So. Maybe vent. Maybe someone has had a similar experience and can offer some advice.
My mom started having pain in her hip when walking or standing up around March this year. After putting off seeing a doctor a couple times, she started PT and shortly after, early November, she had a spontaneous femur fracture. It was a long month and a half until we could find the money to have her surgery.
Meanwhile MRI was made to confirm a lesion affecting the bone, a bone scan was made and it showed lumbar and rib mets, orthopedic oncologist said we shouldn't worry about the neck because it wasn't showing up on image.
Said neck pain (originally thought to be muscular contracture) started getting worse while she was bedridden.
So, there we are, joyful as she made it through surgery with no problems and the day after comes when she needs to sit and get up. Pain in the neck is unbearable and she faints for a few seconds.
An CT scan is made and it shows a large tumor has eaten up her C2 and C7 vertebrae, they're gone for good. She has to wear a neck brace and only use ambulance to get to her radiotherapy that got started a few days after. She risks being paralyzed, the neurosurgeon said.
After all, I missed saying, primary is believed to be her breast, although we won't get a biopsy until January.
We live in Venezuela where general access to quality care is only out of pocket. My steady income is 200$, 10 sessions of radiotherapy total 3000$. My mom and dad already retired, each perceive around 60$ a month. So, you get the picture. Access to trials non-existent.
Oncologist said she can get started on chemo post biopsy, let's hope the spine tumor gives us enough time to get there. This is just so heartbreaking and heavy. My only comfort is she stays positive as ever and generally in a great mood.
Love and light to anyone going through this mess. Keeping everyone in my heart.
What's the funniest, most incorrect thing you've heard/seen in a movie or TV show?
Hello Everyone, On July 1st, I was involved in a traumatic car accident when another driver struck my vehicle (side impact) at 55mph while I was attempting a left hand turn at 25 mph. I knocked out unconscious and suffered from a severe cervical fracture, breaking my c2 in 3 different places, unstable Type II/Type III and has both halo application and anterior cervical screw fixation performed. My ER surgeon states that the halo will be removed in 2 months. However, this is not the case. It is now 5 weeks post-op and I find out that I have to wear this "torture device" until october, 2017. That's 4 fucking months in total of agonizing, hell on earth. I wish I didn't take my life for granted. Up until today, I have tried my best to stay positive and now upon realizing that my situation is even worst than I expected. I have lost all hope and I am feeling suicidal. To make matters worse, I have struggled with depression and anxiety since I was 21 and I am now 28 years old. I have been self-medicating with alcohol for the past 3 years to deal with my depression/loneliness. However, I haven't touched the stuff since the accident. I developed social anxiety upon entering college and because of my anxiety, I lack a social support network. The only people whom I can ask for emotional support are my sister and my best friend who lives in Australia. People whom I welcomed into my life has disappeared during the toughest time of my life. During my stay in the ICU, my sister was the only person I contacted in my my family. I stayed an extra day just to mentally prepare myself to face my asian parents who are unsupportive. I read stories of how people with spinal injuries stay strong even during the toughest of times but I am not equipped for this. My depression is seriously getting to me, if there is anyone who has suffered with mental issues on top of suffering from a broken neck, please share your story. Ps. I'm well aware that I need a counselor but due to the physical limitations of being in a Halo coupled with a lack of social social needed to coordinate rides to appointments, that would be a unlikely option for now. permalink
Hey there everyone! Long story short, I found myself 2000 miles into my trip, nearly mid way, with a little over 30 days sleeping under the stars, staying with friends in Colorado for the 4th weekend to recoup and enjoy familiar company. I ended up going to a concert, where a beer vendor tent that wasn't staked to the ground was taken up by a gust of wind and landed on my head, pulling it backward, crushing my C6 vertebrate. I have no numbness or weakness (now that all of the swelling is gone two weeks later) and am in no need of surgery. Just a neckbrace for another month, and a lot of time on the couch. I am 23 years old, and the pain went from excruciating to really minimal, fortunately, and I'm expected to make a full recovery within three months, with the brace coming off August 16th, hopefully. I'd like to know if anyone here has experienced any similar injuries, how you dealt with being couch locked for extended periods of time, how long you waited to get back on the bike, and if your injury affected your riding at all. My goal is to be on my road bike & mountain bike by October. I am a bit concerned going into the woods as the vibrations are going to be much more than those on the road. Does anyone have any input? Jon from New York with the green Surly LHT and Ortlieb bags by the way if I met any of you on the Transamerica or Lewis and Clark and you may have wondered where I disappeared to!
People say a lot that breakign the neck is an instant death but I dont understand why that would cause the brain to shutdown straight away
- patient with TKR, 10 days post op.
- patient 4 weeks post op shoulder SAR/DCR.
- patient with previous lumbar fusion. Having back pain and B hip weakness.
- Non-specific elbow pain.
- Lung surgery, looking to improve endurance.
- Eval- Achilles’ tendon repair.
- Cervical DDD with radiculopathy.
- Meniscus root repair patient. 12 weeks post op looking to return to running.
- Teenager with scoliosis.
- Calcaneus fracture ORIF.
- ALS patient learning to walk with a cane. Gait training.
It was a fun day.
Warning, this is long. Please excuse spelling/grammar errors. I wanted you to have context and I’m looking for opinions from Doctors on a couple things:
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Do you have a hypothesis on what’s going on with her? What is it?
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Is my thinking in the ballpark or am I going way too far with my assumptions? If so, where am I leading myself astray?
Stats on wife; 32, F, 5’4 130 lbs.
First Symptoms started in July of this year, 12 hours after her first moderna vaccine (Her doctors found this noteworthy). Her lips and glands swelled as if she had injections and we thought nothing of it. Over the next several months, we noticed random days where her lips would swell up - we also noticed some swelling in the hands and feet but it took us a few months to really notice.
November 21’ She started complaining of pain in her back, neck, shoulders, arms. I noticed a lump in the breast that ended up prompting a visit to the doctor. During that visit, her pcp acknowledged swollen lymph nodes and ordered a complete metabolic panel, CBC, Lupus 12 panel, and a mammogram.
CBC results = all within normal range Metabolic panel = all within normal range Lupus 12 panel = POSITIVE Ana at 1:160 C reactive protein = normal Esr = normal Thyroid = normal Allergy up resp 17 = no allergies Chest X-ray = lungs and heart look great Mammogram = normal
After running these tests, we began thinking autoimmune was most likely and resigned to the fact that it would take some time to diagnose. Shortly after receiving the test results, her joint pain got much worse, she complained primarily of neck and shoulder pain. She’d ask me to crack her back every night and said she felt tight and stiff constantly. That’s when I noticed the night sweats. I flashed back and realized she’d started sleeping with the fan on months prior because of sweating. This was abnormal because she hated having the fan on, even on low for the 8 years we’ve been together. I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner.
One other major symptom I left out is the one that put me over the top with fear. Over the past two weeks she’s been unable to eat much at all, she’s dropped from 138 pounds to 130. She barely eats and feels full. She has good moments where she can move around the house but she quickly becomes sore and has to rest. The weight loss, the constant chills, the inability to eat anything. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that somethings wrong.
I emailed her doc with her the next day and ask
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hello! New to this sub & still pretty new to reddit, kindly let me know if I make any missteps in posting.
33F & considering sterilization. Have run through the gamut of contraceptives over the past 17 years. Hormonal methods always cause side effects. I just had my Skyla IUD removed yesterday due to side effects that started to build slowly after the first few months of having it until now (16 mo. total). Gradual decrease of any interest in anything sexual (including solo time), dislike of being touched by my partner, reduced sensation in genitals & nipples, then decreased lubrication & periodic yeast infections. This is all the same stuff I’ve experienced on other hormonal bc methods (pills, NuvaRing, Nexplanon), & Skyla was my last-ditch attempt at finding hormonal bc that worked for me given it releases the lowest total daily amount of hormones of any hormonal product. I got the Skyla after the Paragard I had for 3 years started to embed itself in my uterus - it had already made my periods significantly worse, & when I started feeling a sharp pain in my lower right quadrant accompanied by relentless nausea, I saw my doc. She suspected an ovarian cyst but the ultrasound showed the IUD was just slightly embedded & the embedded arm appeared to have broken off from the main part of the IUD. Luckily, what looked like a fracture in the IUD turned out to be an artifact on the imaging & the Paragard came out quickly & easily & fully intact, but it was a stressful & scary experience.
Have never tried cervical cap/diamphragm/sponge/spermicide because I have both very sensitive skin & a history of UTIs, so have been told I’m not a good candidate.
I’ve been with my partner for almost 8 years & we’re discussing marriage. I’ve decided in the last couple years that I really do not want to have children. The few times in my life I have thought I might want a biological child, when I really think on it I decide that I don’t want one nearly enough for pregnancy, delivery, & caring for a baby to be worth it for me. I also am dx w/ clinical depression & recently began taking bupropion which has been an absolute game-changer for me. I think I’d be high-risk for PPD & also would not be willing to go off my meds, which do carry some risks if used during pregnancy. My partner says that he could be happy either way & is on board with whatever I decide. I’ve begun to seriously consider steri
... keep reading on reddit ➡Hi, After surviving cervical cancer for 5+years, my mother is now diagnosed with multiple myeloma. She is in the hospital being treated for pain and pneumonia. I am not sure what to do anymore. It started a few months back, when she fractured her spine. I am in Mumbai and doctors at a non cancer hospital gave up after the diagnosis and asking me to let her go. I have read that stem cell/bone marrow transplant works good in such cases. Is there somewhere I can take her to get this treatment and will it be worth for her. Her spine is still not healing and she's on a complete bed rest. Any information/experience will be very helpful.
