Saturday, March 26, 2011

Cervical Manipulation

Now that I am feeling slightly better, I will give you all an update on what's been going on this past week.

I went to see yet another new doctor on Wednesday.  He is an Internist, as well as a Chiropractor.  His partner is a Doctor of Physical Therapy.

My father's girlfriend referred him to me as he has helped her tremendously with back pain.

He did the usual...took a thorough medical history and did an extensive neurological exam.  The findings of the neuro exam were basically the same as always...nystagmus and vertigo....blah, blah, blah.  I used to be so poised and had excellent balance...now...not so much.  I wobble and fall all over the place.  One finding he found to be interesting...I seemed to have delayed reflexes.  Not that I really even know what the significance of that is. 

I also had x-rays taken of my cervical spine.  Now, in the past I have had MRI's...but never x-rays.  I knew I had some abnormalities from my MRI's, such as Spondylosis....but according to the x-rays and from what this doctor said when he delivered my results...my cervical spine is a mess!  His reponse...and I quote..."I don't even like to see this in someone in their 60's...especially someone that is only 33."  Great.  Fantastic.  Just what I wanted to hear.

One possibly good thing about this is...I might have an answer for my chronic head pain and occipital neuralgia.  Obviously, the migraine with aura is just an added bonus.

Anyways...from what he said...my cervical spine is completely curved in the opposite direction of what it is supposed to be.  My c3 & c4 disc is completely degenerated, causing my vertebrae to basically be collapsed onto one another, with bone spurs sticking into my nerves...and my c5 & c6 have become fixated, as well as my c2 being tilted to the right, instead of straight up and down.  He also said my muscles have low tone and are not holding my cervical spine in place....causing what he called "Myofascial Pain Syndrome."

Another theory.  Yippee.  So which out of the bazillion is right?

Anyhow...went and had cervical manipulation done on Thursday, followed by ultrasound and electric stim with heat.

This cervical manipulation is like nothing I have had before...and it HURT!  It kind of was a "hurt so good" feeling while being done, but afterwards, I almost passed out and felt like he broke my neck.  I supposedly had a vagal response.

I have never had my neck pulled and popped in so many directions. 

I went home, iced and took some pain medicine and dragged myself to work yesterday morning.

I was doing ok until about 4pm.  While taking a phone call from a physician and scheduling an induction...it happened.  The dreaded loss of vision.  When I loose my vision...it's always a bad sign.  I lost my vision, my version of a migraine aura, almost immediately vomited up my lunch, became tingly and freezing cold, had loud, obnoxious ringing in my ears...and about 15 minutes later...came the debilitating pain.

So...it would appear that my so-called treatment & therapy...threw me into a severe migraine attack.

Lovely.

My co-workers called Jesse to come pick me up, and I have been hopped up on pain medication since, with ice attached to my head.  At one point I begged Jesse to take me to the ER...but he reminded me that until this week, I am between Neurologists...and the ER docs don't really know shit when it comes to treating migraine.  So I didn't go.  And...here I am..wasting more of my life in bed, in pain...abandoning my job, my children, Jesse...etc...all because I am in too much pain to move.

10 comments:

Migrainista said...

I can see how that kind of manipulation would cause problems for the head. Sounds like it was an especially bad one. I feel for you and hope you are back on your feet soon.

Heather said...

I do hope you feel better tomorrow!!!! Ugh! Take care of yourself best you can and lets hope the next time you see the doctor it won't be so bad!

Shauna said...

Ohhhh Jess,

I understand now what your comment at my place meant.

Personally, I don't believe in or trust manipulation of the spine. Having said that, I certainly do NOT put the practice down or what works for others. We can only go on what we know from our personal experiences.

The new findings are definitely sad and I am really sorry to hear that. It is almost as if we just don't want to have any new MRI's, X-rays, etc., because when we get the results, although it may explain the pain we feel a bit more, it is disheartening and hard to take. And your X-ray had a lot of news.

I am praying for you Jess, and I hope you let me know of any new happenings that have occurred since the new treatments. I just don't think that it should hurt at any time to be treated. But that's just me.

Please get some rest, and let it go that you are letting others down. You won't be worth much if you try to take care of everyone else first without taking care of yourself; even if that means resting for as long as it takes for you to be out of the acute pain you are feeling.

With love and gentle hugs---<3
Shauna

Della said...

Jessica, I'm so sorry you are hurting so much. Spinal deformation and bone spurs jabbing and growing in and around nerves is so painful. Yours is worse than mine! I hope that now that they know more of what is wrong with you, they can do something to help, even if it requires surgery. Please rest and take it easy dear girl, and know that you are being though of with hopes of strength and healing sent your way.

Spring said...

I'm so sorry you are in so much pain Jessica. I had chrinic migraines for years, but thankfully found a great chiropractor who identified my problem in one visit and was able to fix it starting that day. My neck was curved in the wrong direction and was pinching my brain stem. I had gone to doctors for years and had all kinds of scans and was just given pain meds by each one. Nothing compared to your ordeal or your pain I'm sure, but I do sympathize. I hope you are feeling better soon!!!

Jamie said...

I'm so sorry, Jessica. I hope that the pain subsides. Did you let you doctor know that the manipulation was painful? Be sure to tell him that and about your migraine attack. I've been to several chiropractors (before and after my car accident), and you shouldn't feel so bad afterward. I hope you get to feeling better soon.

Jessica said...

Yea...I'm thinking the "treatment" should'nt have hurt so badly, nor should it have thrown me into a major migraine attack. I go back to his office tomorrow and I will let him know. I also see my new neuro on Thurs...so i'll see what he says.

Sue said...

Oh Jessica, I'm so sorry to hear this. As if the treatment wasn't bad enough, to add a migraine too...ugh.

My most recent diagnosis is also Myofascial Pain Syndrome, which at this point seems to respond fairly well ( if not 100 percent) to nerve blocks.

Feel better soon."..

WinnyNinny PooPoo said...

chiropractic manipulation didn't help me either. The dizziness can result if he moved your axis and/or atlas at the top of your spine that your head rests on. I kept bumping my head into things like it was a bit swollen brain balloon. I wouldn't try that again!!!

ER docs might not know what to do for a migraine but they do know how to knock you out for 24 hours. Believe me I've had that done a few times. I have never had one call a neurologist yet so my regular doc situation doesn't seem to matter.

Hope you are better by today!!!

Jessica said...

Hey Winny...acccording to the doctor...my axis is already out of line. He did say that might be part of my problem...esp with vertigo. It's completely tilted to the right. I saw the xray.

When I have gone to the ER in the past...the dr on call would get an order from my Neuro to start the "3D's". A few times when I went to my ER where I work...they just knock me out. Both seem to help somewhat...but I hate going to the ER either way! I do know that desperate times call for desperate measures...guess I wasn't at that point though. Took my own narcotics & knocked myself out!