Dr.s and diagnosis
We went to our apt for my leg at the beginning of June, took X-rays and waited.. now it is the end of June. We heard they wanted to do an MRI, and that the Dr. wanted to speak to me directly but that is it! Even after calling and leaving numerous messages, we heard nothing more for weeks. Feeling we were wasting precious summer time before school starts in the fall, I saw another Dr. last Wednesday at the Student Health Center. I know what some of you are thinking. Why in the world did I go there? BUT the Dr. there was in the field of study I needed and our insurance was happy we went there first, so everybody should be happy.
The Dr. I saw there said that he would drop everything and go anywhere to get it fixed! Should I send you to U of U, or Boise? Maybe, but let's see what we can figure out here in town first. (This may sound silly but we are still beginning to understand how strange and rare this really is, which is why many of you haven't heard much about it, because we didn't know what to say!) Dr. did not like the idea of just taking drugs and not knowing what really happened during the c-section. After making some calls to Dr.s in Idaho Falls, he referred me to a neurologist, and personally set up an appointment for me, before I left the office.
This morning we met with that Dr. (So many Dr.s--aren't I'm not giving you names for all of them? :) After the "these exercises aren't too embarrassing, but really they are" talk, he performed the tests. If you've been to a neurologist before you will understand. He determined, like everyone else, that it is the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. I found out from the SHC doc, there's no such thing as a subcutaneous...nerve, it just runs subcutaneously. (Hence why I couldn't find anything on-line when I was searching for it.) Insurance won't let us do consultation and procedure on the same day, so we are going back next week to do the nerve tests and get some objectionable data. After that, he said its up to you what you want to do. "what can we do?" Well, there is medicine to cover the symptoms, but if the nerve really was cut, there really isn't anything to try, except for surgery, which he told Bob, he wouldn't do it to his wife, if she were me. the medicine by the way is crazy! If I stop taking it, I would get meth/alcohol withdrawals...I don't know if I want to start on something I won't be able to stop taking even if it is a prescription drug...
So it all depends on what they find next week with the nerve tests. I wondered, almost hoped that the problems were in my back, but he ran a test that acted normal on the right and very strange on the left...which basically ruled out the possibility of back problems for now. That still may be an underlying cause, but not the primary cause. After the tests, I will probably go back to meet with the SHC Dr. and figure some things out. (Oh, and a lady from the other Dr.s office called back at exactly the same time as our apt this morning, to finally schedule an MRI...No thanks, I don't have enough months in the summer to wait for results :)
In the mean time, we are leaving for Utah for a family reunion, oh, tomorrow! and I still have to go pack :) Hopefully all the family fun and fresh air will help us clear our minds of things.
As a last thought, check out this story Bob read this morning while we were waiting for the Dr. (you deserve it if you made it through till now...)
A man suffered a stroke to the left side of his body and the result of it was that he only did things on the right side of his body: shaved, combed his hair, etc. This is from an interview with him.
The Dr. asked him to do a specific movement with both hands.
"You didn't do it with your left hand."
"Yes, I did."
She lifted his arm up so he could see his left arm with his right eye. "Whose hand is this?"
"It's yours."
"I don't have three hands."
"Dr, it stands to reason if you have three arms, you must have three hands" :)
What a strange thing our brains are...and how appropriate to read that this morning. Luckily I don't have that problem, I know what body parts I have, at least I think I do. :)
The Dr. I saw there said that he would drop everything and go anywhere to get it fixed! Should I send you to U of U, or Boise? Maybe, but let's see what we can figure out here in town first. (This may sound silly but we are still beginning to understand how strange and rare this really is, which is why many of you haven't heard much about it, because we didn't know what to say!) Dr. did not like the idea of just taking drugs and not knowing what really happened during the c-section. After making some calls to Dr.s in Idaho Falls, he referred me to a neurologist, and personally set up an appointment for me, before I left the office.
This morning we met with that Dr. (So many Dr.s--aren't I'm not giving you names for all of them? :) After the "these exercises aren't too embarrassing, but really they are" talk, he performed the tests. If you've been to a neurologist before you will understand. He determined, like everyone else, that it is the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. I found out from the SHC doc, there's no such thing as a subcutaneous...nerve, it just runs subcutaneously. (Hence why I couldn't find anything on-line when I was searching for it.) Insurance won't let us do consultation and procedure on the same day, so we are going back next week to do the nerve tests and get some objectionable data. After that, he said its up to you what you want to do. "what can we do?" Well, there is medicine to cover the symptoms, but if the nerve really was cut, there really isn't anything to try, except for surgery, which he told Bob, he wouldn't do it to his wife, if she were me. the medicine by the way is crazy! If I stop taking it, I would get meth/alcohol withdrawals...I don't know if I want to start on something I won't be able to stop taking even if it is a prescription drug...
So it all depends on what they find next week with the nerve tests. I wondered, almost hoped that the problems were in my back, but he ran a test that acted normal on the right and very strange on the left...which basically ruled out the possibility of back problems for now. That still may be an underlying cause, but not the primary cause. After the tests, I will probably go back to meet with the SHC Dr. and figure some things out. (Oh, and a lady from the other Dr.s office called back at exactly the same time as our apt this morning, to finally schedule an MRI...No thanks, I don't have enough months in the summer to wait for results :)
In the mean time, we are leaving for Utah for a family reunion, oh, tomorrow! and I still have to go pack :) Hopefully all the family fun and fresh air will help us clear our minds of things.
As a last thought, check out this story Bob read this morning while we were waiting for the Dr. (you deserve it if you made it through till now...)
A man suffered a stroke to the left side of his body and the result of it was that he only did things on the right side of his body: shaved, combed his hair, etc. This is from an interview with him.
The Dr. asked him to do a specific movement with both hands.
"You didn't do it with your left hand."
"Yes, I did."
She lifted his arm up so he could see his left arm with his right eye. "Whose hand is this?"
"It's yours."
"I don't have three hands."
"Dr, it stands to reason if you have three arms, you must have three hands" :)
What a strange thing our brains are...and how appropriate to read that this morning. Luckily I don't have that problem, I know what body parts I have, at least I think I do. :)
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