The past few months have seen a lot of health issues that I've had to overcome. With the promise of more to come in the months ahead.
In early September, just out of the blue, so-to-speak, I had a rather violent attack of Vertigo. I was in the process of lower myself onto the exercise mat to do some physical therapy for the 3level cervical spine surgery I had undergone last May. Pow! It hit me like a Mack truck with the room spinning my head whreeling and my body pressed into the wall arms sprad backwards clinging onto the wall for dear life. Then came the nausea and the uncontrollable urge to barf! It wouldn't have been more than the 'dry heaves' . But, with a titanium plate in my ncek just behinf the esphagus ...that was not somtehing I wanted to do.
I had a regular appointment with my hematologist a few days later and discussed it with him. He confirmed it was vertigo ,referring me to an ENT (ear, nose and throat). I ended up on their waiting list and didn't get in to see him until Novemner 30th.
In the mean time Doc took me off the promacta since the side effects I had experiencd exacerbated the vertigo. Lo and behold the bulk of the symptoms dissappeared. But, there was still a cause...the search for all this unleased a barrage of tests that I'm just working my way through. There are only two facilities in Nashville that perform ECOG and VNG....Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a private practice audiologist at Skyline Medical Center.
I have just finished the VNG at Vanderbilt this afternoon. Now, I have read all the articles about this test and the ECOG with the frightening stories from other suffers. I had been fairly anxious over this which carried over into my visit there. I was blessed with a very kind and reassuring autiologist there. This was nothing like what I've read. Instead, of the warm air bnlowing into each ear, I went thherough a very gentle and warm distilled water flush for 20 seconds. The video segment was done in a rotationg chair with goggles in a dimly lit room with a dot of light moving in specific pattern. My eyers were to track the lights movement and so on. YOu can raad more about the procededure by searching the tests specificslly. So, I took this opportunity to talk to the audiologist about how the promacta was effecting me over the past couple of year. He said when all was said and done the their could be a prscription change ahead. Anyway, todays' results are 'normal'. What this means is that the cause isn't my ears. And, more tests to follow...maybe be even a trip back to my neurosurgeon if the problem is in the vertebral artery . Details of this new saga will follow as I experience them.
Okay. Now we come to my right knee. You all might recal that just three days before my cervical spine surgery I had jumped up from the exercise mat and came crashing down onto the exercise mat sobbing and whailing flopping back onto the mat. Jim scooped me up and off we went to the ER at Souithern Hills Medical Center and so on. WEll, the PT was now producting negative returns because I wasn't improving...getting worse. So, I went to my PCP and an exam with a MRI revealing a badly torn memiscus. A few weeks later, this past Wednesday the 16th I reported for out patient surgery under the skilled hands of the surgeon that cares for the Commadors and other Vanderbilt teams. The procedure was 'arthroscopy and menisectomy. Two sets of tiny sutures on eather side of my right knee. Because of the long time of abuse on it I was told that recovery would take me somewhat longer. I had to go back on the Promacta and the more violent vertigo. My platelets were up to 46,000pml and all went well...very well. Now if I can just keep it babyed. Oh, and physical therapy for this begins this Monday, 28th.
My next visit with Doc isn't until 1-11-2016. The discussion will be about the alternatives to promacta...a short chat indeed
