|
Yes, I am starting to get better. I can now gently go off the edge of the bed onto my hands and knees and crawl into the bathroom with my back only getting very tight and moderate pain, but not spasming or having shooting pains. I suspect some nerves are involved because I lost so much strength in my arms and legs that there would be no way I could stand up by myself without my husband supporting my weight. In fact, where a week ago I could hold myself up with my arms on the toilet seat to avoid the pain of sitting, by Saturday morning when I finally had to get up, my arms wouldn't hold me unless I locked my elbows.
The worst of this started last Monday 4/26. Tuesday I called UCLA Spine Center, which already had a referral for me to just generally try to see where I am at compared to my MRI's from 8 years ago when I broke T11 vertebrae, but more important was the fractures of L5 I was born with that never healed and the deteriorating disks.
Thursday, I went to a top doctor there. But another doctor came in to examine me and the head doctor only came in for a couple of minutes. I came right out and asked him for an MRI and he refused. He did order a repeat of x-rays (I had a set a month ago) in case I had another compression fracture. He said my lumbar area was very tight and I have a lumbar strain, and would probably start getting better in 10 days. I was crying with pain going into the center and my room, and again getting off the table I was lying on, to show him I can walk. Because I was in so much pain walking or trying to sit, I forgot to ask for pain meds. He gave me none or any muscle relaxers.
I asked the first doctor if hyper-extending my neck for a week laying down working at my computer could affect my lower back, he said it might. When I asked the second (bigger) doctor the same question he said no. I realize sitting slumped over, sewing at my sewing machine, and doing hand sewing could potentially cause problems to a back with disks that have lost height, which makes the vertebrae unstable and may shift forward.
When a doctor takes your history plus does a cursory exam in 15 or 20 minutes they don't know your back or what has happened. I was disappointed he refused me an MRI. I can see that although I was planning to go there before this acute problem arose, I will not learn any more from them. I have found online on YouTube a professor Dr. Stuart McGill in Canada that is the world's leading expert on lower (lumbar) backs. I will learn from his many interviews on YouTube, plus I will buy his book. His initial exam takes 3 hours. He has given classes or trained 2 levels of practitioners. The upper layer consists of 15 or 20 worldwide with maybe a half dozen in the US, with 1 near me. I'm sure the cost is exorbitant since they deal with top athletes, weight lifters, top people of all kinds, even the Royal Family.
Today is Monday again, my 8th day, and my third time crawling on my hands and knees once a day, for my "have-to" visit to the restroom. I still have no strength is stand up by myself once there. Holding myself with my arms off the seat is a little better. Yesterday, with my husband carrying my weight I walked the 15' back to bed, but would have fainted without him; with only pain but not shooting or spasms. I did have some just lying down.
Today although I crawled to the restroom I not only walked back, I walked (with my husband supporting me with his strong arm) the 10' between the bed and the restroom about 6 times and even into the next room before I was starting to feel faint and my back was threatening to spasm. What a victory, thank you Lord and thank you FS members for your support.
|