That's All for the Night

Ok, my last three weeks has finally been updated. I'm all done with the posts.

Just so you all know, the only reason these weren't published as we went is so that I didn't terrify my family until I knew what was going on. If it ended up being something serious, I wanted to tell them in person rather than them read it here. Otherwise, I would have been posting here all along. I hope you aren't all too upset with me and understand my reasons.

I do still have one more announcement to make but this is enough for the night. Besides, I need to talk to someone before I make the announcement.

Huggles to all and with any luck things will slow down now so I can post like I should. :)

Spoiler Alert... Read First paragraph

Yes, you read that right. This has a spoiler alert attached. I know how some people would rather read the whole story and live the terror before knowing the outcome so this is your chance. If you want to live it... go back and read the posts that have the label Nightmare2. You might have to give it a bit because I have a lot of posts to proofread and publish but it is the only way you can really live it. (Remember to read from the bottom up!!!) I will post a message out here when I finish all the back posts as well so you know that it's safe. Now, if you don't want the ending spoiled... Stop reading now.

You've
been
warned...

Read
No
Further
if
you
want
to
live
it.




Long story condensed.

I began having an issue with a neck injury I've had for a few years. I referred to it in a previous entry. However, now that I have a brain tumor my chiropractor was concerned it was masking something occurring in my head. Thus he refused to work on me until I had spoken with my NeuroSurgeon. The next day I went to the Emergency Room the pain was so bad. (Never did see a doctor but that's another story entirely.) In the end, they called for a head/neck MRI. The head looked good but they found what they believed was a tumor in my C3 vertebra. The beginning of nightmare two. In the end, after a bone scan, it was determined that it was merely a hemangioma or a birthmark that had formed in my vertebra. Nothing to be seriously concerned with. We'll watch it. I have bigger fish to fry. Story ends.

Obviously it wasn't that laid back as we went through it but the story ended with a happy ending and that's the most important thing. Who knew a birthmark could terrify you? Now if you want you can read the story now that you know the outcome. *Huggles*

My Neck is Finally Adjusted

After having to delay for almost three weeks, I finally got my neck adjusted today. It was such a relief. Especially after that bone scan. My neck hurt horribly after having to be in an awkward position with it during the scan. My chiropractor feels better knowing that it's nothing serious and I feel A LOT better now that I'm not in constant pain. Life is good.

How Do You Spell Relief?

B-I-R-T-H-M-A-R-K

Well, just as I felt, the bone scan came back clean. :)

My GP wants to do a follow-up on Wednesday. I sure there is a battery of tests they will still want to perform to rule out anything else. However, there will be no more tests. I'm done with it.

Luckily, I also received a call from my NeuroSurgeon today. He is certain it is merely a birthmark... aka hemangioma. It's nothing to worry about although we may watch it just to make sure it doesn't try to invade space that my spinal cord should have to its lonesome. After holding my breath for a week, I can now breathe and the future doesn't look quite as grim. I trust this man with my life, and there's a reason. He doesn't need to scare you unnecessarily and honestly, I suspect he would have never even ordered a bone scan but it wasn't his decision to make at the time.

I trust his diagnosis. I trust him. So the plan will be simple. I will have MRIs for the rest of my life for my brain tumor. Now I'll occasionally have a head/neck MRI to make sure the hemangioma isn't growing.

You wouldn't believe how much this makes me feel better. *Huggles*

The Neck of It All

I'm not a doctor but I was looking at my scans here just a few minutes ago and I think things must be good. Here's my reason why:

The scans look uniform throughout with the exception of one spot up on my left jaw. Amazingly enough that spot is where I had the tooth pulled so it would make sense that there is bone development there.

I will definitely be giving a sigh of relief until I hear from the doctor. I'm still curious what the heck it is but I'm not worried about it right now.

I will post the scans some day. I tried to do it here but it didn't like them for some reason so this will come another day when I have more time to post.

I Don't Think I Glowed

On Thursday March 20 I had my first ever (and hopefully last) bone scan. We had to go in early in the morning and I received a shot of a radioactive material that will adhere to my bones in various degrees depending on activity of the bone cells. I was to return almost four hours later to have the scan.

When I returned, I had to lay down on a table similar to the one they use for the MRI. However, instead of laying head first, this one was feet first. They put a "giant rubber band" over my shoes to keep them still and together. Then they used a giant velcro closure to secure my arms to my side. After I was secure and instructed not to move, they raised the table and fed me into a machine.

The top of the machine reminded me of an xray in that it had the white board that is always in the area of the picture. For this test the started with my head and moved the machine up to the point my nose almost touched this board. (Anyone who thinks an MRI is claustrophobic should take caution with this test.) The machine sat there for several minutes before the bed slowly moved and scans were taken of every inch of my body. The scan itself took about 20 minutes and was pretty much just uncomfortable. My legs ached from not moving and the heat from the machine was enough that it would "burn" in the area but it was nothing unbearable.

After it completed my entire body, I was asked to turn my head all the way to the left and the machine was moved to my right side. This scan took approximately 10 minutes and was then repeated on my other side. These were the specific scans that were to be done of my neck to see if it is determinable what is going on. The worst part of these was turning my already hurting neck all the way to one side and holding it for 10 minutes. UGH

After it was over, I was given a copy of the CD and allowed to go home.

Obviously I have not got the experience looking at these that I do the MRIs. I quickly looked at them and then did all the research I could online. To me, they look good but I shall wait for the radiology report before I get to excited.

I hope this description helps someone some day. :)

I Can't Buy a Break

I received a call from my GPs office. The head checks out good but there was a spot found in my C3 vertebra during the MRI. The radiologist wishes to see a bone scan. The bone scan is scheduled. I do the first thing I could think of to get an honest opinion, I request the report and seek out my chiropractor.

Upon reading the report, reality hit me like a freight train. It was pretty obvious what they felt was going on. They felt the spot was a Met (cancer tumor that relocates from somewhere else in the body) or at the least a tumor. I walked into the chiropractor's office in shock. How was this possible? He read the report and looked at the scan and talked to me about it. He didn't have to explain to me what a Met was or what it meant, instead what I needed to know is what else it could be. It is a good thing he took the road he did. There are many types of tumor it could be that are not cancerous. One that is quite likely based on the look of it is a hemangioma. A hemangioma isn't serious unless is starts causing problems. This was a thought I would hold on to in order to get me through the weekend to come. The other good news he shared was that the report states there is no damage to the vertebra itself. It is in prime health. This is good. It hasn't progressed to the point of hurting it or my spinal cord.

The bone scan would give us an idea of whether it is a tumor and if it's malignant. If it shows up in the bone scan, it is very likely a malignant tumor. This could mean any number of things. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself here.

So, my second nightmare begins as the waiting starts again.

I Am Still in Pain

It's Monday, I am still in quite a bit of pain from my neck but I have not had any more episodes since Wednesday. Even the "shots of pain" that is typical of my neck are fewer and further between. Therefore, with any luck, I was able to readjust my neck myself and will be ok in the end with or without an adjustment.

The MRI looks good to my eyes so I don't think anything has changed in my head. As for my neck, who knows. I know nothing about necks. Something bad could be staring me in the face and I wouldn't know it. I'm beginning to think I should pursue my medical degree when this is all over... (I'm kidding)

It's Only Been Four Weeks

It has been four weeks since my last MRI but I'm not heading in for another. This time of the head and neck. My NeuroSurgeon believes this is the way to find out if it is anything to do with my head and to see if there might be more going on in my neck. It will answer a lot of questions and probably isn't a bad exercise. However, I'm not looking forward to another MRI.

So, the day before my birthday, I go in for another. It's not bad. They do the same thing as with your head but it takes a little longer. I think it added 30 minutes to the MRI.

Waiting in the Emergency Room

I actually had posted bits and pieces of what happened over the next few days but this will give actual information.

My chiropractor refused to work on me Monday. He was concerned with my neurological exam and was afraid I was using my neck to mask my head. I know that my neurological exam was caused from my trigeminal and the fact it had really bothered my right eye over the weekend. This happens on occasion. My right eye will get so dry from the nerve issues that it starts acting funny. I always know it's going to happen and this was no different. Regardless, it meant that I didn't get my neck adjusted and I continued to have episodes with it.

Tuesday, while at work and working on my computer, the pain shot up just as it has in the past but rather than hurt between my shoulder blades and head, it seemed to radiate from the center of my head. It was very consistent almost like the beating of your heart. I also had the blurry vision during this time and could hear my heartbeat with each throb. It lasted approximately 5 minutes but that could have been longer. The pain intensity was in the 8 range. I took two ibuprophen and it seemed to dull it and after a few minutes it went away although I feel a bit "stiff" since. My neck and shoulders feel very stiff since and this time it was not preceded by neck creaking. I sent an email to my NeuroSurgeon at this point with details of what was going on.

I would have this twice more before leaving work to go home. They were not as intense as the original one but they stopped me in my tracks nonetheless. At this point, they seemed to be triggered when I walked. Of the other two, one occurred when I came out of my boss's office after telling him I was going to go home early and the other when I walked out of the building to get into my car. I didn't have a single spell while in my car but would have another when I walked into the house. All of the times I was walking.

When I got home, I went straight to my bed and laid down. I didn't dare move hoping that I wouldn't have it any more. I called John before I left work to let him know I was driving home. I had been laying there for about 20 minutes with nothing when my cell phone rang. By the time I was able to find it, I had triggered yet another episode of pain. This one would be one of a rating 6 or 7. I hurt so bad that I screamed into my pillow willing the pain to go away. I laid there for almost an hour waiting for the boys to get home. I was feeling so good, I decided to give one more try at getting out of bed. This was a huge mistake. This one quickly shot up to a nine and lasted anywhere from five to ten minutes. I was in tears when I heard the door open and knew the boys were home. I hurt. I hurt bad.

John came and checked on me and I tried not to move but at one point I decided I had to try. I got out of bed with his help and successfully walked to the Great Room. Before I reached the couch, it hit again and this time I told John that it was time to go to the Emergency Room. I wasn't sure how many more of these episodes I could handle. Anyone that knows me, knows that it took A LOT of pain for me to say I needed the ER. I am not an ER person and I'm not a hospital person so I was in tons of pain to tell him I needed to go.

We dropped my son off at a friends house. (Love ya, Jessi, you are a life saver) I knew he'd have more fun there than waiting in an ER and I didn't want him exposed to the flu or anything going around either. At her house, I had yet another. I held on tight to John to steady myself and I felt my back and neck tense a lot during this one. I also became much more disoriented this time than I had been. Apparently I was able to "move" something this time because luckily it was the last episode I would have.

After waiting in the ER for over 3 hours, John went to see how much longer it would be. They told us there was still 8 ahead of us and due to the emergencies that were on their way in, that would be approximately 3 more hours. I was not interested in spending another three plus hours at the hospital so I checked myself out. (Note: this was 3 hours and I wasn't even out of the waiting room!!!)

At this point, I won't deny that I am terrified this might be from the tumor but I am refusing to think that way right now. We'll see how the rest goes.

A Weekend with Neck Pain

We had a very busy weekend and I wish I were feeling better during it. As you all know, I had a recurrence of my neck pain over the week and this weekend therefore was not pretty.

I had several strange symptoms pop up as the weekend progressed. I would get a shooting pain that started somewhere between my shoulder blades and would shoot up to the back of my head. They would last for a few minutes, I'd be disoriented while they occurred and I would "hear" my heart beat in both ears. I never thought anything of this because it would always be immediately preceded with a "creaking" in my neck and the movement of my right arm. These are all signs of something in my neck pinching a nerve. (I've gotten these or similar symptoms before.)

I'm definitely paying the price for not calling my chiropractor sooner in the week. UGH

It all began with whiplash

A few years ago, I suffered a minor neck injury due to a whiplash type accident. I suffered with it for almost six months before I found my chiropractor and he "cured" it in just a few weeks. However, I frequently have to be cautious with what I do because the area will probably never fully heal again. Just like anything in the spine, once you mess it up, it can go back any time.

Anyway, now that the background is complete, I did some of those bad things this week. I was carrying some computers that are on the heavy side and I carried A LOT of them this week. Needless to say, I probably did too much. At some point in the week, I felt a pop and knew I'd done a bad thing. By then it was to late to get into the chiropractor so I would have to suffer the weekend with it. Some day I will learn to get in before I start having the pains when I know that I've done a bad thing. *Sigh*