Not that anyone is asking

RadishRose said:
What an awful thing to have happened Murr. I feel so bad for you. It sounds serious but you recovered so it may not be as serious as it sounded at first.

I'm glad you already have your appointments scheduled. I can't imagine what it could be. You think it's your spine? I wish you luck with your visit and I hope you don't need any surgery and that physical therapy will help to improve your condition.

🌹 🌹 🌹
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I'm pretty sure it's my spine. The spinal nerves, specifically. There's a lot going on in there; I have a relatively mild birth defect - spina bifida occulta, where the back bones didn't completely close around the spinal cord (which is why the military rejected me), so there's a small gap that isn't supposed to be there. The SBO cause scoliosis, and then there was the horrible fall I took about 20 years ago, which caused spinal fractures and crushed some vertebrae. Years later, a result of the fall, damaged nerves branching out of my spine healed and sort of regrew (or rerouted) but they regrew in kind of a mess. And there's no fixing that. What my surgeon did is carve out some bone to make room for these little nests of nerve tissue so they weren't sitting on top of each other. That was causing horrible pain and temporary paralysis, like I had this morning.

So I don't know if nerve tissue is still growing in there, or they're just touching each other or what. And I don't know if an MRI can capture images of nerves. I don't think so. My surgeon had no idea of the mess that was in there until he opened me up for surgery back in 2017. The MRI is probably mainly to check the hardware and the curvature and stenosis and stuff.

I think there's a good chance he'll want to do another surgery. Not looking forward to that.
 

How frightening for Michelle, even though you knew what was happening!
Hope your face is okay, Murr.

My son-in-law, who had scoliosis when he was younger, went through something similar to what you described, a few years ago, in the middle of the night. Daughter was so frightened, she called 911. His driver's license was suspended for several months.
 
Pinky said:
How frightening for Michelle, even though you knew what was happening!
Hope your face is okay, Murr.

My son-in-law, who had scoliosis when he was younger, went through something similar to what you described, a few years ago, in the middle of the night. Daughter was so frightened, she called 911. His driver's license was suspended for several months.
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That's something I'm worried about. My driving privileges.

It's really interesting that your son-in-law had scoliosis and then had temporary paralysis years later. I'm going to look into that - the mechanics of it. Just out of interest.

You know, I think there's a lot of people walking around with unseen spinal problems. Problems that don't show up in an MRI or CAT Scan. Minuscule anomalies that cause major pain, but also problems you wouldn't think are related. Like incontinence, indigestion or breathing difficulties.

My face is ok, thanks. A lasting impression of the carpet is tattooed on my chin, but I'll just skip shaving for a few days and let my demi-beard cover it up.
 
Gemma said:
It can. https://www.houstonmri.com/blog/can-you-see-nerve-damage-in-an-mri-21873.html

A CT scan with contrast would too.

I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you. I'll be thinking about you!

You know, if your wife would have called 911 and had you taken to the hospital, you might not have had to wait to get tests done in mid August...they might have ordered them right there and then.
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They probably would have given me some Vicodin and left me lying on one of those back-busting gurneys until a qualified MRI technician clocked in at 7 or 8 a.m. That's usually how it goes.

Plus, these episodes have always only lasted maybe 45 minutes tops, total. I was sure it would end "any minute now." Also, dragging myself around on a walker helps bring my legs back. I don't think they'd have let me do that in the ER. Certainly not without a couple of assistants.

I've had several MRIs and various scans, with and without contrast, and none of them caught the messed up nerve bundles in the vertebrae. I even went through 2 image-guided nerve root procedures when they may have been visible, but they just weren't noticed. They are mostly within the foramen, a tiny tunnel in the bone on each side of each vertebra, so it's understandable. They'd have to be specifically looking for these things, and position me in a certain way to capture an image. No one knew they were there until I was flayed open during surgery.

After I talk to the surgeon about this latest episode and some new symptoms, I expect he'll want a CT scan with contrast before moving forward with another surgery. And he knows what to look for.
 
Murrmurr said:
Occasionally, my legs go out, and suddenly it'll feel like they aren’t even there. They go completely numb and lose all strength. It usually happens when I get out of bed, and it’s weird because I can swing my legs out of bed and put my feet on the floor, no problem, but when I go to stand up, I just collapse. It’s only then that I realize I can’t feel my legs. Or my feet. After a few minutes my legs feel like they’re on fire, and the heat intensifies and then ebbs several times. It comes in waves, and it hurts like hell when each wave reaches its peak. I’ve actually yelled really loud a few times, that’s how intense it can get. It literally feels like lava is flowing through the veins in my legs and feet.

Anyway, that used to happen about every 3 to 6 weeks, but it hasn’t happened for several months, until early this morning. Must have been about 3am when I got up to go to the bathroom and when I stood up I immediately did a face-plant onto the carpet. My chin hit pretty hard because my not-fully-awake brain thought I was walking when I wasn’t, so my head and shoulders had all this momentum while the rest of me hadn’t budged.

The fall alone was alarming enough for my poor wife, but when I started getting the sensation that feels like someone’s taking a blowtorch to my lower extremities, she totally freaked out. Every time that sensation peaked, Michelle yelled “I’m calling 9-1-1!” And I kept yelling back, “It’ll pass! Just give it a few more minutes, I’ll be fine!”

Well instead of a few minutes like usual, the fire finally died out after about half an hour. And that’s when my legs usually just tingle, and maybe twitch a bit for a while. Usually. And then I can get up and walk around with my walker until the feeling comes back 100%. But that didn’t happen. Both legs just laid there….dead.

At 6am I finally told Michelle she could go get Josh, a close friend who lives upstairs. He helped Michelle get me to the bathroom (at last! >whew<) and dug my walker out of the closet. Even with my legs gone, just holding myself up on the walker stretched my spine, and after about 10 minutes of holding myself up and letting my dead legs act as traction, they started tingling and I could move them, and started walking…sort of. I had to use the walker till around 8 this morning, and I fell down a few times, unhurt. Michelle went to work late, but she called in so they’re ok with it. She was still kind of freaked out when she left, though.

I’m pretty freaked out too. I don’t know what’s happening. I mean, I know it has to do with my spinal nerves, somewhere between L4 and S1, probably, but I don’t know exactly what’s going on there. I’m really worried I might have to be back in a wheelchair soon. :(

Fortunately, I have an appointment with my back surgeon next month. I asked my PCP for a referral last week because of a fierce, very localized new pain in my lower back. The surgeon's office scheduled me for an MRI on Aug 15th, and then I see the surgeon on the 22nd. So, that’s all good. And something that’s really cool; I can go to the medical center’s website and then log into my medical chart to see detailed results of the MRI before I see the surgeon. It’s cool because when you know what’s in the analysis, you can make sure the surgeon doesn’t skip anything, and you know what questions to ask.
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Did it happen to you any time other than when you get out of bed?
 
So sorry to hear this. Sort of wish you would have called 911. They could have accessed your records and the doctor's notes I would think. But I know how it is going to the ER on a 911 call. You do have to wait forever. Maybe if you call the surgeon your visit could be moved up a bit since this was so traumatic. I really don't understand why the contrast was not done. I have had several and always with contrast. Mine have always been with the brain so maybe dealing with the back is a different protocol. Prayers for a good outcome and good answers!














































prayers
 
terry123 said:
So sorry to hear this. Sort of wish you would have called 911. They could have accessed your records and the doctor's notes I would think. But I know how it is going to the ER on a 911 call. You do have to wait forever. Maybe if you call the surgeon your visit could be moved up a bit since this was so traumatic. I really don't understand why the contrast was not done. I have had several and always with contrast. Mine have always been with the brain so maybe dealing with the back is a different protocol. Prayers for a good outcome and good answers!
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Thanks, Terry. Sometimes my medical coverage won't pay for image w/contrast. Not sure why. I emailed the surgeon's office to see about moving the appointment date but the imaging has to be done first, and that one can't be changed. I've been doing fine as long as I take it easy, so haven't been getting as much exercise, but I'll catch up later. Also, my PCP told me to take the 100mg Gabapentin between my Norco doses, which seems to be helping.

Thank you for the prayers, little buddy.
 
CAKCy said:
Did it happen to you any time other than when you get out of bed?
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Yes, it used to happen several times a day, but that was before I had major back surgery in 2017. It's happened very sporadically over the past year, like, a handful of times, I'd say, but not before then and not nearly as bad as this last time.
 
Murrmurr said:
Michelle finally agreed to let me post a photo.
This is my Marvelous Mrs. Murr....as sweet as she looks.

View attachment 177983

Also, the latest photo of my newest great-granddaughter, Mischievous Miss Maddie (aka, the Barefoot Princess). She's looking more and more like her mother ❤️❤️❤️

View attachment 177984
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Beautiful wife, @Murrmurr and that baby girl is stinking precious. Will be keeping you in my prayers.
 
I've been so, so tired lately. There's a new kind of pain in my lower back lately, a bad one, really stubborn. I'll be seeing my back surgeon about it in a few weeks. So that's slowed me down, but I'm pretty sure it's the Gabapentin that's making me feel so tired. I doze off 2 or 3 times a day for well over an hour. That's no fun. My doc reduced the Gabapentin dosage by a lot, but I'm still tired about a half hour after taking it. So, last Friday, I stopped taking it 3 times a day. I just take it when I really have to; once, maybe twice a day. The upside is that it stops the excruciating leg/foot cramps I get. Anyway, I emailed my PCP and we're gonna figure something out with the meds. I hope the back surgeon finds the problem, then maybe he can fix it.

Paxton's coming over next weekend. This time his little brother is coming, too. His name is Landon. Their foster mom told me that Landon has been smearing his feces "all over the house." He's never done that before - I asked his former foster mom, his grandma, and his parents, and they all said Nope, that's new. This little guy is only 2 years and 4 months old and he's been thrust into 3 very different homes; hopeful adoptive parents for over a year, bio-mom's home for around 8 months, and now another foster home. I mean, no wonder he's acting out.

Landon cried the last time I picked up Paxton for his weekend. He wanted to go with Uncle Frank, too. Now that there's a driver bringing Paxton here (and I drive him back), he (Paxton) probably won't fuss too much about Landon coming along this time. I'm gonna take them to my nephew's football game, and maybe the zoo if we can get tickets for the day we want. Sacramento has a really great Zoo; natural environments and all that. Plus, Fairy-Tale Town is across from it.

Anyway, I hope the weekend goes well. I'm gonna be sure to thank Paxton for being an awesome dude by bringing his brother with him. What a great guy for that, right?

Today is only Tuesday. Doesn't feel like it.
 
terry123 said:
So sorry to hear about the pain in your back getting worse. Hoping you can get some relief soon. Glad you are seeing Paxton again. Is this the child that is being mean to Paxton? Hoping for a good visit and saying prayers for your issues with your back.
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Yes, Landon is the little brother who hits, bites, scratches, and throws toys at Paxton. Paxton would be covered with injuries when his mom brought him over on weekends. But since moving in with their new foster family, I've only seen one bite on Paxton; on his arm. No other injuries. The foster mom told me on Monday that the boys are getting along really well now. They spend a lot of time together and even hug each other when they get home from their separate pre-schools.

I can't wait to get to know Landon better. He's sure a cute little guy. He always runs to me for a hug when he sees me. If all goes well, and if Paxton is ok with it, I'm gonna offer to have all 3 of them for some weekend down the road. The little girl, Landon's twin sister, Zoey, is very stand-offish and wary (trauma related, I'm sure). She might not want to come to Aunt and Uncle Murr's house, so I won't pressure her. But maybe she'll gauge Pax and Landon's reactions after their visit here, and then decide to come too. We'll see.

If my back surgeon doesn't see something fixable I'm just gonna ask my PCP for a stronger pain med or dose increase. I've insisted on keeping dosages to a minimum for years now, but I'm over it. I just want to get the pain under control any way I can.
 

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