Author |
Message |
Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - 5:15 am
awww Herck, thanks, I am just waiting for an appointment now for the cyst to be aspirated to take the pressure off the nerve root. They said it is a large cyst and - it is just causing me agony. If I can get some relief from this pain, we will schedule the surgery for January. This morning I had to stop myself from driving into a wall. The pain is that intense.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Tuesday, October 31, 2006 - 7:52 am
Ginger, go ahead and take the pain meds and become a drug addict. You can worry about that after this is all over. I can't stand pain so I'm a firm believer in pain meds. It really beats driving into a wall.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Wednesday, November 01, 2006 - 5:44 am
Source: Ivanhoe.com Reported November 1, 2006 Oh, My Aching Back! ANN ARBOR, Mich. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- A simple everyday move moved Timothy Pickens to unimaginable pain. "I reached down to touch the computer mouse and shut it off, and I just tipped myself a little bit to reach down and it just grabbed," Pickens says. Now he's working to get his back back in shape. Pickens is one of 400,000 people living with spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column. But for many, years of misdiagnosis keeps them in pain. Back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, but it can be one of the hardest to diagnose. Carolyn Koski has lived with back pain her entire life. "Numbness, balance, fatigue, dizziness," she says. Doctors diagnosed her with spinal stenosis, but physiatrist Andrew Haig used an EMG to reveal the real problem -- nerve disease. MRIs are what most doctors use to look at your spine, but an MRI scan can only give a picture of the nerve. "It's kinda like looking at a photograph of a car to see if it has dents," Dr. Haig, M.D., of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, tells Ivanhoe. What an MRI doesn't show is pain. An old test is breaking new ground when it comes to finding out what's hurting your back. An EMG records the electrical activity of muscles and can actually test nerve function and find out if anything hurts. "It's more like putting the key in the engine to see if the car works or not. There are lots of dented cars that work just fine," Dr. Haig says. Dr. Haig believes more doctors are not using EMG to test for back pain because the results are harder to read and takes more time to diagnose. If you would like more information, please contact: Andrew Haig, M.D. Associate Professor Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Orthopedic Surgery The University of Michigan (734) 763-4300 andyhaig@med.umich.edu Ben Stein American Institute of Physics for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (301) 209-3088 bstein@aip.org
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Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Wednesday, November 01, 2006 - 2:52 pm
Thank God I finally got an appointment for Friday to have this cyst drained/aspirated. If this does not relieve the pain, then I don't know what I will do. Because they all believe this is what is causing the intense pain right now. At least if it helps I can have relief until I do the surgery in January.
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Gilda
Member
08-21-2006
| Wednesday, November 01, 2006 - 3:46 pm
Ginger, I am so happy to hear that u will have the cyst drained on Friday. Hopefully you will get some relief!!! I'm rooting for you!!! Good luck! Keep us posted!!!!
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Wednesday, November 01, 2006 - 8:35 pm
That's great, Ginger! Hopefully it will give you a lot of relief!
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Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 7:11 am
Pray that this will help today. I had tickets to see Elton John last night and I went, I took so many drugs in order to be able to deal with it. I loved the concert, by the time I got home I just cried. Sooo hopefully will get pain relief today.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 8:42 am
i'm praying for you ginger. some relief has to be in sight! i know about the drugs just to cope with the pain.
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Retired
Member
07-11-2001
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 9:23 am
(((Ginger))) Praying you will get some relief after today's procedure.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 3:57 pm
Ginger, I so hope that it went really well today and you have relief.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 4:00 pm
Gingah, you alive there? Any better, hon?
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Friday, November 03, 2006 - 8:09 pm
Hope all went well Ginge! Hugs.
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Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 7:29 am
Well, it was not like getting the epidural, they went into the cyst with the needle to rupture it, the doctor said, this is going to hurt, so I said bad? she said yes, well, the pain felt like my whole leg was going to explode. OMG, it was intense. But they ruptured it and then put in the steroid. The doctor said that I probably won't have relief till Sunday or Monday because the nerve was so compressed that it was very inflamed and needed to improve. I was in a lot of pain last night, took pills and went to sleep (they toldme to go right into bed for at least 6 hours. This morning I am still in pain, but I can say it is a tiny bit less intense. I am disappointed because I led myself to believe that once they ruptured the cyst, that the pain would go away. LOL, I must be on a lot of drugs. Even if I get 50% relief I will deal with that. I just need to survive until the surgery. But, we will see, the doctor was hopeful.
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Retired
Member
07-11-2001
| Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 8:33 am
Ginger, I'm glad you had it done and have some relief. Give it time like the doctor said.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Saturday, November 04, 2006 - 10:22 am
Ginger, I hope you are feeling 100% better soon!
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Ginger1218
Member
08-31-2001
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 10:31 am
It is Sunday and when I woke up this morning I was pleasantly surprised, the pain was definitely decreased. I will go as far as to say that it is decreased about 40-50%. They said 48 hours it will be significant improvement and 5-7 days for the maximum benefit. This is the least amount of pain I have had in almost 3 months. Oh God Bless this doctor. She is wonderful. What an incredible hospital this Hospital for Special Surgery is. That is where I will be having the surgery. But thanks for all prayers, you guys are awesome
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Retired
Member
07-11-2001
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:18 am
Yay for decreased pain levels!!!! I am so happy you are feeling better. So are you going to join in and run the marathon now or is it over already?
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:26 am
That's great, Ginger!! I'm so glad you have some relief!
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Gilda
Member
08-21-2006
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:37 am
Ginger, I'm also happy to hear the good news that you've got some relief!!!
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 2:49 pm
Ginger, I'm so happy to hear this!
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 10:32 pm
Ginger, I just read about it in Lumbele's Update and came looking for the thread. Glad you finally got a bit of relief. Hope it gets even better.
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Baby
Member
01-08-2006
| Sunday, November 05, 2006 - 11:02 pm
That is great news, Ginger!!! Now, that is something that makes me smile! Just give it some time, it will continue to improve.
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Herckleperckle
Member
11-20-2003
| Monday, November 06, 2006 - 12:41 am
Thank goodness you are nearly out of pain, Ginger. I am so happy for you, hon!

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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Monday, November 06, 2006 - 7:38 am
Yay Ginger!
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Monday, November 06, 2006 - 8:07 am
That's great news, Ginger!! I'm so happy for you! I'm sending you good vibes for continued relief... ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~
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