Late Diagnosis - Anyone Else?

[ishtardnce]

so great to find this board ... like many have said before me - a wonderful resource, and nice to know we're not alone.

i've been reading a lot, and it seems many folks here have injuries with avulsion(s), or at least injuries that were very obvious from the beginning.

mine wasn't and i'm wondering if anyone else has had similar experience(s) ... i was injured in a motorcycle accident in 2002. bad riding conditions led to a fishtail on an exit ramp that i couldn't control. high-sided off the bike / bike hit me as we tumbled, but i don't remember that. face first with hands in from of me to stop fall on the pavement .... bouncy bouncy for a while then a stop on my back. judging by the damage to my helmet, head was cranked to the right when i landed. a trip to the emergency room and some xrays revealed no broken bones. they sent me home on crutches b/c my knees were both badly bruised. i told them my chest hurt. i had a concussion. could move my left arm/hand, but only with lots of pain. but i figured they knew what they were doing. 8 months later, still in pain, doc ordered a cervical MRI which showed herniated C7-T1. so did a few months of PT - no relief. kept doing exercises and getting massage therapy every 2 weeks (that's all i can afford).

about 3 months ago, i couldn't stand it anymore. pain all the time. tingling/numbness in fingers. neck and shoulder really painful. another cervical MRI, same as the first (pretty much), and ortho says to see a neurologist.

neurologist is the first person to say TBPI...! we've scheduled a BP MRI, cervical MRI with flexion and extension and EMG. hopefully now we'll find out what's really going on. neuro has also started me on neurontin (for pain) and elavil (for sleep). i've been taking vicodin just to function. i hate it. too soon to tell if nerontin is helping or not. we are *slowly* increasing dosage as i am very drug-sensitive.

i also have winging of left scap - and can't laterally raise that arm up much higher than my shoulder - unless someone stabilizes the scap.

anyone else take a long time to get a diagnosis? these nerve injuries seem rather insidious to me ... and they heal SO slow! i know i am lucky - i have use of my arm/hand. even if it hurts, and i don't have any strength and sometimes drop stuff, its still better than nothing. and if i could figure out how to manage the pain, i'd be fine. any hints on that one???

[RottieJan]

hi and welcome! i'm sorry to hear about your accident.

while it didn't take AS long for them to diagnose, it did take 6 G.P.s, 2 neurologists, a hand specialist and 2 neurosurgeons (plus countless x-rays, pills, mri's emg's, etc.)!

the pain is a b#tch! we've all been there or are still there. i don't know if it lessens in time or if we just build up a higher tolerance to it. everyone of us is different in our recovery and pain.

there are a couple of good threads about pain management.

i'm sure others will post on this also. we're here to help.

hugs,

jan

[admin]

thanks for the welcome jan. 6 GPs?! yikes. you must be a very patient person.

after reading other accident accounts here, i feel i was extraordinarily lucky. could have been much worse injuries... and i am still riding (modified the bike some to make it easier/more comfortable).

yes - i'm reading the pain management threads with much interest. like many, i find distraction is about the most effective thing i've found so far. when i'm doing art, i notice the pain much less ... too bad i can't make a living that way!

[ishtardnce]

hmmm. forgot to log in the first time i tried to respond. so apologies if this gets posted twice.

thanks for the welcome jan! i can't believe how many doctors you ahd to see before getting a diagnosis. you must be an incredibly patient person. *smile*

i have been reading the pain management threads with much interest... thanks!

--greta

[RottieJan]

hi greta.

nah, i'm not patient, just wanted to know what was wrong and wouldn't give up til i had an answer. more tenasious (sp?) than anything!

hugs,

jan