Symptoms

Hey Guys, I missed writing my blog but I stopped for awhile to focus on writing my book and getting Enduring Minds The Foundation all set up. Don’t think that since I’ve been gone a lot hasn’t happened because I’ve been busy! In the time that I’ve been away I bought and moved into my new home. Also gotten engaged!! Now I am planning our wedding that is coming up soon this November.

But not just wonderful things are happening in my life, I’ve also been in A LOT of pain lately. My lower back and legs hurt everyday anyway from nerve damage, spinal taps and back surgeries but in November of last year the pain was different. My back would ache and sting and then a sharp pain would shoot down my legs and then they just tingle to the point I can’t sit or lay still. It was terrible but I ignored it because when you’re in pain everyday you don’t know if its a new pain or just a bad pain day. Then I noticed that the pain kept coming more and more frequently and still I ignored it.

I kept ignoring the pain until it got bad enough that I couldn’t and it wasnt frequent anymore but everyday. If I’m honest I didn’t want the pain to be anything new because that meant doctors visits and test, things I dont want to endure more of, especially not right now. Not while everything else in my life is going great. I wish I hadn’t ignored it though. After months of putting it off I notified my doctor of the problems I was having an he ordered an MRI. The MRI showed I still have a slow CSF Leak and a pinched nerve from what doctors called Failed Back Syndrome. Failed Back Syndrome is a collection of symptoms people who have had multiple spinal surgeries can feel.

A CSF Leak is when your Spinal Fluid leaks either into your spine, out of your nose or ears. Cerebral Spinal Fluid or CSF starts to leak from damage to your brain, a hole in the dura or from a torn or broken shunt, which is more than likely how I have one. I had a csf leak before which we thought was repaired but maybe it never healed or it reoccurred but it’s there and I could’ve gotten medical attention on it months ago if I had paid attention to my symptoms. If I hadn’t ignored them. Getting test for things is so important because you may get helpful information. For Instance whenever I bend over my nose leaks. From the MRI, I know it’s probably Spinal Fluid. The wetness on my ear in the mornings is more than likely spinal fluid, the neck and shoulder pain I have is a sign of a csf leak but because I’ve experienced these symptoms for so long I didn’t validate them.

I am boring you with my story to say no matter how small the symptom, no matter how little it occurs, no matter the pain you’re already in, Pay attention and tell a doctor. It may be nothing but it may be something bigger happening that you have no idea about. Keep a pain journal noting down the symptom, how often it happens and how long it last. Take that journal with you to medical appointments, And tell a doctor. Then research it yourself so you can always know what is going on in your body. It may make future diagnosis easier.

Its despairing that you can be in so much pain everyday that you may not even recognize a new symptom but that is a haunting reality for us who endure chronic pain and illness but if were vigilant with our bodies and honest about our pain, I think we’ll be okay. They say Pains job is to let you know you’re alive, I guess It’s doing exactly what its meant to.