Yesterday I had two doctors' appointments -- a follow-up with Dr. Witham, the surgeon who did my diskectomy, and a consultation with Dr. Collea, a high-risk ob-gyn at Georgetown to whom I was referred by my ob-gyn. The surgeon said that, with respect to those symptoms I have that are related to my spinal cord injury, he would have liked to see more improvement. He sees three possibilities: (1) it might simply take longer for the injury to heal -- he said it can take up to one year sometimes; (2) some of it might never heal -- especially numbness in the hand; or (3) the surgery did not sufficiently reduce the pressure on my spinal cord, and additional surgery might be needed to continue my recovery. Another MRI would be needed in order to determine if the spinal cord is still under pressure. D and I are currently of the opinion that we should forego another MRI until the baby is born. Even if additional spine surgery is needed, we would not do it until then, anyway, now that I am out of imminent danger. So, our current plan is to wait and see a while longer -- and hope for continued healing. The good news? My left tricep is stronger. :)
The obstetrician had a couple of recommendations. First, he strongly suggested (as in, beat me over the head with it) that I not continue my efforts to wean myself away from using the walker (which he kept calling a "stroller" - kinda funny). He said that to do so is very dangerous, and that especially as the baby gets bigger and my balance is thrown further off, it will become even more so. He said that eventually I might even want to use a wheelchair any time I'm outside the house. He also said I must be very careful on the stairs. Finally, he said that I most likely would not have the strength or stamina for labor and therefore he would recommend a planned C-section.
In other words, Dr. Collea was full of information, but he was not overly insightful about how his pronouncements might affect me psychologically. I'm still processing what he had to say-- i was pretty surprised. I hadn't even considered the possibility of a C-section, for example, and I was disappointed at the thought that somebody might cut me open again. Sigh. I decided, in the end, that it's a long time til delivery, so I won't worry about that yet.
So, myasthenia gravis -- is that what I have? There is very good information, if you're interested, at the web site of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America, www.myasthenia.org. Again, I don't seem to have any intuition about it. It certainly seems to explain my double vision -- and maybe my walking -- but why isn't the mestinon helping? Dr. Collea, the obstetrician, said something that I found oddly comforting. He said, "You know, whatever is wrong with you -- it's either going to go away, or, if it's something serious, it will manifest itself such that everyone will know what it is and how to treat it. You won't be in this undiagnose-able limbo forever."
1 comment:
use the walker. and the wheelchair if needed. no pride should be involved here, really. as your belly gets bigger, it'll get harder and harder to get around, and that's coming from someone who was very active with no other challenges prior to getting preggers. AM was a sorta-planned (as in the day before the dr. decided) c-section. i thought it was actually easier than vaginal. so don't fret. plenty of time.
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