Just after Christmas, I began to get numbness in my hands. After taking steroids and muscle relaxers, I was back at the primary doc because they were still numb. I saw a pain and muscle specialist after that who sent me to get an EMG to see if they could figure out what was going on.
I had my EMG done yesterday. I had it on my calendar and in my phone as 11:15am. When I got the the address, the building was empty. I was only like 15 minutes early, so I figured I had better call. There had been plenty of snow, so maybe they closed for the day?
(ring – click) Dr. So and So’s office
Yeah, I’m Keith and I have an appointment today …
(Interrupting) Yes, at the Waterford office
Right. I’m here now and the building is clocked up.
You’re appointment is at 1:15pm, correct?
(Feeling stupid as I look at the order where I scribbled the information – and “1:15pm”) Uh, yeah, I see that I must have written the wrong time down.
We don’t get to that office on Thursdays until 12:45.
Well, I guess I will go grab lunch then…
See you at 1:15! (Click)
On the bright side, it was one of the quickest tests I’ve ever had done. It was also one of the weirdest.
They put these electrodes on your hand, measure some spots, and then start shooting things to make your fingers move. It was bizarre. He didn’t say much about the results or what he was seeing, but asked if anyone ever told me to wear braces. I told him know, and asked if I needed to. He said, “We’ll know after the test is read”
At one point he simply said, “Hmmmm.” I was like, “Is that a good ‘Hmmmm” or a bad ‘Hmmmm?” He said, again, we’d find out when the results were in.
When he pulled off all the wires and such, he said the doc would have the results in the next couple days. So hopefully, I will know what the heck is going on soon.
It seems like it’s been a while since I posted a non-music/personal blog. Believe me, it is not because of a lack of things going on! It seems like my wife and I have been on the go constantly with the craziness of every day life. So here is a brief update:
Happy Anniversary!
It certainly does not feel like it has been seven years, but who am I to question WordPress? Today marks 7 years of blogging on this platform for me.
This blog has been such an important part of my life the last 7 years. Those who have been with me from the beginning know that it started as my place to vent. Then I began sharing memories that I wanted to document before I couldn’t remember them anymore. Then I began to sprinkle in music, movies and entertainment themed pieces. Over time, I added features and that sort of brings us to where this blog is today.
This blog began shortly before I got remarried. The story of our courtship, proposal and wedding are chronicled here. The roads that led to the excitement and wonder of the birth of our two children are also well documented. Highlights from the last 7 years are here for future reference. The blogs here hold answers to questions my kids might have. These are for the future, just in case I am not around to share them.
I am so grateful to have this place in the Blog-o-verse/Blog-o-sphere to share things. I am happy to have connected with wonderful people – LIKE YOU – who interact with me, share your stories and offer encouragement. Thank you!
Kid Stuff
The entire country is experiencing the cold weather and many places are seeing snow for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see the snow on Pensacola Beach! There were plenty of snowy photos from my friends in the southern states on Facebook.
The cold temperatures canceled the entire week of school for my daughter. She loves school, so she was sad to miss. However, it did allow her and my son to join my wife and her mom at the local Children’s Museum. They had a blast spending the day there. She told me all about it when I got home.
They had a dress up area and a “carriage” that she got to ride in. All princesses need a carriage, right?
We have been waiting to get my son in for his CPAP sleep study. Our lab has been so busy that their first available appointment was in February. The problem is, we wanted it done before his appointment with the sleep neurologist next week. Thankfully, I heard that we had a couple cancellations this week. I called my wife and asked if she could come in that night with him. She was at Dance rehearsal with my daughter. So we made some arrangements and were able to get him in.
He wore CPAP for a short while when he was about 2 years old. He has since had adenoids removed and tonsils shaved. There is still apnea, so we thought it best to try the PAP route again.
Side Note: As a sleep technologist, I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have trouble with CPAP. When people hear that my son (or any child) is on CPAP, they wonder how they do it! I think my son is a bit more prepared as I wear CPAP and my mask every night. He thinks he’s gonna be cool like dad with his mask.
This time around it was a bit more difficult for him. He was waking up WAY more than he did before. It was strange, because he has done it before. This time, however, he comes in with a diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. His arms and legs seem to move constantly!
Midway through the study, the tech asked my wife if this was what he did at home. In conversation, she happened to mention that his breathing looked shallow and wanted to know about any respiratory weakness. My wife said that he was working on core muscles in physical therapy. That was all the tech needed to know.
She returned to the tech room and adjusted the settings to ones we use for people with neuromuscular weakness. With a couple tweaks of the setting, my son settled and slept! Now all we have to do is wait for the doc to finalize the results. When finished, they will send over the script for the new machine. With that, my wife and I may actually sleep at night!
He was SO tired here!
Numb
You may recall that I have been suffering with numbness in my hands since the weekend after Christmas. At one point there was swelling, too. After a visit to my PCP, I was given a referral to another doctor in hopes of getting answers. This might include getting an EMG done.
I scheduled that appointment and it is finally happening next week. The problem I am having is that the numbness in my right hand is almost gone. Now there is just pain in the finger tips. My left had still has numbness mainly in the fingers. The pain and numbness is worse when I get up for the day. As much as I wish it would go away completely, I hope it is still there when I visit the doctor.
Favorite Childhood Book
I will begin posting the contributions from other bloggers for Share Your Nostalgia Part 2 the first week of February. It isn’t too late if you want to take part. The topic is to write about your favorite book from your childhood. It could be one your parents read you or the first book you checked out of the library. It could be one that you read to your children as they grew up. If interested, drop me a note at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com
Time Off – But Not For Fun
I am hoping to work ahead on the blog. At the end of February and early March I am taking time off work. My wife is having some surgery and I will need to be home with her. She’s not going to be able to do much, and I will have to play referee to the kids. She’ll be in a lot of pain, and so I need to be there with her. I’d appreciate if you would keep her in your thoughts.
I will try to post updates as I am able during that time.
I got a couple emails asking, so I thought I’d give you an update.
After taking down the Christmas decorations, I began to feel numbness in both hands and in my arms. I had a lot of swelling in my hands and feet. I also had joint pain. After a video visit with the doctor, I was given a muscle relaxer and steroids.
I was told if the numbness didn’t go away to make an appointment. After the meds were gone, the numbness remains. So she worked me in on Friday.
At the appointment, she had me raise my hands and arms and such. She moved them around, poked around and thinks it’s something in my neck. I don’t know how that fits into everything else, but ok. She told me that she wants me to go get an EMG. So now I am waiting to get a day for that. I need to call on Monday.
I’m not sure what happened with my Blood Pressure, either. On Thursday, when I was at the ADHD doctor it was 130/80. That’s good for me! But at the Primary doc on Friday, it was 140/100.
There was all kinds of confusion with my Upper GI test, too. For some reason they had me down as cancelled. I spent way too much time on the phone trying to figure out whether I was getting it done or not. Once it was sorted out, we figured out what happened. It is now rescheduled to this coming week.
So in a nutshell I have more questions than answers. When I wake up, that’s when it is the worst. Pain accompanies the numbness. Some swelling, too.
I will keep you posted. Thanks for checking up on me.
I took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday. It was windy, but it was perfect to get the outdoor decorations down. This is the first year that I didn’t have to wait until spring to do it.
Our outdoor stuff isn’t too complicated. The most difficult thing is the archway we put up. For the most part, it is unwinding the strands of lights that were wrapped around the porch posts and railings. I had a couple inflatables to take down – no problems there. I also had some staked in lights that I had to get up. For the most part, it was a lot of bending over and boxing up to put back in the garage.
All in all, I think it took me 2 to 2 and a half hours to get it all down and put away. During that time, I never felt any pain in my back, neck or anywhere else. On Sunday, it became obvious that something happened. I just don’t know what.
Sunday afternoon, I got up from the couch and felt a little pain in my lower back. As the day progressed, I started to feel numbness in my hands. It was very strange. It was numbness in every finger except the pinkies. I took some ibuprofen and went to bed without giving it a second thought.
On Sunday night, I woke up with pain in my hands and swelling in both of them. It was awful. Once I got up to get a drink and walked for a bit, the pain started to fade a little. I went back to sleep only to wake up again with more pain, a bit more intense, in my hands. This time when I got up, I was feeling pain in my shoulders and elbows, too.
I went out to the living room and just sat. The pain began to ease in my hands. The numbness remained. I thought about trying to go back to bed, but wasn’t even sure that I could. I grabbed a blanket and tried to sleep on the couch sitting up with my feet on the footstool. I was uncomfortable and wound up waking up again.
This time when I got up from the couch, I felt pain at the top of my knees. I was literally shuffling to the kitchen. With weight on my feet, I could tell the swelling had made its way down to them. It hurt to stand on them. I was starting to get a bit concerned.
Monday morning, my wife had to take the kids to an appointment. We had pulled the car seat because Andrew had an accident in it and it needed to be washed. Before she could leave, I had to put the cover back on it and get the straps right. This was utter torture!
I’m not sure if you’ve ever had to put one of those things back together, but it is a pain. Factor in extremely swollen fingers and pain in every joint of your hand and wrist and the pain was just terrible. As I tried to get straps through slots, rubber rings around a hook that is 1/8 of an inch long, and such, I cried.
The kids were still asleep, but my yelping in pain and crying was enough to wake Ella. She came out and was scared. She didn’t know what was wrong. I told her I was okay, but my hands were hurting very bad. She asked if she could help being the sweetheart that she is.
Once I finally got the seat put back together, I worked on getting the kids breakfast and ready for the appointment. When every one left, I called my doctor and did a video visit. It’s never a good thing when the doc says, “It sounds like you pinched a nerve, but I really am not 100% sure. So we’ll treat it like it is and see what happens.”
She gave me some steroids and a muscle relaxer. I was told if I start to feel numbness in my legs with pain to go to the ER. If the numbness hasn’t gone away in seven days, I need to come into the office.
Three days later now and I can sleep. The pain in the joints has pretty much subsided, but the numbness in my hands and fingers is still there. A friend of mine said that it could be carpal tunnel, but that wouldn’t explain the rest of the pain in other places.
It is making it difficult to write, type, and basically do my job. I worked on Tuesday, and as I was scoring sleep studies I had to take many breaks. I felt like the more I clicked the mouse, the more numb my hands got.
I am hoping that the medication helps! I do too many things with my hands.
I tell you all of this to say that if I miss a featured post, or post later than normal, it may just be the after effects of all of this. I appreciate your understanding.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 