Question: I am 60 years old and have had dozens of diseases and surgeries in my life, starting with cancer of the thyroid (papillary carcinoma). At the present time my GP is trying desperately to find a cause for my current problems: I've been to 3 neurosurgeons who have all examined MRI's of my LUMBAR, Thoracic, and Cervical spine. I can hardly walk, and when I do - using a cane, I walk looking at the floor (my spine hurts if I try to straighten my back and after about 15 steps or so, I MUST sit down (which relieves the pressure and hence the pain). The surgeons have ALL just shook their heads and said "this is just horrible"-" I'm sorry but I can't do the surgery that would be needed - it would be a 12-hr surgery and I'm not certain it would even help you that much". I lie down in bed most of the time to relieve my pain. I take 10 mg oxycodone up to 5xday and 40 mg long release morphine 3xday for pain. I also take diazepam, 5 mg up to 5xday. Still, that combination only makes me have less pain in general. When I go out (to a dr's apt), it takes me about 3 hours to get washed up, dressed walk out to my car, and then the 20 -minute drive is all painful and tiring. By the time I see the doctor and get home, I have great difficulty getting up the stairs. My helper has to actually push on my butt sometimes, and get me right to bed. (I need 24-hour care). And I haven't even mentioned my left shoulder/left arm. Images of both shoulders indicate severe problems - which is mostly manifested in an inability--due to a level 8 consistent pain. I cannot do anything with my left arm.
NOW MY DOCTOR HAS STARTED ME ON METAXALONE 800MG 3TIMES DAILY IN HOPES THAT IT WILL HELP MY OVERALL PROBLEMS. I WILL BE STARTING WITH IN-HOME PT SOON AS WELL.
MY QUESTION IS: COULD ALL OF MY PROBLEMS BE EITHER IMBALANCE OF HORMONES -OR- ]
AUTO-IMMUNE. My doctor and I are trying to connect the symptoms, so to speak, to try to understand why I get one thing after another.
(Note: I worked for 32 years for a Michigan Court of Appeals Judge, which was stressful, and volunteered for earth day events, bat education, frog counting for the DNR, etc.) I was forced onto disability by my boss in 2004 and went on Social Security Disability in 2007.
Any thoughts? XXXXXXX