Here I go again. I thought I'd closed the chapter on health with my surgery and recovery from a middle lobectomy in May of 2024. Guess I was wrong. I’ll post about my latest health adventure until the current issue resolves – soon, I hope!
I woke up on Sunday morning with
pain and stiffness in my butt and thighs – not terrible but bad enough that I knew
I couldn’t manage the steps at choir, so I didn’t even make it to Mass on the
first Sunday of Advent. I had cleared snow the night before (we have a service
but I love the exhilaration of shoveling snow and needed to get out of the house after being inside
all day).
I reminded myself that I’m 75
after all, but I’ve never had the slightest problem before, so I did wonder why
this hit all of a sudden. While I was more or less OK Sunday during the day,
the pain kicked in after I went to bed. It was so intense all night that I couldn’t
even rest, let alone sleep. I thought it might be a severe side effect
(rhabdomyolysis) from atorvastatin, which I had begun for slightly elevated
cholesterol 10 days before.
My nurse practitioner said she
didn’t think so but suggested I discontinue the statin for a week. Monday night I really
didn’t sleep at all and woke Bob up at 5 AM to take me to the ER, where we
spent the morning. By then I needed a cane to walk and was afraid I’d had a
stroke.
I had great care in the Woodwinds
Hospital emergency room: smart young doctor as well as very kind, competent
nurses and technicians. All blood tests were normal, including the CK , which pretty
much ruled my rhabdomyolysis theory . In quick order, I was scheduled for EKG, CT and
MRI scans: no heart attack, stroke or brain tumor. MRI unchanged from all the
MRIs I used to have when I was being closely followed for multiple sclerosis,
so probably no MS relapse. ER doc thought sciatica is the most likely diagnosis,
since pain originates at the waist and stretches down both legs. Now (a little
late) I have a lot of empathy for the late sPope Francis who suffered from sciatica for
much of his papacy.
I was released from the ER after a
very long morning for Bob and me, with a prescription for a muscle relaxant
(Robaxin-methocarbamol), a lidocaine patch and Tylenol., and referrals to primary
care, neurology and spine clinics. I slept very little Tuesday night but yesterday
was a pretty good day, and I was walking around for part of it without a cane.
I slept well in my comfortable
recliner last night and expected to be a lot better today. However, I still
have a lot of pain when I try to move and walking is arduous. I never thought I’d
be grateful for a cane but here I am, using two of them. I also put myself on
the waiting list for an earlier appointment at the M Health Fairview spine
clinic, since I feel I can’t really wait for the scheduled Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, I had to cancel our family
holiday party on Sunday and I won’t make it to either book club or choir this
evening. Bob is taking great care of me and my lovely friend Sonia (Bob’s
daughter) came over yesterday to do my shoveling. I’ve had a lot of texts and emails
from friends and family, many of whom are doctors, nurses, or otherwise
medically knowledgeable.
So, while all isn’t great, I feel
very grateful for everyone’s kindness and excellent access to medical care . As
Dr. Helmer reminded me on Tuesday, “we’ve ruled out the worst” – it made me
laugh then and again now.
