope to talk with him in morning. Had to catch last bus home, and still had not got results from ER doc, so told him I needed to catch the bus or would be walking home over 10 miles, and no friends or family here to help me not even a neighbor
I have spasms so bad they pull my ribs out and have to be put back into place 1 to 2 times a week and horrific pain in neck today along with bad back spasms between shoulders, have ice on both
Allergic to EVERYTHING! All opiates thrown at me so far make heart palpitate,,,, Tylenol is only pain med I can handle, scared as hell the pain of this surgery will kill me! Sad smile or leave me paralyzed from neck down, if nothing done the disc will paralyze me he said, and eventually the srynx will to but least it is slower and it is not operable and a bone spur growing right into the middle of the dam thing to top it off, so srynx look like a peanut shape, like an 8, it is 9mm by ?? don’t know the latest but last yr was 9mm, yr before was 3 x 5 mm, so growing fast.
My esophagus no longer works, so will have g-tube for the surgery and recovery am sure,,can get soft foods down now with lots of water...
Dr Panchal is the best of the best for this type of surgery, he does what most will run from that I do know, he came highly recommended from the foundation of my disease, as well he studied under my main specialist and did his residency under him and excelled all that I have been to so far, except Dr Nwealt at OHSU...love him..but feel Dr Panchal is very qualified and if anyone to do this he is the right one...just so scared, very very scared
Last April he was talking full c-spine laminectomy, and a cranial decompression an some other scary stuff, then a pre op meeting he said I was to young for it yet, actually praying a fusion if thar all he is talking about now, like I said my mind went on fog state his lips were moving but I did not hear much of what he said, just was in such shock
So sorry to throw this on everyone being new hear an all but don’t know what to expect or where to begin, found the what to take to hospital an so on, great list...but with no pain control,,,,do not know if I will be able to handle this, any of it having hard time managing it now, getting epidurals every 2 months and the last one went terribly wrong in so many ways, can’t even get started on that mess,,will if I live through this, it is a scary story for sure, dumb ass doc that thought he knew what he was doing did not look at my MRI BEFORE the dam procedure an so on, gets worse! Still feel last epidural doc hit through disc or something? Herd bad neck bone cracks for days after it, never had that before either...
And after the last 2 epidurals had heart palpitations from the lidocaine
Also, get some relief from cort trigger injections, best relief 2 to 3 weeks most ribs do not go out at least..but can’t get those that much either
SO, I guess I need emotional support, and any advice you seasoned c-spine patients have to offer as I am at a loss right now
Thank you in advance!