low times

Feel like crud, wish I were dead. Maybe nature will complete that soon.That is all.

Results of the Spinal Tap

The procedure itself wasn’t that bad, I wasn’t aware that I’d be lying there, for a good 15 minutes. curled in a ball and wondering if that needle could possibly advance even further it already had, it seemed to be piercing my spine already. The contents of my back dripping, dripping, dripping into this little tube just like on “ER”. Brushed up against something and got 2 electric shocks down my right leg. The doctor withdrew the needle, put a band aid on it(I was hoping for something a little more dramatic, but it just looked like a pinprick). Consoled me to stay around for a couple of hours, to lie down to prevent a spinal headache. Told him I could stay one, I had to leave at 3:30pm. Which he took in stride, and said ok, just drink lots of CAFFEINATED fluids, etc, etc…(in direct opposition to every other doctor who has chided me for my little caffeine addiction)The nurses looked askance and he said it was ok, lying down for 6 hours hadn’t really been shown to reduce the chances of getting a headache + it was ok for me to leave early. Got wheeled to recovery/monitoring where I enjoyed lots of diet coke and got in trouble for trying to use the can. (“NO MOVING! YOU’LL GET A HEADACHE!”) I never got the headache, it was just a backache. Went and watched Narnia/went out to dinner that evening.

And then I started getting aches and pains. Honestly, every joint in my body seemed/seems to have simultaneously sprained. Maybe just bad luck, and maybe from the induction of a needle into my spine. Then I shaved, and my lymph nodes swelled up. (which is one reason I don’t do it that often, but I was starting to look like Neanderthal) You have to shave at least 4x a year, even if you don’t grow it all that fast. (which I fortunately don’t)

Today, the results. Increased protein, increased white blood cells. Normal on everything else. Blood levels of ESR slightly high. Wants another head MRI and if that’s normal, wants to do another spinal tap. Over. my. dead. body., I’m still sore from last week. Not sure where this is leading, but maybe a chronic sinus issue(according to him) which could account for the dizzyness, vertigo, headaches, etc…reassuring that its NOT MS or Lyme disease but still no answers.

Spinal Tap: It’s a Date

I’m having a spinal tap this afternoon. It’s a procedure by which they stick a needle into your spine to suck out fluid and you scream as loud as you possibly can. One thing I wish people understood, everyone has a breaking point- it has nothing to do with being macho. GET the epidural, for goodness sakes. If your arm is ripped off in some freak accident, yes you will be crying/screaming/begging them to do something before you completely lose consciousness. (I’m an EMT, I know) So we’ll see how this goes, anything that they say can be a “little” painful almost certainly will be very painful. Only board certified neurologists and crazy interns in teaching hospitals(who don’t know what they’re doing, but they have to learn on somebody) can do them. Fortuantly for me, the individual performing mine is a neurologist, so I know he’s doing what he should. They are checking, for oligoclonal bands

(which means, Multiple Sclerosis)

or evidence of Lyme Disease, which lucky me had something that my primary care doc diagnosed as that 4 years ago(I took antibiotics, it cleared up, but it never was really confirmed as that)

I believe I want to scream already, but I need answers to my health problems.

Hello world!

I’m sitting here with my 1/3 lb Thickburger from Hardees + a cup of water..ready to dig this “new blog” thing.(great inspiration always follows a good meal) I’m not new to the world of blogging, but my other blog is very category specific + when people click posts on the blogroll, they probably don’t want to hear about the other parts of my life. I am a writer, music lover, poet, photographer, movie critic, fashion wannabe, political activist, hardcore tightwad… I love to travel, I want kids someday. I’m involved too heavily with the medical profession,on both sides of that stretcher. I love to eat, blog about food, and should really weigh 10 lbs less then I do. I want to talk about all these things + not have the universe know who I am.

So, that’s me in a nutshell-let’s rock ‘n roll!