- Joined
- May 18, 1999
- Messages
- 15,395
Osiyo Gang,
Well got the news today and didn't have to have a heart to heart that I had planned with Dr. Gaede as he supplied the answer, as usual, and whether I liked it or not and today I sure as hell didn't like his answer!!!!!
But as the old saying goes, "$hit Happens!"
The problems I'm having this go around is twofold and both problems stem from my low back and the, "Flat Back Syndrome."
Let me see if I can explain this in a way everyone can understand it the same way I do.....
Since having to have my neck fused from C-3 to C-7 October '07 my C-2 to C-1 vertebrate joint has had to try to compensate for the lack of movement lost to that fusion.
Along with that and the continual bent over stance the Flat Back Syndrome has caused me too have my neck is in a constant strain trying to peer up and over what is now my normal line of sight to my old, and the average person's line of sight.
And because of that as well as it having gone on as long as it has I now have a narrowing of my spinal cord which is causing my nerves in that area to be pinched.
There is also a similar problem in my low back where the Flat Back Syndrome stems from. Looking at the side view images from the Myelogram/CT Scan of my S-1 through L-1 levels you can see an actual bulging out of my spine instead of the normal reverse curve the average person has.
Along with that is another narrowing of my spinal cord with the same resulting pinched nerves I have in my neck which gives me a nasty "*One - Two Punch.*"
So what started out as a slightly increased tingling in the fingertips of my right hand because of the pinched nerves in my neck has progressed to the point where not only are my entire fingers and hand tingly on my right side they are pretty much numb as well, actually my right arm is numb feeling and tingly down to my right elbow.
The same symptoms started the same way on my left side and it's now numb and tingly about two thirds of the way to my left elbow.
I can barely lift my arms up high enough to comb my hair and as far as shaving, forget it. I can whack off the worst of what few whiskers I have with my Norelco but if I have any stragglers my Barbie has to take over simply because I can't feel them. She wasn't satisfied with the results she was getting with the Norelco today so she got a disposable and dry shaved the few that were left.
Same deal with a coffee mug..... If I get my own cup of coffee I have to pick up the pot and pour it with my left hand. If I'm really careful and get my fingers wedged into the handle just right I can still use my right hand to drink my coffee but I won't try it if it's fresh poured and HOT!!!!
Now to the nitty gritty..... Because of the amount of pain I've been experiencing lately I'd dearly love to get the big surgery out of the way first but Dr. Gaede says it wouldn't be wise because of the position I'll be in when they do that surgery.
It would place my neck in the position that causes my nerves to be pinched worse for as long as six to eight hours which could very well cause the damage already done to be permanent.
So that's a no brainer, the neck surgery absolutely has to be done first!!!!! Problem is it's not without its own dangers, some of them being ones I don't wanna think about.
Good thing is if all goes well with my neck we can do the big back surgery a couple of months later...... I've talked with another patient of Dr. Gaede's that has had the big surgery and Joe can't say enough good about it! Of course Joe is only 52 and weighs a hundred pounds less than I do so he had a lot on his side before they even started.
I told Dr. Gaede to get the ball rolling so if all goes well my neck surgery should happen before Turkey Day. Oh yeah, this time Dr. Gaede will go in on the back side of my neck instead of cutting my throat again. Only problem with that is he says there's a huge artery that supplies blood to the brain right next to the area he'll be working on. He did promise Barbie and me that he'd be very careful.
.
Well got the news today and didn't have to have a heart to heart that I had planned with Dr. Gaede as he supplied the answer, as usual, and whether I liked it or not and today I sure as hell didn't like his answer!!!!!
But as the old saying goes, "$hit Happens!"
The problems I'm having this go around is twofold and both problems stem from my low back and the, "Flat Back Syndrome."
Let me see if I can explain this in a way everyone can understand it the same way I do.....
Since having to have my neck fused from C-3 to C-7 October '07 my C-2 to C-1 vertebrate joint has had to try to compensate for the lack of movement lost to that fusion.
Along with that and the continual bent over stance the Flat Back Syndrome has caused me too have my neck is in a constant strain trying to peer up and over what is now my normal line of sight to my old, and the average person's line of sight.
And because of that as well as it having gone on as long as it has I now have a narrowing of my spinal cord which is causing my nerves in that area to be pinched.
There is also a similar problem in my low back where the Flat Back Syndrome stems from. Looking at the side view images from the Myelogram/CT Scan of my S-1 through L-1 levels you can see an actual bulging out of my spine instead of the normal reverse curve the average person has.
Along with that is another narrowing of my spinal cord with the same resulting pinched nerves I have in my neck which gives me a nasty "*One - Two Punch.*"
So what started out as a slightly increased tingling in the fingertips of my right hand because of the pinched nerves in my neck has progressed to the point where not only are my entire fingers and hand tingly on my right side they are pretty much numb as well, actually my right arm is numb feeling and tingly down to my right elbow.
The same symptoms started the same way on my left side and it's now numb and tingly about two thirds of the way to my left elbow.
I can barely lift my arms up high enough to comb my hair and as far as shaving, forget it.
I can whack off the worst of what few whiskers I have with my Norelco but if I have any stragglers my Barbie has to take over simply because I can't feel them. She wasn't satisfied with the results she was getting with the Norelco today so she got a disposable and dry shaved the few that were left.Same deal with a coffee mug..... If I get my own cup of coffee I have to pick up the pot and pour it with my left hand. If I'm really careful and get my fingers wedged into the handle just right I can still use my right hand to drink my coffee but I won't try it if it's fresh poured and HOT!!!!
Now to the nitty gritty..... Because of the amount of pain I've been experiencing lately I'd dearly love to get the big surgery out of the way first but Dr. Gaede says it wouldn't be wise because of the position I'll be in when they do that surgery.
It would place my neck in the position that causes my nerves to be pinched worse for as long as six to eight hours which could very well cause the damage already done to be permanent.
So that's a no brainer, the neck surgery absolutely has to be done first!!!!! Problem is it's not without its own dangers, some of them being ones I don't wanna think about.
Good thing is if all goes well with my neck we can do the big back surgery a couple of months later...... I've talked with another patient of Dr. Gaede's that has had the big surgery and Joe can't say enough good about it! Of course Joe is only 52 and weighs a hundred pounds less than I do so he had a lot on his side before they even started.
I told Dr. Gaede to get the ball rolling so if all goes well my neck surgery should happen before Turkey Day. Oh yeah, this time Dr. Gaede will go in on the back side of my neck instead of cutting my throat again. Only problem with that is he says there's a huge artery that supplies blood to the brain right next to the area he'll be working on. He did promise Barbie and me that he'd be very careful.
.
:thumbup:
Don't forget to mention that.
