Meaningless Answers- Your Labs Came Back Normal
In classic Zebra fashion I have been poked prodded and immobile (a special torture for the hypermobile) all for the sake of ruling out some big diagnoses.
According to the MRIs it’s not MS, and I don’t have a CSF leak. My reaction to this is rather ambivalent. It’s nice to not be looking at the prognosis for MS. My symptoms didn’t go away when it was ruled out however.
I’m still having jolts, shocks, zings, and zaps radiating from my spine.
I still have vision that’s in-and-out.
I’m still waging a constant battle against the sensations in my arm and for control of it.
My footfalls are still very unpredictable, especially when my body runs out of spoons.
I’m still peeing 20+ times a day.
The pain in my lower back becomes unbearable as soon as the tramadol wears off.
Walking up stairs is incredibly painful and triggers a myriad of symptoms from blurred vision, to light-headedness, to a variety of electrical storms in my body.
Sitting in the same position for any length of time, or standing for an length of time become intensely painful quickly.
I still can’t stretch out my body often enough of completely enough to relieve my pain.
I got a referral for physical therapy- and found a physical therapist that is familiar with hypermobility- and they don’t take my insurance.
My insurance isn’t paying for jack- but has to be billed first for Medicaid to cover it. I just reapplied for Medicaid and I’m terrified of being dropped.
I just asked for a reduction in my work hours, but have no idea yet what that will look like.
The word microhemorrhage was on my MRI report, but apparently that’s not a big deal and I won’t know more until August 17.
Lower back MRI didn’t “find anything,” but reading it there’s facet arthropathy and anterolisthesis.
“In anterolisthesis, the upper vertebral body is positioned abnormally compared to the vertebral body below it. More specifically, the upper vertebral body slips forward on the one below.
The amount of slippage is graded on a scale from 1 to 4. Grade 1 is mild (20% slippage), while grade 4 is severe (100% slippage,” according to Cedars-Sinai.org.
The grinding, clicking, and pain in my lower back have necessitated a reduction in work hours, but none of these findings are a big deal.
The impact this reduction of hours is going to make on my bank account is a big deal though. Especially when $130 of every paycheck goes to paying for insurance that doesn’t actually cover anything.
Dr. Handjob’s office finally just gave me the number to the fancy geneticist because they won’t answer their phone.
I reduced my hours to give my system rest, and it just feels like there’s more to do and figure out. I’m trying not to be overwhelmed. I’m trying to be patient.
I bought a walker, to help me be mobile, because I’m afraid of becoming sedentary in my pain.
Ugh.
We HAVE to break the Silence!
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