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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Medical Update - Still Waiting for an Answer



I know many of you have been waiting for an update since I had my MRI.  I was waiting anxiously, myself, to find out what the cause is of all this mess.  I had the MRI last Thursday and was told my doctor would receive the report that afternoon or first thing in the morning.  I should expect to hear from her on Friday or Monday at the latest.  

I waited with bated breath, wondering what the answer would be.  Scar tissue?  Torn ligaments?  Arthritis in the joint?  Something worse?

 
Late Friday evening, just before 8:00, my doctor called with the news.  Or should I say, lack thereof.  The MRI showed nothing.  Nothing.

The radiologist indicated it was a normal pelvic MRI.  Well, actually, he stated normal pelvic ultrasound.  She thinks that was a typo and planned to contact him on Monday to confirm that he actually read my MRI and not the ultrasound I had last month.  She was also hoping to get a copy of the actual MRI, since she knows something about reading them herself.  She is also going to consult with another internist and the surgeon who did my hernia surgery.  

She’s at a loss.  We all are.  Thankfully, she’s not giving up on looking for an answer but in the meantime, I’m back to waiting.  I still can’t move my right leg.  I’m still in constant pain, though, thankfully the severity of that pain varies considerably.  And there is no apparent reason why my leg won’t move or why I’m in pain.  I truly don’t understand that.

I’m back in physical therapy, which is a mixed blessing.  I think it does help to some degree but it also gets things hurting on a pretty consistent basis.  Both my doctor and my PT are leaning toward that awful prolotherapy as a solution.  I’ve looked into it some more and it sounds even worse than what my doctor first explained.  It involves multiple rounds of glucose shots into the problem ligament where it attaches to the muscle or bone.  The shots are very painful and the resulting inflammation is also very painful.  Also, you can’t take anti-inflammatories for relief because the inflammation is supposed to happen in order for it to heal correctly.  You repeat the therapy until the ligament is healed and doing its job correctly.  Oh, also it’s expensive and not typically covered by insurance.  I am absolutely not sold on this idea.
    

I’m exploring some other options while my doctor also looks into her side of things.  I plan to go back on a modified anti-inflammatory diet, work with my PT on exercises, as well as rules I should follow to prevent injury (and I will follow them to a T), and an essential oil protocol that is supposed to help regenerate damaged ligaments.  

I wish I had some news—I would have taken good or bad.  At least, I would have had a game plan and goal to work toward to get better.  This not knowing and thus, not knowing how to fix it, is the pits!  Not to fall into a pity party but I’m pretty tired of hurting all the time, not being able to move and do simple tasks (like getting dressed or putting on shoes without contortions).  I won’t go into the amount of weight I’ve gained this year being totally inactive.

Ok, I’m done with the pity party.

Mostly, I wanted to update you all, since you’ve all been so caring in messaging me, texting me, and asking me how my test went and what the results were.  I wish I had a good answer to give you.  Thank you for your continued prayers and love.  It is all so very appreciated. 

God is good!