The Weird Thing Happened Last Night....

[rpowell01]

Let me start off by giving just a little back information...I have Cervical DDD, Thoracic DDD and Lumbar DDD with radiculopathy from all three areas.

The Radiculopathy are in both arms, legs, toes, feet and in all of places in the chest wall muscles (pectoral muscles)...

This past Monday I had a Cervical ESI procedure. The doctor decided to do it at C7-T1. I advised him of a past ESI I had back in 2011 that only last 10 days. This doctor didn't want to do this one because he said if the last one only last 10 days then the one on monday will not help. I pled with him to at least lets give it a try because I am sick of the pain everywhere. So he agreed. He told me that this is a dangerous procedure but the effects of something happening is very small.

After he numbed the are he stuck the needle in at T1. As the needle went in I felt it big time and I said Oh no. The doctor said hey you oak and I told him that my arms and legs were going numb and boom they went paralyzed and my arms fell off the table dangling. He immediately pulled out the needle. They kept asking me if I was okay and I said yes then boom I couldn't answer them but I was awake and I knew they had their hand on my back shaking me. I finally was able to answer them and all the feeling came back to my arms and legs. My heart rate had jumped up to 138 and that is what scared them. I didn't know about my hr because I was worried about my arms and legs.

After about 5 minutes they allowed me to sit up and took me into the recovery room. I asked the doctor about my May 6th appointment and he said he is canceling it and that I can NEVER have any more ESI in my spine. In the recovery room boom it hit me again, my legs and arms went numb and I was about to pass out and the nurses came over to me then I came to. Finally after a certain time they let me go home but told me to keep watch on the area where the shot was given for possible infections.

On my way it happened again but I didn't tell my dad who took me that it happened.

So Tuesday came around and I felt okay not bad just my norm. Wednesday was the same and then yesterday came. So Thursday came around and I was fine, it was norm type of day, pain here, pain there, pain everywhere....Then about 4:30pm I took my son to football practice and before practice started I was out there throwing the football around some. I am at the point in my life that I am doing to do things pain or no pain. I threw about 5 pass then I didn't feel to good. Both my arms were hurting as was my upper back where he gave me that shot. So I grabbed these bars and just stretched my arms and upper back. Well practice got cancelled due to rain.

As we were driving home I told me kids that I didn't feel good or right. My stomach was nauseated and my neck and upper back just didn't feel too good. Whenever I got home I went straight to the bedroom and laid down on my bed and put an ice pack on my neck. The BOOOOM it hit, everything got worse, I felt sicker and more nauseated and as I was feeling for my heart rate in my neck it just stopped beating there and I felt I was about to pass out. I stood up and called my wife for help. She ran to me and she said my face was pale white or white as a ghost. I told her to call 911 and then she said you sure then I said no don't....I laid back on my bed and raised my feet up on some pillows. It took about 30 minutes for everything to go back to normal.

Well we decided to drive one hour + to the VA Hospital in Tampa because I wasn't sure if this was from the ESI or what. As I went in to triag they took my BP which was then 154/103 and I had a low grade fever...Didn't have the fever until I walked into the hospital doors. Anyway they immediately took me to a room and put an EKG on me. I told them nothing is wrong with my heart, I know my body and this is something from my spine doing all of this.

Well to shorten the story, they did blood work, EKG and did an MRI on my brain and my whole spine. The doctor came back in not even 5 minutes after I completed the MRI and said "We can't find anything that would be causing this".....He gave it a name and no it wasn't anxiety but something else. Basically he was saying "We know there is something wrong but we can't find where its coming from...So they send me home...

Today I am fine and back to my norm of pain. I started thinking this morning and I guess because of my whole spine being injured that this is how the body responds at times...I just don't know and would like to see if anybody ever had a similar situation like this and if I have the same spine conditions.

[Berta]

http://www.capitolpain.com/Treatments_files/CESI.pdf

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/injections/epidural-steroid-injections-risks-and-side-effects

The above links contain some of the fairly rare side affects you might have had.

I dont think the doctor did anything wrong at all.Maybe best to avoid this procedure in the future.

I hope others chime in here as I myself never had this done to me.

[rpowell01]

Well I was thinking last night whenever I was going over to the hospital that one of my disc could have leak out some water....Everything was fine until I threw a football around for about 6-8 at my sons football practice and it was right after I started to get sick. Then I talked with JBasser today on the phone and he told me the exact same thing he thought happen. So I could have done that and this is why they couldn't find anything. Water gets in that spinal cord and the brain go haywire whenever this happens....

[rpowell01]

My dad said not to throw any football with my son anymore because I could have done something with my condition. I told him my son is more important than my condition any day of the week. But, I guess I shouldn't throw the football knowing all three parts of my spine is pretty much torn up....

Edited April 14, 2013 by rpowell01

[rpowell01]

Well it just happened to me again about 1 hour again and I finally got the bugar that is causing the problem. Its a huge muscle spasm in my mid back next to my should blade that is right behind my heart. And guess what my mind is going to do whenever that spasm squeezes right behind my heart? It sends my body into panic mode and boom Anxiety from hell. What is scary is whenever you left arm pain gets worse and your mind says "Heart, heart, heart"...I found out what it was whenever I applied ice to my neck and mid back. Whenever I moved around I felt the spasm. That thing is huge and I had my wife rub it hard with a rounded hard plastic tube and it helps getting that thing to loosen some. Ice just doesn't do the trick for some reason....

I can't believe how it causes my blood pressure to drop then afterwards my blood pressure goes sky high and I literally shake.

For about two years now I have been more worried on getting my Cervical DDD, Thoracic DDD and Lumbar DDD pain under control that I neglected and forgot about all the muscle spasms I get on my body because of them.

I send a message to my PCP to see if he can prescribe me Baclofen and something for the Anxiety. I use to take Baclofen about couple of years ago and I don't know why I stopped taking it. I guess with all the pain issues I just forgot all about it.

[carlie]

rpowell,

If you need to get to the ER - do it,

that man-up stuff is bunk.

Your wife and kids need you around whether you can

toss a pig skin or not.

Your son will remember you showed up and cheered him on,

but I would hate to see him remember you on the ground

writhing in pain

just because you felt, you needed to throw the ball.

Hang in there and no offense intended.

[rpowell01]

Carlie, Trust me I went and after asking my PCP, who was also bunked because he couldn't figure what was happening, I actually figured it out. I was prescribed Meloxicam 15mg back in February. I didn't want to start taking until after I had the ESI because its on the list of medications to stop a week before the ESI. So, I started taking it on Tuesday, one day after my failed ESI, and then it was two days later I started having huge issues. Well I kind of figured it all out last night because the only difference between this week and last week compared to the other weeks before is the Meloxicam. So today I stopped taking it and I feel better. I know its going to take a couple of days for it to get out of my system.

NSAIs' causes my blood pressure to go sky high and I get sick as a dog whenever I take them. It all started after I had my gallbladder taken out, weird but true. Anyway I told my PCP about this and he is listing all NSAIs as me being allergic to them.

So, I started taking Tylenol Tension 1x a day.

Now, if I can figure out this burning pain the upper left part of my stomach I can manage. Its on the outer part in the outer muscle. Muscle strain? Or Radiculopathy? It hurts bending over to the left and just by touching it...I will let the Neuropain know about this next month whenever I go see them again and will let my PCP know about it in June...

BTW Carlie I don't take anything said to me offensively because I should know better....Time to take a break from outside activities for a few days...

Edited April 17, 2013 by rpowell01