United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Your story is another example of adjusting and living with this injury. It's not always easy but with help of family and friends living a productive life is certainly possible.

John P.

PS: I hereby relinquish the title of "Most Senior" contributor of the forums!!

Hi again Kathleen,

Thanks for your answer. I used to "trip" a lot and have injured my left knee many times over the years. I once tripped badly (always stubbing my left toe because that leg is ever so slightly longer and the left foot about a half size larger). I was 9 1/2 months pregnant with our third baby, a girl. My husband was career military and we were living in France at the time. I went directly to the doctor at our small dispensary and he could find nothing wrong, but in the end, the baby was still born from the fall about a week later. That was in 1959 when I was 25 years old.

I guess after one fall too many, my left knee needed replacing so we had that done in 1999. Thankfully, with water therapy and other therapy, I got full range of motion back in the knee right away. It took about a year to get so used to it that I forget it's there.

Also, once an eye doctor tested me after I asked about my eyes seeming a "little off" when looking at my pictures. He used two virticle lines and had me tell him when I saw them as lined up. Sure enough, when I saw them lined up, they were actually a bit off, not really lined up. Fortunately, my eyesight has always been excellent (except for the normal old-age thing of difficulty reading fine print). He told me that when birth injuries like that happen, the body has an ability to adjust itself and that's why I do not see double and had never noticed. He said if he would try to make an adjustment at that late date, it would only cause havoc with my eye sight. Isn't that amazing?!

After having taken so many NSAID medications over the years, it has affected my esophageal (sp??) contractions, hence I have to take medication for that. Yes, it does affect many aspects of your health. All in all, I guess I'm in pretty good shape for the shape I'm in though!

Sarah

So! Right away I have the distinction of being the oldest person here? Geeez! I don't feel that old!

Sarah

Old is only in how you feel, right?

Welcome to the message boards. We are always thrilled when someone with experience and wisdom joins us.

I'm Nancy, I'm 50 with a LOBPI.

Nancy Birk
UBPN President

Hello Sarah:

Don't feel bad about having the Most Senior distinction. Kathleen was before me and I'm sure that there’s someone else out there to pass it along to!!

John P. (64 years with ROBPI)

Hello Nancy,

No, I don't really feel old even though I've had many experiences in my life time with this "warped" neck! During my 30's and 40's I had many bouts of what I refer to as "neck stretching." The technical name for that is Cervical Traction, I think. At this point in life, I've decided never to let anyone do that again!

It's a long story, but at one point I thought my "stretched" neck was causing me to not breathe properly in my sleep. I would waken with weird spells and many headaches from not getting enough oxygen (I felt). Well, as with most doctors, they don't want to connect anything like that with the bpi. I was being seen by Army doctors at the time, seeing different ones, usually. I'm pretty sure the word "nut" got written in my file somewhere or some code word meaning the same thing.

I'm not dissing Army doctors. In my experience they have been as good or even better than some civilian doctors I've been to.

One Army doctor asked me if I had a job outside the home. I guess he thought I could find nothing better to do than hang out in the doctors' offices. It got me so upset that I went into a panic mode and could not sleep at all for a while. I felt at that point I would never get any help with the breathing problems. He did prescribe for me a bottle of 100 Valium tablets. Yes, I took some of them regularly for several days and it got rid of the panic attacks eventually.

Well, to make a long story shorter, I'll just say that I found out the more "muscle relaxers" I take, the "looser" my neck feels and I sleep better and don't have nearly as many waking headaches or weird spells as I used to get. My civilian doctor now has me take 1/2 of a 5mg Valium and a 10mg flexeril before bed time. I also take two 400mg Tagamets.

Actually, I take other medications for my heart, etc. I blame my heart problems on the long period of time when I was having so many sleep problems, but there's no way to know for sure.

A cyst on my left thyroid was found a few years ago quite by accident, that might have been there for years. It was drained with a needle aspiration and has not returned. It was tested and results were "benign." It's a fairly common problem as far as I know. That could have been my "breathing" problem all along for all I know. Anyway, things are better now.

Well, if I keep this up, EVERYONE will know my total medical history! Just because I'm a hypchondriac does not mean there's nothing wrong with me!

I have yet to meet a doctor who has seen another Erb's palsy patient.

Sarah

Oh, I don't feel bad about being "over the hill." It surely beats being under it - someone told me that recently and it's something to think about.

Sarah

I am glad to see you don't feel "old" LOL
I did not think I was old until I discovered I was the oldest obpi baby on the boards... I was so happy when John posted ... it made my day... I see you made him happy... I spoke several months ago to a woman in NY who is OBPI and 75... she has never posted...

As far as doctors connecting all the dots, I don't think that is possible or will happen unless some hospital or physician decides to write a paper or do a study on the total impact of OBPI on the ENTIRE body...

I recently had a number of MRI studies -- one was for bpi -- and it confirmed that I am obpi... I mentioned to my PCP I had a high pitch sound in my ear ... she sent me to have a hearing test and I had an MRI with contrastlast Friday... I tried to explain to the doctor that my eye was smaller, my face and ear so possibly that was the reason for the difference in the canal ... and that it was probably all connected to OBPI... he did not agree I get the results tomorrow... I also had to go for a carotid artery study and the cardiologist wants to discuss the findings ... my bet is that one artery is narrower and thinner than the other ... at least some of these tests will help confirm that I am normal ... just petite on one side... LOL... I wish...

I also had a lifetime of not sleeping and neck and back pain... no one ever mentioned the possibility it was connected to obpi...

Kath

Kathleen, it's good that you're going to have the artery tests done. It stands to reason that if all the other right parts of your body are smaller, then that would also include the neck parts. I think that was my problem with all the neck stretching.

My e-mail address is spepper@juno.com if you'd like to send a picture or anything. I have a really nice one of me when I was about 2 years old - or less. There's no date on it. I'm holding my arm funny, but in the picture it appears as if it's my LEFT arm! I don't know if the picture got reversed or what.

There are other older childhood pictures and you can't even tell there's anything wrong. I was tall, large boned and gangly looking as a kid. Usually, I was the tallest one in my school classes. As a teenager I was 5' 9". I have shrunk a couple of inches due to old age and osteoporosis. My husband who is now 70 has also lost an inch or so from his height. Maybe it's something we all do?

Keep us up with what's happening. Since thinking about it a lot lately, I'm thinking that most of my medicals problems in my whole life are related to that birth injury. Luckily, most of my ailments are mild even though I do take a lot of medications. We're very lucky in another respect in that with my husband being retired military we have "Tri-Care-For-Life."

Write me if you feel up to it. Good luck with your tests.

I haven't figured out how to "qote" on this message board yet.

Sarah

Kathleen, I answered your message. It was another long one; however, it seems to have disappeared! Maybe it will show up somewhere yet.

Anyway, let us know what the artery test showed and about your ears, etc.

My e-mail address is spepper@juno.com

Sarah