All right Mama's this is long, but I need words of advice and encouragement. I am 26 years old. Last month I started having vertigo (where it seems like everything around you is spinning) nausea and vomiting. It got to the point where I was vomiting every time I moved and my left side became numb and cold, so I went to the doctor ended up seeing the nurse practicioner who was not so helpful ion defining a cause. Tried a chiropracter, got a little worse. At the same time we had talked to the family doc and he thought it sounded like a pinched nerve and put me on meds that left me pretty stoned. Got an MRI about 2.5 weeks ago and was told I had a stroke. Needless to say I'm angry and scared. I am off the meds that kept me stoned.
The last time I saw the doctor, I was stoned. He put me on Lyrica to help with the nerve pain and a patch to help the vertigo. I finally took the patch off and have seen that I actually am doing better without it. I have also regained some sensation on my left side. I am 100% mentally intact and am more intelligent than my doctor gives me credit for. Anyhow, he did blood tests looking for a cause and they were negative. Now he wants an MRA (an MRI with contrast) to look for a circulation problem. The issue I have with it is that the probability of that problem sits slightly above not possible. So far he will not tell me when I can start rehab. I feel like I am being mnanipulated. He knows I don't agree with all of the tests, so he is withholding rehab.
My husband and mother in law would like for me to go in and see him again so he can see the improvement. My family wants me to do whatever he says. (probabaly not ever going to happen.)I want to start rehab, see improvement and then look into what tests are appropriate. Oh, if you are wondering, I went to a neurologist. That's an even longer story that ended poorly( he lied about some things, i brought it to his attention and got thrown out of the office). I don't know whay to do. I want to go to rehab and get better. I need to be able to go back to work as I am the breadwinner so to speak in our home. My husband is working extra, but it isn't enough to make up my salary. I also cannot take care of our kids for long periods of time by myself. I am at peace with the fact that we will probably never know why this happened and I want the testing to stop until I see some improvemnt with rehab. Some of these tests can effect what health I do have and I don't want to risk that. I ask that only positive feedback be left. I can get enough negative comments as it is. If anyone knoes a doctor that would respect my position and help me get into rehav with further testing I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance! C.
Okay, so the truth was; I was being manipulated, but for a different reason. It was not only to meet the doctor's need to be right, it was a requirement for rehab. Had he just said that in the first place...We ended up just making an appointment to talk to him, and took my mother in law the shrink with us. She served as a mediator of sorts. I got his precious little test and it was completely normoal. Fortunately, the MRI tech was nice and he showed it to me, so I didn;t have to wait so long for an answer. You see, part of what I forgot to tell you mamas is that I have been in health care for 9 years and have known my physican for 7 of them. I also have a personal relationship with his family. I should start rehav soon, they are supposed to be calling to set up a schedule and we have agreed that at this time, no further testing will be done. We are also searching for a new doctor; although, we may not find one willing to take over my care at this point, we plan to find one once I am all the way back on my feet. Thanks for the advice and the encouragement!
Have you thought about going to another Dr.
Get a second opinion. Or just keep calling your old dr everyday till they give you the info you want.
KEEP YOUR HEAD UP SISTER!!!!
I would definitely get a second opinion from another doctor. Even a second opinion with another neurologist. My cousin had TIAs which are mini-strokes several times and she was diagnosed with MS at age 30 she went through a lot of testing and got second opinions. I'm not trying to scare you, just letting you know it's not common for someone so young to have strokes and they need to see if they can discover the source and get you back on your feet.
If you are unhappy with your neurologist, go get a second opinion. I went to a neurologist when I started having numbness in my hands and feet. The neurologist diagnosed me with MS. He was AWFUL!!!!! I found a new neurologist on my own at the MS Clinic at UT Southwestern Medical Center that I absolutely love. While MS is not the same as strokes, I believe you need to find a Dr. you trust. Good Luck and I hope you have a speedy recovery!
OH HONEY! I know you want to get on with your life but shouldn't that include finding out why this happened in the first place?? Some things can be fixed if they are figured out right away, if you refuse testing you could allow yourself to have a worse problem in the future - who knows when? Could be when you're driving your precious children around!! You're so young to have had a stroke which is why they want to do testing on you, maybe to prevent a future similar event. I understand where you're coming from, when you're used to doing and caring for yourself and your family it's so difficult to deal with health problems but I think and wish you'd reconsider.....sometimes life takes turns we don't want but well, we have no choice! I am speaking from some experience here, I had some strange health issues for a few years - turned out I had a brain tumor and had to have surgery -totally and completely changed my whole life but you know what? I'm still alive and kicking and now I'm a Gramma! Greatest blessing in the world and worth all the stupid testing and surgeries. I would suggest that you seek other opinions from other physicians so that you feel more comfortable with what they want you to do, but please take care of yourself - someone in the medical field must be able to help you. I hear you on Neurosurgeons though, not easy to talk to that's for sure, but it's their surgery skill that needs to be good, not their personality. Good Luck to you and please think about your future before you shut out all medical advice - it's scary but keep praying and God may give you the answers!
Honey child, I had a stroke 10 yrs ago. I to this day am on blood thinners. I was 49 at the time. I believe that it was caused by homoines. I could not sleep and up for days when I went for replacement homoines. Then after while I had to keep refilling the meds and saw in a mag in the doctors office that you can take a pill and not have to take one and go on another one on the 16th day and off five days. Something like that. He said give it time we will change it once I am regulated. So after a yr he came to me and said well, I want to up the dose and you take it all the time and do not quit that 5 days. So after two months we moved here and that day I had a stroke. But the brain is amazing. Only my right hand was effected and my brain. I could not remember things. How to spell. I wrote a check once for $20 over that amount. I went for rehab and after two sessions they could not do any more. I had improved. Over time they told me to get a bucket of rice and keep moving it with my hand while watching tv or sitting down. I was so upset that I was in a new area and had no idea how to get to the store or no friends and nothing to help me. Then as time came and went every day I could do something more. I stretched my brain and kept remembering more and more. I would start to talk and forget words. Then realized old age also lends us disabilities and I had at least an excuse. All the tests did not show what was wrong until the did the most expensive one an echo gram. It showed I have a thickened heart valve and they saw some residual left from a blood clot. That is why they will not take me off coumadin. But the killer after is that we had good insurance at the time with my hubby's new job. Then he divorced me and I was left with paying cobra which soon I could not afford. I did get a on insurance with my job but then quit my job am today I am self employed. Well they say 10 yrs I can get insurance now but also they can put restrictions in it. I have a discounted insurance now that does not cover a lot. I was told by the pharamist that doctors do not want to take you off coumadin as a liability. I have been tempted to go off myself but to scared to do it. I took Alovera and was still taking the coumadin and it make my blood pool. I think if I could just take it (Vemma) I would be ok. But you have to listen to doctors. Two said taking the harmones was the same as taking birth control pills and they have been known to cause blood clots. I do not take any more replacements and would strongly suggest to other not to either. They are made from horse urine. Our parents survived going through menopause as well without.
The best part is my hubby divorced me when I could not remember where our money was and what was what. He got out while I could not remember. I went on and little by little gained back almost all my functioning. I used to break things at work because I could not feel with my right hand. Today I type and do everything and can not even know the difference. I do not have the strength but women are weak anyway. I went to College online and graduated with a high GPA and degree and proved to myself I could if I think I can. I also think if I could not have used other parts of my body I would have found away. Keep trusting in God and pray about what you are to do. Listen to him above all. Keep telling yourself if I keep doing this it will get better and it will. The doctor told me a long time ago I would be about 90% better. Today determined to overcome I have and I feel 100% improved. You can too. Keep it up and keep going but be aware of all the posions in meds. If some keep you stoned move on to another. Do not take the chance of driving in those conditions. Keep excersizing those limbs and forcing improvements as they will come. God Bless and good luck. Your are a brave and special person and has to be hard with two little ones. We have road blocks in our lives and we just keep going. I will pray for you. I actually think years before when I was your age I had a mini stroke. I could not use my hand and they said it was a migraine and would go away in 24 hrs it did. But now I wonder about that. G. W
I'm not a nurse or even in the medical field, but my father had a rare brain disorder when I was 3. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of it and have left him a voicemail, but he would not be here today if he had not done the MRA (or whatever you called it with contrast). It is my understanding that there are things they just can't see without the contrast. If I were you I would carry on with all the tests. Aren't these people trying to help you?
Maybe get a second opinion or find a doctor you trust, but testing has to be done to find that cause. Instead of getting angry, try to look at this from thier prospective. Maybe they're trying to figure it out, and because you're so emotionally involved ( I Mean this is YOUR health they're talking about) you're not able to look at it rationally.
I don't really know anything about nuerological disordres, but I know that my dad would have died 30 years ago if they had done an early diagnosis and not continued on to find the culprit of his problem.
Hi C.,
I'm with the other ladies. GO TO ANOTHER DR!! I was once told by my chiropractor...do not go to drs in Arlington. Go to Ft. Worth or Dallas, or better yet, the Mayo Clinic like the one mamma suggested! There are some "quacks" out there, but also some wonderful MD's. Your health is WAY too important not to be diligent with this!! I have learned the hard way that if something is ignored, something worse can come out of it way down the road! Better to be on top of things now! You have to be your own champion!! You can do it...don't let all this get you down! Pray a little, ease your mind and get a new perspective! Good luck and God Bless!
D. G.
Hi C.,
The best advice I ever got was to go to a teaching hospital center like Mayo Clinic or Baylor in Houston. I SEE DR ONDO IN THE NEUROLOGY DEPT. My local neurologist, "the best" had me on a drug that was causing a terrible side effect. When I suggested it was the med he had me on, He said No Way!. When I saw Baylor's head of Neurology, He said,"Oh, you are taking "Rx_________" aren't you?" Happens all the time!
Why did Dr Hotshot not know? His practice was 200-300 people (Aged, not sharp thinking usually) He never learned from them. I was 45 and IQ of 140 and thinking good until he drugged me. He wouldn't think of listening to a patient's point of view. Find a Dr with 2 to 3 thousand patients! Go to a teaching center that has the latest knowledge! QUICKLY!
