Brief Break from normal posts: Medical Update

Hey all,
You know how I like to do these for you guys every once in awhile. I don't know if you care or if anyone's even reading them, but I don't know....guess it makes me feel better since you all know I have medical issues O_o

So I don't have much news actually. I feel like my doctors have been neglecting me for awhile. Things still aren't good, definitely aren't right. I try to be patient, but I'm losing that. No diagnosis still, playing a major waiting game.



It's not easy for sure. I know most of us can relate from some time or another. It's just tough because you're praying wisdom for the doctors yet everytime you have an appointment they tell you "I don't know" or "it's in your head" or "It's 'just' a pain condition, I bet" or "you're a very....special case". I'm tired of hearing that, darnit! Lol very tired of it. They just start to sound like excuses after a little while. Seems like even though I felt like I'd gotten to the hardest part with this....the hardest part is yet to come. That's a scary thought because every single day is SO hard lately.


Anyway, a couple weeks ago I had 18 vials of blood drawn :O I know, right!? Craziness. It felt awful after haha. Basically my rheumy is attempting to test for any random, obsure, uncommon test there is out there to see if maybe, just maybe I have....well THAT. I honestly have NO clue what he was testing for to be exact, but something...? Lol....I dno't have the results yet, but most likely it found nothing like everytime else.


Then uhhhh let's see this past Monday I went to see my neuro again. I had my third Nerve Conduction test and EMG. When I saw him, he told me I've had it two times too much in one lifetime lol...for the nerve test, you lay down on a table with one arm at a time extended straight off the table. They attach wires all up and down that arm, moving them around when testing different nerves. This test involves fingers, palms, and the entire arm. It is an awful test! Since they're messing with your nerves....you get involuntary movements, for lack of a better term. Your fingers move to your whole arm swinging and whacking the nurse! The electric shocks start out very mild, you cant feel it usually. However, when they finish it is as strong as a live barbed wire fence. It hurts....a lot.

Then you move onto the needle EMG. Normally they choose whichever side is bothering you more. In my case, it was the right arm this time. The neuro does this part lol. He takes a needle and sticks it in different parts of your muscle in your arm. This needle is not a normal one, it measures the pulses being sent through your muscle and the reaction times. It is hooked up to a machine, so when the muscle is moving, you can hear it. It's a loud, static sound. He will wiggle the needle around and whoa baby that HURTS! Lol! He did it two places on hand and two places in the arm for me, after the shocks! It's a long process :/

My results were kind of as I expected. It's my ulnar nerve, which runs through your inner elbow. At this point, it is not protected at all, so it can become stressed or damaged. I will need surgery, but they don't want to do it yet. It is still an extremely dangerous surgery and paralysis is still in the running for results after surgery. I'm only 19, he wants to prolong it as long as he possibly can. So now, I have to wear elbow braces 24/7. This is what they look like:

At night, I have to flip them over so that I cannot move my elbows at all. I usually have to stuff a sock in each one to get it to the way. These are SO uncomfortable. The bands are too tight on my arms and this is the big size. So I tend to veto wearing them sometimes. *Bad Hannah*, huh? Lol....

Anyway, that's basically my update. I'm going to try calling my rheumy tomorrow to see about blood tests. Everyone say a prayer that after losing ALL that blood, we find something!
Talk soon, more giveaways and fun posts coming up : )
Hannah