Living in Pennsylvania, you probably have access to excellent professional help. I've become pretty cynical about health care providers, having sustained severe, permanent damage from inept surgeons and poorly trained physical therapists. I'm probably cautious to the point of paranoia, so please forgive me if my tone was too adamant - I reread my post, and think it probably was. I wish you the very best. May you and your health care team be perfectly matched, and in full accord on your path toward recovery of function.
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MS with cervical and thoracic cord lesions -
Sorry to hear about your poor experiences with health care providers. I do have a number of excellent options within an hour or so. For serious issues like my current one, I choose to go with Cleveland Clinic. A bit further away than UPMC in Pittsburgh, but worth it to me.Originally posted by Bonnette View PostComment
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Marvelous! A friend of mine traveled to Cleveland Clinic not long ago for a procedure and was really pleased with the doctors and results. Big thumbs up!Originally posted by tarantella View PostMS with cervical and thoracic cord lesionsComment
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I have had several new injury SCI patients who got their SCI due to misdiagnosis by or manipulation by a chiropractor. (KLD)The SCI-Nurses are advanced practice nurses specializing in SCI/D care. They are available to answer questions, provide education, and make suggestions which you should always discuss with your physician/primary health care provider before implementing. Medical diagnosis is not provided, nor do the SCI-Nurses provide nursing or medical care through their responses on the CareCure forums.Comment
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Thank you, good to know. I will definitely be waiting until I speak with a neurosurgeon for his opinion. One nice thing is that I've felt pretty good the past couple of days. Not sure exactly why, but I haven't used the heating pad at all. While heat provides pain relief for me, could it actually increase inflammation at the expense of short term pain relief? Oftentimes at the end of the day I'll use it for a couple of hours while in bed until I fall asleep. And I'm also using prednisone along with an antibiotic to fight off bronchitis. Wondering if the prednisone is reducing the inflammation and causing me to feel so much better.Originally posted by SCI-Nurse View PostComment
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A question for you regarding the muscle atrophy in my left triceps. My left tricep is clearly much weaker and smaller now than my right tricep. But I can extend my elbow fully, so does that mean the muscles are able to function normally? I need to start exercising and targeting my left tricep ASAP because I'm really worried about this muscle wastage. It's making transfers more difficult. I know it will take time, but will/can my left tricep return to previous strength with exercise?Originally posted by SCI-Nurse View PostComment
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It's good that you have not lost any ROM in your weaker arm, but that is not an indication that you don't have some type of nerve impingement. You may need an EMG or PPE to determine if it is peripheral nerve/spinal root or within the cord. A neurologist is the best for making that diagnosis and then referring you for surgical treatment if indicated to release the impingement.
(KLD)The SCI-Nurses are advanced practice nurses specializing in SCI/D care. They are available to answer questions, provide education, and make suggestions which you should always discuss with your physician/primary health care provider before implementing. Medical diagnosis is not provided, nor do the SCI-Nurses provide nursing or medical care through their responses on the CareCure forums.Comment
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Had an appointment with the neurosurgeon today. He's most concerned with the continued weakness in my tricep, as that's so critical for my transfers as a para. So I'm going to continue physical therapy and specifically target the tricep to see if it can increase in size and strength. If it doesn't within a month, we'll discuss the best surgical option.Comment
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