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The Case of the Mysterious Tingling
Jul. 25th, 2007 10:19 am
I woke up ten days ago with an aching left shoulder. After a few days it went away. And then the next morning it was back, only worse. And then I developed faint pins and needles tingling down my arm and into my thumb, and I like my nerves when they work properly, thanks. So on Monday afternoon after the animal shelter and compulsory bath, I went to see the doctor (phone call at 3.15pm, appt at 6.15pm. I'll happily pay the $20 before the insurance kicks in for that kind of service, as opposed to the two weeks it took to get an appointment with my London GP the last time I tried.) The doctor told me it was my neck pinching a nerve, which I'd figured, and tested my reflexes in both arms, which was interesting, because they were clearly reduced on the left.
The Xrays of my neck were good (humans are very weird shapes, I swear) - I still have all my disc spaces and no mineralisation, so it's purely a soft tissue thing. The doctor told me to wait for it to go away again, and not to turn my neck too far to the left. Ever. There go the spinning back kicks in karate, on that side at least! If it doesn't seem inclined to go away, they can give me a six day course of prednisone that should solve it, but my doctor has the same problem now and then and never takes the drugs. I asked him how long I should wait before I resort to drugs and his answer was 'As long as you can stand it, until the prednisone sounds like a better idea.' XD
So I'm waiting, and it shows no sign of going away again. The tingling is bizarre, but mild, the ache is very low grade and doesn't stop me doing anything, but I'd like to get a good night's sleep now please, without all the waking up and wriggling. I'll give it a couple more days, then I'm opting for the drugs before the weekend. I have a fondness for drugs, I consider them one of the greatest developments of civilisation after the dishwasher.
I've known for ten years now that my neck was going to be one of those things haunting me in later life, along with some possible help from my lumbar spine. I suppose that means I'm getting old now, eek! Whoever decided we should walk upright after perfecting our spines for walking on all fours for three hundred million years? The funny thing is, the SO's had the same thing with his neck and the nerves to his left arm, so I guess we'll get to suffer in harmony XD
The Xrays of my neck were good (humans are very weird shapes, I swear) - I still have all my disc spaces and no mineralisation, so it's purely a soft tissue thing. The doctor told me to wait for it to go away again, and not to turn my neck too far to the left. Ever. There go the spinning back kicks in karate, on that side at least! If it doesn't seem inclined to go away, they can give me a six day course of prednisone that should solve it, but my doctor has the same problem now and then and never takes the drugs. I asked him how long I should wait before I resort to drugs and his answer was 'As long as you can stand it, until the prednisone sounds like a better idea.' XD
So I'm waiting, and it shows no sign of going away again. The tingling is bizarre, but mild, the ache is very low grade and doesn't stop me doing anything, but I'd like to get a good night's sleep now please, without all the waking up and wriggling. I'll give it a couple more days, then I'm opting for the drugs before the weekend. I have a fondness for drugs, I consider them one of the greatest developments of civilisation after the dishwasher.
I've known for ten years now that my neck was going to be one of those things haunting me in later life, along with some possible help from my lumbar spine. I suppose that means I'm getting old now, eek! Whoever decided we should walk upright after perfecting our spines for walking on all fours for three hundred million years? The funny thing is, the SO's had the same thing with his neck and the nerves to his left arm, so I guess we'll get to suffer in harmony XD
