Anyway, my doctor said he'll refer me to this neurologist, and if I wanted to go then I could if I didn't I didn't have to and to just stick with him. I should have done that. I took the advice on here, I went to that web site and printed up all that was on there about RLS and med's and everything and took that with me today. It did me no good at all. I knew more on RLS than he did and he had 2 students in with him as welll.
Now while there he asked me for any reports, him being in the military hospital where my doctor is as well, they always get your record there so when you turn up they've looked through your file. He had nothing there and when he asked me, I said well I thought you'd have them being that your the inhouse specialist and I"m not going off base, because if I would have gone off base then I would have had to do that.
I went to a Neurologist years ago in Australia, when I went to him in australia, I went because I found a large numb spot on my left side of my buttocks. He examined me and found I had very sensitive feet, in other words not normal. Then he proceeded to the rest of my legs and found that I had different feelings in my calfs and thighs, not full feeling in other words or differnt feeling to the other side or even numb areas.
He was the one who told me that if I can't take one kind of anti-inflamatory that I won't be able to take any kind of anti-flamatory.
So I go to this appointment today and I have never seen anything like it before. I swear to god, it was set up like a school principals office. He sat behind his small desk with blank lose pieces of paper and his students.
I sat about 2 meters across from him in a chair.
I actually really only went to see him because I had noticed numbness in my calfs and thighs and buttocks and arms. The med's my doctor put me on for RLS were working, so I thought I'd see him about this while there.
He ended up having to go and call other places to get reports that I didn't have with me. One was a report on an MRI that I had done, another was a report on a Myelogram that I had done, while my husband was in Baghdad. He never got the report of the x-ray though that showed the area of my tailbone being fractured. But if I knew what the Myelogram was going to be all about, I would never have had that done, while I was alone here with 2 kids and my husband deployed. I took a very bad reaction to it and ended up in the E.R. 3 times and it was my doctor who prescribed pain medication for me, I couldn't even lift my head it was too painful. I got nothing from this specialist today and only annoyed me and my husband and we could tell the student actually wasn't impressed with his work on me either. It was the student who asked me how long now have you had the sciatic pain for now, I said 2 days now. The specialist told myself and my husband that he couldn't help me with my sleep problem or my anxiety, which actually if one doesn't get sleep, the other kinda falls into place. He tells me I have to see someone else for either one of those things. Then he didn't test my legs for numbness, he put a cold round object of some kind on the top of my feet and asked if I could feel that. Yeah of course I can feel that. He told me he couldn't treat me for my back, that I was there today for RLS, which he knew nothing about. But at least I got copies of my reports on tests I had done on my back. He also tells me that this will be a life time illness and it's just something I'll have to handle.
Looking at my tests I had done on my back, the only thing that I don't have a report on is my fractured tailbone, but what I do have reports on is :
At L2-3, there is mild diffuse bulging disc slightly asymmetric lateralizing to the right. There is mild ventral flattening of the thecal sac.
At L3-4, ther eis a moderate sized diffuse bulging disc with ventral flattening of the thecal sac. Mild inferior neural foraminal encroachment.
At L4-5, there is a mild diffuse bulging disc with ventral flattening of the thecal sac.
At L5-S1, there is a moderate sized diffuse bulging disc with ventral impression upon the thecal sac. At the disc level, there does appear to b bulging disc that extends into the inferior neural foramina bilaterally. That is from the CT.
The Myelogram Lumbar basically says the same, but it also says,
There is question of mild asymmetric nerve root filling with slight diminished nerve root filling on the left when compared with the right at L5-S1.
The MRI states that I have Degenerative facet joint changes present bilaterally L5 - S1, in other words Degenerative disk disease with the left S1 Radiculitis.
All I understand about this is that something isn't right with the nerve or nerve endings someplace. And RLS is something to do with the central Nervous system.
I'm wondering if both are linked some how or what. But what got me the most and angry today was when the idiot Neurologist said to me just before walking out the door, he stated that they really couldn't give me anything to treat my lower back pain, because it would conflict with my medicine for RLS. Which I thought was a load of crock. Because when I printed up that url that you kind people put me on to, I found things on there that I have been put on back in Illinois when my back went out and is on the list also for RLS.
My left arm I've had in a what you call it a ummm....kinda brace for a week now, it started in my wrist and now is still in my wrist the ache but it goes all the way up my arm and it is painful. If I wrapped it and cut the circulation off, it would relieve some of the pain, until I had to unwrap to give the circulation back into my arm.
He told me, he must have noticed I was upset, well I told him I was frustrated, especially when my husband asked him, well what happens when she hasn't had any sleep for 2 to 3 days, can we come in and see you, he said, well you'd have to go through central appointments and book an appointment and we both know what going through that is like. He asked me if I wanted a second opinion other than his. I replied back, well there is no one in this area that knows or treats RLS. He said well there is Alabama. I said to him straight up, I should have just stuck with my doctor, but thought I might be able to get some more input or something, he didn't like my remark. I have lost all tolerance with them all. I go through bouts of anger, because of all the BS, excuse my lingo, but I'm so upset,frustrated, it's just I can't even find the words to explain it. My marriage feels like it's on a roller coaster, along with my body. I think my husband is fed up with me being this way. If its not my back its my RLS. Then I have my kids and his to look after and he'll be going away to school for 6 weeks and I'll be here alone again.
There are times where I just don't want to be here anymore. I've had enough. God forbid if I was to tell a doctor that, they would send me to someone a shrink, and he would sit there and watch me and only make me feel worse. So I call Australia and talk with my sister who has back problems and is on her 4th back surgury and is in constant pain, and I know she'd understand how and what I'm feeling.
On top of all this, my son was in a car accident last night, he got whip lash out of it, but I had to basically argue with my husband to take him to the E.R. to have him checked out. A few weeks before that he got a speeding fine of $300, and last night will cost me on the fine he got as well, which will be $112.00 then the repair to the car we got a rough quote for around $850, then the other guy when he makes his claim on our insurance and even if he doesn't, because he basically just got a scratch on the sight, we got more damage. It's going to raise our car insurance and it's christmas time and we also are still going through my husband's ex wife for custody of his son, he's of age to choice but she's prolonging and making lies and things difficult. then I have my son on medication that he has to be monitored on because it's possible side effect is depression and suidice, also last friday, he broke up a fight at school which the principal called him a hero, but he got hurt and ended up in the E.R. and the area he got hurt in was the same area they treated last night after his car accident. Then we have to move between the 22nd of dec thru to the 29th of dec from base housing. Going from a 3 bedroom to a 4 bedroom, because the kids since we've had my husbands' son living here, it's been cramped. So we have to take it, but it's smack in the week of christmas and if you know anything about military base housing cleaning inspections, there very picky. If i had the money I would have had someone else come in and do that so we could at least get some kind of normality in our lives. But I start my period right on the 22nd and finish the day before inspection and when my period hits with this cold weather as well, my back is gone as it is now and now my left arm, it took me 2 days to scrub the stove/oven clean to there approval. I did that a few weeks ago, cuz I knew that would take the most time. Anyway, I've really talked way way too much tonight, I'm at my witts ends right now.
I'm sorry for all this yapping, but Im awake with nothing to do and lots going thru my mind and no faith left.
Thanks for the ones who always reply back to me and some how or other always seem to make me feel better. Your special kind of people to do that, there are more that just don't want to know, or don't care. But you all put your time in not just for yourselves, but for others, and that's a very very good quality in a person. And if you've never been told that before I'm telling you now, you are remarkable truly caring people. Thank you.
Irena
