[justamomof7]

Hi

I am a Mom of 7 at my wits end. I found this site in a web search for lesions and boy am I glad that at least now I have someone besides my poor husband to talk to about all these new findings in my body that are making me so sad. I still have three children at home. My youngest being 10 and I feel as I will not live to see her grow and its breaking my heart.


I had a very bad car accident in 2001 but except for occasional neck and back pain that came and went I was in pretty good health. Since May of this year ( 2009) I have chronic headaches. I have chronic neckpain. I have a horrible pain in the back of my head that radiates down my spine. I have internal tremors. I feel them but they cannot be seen outside and my husband who has been close enough to me to feel them tells me its like I am shivering. I have had extensive testing and my cervical spine shows a lesion which they assumed was from old trauma. Now my thoracic spine shows another lesion and a signal intensity? My neuro has sent me back to the surgeon to see what he thinks and is considering a lumbar puncture which I have read is quite painful and yet another MRI to see if there are any changes. I am a nervous wreck burying myself before my time. Are lesions and tumors different?

I cry myself to sleep at night because I am so lost with no answers. Is this a death sentence?

[Twinkletoes]

Welcome to NeuroTalk, J7. I hope you will be able to find some answers here. Sounds like you have plenty of questions...

Sorry for all your troubles and struggles. Don't worry about the lumbar puncture -- it'll be a piece of cake after all you've had to endure.

I'm serious! I've had one and there was nothing to it. The worst part was having to lie down for 24 hours afterward.

Best wishes to you.

[(Broken Wings)]

Hi, and Welcome to NT

Yes, you've come to the right place to talk about those things.

We'll listen and try to help you as much as we can.

First let me say that being a mother of 7 has to be an honor. You have been blessed. I'm sure you've had your ups and downs with motherhood but all in all it has its rewards.

Tumors and lesions, to me-not a doc, are different. Neither are necessarily terminal, painful or life-altering conditions. Lots of people have those without problems.

Sounds like you're in the early stages of finding out what's wrong and what you can do about it, so it's hard to comment right now.

It can be very confusing trying to find out what's wrong with oneself. It can take a long time, too. I've been down that trail myself. It's frustrating, I know. It makes a difference in how you feel about it too, so I understand the anxiety of the unknown medical guessing game.

I can also tell you that the more you understand the better able you are to fight whatever comes your way, so yes, do ask questions here and to your doctor(s) and family.

And when we first hear the diagnosis, sometimes it's relief and sometimes it's grief. Wait until you hear it before you get too worked up about it.

I understand the crying too. Try not to go to long crying. Short crying spells are better than long crying spells. Bring yourself back to center as quick as possible. Think positive, prayer, planning for something fun, happy thoughts. You can do it.

Doctors are human too. They don't have a magic ball either. Some things are harder to diagnose and treat. Let's give them time to gather enough results to make some sense of it all.

There's so much info here it can be overwhelming. Ask for help if you need to know where to look for something and we'll try to help you as much as we can.

Here are some links in case you haven't found these.

Headaches: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum32.html

Chronic pain: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum10.html

Back & neck pain: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html

Vitamins, Herbs & Supp: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum49.html
(Just thought you might want to look into this too)

Anxiety: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum50.html

Depression: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum37.html

Hang in there. It'll be okay.

Not that this will make everything better, but learn some relaxation techniques, as in slow breathing - breathe in deeply through your nose with lips closed, then blow out through pursed lips. Do this about 3 times. Relieves tension in my upper body, helps to fall asleep sometimes.

Also yoga, exercises, stretches, walking is good for the body... and water.

Hang in there, okay?

[Hockey]

Dear Justamom

(And by the way, there's no such thing as just a mom. It's the most demanding and rewarding job I've ever had - and I only have one!)

I hear where you're coming from. Firstly, a car accident a few years back left me with a ton of neurological problems: pain, headache, spasms, weird nerve pulses under my skin, loss of sensation, tingling (do you tingle?), etc... Secondly, I too, stare at the ceiling at night worried about my child's future.

While you’re waiting for a diagnosis (I know that’s hard), there might be some things you can do about the symptoms. I imagine that next to the anxiety, the headaches are probably the most debilitating. Were you diagnosed with whiplash at the time of the crash? If so, do you remember what grade? Anyway, in addition to pain killers, you may find ice at the back of the neck, TENS and acupuncture helpful.

Getting a handle on the anxiety is equally important as it can exasperate your other symptoms. You’ve already been pointed toward the relevant forums on this site. Additionally, you might want to consider talking to a therapist or trusted clergyperson.

There are a plethora of different spinal cord lesions with a multiplicity of causes. The accident and the lesions may or may not be a related. If you’re confused, you might want to try being more forceful with your doctor. It’s your body and you have a right to know, in terms that have meaning for you, what he/she thinks is going on. I don’t need to tell you how debilitating uncertainty can be. Still, if you can manage seven kids, I can’t imagine there’s much you can’t handle.

Wishing you good luck & strength

[Blessings2You]

Hello, you've come to a good place for support! I'm not going to say "try not to worry" because I'm a worrier by nature...so easy for me to lie there at night and imagine all kinds of scenarios, which never come to pass.

The "limbo" part of a diagnosis is the hardest place to be, I think. It took me a year and a half to get a diagnosis of MS--a diagnosis nowhere near as bad as all of the things I dreamed up!

And the lumbar puncture? I turned out to have absolutely NONE of the possible side effects/complications, and I worried myself sick for a week ahead.

I'll be praying for you!

[peaches217]

Hi Just a Mom,
I'm a mother of 3 and am going through tests for my hydrocephalus, and unruptured aneurysm. I feel for you it is very frightful. Every test I have they find something else. But let me tell you, The Lumbar puncture is painless. They numb you first and you barely feel the needle. Drawing blood is worse. After numbing the area, You cant feel a thing except a little pressure. You may experience a headache afterwards for a couple days but after just lay flat. Hopefully you will feel better soon.

[azoyizes]

Hello jam7, and welcome to NeuroTalk! This is such a great place with many nice, friendly, and helpful people.

We are so glad you found us!

Limboland is a tough place to be. There are many of us who were in it, and a lot who are in it now. I wanted to wish you good luck with your LP, and also good luck getting a diagnosis.

I have MS, and it took years before I had a doctor give me an actual diagnosis of MS.

If you ever need help on the board, or if you ever just need to talk, feel free to PM me.

[Darlene]

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Great to see you have come to be with us. As you can see we have a big family here to help out each other and especially new members coming into our flock. Just let us know if we can be of any help. We are all here to assist each other as possible.

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene