Cindy’s Multiple Myeloma Blog

Dr. D said she had good and bad news.  The good news was that my left shoulder didn’t show plasmacytoma’s (which I still think I do–will explain later) and the bad news is that I have some pretty bad osteostenosis (?) going on.  There’s a crack in a vertebrate or disc, the 5th one, whatever, and my discs are pinching in on my spinal cord.  This was from the MRI on my c-spine (neck).   She showed me the pictures on the computer and it’s pretty rough looking.  She had a nurse (Cindy) and some other doctor in there and they all agreed that I was in pretty bad pain.  Dr. D said, ‘No wonder you feel so bad, you are in such pain.  You have to do what I tell you…” she means take my break through meds, Senna pills so I won’t be constipated, and now iron pills.  

The thing is I don’t think I’m in as much pain as they think I’m in—of course I do take pain medicine, so maybe I am but the medicine is working.  I just wonder if I’m used to the way my neck is.  I was in an auto accident when I was 19 years old.  A doctor said I had “3 smashed disc and a pinched nerve.”  I couldn’t hold my head up for months.  I got a pretty bad whiplash.  But I really didn’t have any trouble throughout the years with my neck.  I sometimes felt a pinch in my back when I was stressed and holding my self stiff maybe, but nothing that ever required medicine or anything and very rarely did I ever feel discomfort.  When I went to a doctor because of my migraines and they x-rayed my neck to be sure nothing from it was causing my headaches, the doctor said he couldn’t even tell I had had a neck injury.  SO…my point here is that I just don’t know who or what to believe.  I’ve received such contradictory responses from doctors over the years.

I must admit it was pretty evident there is something wrong when I see my spinal cord and spine going along with about an inch space betwen them and then suddenly it all squishes in.  I will be seeing an orthopedic doctor early April. 

 Then regarding my left shoulder, Dr. D didn’t see anything in the MRI results.  This is the good news, as she believes this means there’s no major MM activity.  My last CBC’s was 2/13/08.  I recall when I had the plasmacytoma’s in my right shoulder the doctors said it was difficult to see these tumors in soft tissue.  I know I’m not the expert, but I also know what I’m feeling in my left shoulder.  Dr. D thinks the ’spongeness’ and pain is from a nerve being pinched from my neck.  It just doesn’t make sense to me.  What can I do but argue with my doctor?  I persisted as long as I could and until it got uncomfortable. 

My intentions are to find a new doctor as soon as I possibly can.  I can not take any changes right now, as too much is going on.   But as soon as things get settled, I will look into making changes.

One consideration is that I may just sell my place and move in with my son and his wife.  That would require changing states, so obviously I’d be changing doctors.  In any event, I’ll be making some major changes one way or the other soon. 

For now I’d prefer to stay here and simplify and clean-up my living arrangments.  

 My next CBCs will be 4/3/08.  I see the orthopedic doctor that morning, then drop by the doctor office for lab. Then, on 4/8/08 I will see Dr. D about the results.  The capsule endoscopy had an error, so they are going to reschedule it.  I think Cindy forgot about it because she didn’t say anything.  I guess I should call her and double check, but I’m tempted to just not say anything.  I hate to have to drive the hour drive to the hospital by 6:30AM and then 8 hours later have to drive back. 

Filed under: Doctor Appointments and