Neuralgia

At some point in my life we think, but aren’t sure, that I broke my neck.   Something happened though because from my teen years I remember being an avid neck cracker.   It made great noises and seemed to make me less uncomfortable.   I wouldn’t say I was in pain as a teenager because I don’t remember more than uncomfortable.  

By the time I got to my twenties and was working it had gotten worse.   At my job at IBM I spent a reasonable amount of time  on the phone and I was grateful when someone found an attachment that went on the back of the handset so I could more easily hold the phone on my shoulder while working on the computer at the same time.

One of my managers at IBM suggested I go to a Chiropractor, who did give me some relief.   I remember the first day after taking X-rays she looked at them and told me, “your neck is straight, it doesn’t have the proper curve to it.   I’m not sure why, but if you come for another six months I think we can make some progress on it.”

I didn’t listen to her or believe her perhaps but more to the point I wasn’t in a position with medical insurance to go to her more than a few times.    In the years following the pain in my neck got worse. I saw my general practitioner who said I had “cervical strain” and was prescribed anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants.  

In my thirties a friend suggested I try seeing her Chiropractor to see if they could help me.   They did an X-ray and I remember trying not to cry in the office when Dr. Kubasko told me the state of some of my vertebra and discs.   The chiropractors in that office—the office I still go to today—helped me some but a few months later I went back to my general practitioner and said I needed to really have it looked at in more depth.

MRIs were done, I was referred to a spine clinic and fusion was recommended.  I had a second fusion a year later and a few years after that, multiple pain clinics and lots of medication, I was in a better state pain-wise.

There is lasting nerve damage I’ll never be able to get rid of and over time it has been progressing.   When I got married, my husband and I decided it would be best for me to get of all medications so that I could be as safe as possible for the pregnancies and children we planned on having.    At that time I was on so much medication I had a notebook that tracked when and what I took.

It took a while but I did successfully get of everything and had two children medication-free.   But the pain hasn’t gone away.   In the last several years the nerve pain has increased from the spinal cord damage.   I had another MRI and saw two Orthopedic Neurosurgeons who said I wasn’t in a state that needed an additional fusion (something I may have to have in the future to fuse additional vertebra).

So I opted for the medication route and started taking Lyrica.   The Lyrica has helped tremendously with the nerve pain but it still continues to increase.   The nerve pain causes myalgia, or muscle pain and keeping it all under control is a continual battle helped by my Chiropractor and the nerve and anti-inflammatory medications I take as needed.

But I don’t like the trend.   I’m hoping it’s just temporary, but it’s hard to tell.   I’ll know more in time.

The Big Boy Update:  My son said at breakfast, “can I please be adopted?”  I asked, “who do you want to adopt you?”  He happily cried out, “Hobby Kids!”   Ahh, now I get it.   He’s been watching a YouTube channel of this family and children who do fun things with toys.   Apparently their family is more fun than ours.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  I have an orchid given to me by my best friend for driving her to her colonoscopy.   I’ve written about it before.  I’ve named it my “Stick” because I just can’t seem to get it to flower.   The latest advice from my mother-in-law was to cut the stick off and do some treatments to the orchid and wait for another stick to grow and eventually flower.  My daughter told me yesterday, “mom, I’m sorry your big stick on your plant is gone.”