Saturday, October 4, 2014

My Spinal Surgery: Will It Help MS Symptoms?

For those of you who weren't aware, I've been in hospitals (Fredericton, Saint John) for the last 1 1/2 weeks. It started as painful lower back spasms (L3,  L4 & L5) on Tuesday the 24th which could only be semi- treated with morphine, and super elevated MS symptopns: couldn't walk at all, completely exhausted and dizzy, etc. An elevated temp suggested they should check blood cultures and start a regime of antibiotics. When they got the cultures back, they were able to detect that I had a bacterial infection. The pains I had been getting were being treated with a coctail of penicillins (which had since migrated to the tail-bone, and were no longer spasms) suggested I might have spinal infections. As my temp ( and infection) went down, my MS symptoms improved. (NOTE: These MS symptoms waxed and waned for a few days at the same time my temp went up and down a few times).

Then I was transferred to Saint John hospital, so the neurosurgeons there would advise whether surgery was a valid treatment for my problems. Eventually they did.  For me there was the added potential benefit of removing or reducing a stenosis in my L3/L4/L5 area, a stenosis that may have been contributor to poor walking, pains in my lower back, and general weakness.

I had the surgery this afternoon.  There was at least one big spinal - area abscess filled with pus they cleaned out. I didn't talk to the neurourgeons yet, but will find out the details tomorrow regarding things like the stenosis. My hope is that this spinal surgery takes me back, symptoms-wise to where I was when I came back from CCSVI treatment in Poland in 2010. You'all cross ya fingas now, ya hear? :-)