Pebble, I am hoping this settles down, i looked up ramipril & there were other ACE inhibitors listed but the side effects of ramipril were hard to diffirentiate from diabetic symptoms & side effects from narcotic, pump meds & kidney disease in general. Is there a chance the stiffness, numbness in hands could be fluid retention esp since the ramipril is stopped & hows the bp off the medicine? Of all of us, the neck pain & neuropathy symptoms are certainly "founded" with the amount of surgeries, rods, etc but i wonder what the MRI will reveal since after the wreck is when they got worse. Have the sleeping for " days" or longer than usual improved? The general " not having as good of days" subsided in the least? It sounds like no but i have & will keep praying because you were doing better until the wreck. Dr appt this week or next? All my best hopes to you & if wishing made it so you would be great! Volunteering with your servant heart would be happening because i hope, wish & pray these things for you my valuable friend. I only wish i could help like you helped me one terrible night when you understood instead of feeling sorry for me with not a shred of empathy! I will never forget it!
Last edited by gmak; 02-21-2013 at 03:44 PM.
Reason: wording
As to the Ramipril it was stopped about a week after I had the auto accident. So difficult to say what may have been caused by the Rampril and what caused by the accident. I was stopped from taking the Ramipril because of my Potassium levels. The Ramipril was taken because of the kidney issues since it protected the kidney from further deterioration. So is what I was experiencing the result of the medication or from the car accident? I don't have the answer.
As to the days that I was sleeping days on end I have been thru this before, but cant tell you since I dont remember when the last episode was. While I am not sleeping the days away I still feel run down. I was actually able to do some errands that had to be done but then wasn't up for much beyond that.
I am hoping that the MRI can be scheduled in the next few days barring any problem in getting the pre-certification for the MRI. I have to get 2 pre certs for the MRI. If I get the ok I will schedule the MRI hopefully ASAP.
Some days my neck feels better less stress on it But then I go to drive and once again I feel this tightness at the base of the cervical spine. The involuntary movements seem to come and go. Some nights they are extremely active waking me up from sleeping. While other nights I know they are there but are extremely mild in nature.
As to the cause of most of my problems it is difficult to say. There are so many overlapping issues that it is a matter of ruling out one possible diagnosis before getting to the correct diagnosis. Like I got severe cramping in my upper legs this morning. Ever so painful. Is it coming from the spine? Or can it be related to the kidney isses? Tough to say. Maybe both.
Maybe the stiffness I am feeling could it be my arthritis? Or again something related to the accident It does seem to be more severe since the accident. Tough call to make.
Gmak as to my "understanding" vs "empathy" I think at least for me and maybe a lot of us that come here, we come with a different set of eyes. We have lived with pain for so long that we have a different level of understanding thus we understand each other better on the roads that we walk.
I am hoping to hear back from my doctors office today with at least a progress report on the MRI authorization. I have 2 possible locations where I want to have it done. Just have to decide where to have it done.
How is your lower back and pump doing? Hopefully you get some solutions soon. It must be tough after the high after the pain pump (emotionally that is!)".
Hi. Overall I am happy with the pump that was implanted. While it hasn't taken the pain away 100% I feel that it is working 80% of the time. If the rest of my spine feels strained then I may feel it a little bit more too in the mid-low back. I do take a "Bolus" of 0.100 mL that is programmed once every 8 hours to give me a little extra boost. So I am happy I went thru it. Well worth it for me.
Should now be able to proceed with MRI of the cervical spine to see what's related if anything to the accident. Should be able to compare the MRI done back in December to the one that hopefully will be done in the next week or so. Keeping my fingers crossed.
After the impact then hitting the car in front of me I can see my head going forward & backward after the impacts. And with everything alreaed wrong with the cervical spine and surgeries already done my neck didn't need any sort of trauma to add insult to injury already. Whether it is a substantial difference in whats wrong even the the slightest change for me I really didn't need.
Time will tell where I am headed. Keeping fingers crossed at this point. More later. Thanks all for the support!
I had one whiplash. A severe one. Back and forth. I was younger than you.
It never goes away. What you are experiencing is called spasms. It's cause your muscles, tendons and ligaments got damaged. That's it. THey don't have any technique to fix it. I wish I could go back to normal. It's enough living like that for 7 years. It's literally pain in the neck. I don't talk about this with anyone. I am jealous of people who don't have pain. Honestly, I don't understand why it happened to me, what have I done to deserve this?
It usually depends how old you are. Most people (I say most) in their 20's who had a whiplash will be fine. In their 30's it's a different story. I also believe if you are skinny your muscles are too weak to protect your spine (that's what I think).
But it your case it's your age and how your neck was before the whiplash.
Also, the type of car you drive (you didn't drive a Volvo or BMW, right?).
I know somebody who drove a Volvo, been in a severe accident, and nothing happened to him. It's good to be rich, too bad. Rich and healthy.
I don't know how to comfort you, I hope things will get better somehow.
Thanks for the words. I agree I am one of the unlucky ones. For whatever reason things have happened the way they did. I can't worry about WHY things happened at this point its a matter of HOW to cope with the way life had dealt me the hand it has.
As to the accident, I was driving a compact car I guess. Chevy Prism. And while the impact was not severe in that we were going 50 mph, we were in stop and go traffic it was enough of an impact to feel the jolt. First time I was in an accident where I can say I felt something from the accident.
And yes to have this upon top of years of issues doesn't help me any. And no I am not in my 20's where I can bounce right back. I will be 60 in June.
So now I have to figure out what the accident did not my neck and hoping that it can be seen on the MRI films. The problem I have with getting an accurate diagnosis on anything is that with Harrington rods in place that tends to obstuct the view and difficult to get clear pictures at certain levels in my neck. So will the MRI be able to show something, cant say until it is done. Time will tell.
Pebble, I think that you have been very blessed, yes it took time to work out but you dont have Parkinsons, no cancer of pancreas,diabetic not on insulin, kidney disease but not dialysis, dont begrudge any of your surgeries b/c you say they all helped you, survived ICU when you werent expected to live twice & after all of this you are a walking, talking, driving,take care of yourself, forgiving, kind, caring about others above yourself, have great drs, God chosen people, man! This will work out too in time just like before & 59 is certainly not old! Maybe having 2 MRI's in 6 months bites, but it is necessary for this process to be worked out again just like all the other times!
Last edited by gmak; 02-24-2013 at 01:25 PM.
Reason: wording
Yes at times we have to sit back and realize that we are blessed . One thing about what you said I am on Insulin and have been since my diagnosis. But thats Ok. I'm here to talk about what I went thru.
Need to remind myself that whatever I went thru in the past I can now overcome what I am going thru NOW.
The car accident by far was not the worst thing that happened to me. So its just a matter of dealing with it.
Got 1 authorization for the MRI now waiting for final mri to have test done
How r things with your neck and MRI? My SCS seems to be working good, just dealing with withdrawal issues as oak down to 150 mg nucynta from 250. How is your pump doing. Have u had it refilled yet?
Sorry for your recent accident. I'm glad to hear your pump is giving you releif. Life is full of misfortune and you had had your share. For you to sit back feel blessed at times is insperational. All this is very new to me and I can forget no matter where we are things can always be worse.
Godspeed
I don't know. I don't feel blessed at all. I don't understand how can anyone feel blessed? when they suffer from pain 24 hours a day and there is no cure for it?
You can feel blessed because think of the alternative. I would rather be ALIVE and have HOPE then not be here at all. I've faced death to many times and realize that first we all must go through our own trials and tribulations thru life. No one is immune from problems. I have survived because of miracles so who knows what is around the next corner that might give you the answers you are looking for!!!
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to pebblebeach3 For This Useful Post: deanh (03-01-2013), gmak (03-02-2013)
Yes at times we have to sit back and realize that we are blessed . One thing about what you said I am on Insulin and have been since my diagnosis. But thats Ok. I'm here to talk about what I went thru.
Need to remind myself that whatever I went thru in the past I can now overcome what I am going thru NOW.
The car accident by far was not the worst thing that happened to me. So its just a matter of dealing with it.
Got 1 authorization for the MRI now waiting for final mri to have test done
Hi pebble, Have you had your MRI yet? Have you gotten any relief from your neck symptoms? Any news from the dr about your kidney lab values? Seems like i havent its been a long time. Hope you are doing better.
I am still waiting for the pre-cert from one of the 2 insurance carriers. I needed 2 one from the auto carrier and one from my medicare.
My auto carrier is the one holding things up. I called yesterday for status and still waiting to hear back.
The neck is still giving me problems. Some days are better then others. Still have on & off the spasms/involuntary movements. It varies from day to day as to severity.
Will give it another day before I follow up again. I really want to get this over with already andd see what the MRI films show.
Will post when I know appt is scheduled and when I get the results.
Pebble, thanks. Im sorry, hope you have less spasms, good days & its not much longer until you can get the pre cert, get the MRI over with & find out the results. Surely not much longer now.
Well its been almost 2 months since the car accident. I still get the spasms; involuntary movements.
Yesterday was difficult. I was doing some volunteer work and was on my feet for 1 1/2 hours or so and ended up leaving earlier then intended. My back was really bothering me.
Ended up taking some hydrocodone and tizanidine to help me thru the night. Not sure it really did much good. Still having issues today.
But on the positive note, finally got ALL the pre-certs I needed to have the MRI done. It is going to be done on March 21st and should take 1/2 hour. I am so relieved that it is finally about to be done.
Will post the results as soon as I have them... More later.
Well its been almost 2 months since the car accident. I still get the spasms; involuntary movements.
Yesterday was difficult. I was doing some volunteer work and was on my feet for 1 1/2 hours or so and ended up leaving earlier then intended. My back was really bothering me.
Ended up taking some hydrocodone and tizanidine to help me thru the night. Not sure it really did much good. Still having issues today.
But on the positive note, finally got ALL the pre-certs I needed to have the MRI done. It is going to be done on March 21st and should take 1/2 hour. I am so relieved that it is finally about to be done.
Will post the results as soon as I have them... More later.
Well hi pebble, It seems like a long time that you have been waiting so patiently & finally to be next thursday & only take 1/2 hour, its amazing isnt it compared to the days of "old" when for a cervical MRI we were put in headfirst, our neck & head where our heads would be in such a close, tight spot & i had to lay my neck & head on a hard as a rock , pointed apparatus, the pointy part sticking me right in the C1 to skull area with the weight of my body & head pressing down on the point. Thank God that cervical MRI's are so much improved only "old timers" even remember these " gory" details & now they are in the past!
Your " back" , as in the lumbar/thoracic area that the intrathecal dilaudid & bupivicaine pump is supposed to relieve & it was hurting badly with standing? Do you think that you should notify PM b/c i think that it has been long enough, Jan 11th?, for the intrathecal to help noticeable enough that volunteer work should be possible. The pump is supposed to reduce medication intake for this particular area of pain but bt is still ordered & needed but it didnt help very much?, this is a new finding for you right, do you think that the PM needs to be notified? I am so sorry that it hurt so much that had to leave early b/c i know that it means so much to you to give back & serve others. Thanks for the update & will research more about the involuntary jerks.
Last edited by gmak; 03-13-2013 at 07:43 PM.
Reason: typo, line off, errant word
The amount of medication that I take from the pump is a reduced amount compared to that of the oral medications.
But I think if I understood the pain doctor correctly there will still be bad days. But the good days should certainly outweight the bad ones. And I think overall I have seen a difference. But it is not the perfect solution to my understanding.
I was back at my temple again tonight volunteering and again left early. Two people I think saw it in my face that at one point I was not doing well. It was back to the days of get me out of here, the pain level is bad.
I think I have to realize that even with the pump I will have my limits. Or maybe I need to have the amount of the medication in the pump increased. I did give myself the bolus early in the evening hoping it would ward off any pain but not sure that it did much good or maybe things would have been worse if I didn't give myslef the extra amount of medication allowed.
Yes it has been 2 long for the MRI to have been scheduled. I usually would get my precerts back within any from 1 day to maybe a week at the most. But not this longs. Good things it wasnt an emergency.
So we will see if any damage was caused by the accident or not. For some reason i have to go to the doctor that implanted the pump after the MRI just to have it checked for some some reason I am not clear on.
Sorry ur are still having rough times. How is ur neck? I would think you need adjustments with the pump if u can't function a few hours doing something u enjoy. My SCS Works this time and does relieve the pain 100 percent (other pains near but not the sharp one).
On Tuesday and Wednesday I was doing more then I usually do. I was standing a lot, for several hours I guess upto 2 hours max.
And I really felt it in my entire back.
To my understanding the pain pump is not guarenteed to work 100% of the time and give "complete" relief.
From what I read and was told that if I had 50% relief from the pump or more then it was considered a success. It was intended to "reduce" not "eliminate" the issue of pain and in hopes that you get some quality of life back. Don't forget its NOT a cure to our problems.
I try not to take extra pain medications (oxycodone) during the day, but the past 2 days I felt the need in hopes to get some relief.
After my MRI I am scheduled to see my doctor to go over the MRI results. But if I am right I have to see the doctors PA after the MRI. Not sure why but I think they have to make sure nothing changed in the way the pump works from going thru the MRI.
On a positive note while I do have bad days, I find that on a good day I can sit longer periods of time then I did prior to having the implant.
On bad days my arms really bother me they feel extremely "strained" or "weak" at times. I don't feel the oxycodone is doing much in the way of pain relief. Not sure why. As I said I don't like overdoing it on taking the medication. I don't like the side effects, sometimes extreme tiredness; lightheadedness; constipation are what I seem to experience.
Anyway will see waht the MRI says if the accident caused any changes in the neck issues.
