Monday (6/19/2017)

Update:

I got the results of my brain MRI back...and the doctor said they didn't find anything!

Well what he actually said was that there was "no evidence of stroke, tumor, or other structural cause" for my symptoms.

So, I guess they did find a brain.

So that is good news since the only thing they could have found is life-threatening serious stuff. Although it doesn't put me any closer to knowing what the cause is, it does relieve some anxiety.

Like a game of Clue, I don't know who done it yet, but I have been able to cross a few suspects off the list.

My symptoms continue and I would like to find a treatable answer and resume my "normal" lifestyle.

Wednesday (6/14/2017)

Update: 

Since the beginning of May I haven’t been feeling well.  At first I thought it was just because I was out of shape and had been aggressively working at getting back into shape since the beginning of April.  While I enjoyed working out six days a week, I was extremely tired and worn out all the time.  I figured that I’m just older and I haven’t been able to be too active over the last four years, so it was natural that it would take a lot out of me to get back into shape. 

I would feel so worn out after exercising that I had to sit in the truck for up to an hour to feel good enough to drive home from the gym.  But then I started getting dizzy and almost passing out and I knew that something was going on and I needed to be checked out medically.

So far I’ve worn a heart monitor, had an EKG, and had a ton of blood work done.  And so far everything has come back normal; but that’s not the way I feel.  I have a constant headache.  If I do the slightest activity I become a bit dizzy or become mentally foggy (thinking slows down, etc.).  I feel a constant pressure on my head like I’m wearing a tight stocking cap that’s too tight.  Pain meds don’t help.  Sitting still in my recliner reduces my symptoms somewhat, but the moment I get up they come right back.  I usually can do one or two short things a day and then I’m done.  I haven’t even been to church for the last month because I wasn’t feeling up to it.  I actually made it to the worship service one week; but had to leave immediately because the music was so overpowering loud to me (my wife told me it was no louder than usual).  I’ve stopped going to the gym and curtailed most other activities, some of which I dearly miss. 

 I was just seen by a neurologist and I’m having a MRI of my brain done in the morning (6/15).  After his exam, he told me that he thinks “the MRI will show that I have a ‘normal’ brain.”  Ha! Ha!  He’s in for a surprise—I’m definitely not “normal”.  He obviously hasn’t heard any of my jokes or seen any of my memes on FB!!!

Right now, tentatively, my symptoms line up with something called “New Daily Persistent Headaches”.    The good news is that for some people the symptoms go away after a few months to a couple of years.  Of course, for some people the symptoms continue for years or decades.   Most of the time medication has little to no effect.  The doctor told me the best thing to do is to minimize the things that trigger the symptoms and take it easy.

Who knows?  Tomorrow’s MRI might show some other cause for what’s going on.  Or if nothing shows up on the MRI, another test that my primary doctor lines up might pinpoint a diagnosis. 

At first, I really figured it was something wrong with my heart.  Then I figured my arteries must be blocked.  Those don’t seem to be the problem, so now we are checking out the head (tumors, cancer, stroke, etc.).  The neurologist doesn’t think we’ll find any of those things wrong with me either.

I really don’t know where this is headed.  I don’t have any answers right now.  I’m just trying to make it through each day as we search for a diagnosis and hopefully a solution. 

The past month and a half have been hard on me emotionally.  My doctor has been taking good care of me but the medical system seems designed to test your patience.  Like most of us, I want answers right away and I want my problem solved quickly.  I also know that after I get this resolved that I am headed to surgery for my carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel (in both arms eventually).  So I feel like my summer is already gone.  This certainly isn’t the summer that I had planned.  And yet I can still say that life is good!

 I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Saturday (5/27/2917)

Update: 

I got my results back from my heart monitor.  My heart is fine and looks normal.  Yeah!  Thank you, God!

I am still having episodes of dizziness and mental fogginess, so next Wednesday I’m having an ultrasound done of my carotid arteries to check for blockage there.

I am tired of having to wait a week or two after one test is done before the next one; but as a friend reminded me, that is a good thing.  It means that the doctors aren’t worried about a serious condition that requires immediate emergency treatment. That is so true!

I am looking forward to feeling 100% again and being able to fully resume my activities without concern.

Unique Encounter:

I went to Walgreen’s today and as I got back to the Pharmacy, another customer got very excited and starting talking to me.  The lady was very personable and pleasant.  Everything she said should be in ALL CAPS and Italics because that is the way she talked.  “Oh my!  I love your prosthesis!  I’ve never seen one like it before!  Why does it look like that?”  (I was wearing shorts). I patiently explained how flexible the foot was and how well it worked on uneven ground, etc., etc. etc. 

It was all a bit strange.  I’ve never had an encounter quite like that before.  She seemed genuinely happy and pleased for me.  My wife asked me later if it made feel uncomfortable.  I told her that surprisingly it did not.  Some people would have freaked me out coming on so strong; although she was a stranger, she made me feel very comfortable to talk with her.  The Pharmacist witnessed it all and she gave me a big smile afterwards as if to say, “You handled that very well”. 

Sunday (5/21/2017)

Update:

For the last couple of weeks, I've been getting dizzy, light headed, tired, and nearly feinted a couple of times. I just finished wearing a Holter monitor for 48 hours. I turn it in on Monday and have a follow-up appointment with my doctor on Friday. It's probably going to take some time, having more tests, and being referred to a specialist or two, to get this figured out.

It seems like every time I start making some improvement in one area, something else goes haywire. Sort of like doing repair work on an older car. You fix one thing and you uncover something else that needs to be repaired.

I like to think of myself as a '57 Chevy. Well worth the time and energy to repair and restore it!!! I'm a classic!!! Not ready to be towed to the junk yard yet!

Thursday (5/4/2017)

Update:

A month ago I had an MRI done on my left knee trying to determine why I had developed severe knee pain while I was wearing my prosthesis.  The MRI showed that I had several small issues but nothing that the doctors felt could produce the level of pain I was having.  They feel that my left leg isn’t strong enough, thus allowing the patella to move around too much and causing the pain (that’s my understanding of what they said).   It’s rather obvious that my left leg has atrophied over the last 3 ½ years, especially since I spent 1 ½ years in a wheelchair full-time and was very limited in my walking for most of the time that I did have a prosthesis.  So the plan is for me to regain some of the muscle and strength that I’ve lost and see if that helps.`

For the last month I’ve been going to the gym six days a week.  On three days I swim laps for 45 minutes.  On the other three days, I work out with weights and use some of the cardio machines.  In the last month I’ve worked up to 225 steps on a stair stepper, 8 minutes on an elliptical, and another 10 minutes on a “pedal car” style bike (I don’t have the range of motion with the prosthesis to do a regular bicycle). 

I also work daily on standing on one leg (both right and left) as well as several other exercises using bands given to me by my physical therapist.  Standing on one leg on my left side (on the prosthesis) is very difficult; but I’m making slow progress.  So much of the ability to stand on one leg is done with the lower leg and ankle (as well as getting sensory feedback) that an amputee is missing.  Other muscles have to be strengthened and some retraining has to take place to make it work after an amputation.  I’d also like to say that my prosthesis has a very flexible foot (ankle) which makes it more challenging.  Not to mention my weak muscles and overall lack of balance and grace even before I became an amputee.  Ha! Ha! 

The picture is how my leg looks after one month’s labor and there is already a noticeable increase in my muscle mass and leg strength (I never thought of taking a picture before I started this a month ago).  Let me say that the cardio and swimming is very tiring work; but I am stronger than I was a month ago.  I’m still wiped out each day afterwards; however, I am not taking as long to recover as I did at the beginning.

As far as whether all of this is making a difference with the knee pain, I don’t know yet.  I’ve purposefully not pushed myself in ways that caused the pain in the past.  I want to give my leg and knee time to strengthen before putting it to the test.   And I know that I’m better off if I’m stronger and in better shape.  I’ve got a L-O-N-G way to go; but I’m working at it, one step at a time.

Monday (5/1/2017):

Update: 

For the last couple of months, I’ve had a lot pain in my wrists, numbness in my hands, and a loss of strength in the hands.  I had an EMG done last month that indicated that I have carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists.  My right side is much worse and more painful.

I had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon today.  After examination (with a number of interesting test gadgets I’ve never seen before), he confirmed that I have carpal tunnel syndrome.  He also said I have cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve running through the elbow) and a bit of diabetic neuropathy in the hands as well.  As is my habit medically, I just don't do anything simply.  Ha! Ha!

Today he injected lidocaine and steroids into my carpal tunnel of my right hand.  That should give us an idea of how much relief I will gain from surgery.  Steroids take 3-4 days to kick in.  Right now the lidocaine is making everything feel better.  Tomorrow, the doctor said my wrist would probably hurt after the lidocaine wears off and before the steroid kicks in.

He did say that from my exam he fully expects that I will end up having surgery, but sometimes the steroid injections relieve the symptoms, so it is worth a try.  

I have a follow-up appointment with him on June 1st.

So besides wearing the wrist splints to bed every night, I now also have to wear elbow pads that don't allow me to fully bend my arms while I sleep.  That should help relieve some of the pressure on the ulnar nerve in the elbow.  I've gotten used to sleeping with the wrist braces; but now I'm adding the elbow pads.  I don't know how that will go.  I ALWAYS sleep with my arms sort of bent and tucked up near my head.  That's not happening tonight with the elbow pads...I suppose if I get tired enough I will sleep even if it isn't in my normal "nighty night" position.  Sigh!  At least I don’t have to wear all that during the daytime.

Photo: Both arms are like that. What a hoot! I don’t know if I’ll be able to even get a drink in the middle of the night without stripping everything off of one arm.

My doctor said that when we do the surgery, he'll do both the wrist and the elbow at the same time.  Sounds like a two-for-one deal!  But I suppose that they'll still charge full price for both and I won't get a BOGO deal from billing.

On the positive note, the doctor wants me to continue doing any activity I feel comfortable doing during the day time, so I don’t have to give anything up right now.

I do know that I would like the pain and numbness to go away. There are a number of things that I cannot do right now that I’d really like to do.  I guess that is just a part of life isn’t it?  You cannot always do everything that you would like.  Whether it is time, money, health, work, family obligations, etc. sometimes we are just limited.  That’s probably not a bad thing and it’s something each of us must learn to deal with.

Wednesday (3/29/2017)

Just got off the phone scheduling an MRI for my knee on my residual limb (LBKA 12/2013). Apparently my knee cap does not track correctly giving me pain, so the MRI is to find out why.

Before they will schedule an MRI they ask a ton of questions, such as, "Do you have a pacemaker? Do you have any stints? Do you have metal clips in your head from a previous surgery? Have you ever been shot?" As they asked question after question that I answered "No" to, I just had to smile.

Although I have some problems...there is a WHOLE BOATLOAD of medical problems that I DON'T have!!! Made me feel pretty well off all things considered. 

It is so easy to focus in on one or two things and miss seeing the bigger picture.

I'm not walking much right now; but I've got a medical team exploring why I'm having pain. I don't know what the outcome will be or where all of this will lead. On one hand I'm fairly tired of the constant up and down of my life. On the other hand I am content and satisfied knowing that things could be much much worse. I don't have it too bad!