Today I saw the neurologist for what was supposed to be a routine LP, or spinal tap. Well, first the good news, my vitamin B-12 blood levels are high, which is good, because that means my supplementation is working. Also, the MRI of my cervical spinal cord (neck), shows no lesions.
Now, for the not so fun news. The LP* was not successful. Apparently my spondylitis has caused some bony growth that neither the nurse practioner nor the doc could navigate around to actually puncture the sheath around my spinal cord, to withdraw the CSF. Despide all the lidocaine in my back, I could still feel it when they hit the bone. It could have been worse, and I've been through worse. So, tomorrow, I get LP round 2, under flouroscopy (video x-ray) so the doc can see exactly what's going on. Whee.
And, the evoked potential test I had last week has to be re-done. The visual portion of the test was not completed, because the computer which controls the monitor that flashes the grid and whatever did not work. So, the first test was free of charge, how kind of them, and I get to go through it all again on Thursday afternoon. Whee again.
I just don't know how much more of this I can take. This is getting old. I don't blame Doc for not being able to hit the mark, the spondylitis causes bony growths which he had no idea where they were. He was doing the best he could, kept numbing me up each time even flinched or hissed, much less verbally complained of a pain. I'm ready to take a sledge hammer to the damn computers over at the hospital.
So I'm going to sit here with my spoon and continue to eat my tub of chocolate fudge icing. There's worse things I could ingesting for some comfort.
*Trivia note, it was once called a "spinal tap" because the docs of the time thought they needed a lot bigger needle to get through the muscles and actually tap the bone to make sure they were in the right spot. It's now a LP because during the normal procedure the doctor is guiding the much smaller needle into the proper area by feeling for landmarks in the pelvis and spine. Oh, and there's a lot more lidocaine involved, so I've had worse dental appointments.
3 comments:
have you ever done pilates?
Are you close to alpharetta,ga?
I wanted to rid my house of detritus,
But I couldn't, on account of my spondylitis.
Instead, with medicaments I am dosing,
To keep my Spondylitis from Ankylosing.
A little light verse to improve your mood. My BIL was recently diagnosed with AS and he began treatment a few weeks ago. So far, so good.
Hope things go well for you, too, Mira.
kowgurl: I haven't tried pilates, just some basic yoga and some physical therapy. I'm about 2-3 hours from Alpharetta, depending on which route I take.
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