More developments

I bothered a bunch of people yesterday, and the upshot is that my accident report has been corroborated by the other driver, so there is no dispute and my insurance could go ahead and waive my deductible, along with sending out the money for the preliminary car repair estimate (they will just pay for any extra directly instead of sending it to me first). The money should turn up in 3-5 business days, and I can get my car fixed. I set up a rental car for next week, and my doctor appointment yesterday went well.

I've got some pain meds because since I had head trauma they don't want me taking anything that could increase the risk of brain bleeding (aspirin is the worst, but he didn't want me taking as much Ibuprofen as I had been, either). I had one of those last night with another muscle relaxer, and I do feel a bit better today. Not quite as much pain. Yay! I have an appointment for massage therapy next week, although hopefully they can bump me up a bit. I have a muscle knot in my back near my left shoulder blade so big and tight that the doctor could see it bulging underneath my shirt. I'm not sure how many of these appointments there will be, but hopefully they help.

In the meantime, Patrick is finally home tonight after several days of opera rehearsals, so I can have a shower and wash my hair! I will need him to either hold my head up or wash my hair for me, as it hurts to lean my head backward without holding it up with my hand, and adding soaking wet piles of hair to the mix will only make it worse.

My right shin is swollen with fluid from being rammed into the brake pedal upon impact, and the doctor suspects it's a few torn muscle fibers and a bruise right near the bone. It hurt off and on Monday right in the middle of my shin, and now it doesn't hurt, it's just swollen and strange feeling.

This is SO FUN, y'all!

I'll let you know how the therapy goes.

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New developments

Well, the pain is worse and starting to spread down the back of my right arm. I haven't been hungry in a few days, although I managed to eat a few peaches yesterday. No hunger at all today, in spite of having only water and various pills. I think Patrick's going to cram some food down me tonight whether I'm hungry or not...

I could barely do anything today. I tried holding up the flip cover on an outlet for a coworker with my right hand and couldn't do it for more than about five seconds. It hurt too much and my arm gave out. I tried doing some stuff for a while, but I couldn't take the pain and gave it back to him to finish. He was very gracious about helping me, and I'm grateful. I couldn't have done any work at all yesterday or today without him.

Nothing seems to help the pain, so I quit taking the Vicodin for now and am still taking Ibuprofen and muscle relaxers in the hope that they'll at least make my muscles not get tighter.

Driving home yesterday I noticed the pain in my right arm. It would come in waves like my back. Now that arm is tender to the touch but neither swollen nor hot. No discoloration anywhere. I called the doctor again today after it had gotten more painful and ended up writing him a detailed email of my issues. He wrote back with this:

Sounds like a cervical neuropathy, possibly combined w carpal overuse syndrome, thoracic outlet...vascular vs neuro... Will need to see you to sort that out..

Hopefully I can get in tomorrow and get something scanned. I found the information below when I was trying to find out what cervical neuropathy might be, and it's not encouraging. I already have the numbness in hands with reading and arm weakness confirmed by a PT...

What Is Cervical Neuropathy?

The cervical spine is made up of seven vertebrae from the base of the skull through the neck. Eight pairs of nerves travel through bony openings in the cervical spine. When one or more of these nerves get pinched, painful cervical neuropathies can occur.

Symptoms

The most common symptom is pain that radiates from the neck down into the arms. The pain can be dull or sharp, and it can be on one side or both. When the pain is accompanied by numbness, tingling or weakness, it usually means that the nerve compression is more severe.

Diagnosis

A physical exam is the first step in diagnosis. It is important to find out if there is any limitation of motion in the neck or any weakness or decreased sensation in the arms. Plain x-rays are always important to see if there is any disease of the bones of the cervical spine. Finally, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or CAT scans may be required.

Causes

There are a number of possible causes of pressure on a cervical nerve. The cause can be as simple as a muscle spasm or as serious as a tumor. The most common cause of pinched nerves in the neck is degenerative disease of the spine, a form of arthritis that can cause bony protrusions called "spurs" or herniation of the discs that lie between the bones.

Pain relief

The most common pain medicines given for cervical neuropathy are anti-inflammatory medications and antispasmodic medications. These medicines help relieve the tight muscles and inflamed nerves. A cervical collar (neck brace) is helpful to relieve the pressure on the nerves by supporting the neck and head. An injection of steroid medication is sometimes given at the spot where the inflamed nerve exits the bone. Narcotics are rarely given due to the addictive potential.

Surgery

Sometimes simple measures do not work to relieve the pain of cervical neuropathy. At times, it can progress and lead to weakness in the arms. In these cases, surgery might become necessary. A ruptured disc might need to be repaired, or an unstable spinal column might need to be fixed into a firm position.

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Back pain, ad nauseam (plus bonus octopus piano)

Hi, blog readers! I thought I'd let you know what went on with my appointments. At the doctor's office yesterday, he thought it was a rhomboid muscle injury. So he prescribed muscle relaxers, Vicodin with Tylenol added, and physical therapy. I took the meds last night, and they knocked me out.

This morning I went to physical therapy, and it turns out that my right arm isn't working correctly. It has about half the strength of my left, and it fatigues way too quickly. There appears to be something wrong with my tricep.

I'd also been having my hands go numb when sitting up reading, and the last two fingers on my right hand go numb when using a mouse/keyboard for too long, along with nerve shocks up my right arm. I laid off the video games, and the two finger numbness/nerve shock business stopped. The numbness from reading continued.

The therapist thinks it's a pinched nerve. They put electrodes on me and did some electrical muscle stimulation, along with heat, and I'm supposed to rest, take the meds, do stretching, walk a bit to increase blood flow, and have three more physical therapy appointments. She did a bit of massage as well to try and loosen it up.

Afterward, my back was screaming, so I just went home and took more meds. They'll probably knock me out again soon, but I wanted to let you know what was going on. I hope this gets resolved with meds and therapy. I really don't want to have more surgery.

According to the therapist, 90% of nerve pinching cases are resolved without surgery. Watch me be the 10% who needs it... It's the family way! hah

When I feel better, I'll post pictures of this stuffed octopus-covered piano I saw yesterday. It's fascinating.

Update: pain is down enough now for the pictures to be added. This piece was titled Octavia Rises, and the pictures are in pretty high def, so if you can't see them clearly on here, right click and save, then open using your own program. Enjoy!

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