Hiatus, and a clue?

So last week I was having excruciating lower back pain and ended up going to the ER. I got a CT scan which showed two bulging discs. I was given a prescription for Naproxen (a strong NSAID -- anti-inflammatory), some muscle relaxants, and Vicodin. Didn't touch the Vicodin, but I did take the muscle relaxant for a few nights, and I took 1000mg of the Naproxen daily for 4 days (and then went down to just one dose -- 500 mg -- for another two days). Back got MUCH better with total lifting rest and the meds, and by the beginning of this week, I was feeling pretty damn good.

In fact, REALLY damn good. And then I realized that I hadn't had any of my usual tingling, numbness, and general neurological crap since Wednesday when I was sitting in the ER.

Could the Naproxen have done something? Could whatever is causing my wacky symptoms be inflammation-related, and therefore got better when I took the anti-inflammatories??

My back was much better by Tuesday, so I stopped taking the Naproxen (since it's not without side effects, and I'm not one for takings meds unless absolutely necessary).

Last night my hand was tingly. I passed it off as being the way I was lying in bed (though it didn't go away when I shifted position).

Today both hands are tingly, both feet are tingly, my right arm went somewhat numb for a while this morning, and I'm having a lot of weird buzzing and twitchy sensations in my left arm (including my left arm actually visibly twitching along my inner forearm). It is safe to say that the neurological weirdness is back.

Now, I wonder if I started taking the Naproxen again, what would happen? Should I experiment, or wait for a doc to chime in on my little theory? I feel like I finally have a tiny clue as to WTF is going on, and much as I am bummed about being sparky again, I am thrilled to feel like I have a tiny bit more information than I did a week ago.

It ain't much, but I'll take it.

Update

The MRI was clean, supposedly. Nothing of note. My neuro basically said, "gee, I dunno, you better get a second opinion." Thanks. Very helpful.

I am now in the process of trying to get an appointment with anyone who might be able to figure this thing out. And getting more and more impatient.

In the past month, my right-side numbness has become so common that I barely notice it anymore, except when it interferes with my walking or writing. Last night I was carrying my laptop up to my office and was hugging it to my chest with both arms -- my daughter just says, "Numb?" because she knows I'm more pront to dropping things when I'm numb.

A few new things I've noticed: when my right arm is numb, it is also cold to the touch. Sometimes *quite* cold. And my electric-shock-like sparks are back, big time. Saturday it was like an electric storm in my body. Both sides, though, not just right like the numbness.

And something new: I have a pain in what I can only describe as my right sit bone -- the right back base of my pelvis. Hurts like the dickens and is getting worse every day. Sitting *really* hurts. And I also have pain in my lower back that is intermittent, but when it happens is enough to take my breath away, literally. What the hell??

Every day I think, I can always go to the ER. Is today the day I'm going to go to the ER? Is it bad enough to go yet? I have to keep holding it out there as an option, because the nomral channels don't seem to be working well for me. How hard is it to find a doctor who will find my problems sufficiently interesting to want to solve them?

Good grief

MRI has been rescheduled for this Friday due to a snafu with the insurance pre-authorization. Bullshit. My insurance company sucks ass.

Meanwhile, I am falling apart. The numbness on my right side is driving me CRAZY. And yesterday my right hand seized up, like it turned into this spastic claw-hand, and I couldn't type or write (why the hell does this have to be my RIGHT side???). I actually made it on to campus today, for the first time in over a week, which was fabulous, and I'm getting caught up in my classes (or at least, that's the plan), except that between my funky right hand, my tiredness, and my difficulty concentrating (not to mention my f-ed up vision), it's... challenging.

I'm just so worn out by this! I want to know what the hell is going on, and I want to know now! I am so exhausted and frustrated. I had a great weekend -- my incredible husband took over the kids and house so I could get caught up on schoolwork and garden, and it was just what I needed. I'm growing seedlings in little pots all over my house, thinking forward to spring. I am cultivating joy. And that's why I'm not just curled up in a ball on my bed wailing, "why me???"

Cultivating joy. And waiting.

Waiting.

Everything falls apart

Why can't one thing go wrong at a time?

So I'm waiting around for my MRI, dealing with my intermittent right-side numbness, tingling, lightheadedness, and occasionally funky vision, and trying to just make the best of it and soldier on. But meanwhile, back at the ranch, my husband is starting a new job on Monday and is therefore working his tail off to finish up the old job, my two year old has been sick for a whopping FIVE DAYS now, I've had various extended-family dramas to attend to, and I've now fallen woefully behind in basically all of my classes due to missing this entire week so far. Did I mention that I'm so tired all the time that I nod off whenever the little one's watching TV?

I need a vacation.

36 hours until my MRI, which will hopefully show something useful this time. Otherwise it's sayonara to Dr. Distracted. I ain't got time for this.

Waiting

The neurologist appointment was basically a waste of time, except for the referral for the MRI. It was a big fat disappointment.

I went in there with a list of symptoms, and the dates when they occurred -- I had really put a lot of effort into being prepared and having all of the information that my doctor would need in order to start figuring this out. She barely let me speak. I was so frustrated. I started telling her about how this all started, just over a month ago, and she started shaking her head and saying, "You're a mystery, what can I say..." not looking at me, just looking at my chart. WTF??? Maybe it would seem a little less mysterious if you would actually listen to what I'm saying, hmm?

UGH. I never even got to mention at least half the symptoms, and when I mentioned the double vision, she said, "When's the last time you went to the eye doctor? You should go to the eye doctor." Um, what? Are we assuming that the double vision is some totally unrelated coinkeedink? Or should I go to the eye doctor on general principles because I haven't gone for a while? Or is the eye doctor going to help diagnose this? I have no idea, because I didn't have a chance to ask her.

Whatever. She referred me for an MRI of my brain and of my C-spine (neck), and I go next Friday. If the MRI shows something, then fine, we'll have something to work with. If somehow it doesn't, I'm going to seek a second opinion. Someone who actually seems to care one way or the other whether my body is working right. Dammit.