Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic So I'm getting a spinal tap tomorrow...

It'd really be nice if they don't find anything horribly wrong with me, and they might not since the MRI is clear. I may just have a false tumor, but if you happen to think about, it'd be nice if you kept me in your thoughts. I just got diagnosed with a condition that I can't even spell out that's making my eyesight degenerate, but if nothing else is wrong tomorrow, all I'd have to do is start taking some medication that would relieve my headaches and definitely keep my eyesight from worsening. I keep thinking, and it's so horrible, but I'm only 22 years old, and the last two weeks before I'm supposed to start grad school have just been hell. I've been to my regular doctor, I've gotten the MRI, I've seen my eye doctor, I've seen my neuro opthamologist, and now I'll get to add a neurologist and a spinal tap to the list, and I'll finally know what's actually wrong with me tomorrow. I hate hanging in limbo.

Thanks for letting me whine for a minute or two, I really appreciate it,
Jen

Good luck, Jen. Thoughts and prayers are with you!

I'm praying for you Jen, I hope everything goes well and that whatever you have is curable.

Hugs, good vibes, and prayers heading your way!

Wow. Getting a spinal tap is no fun. (I probably made myself more nervous than I needed to be, tho.) They had a bit of trouble with me until they moved down one vertebra. After that, everything went pretty smoothly.

I hope you find some answers, Jen, and that they're good ones.

I'm a little surprised, though, to see you say that you expect answers tomorrow. MRIs and spinal taps both usually take a few days to process. With an MRI, you can sometimes get a "cold read" if you ask for it (they get someone to take a quick glance while you're there to let you know if there's something really obvious going on), but it's with the understanding that it's not a binding opinion (he's taking a glance at the films, not making an actual diagnosis).

Anyway... good luck to you. Let us know how it goes!

Paul

I don't know if it's tomorrow yet in your country, but assuming it is, good luck today! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you and hope that whatever it is you have it can be cured with hopefully not-so-painful medications..

Here's a good luck kiss for you:

Jen,

I'll be thinking about you, praying for you. A spinal tap isn't as bad as it sounds. The dread is so much worse than the actual thing. Keep that in mind. I've had a couple of them with no problem whatsoever, and I'm a big, big chicken when it comes to any sort of medical procedure.

I'm sorry things have been so bad for you! Hang in there and keep us posted.

CC

Good luck with the spinal tap, Jen. Hope the procedure goes well and that the results are good. Sorry to hear about your recent health woes, and I hope they'll come to an end soon. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Oh Jen! My heart goes out to you (I'm needlephobic - hate them, hate them).

I can feel for you about the whole "I'm only 22" thing. I was diagnosed last year with inflammatory arthritis and I said "But I'm only 28".

I will be thinking about you today. Hope it goes smoothly and please let us know as soon as you find anything out.

<DJ Hugs>

A spinal tap isn't as horrible as it sounds, although it's no piece of cake either. I'll be thinking of you.

Nan

Hope everything went well, Jen! Let us know the results when you're able.

Sara

Hope your results turn out just fine.

Wow what a miserable experience, but thank you all, I felt a lot better going in today. Hopefully everything will be ok. Everything else has been really consistent so far; I'll still have to wait for test results, but they said my fluid looked like it's supposed to. And I have to admit, having forced bedrest and watching movies for the rest of the day sure beat editing type and graphics all day at work hehe! Although I just feel like a slug lol.

Jen

I'm so glad it went okay today Jen. Let us know about your results okay?

You got to watch movies all day? Manage to fit in any LNC episodes?

Hah, no can do, my VCR is unusually terrible. For right now, I just don't watch the series enough to convince myself to buy the DVDs, so I'm still using my old TNT tapes whenever I want to throw on an episode.

Jen

Glad you made it through.

Enjoy the rest. Good luck on the tests. Hope they find something simple and treatable that actually explains the problem.

Paul

Hot diggity, the results are in. I still have papelodema (sp?), which is still the vision thing I can't spell, but my spinal tap is totally normal. To be more specific, I technically have pseudotumor cerebri, which is literally, a false tumor. Papelodema by itself is all the fun of tumor symptoms without the tumor. But if it hadn't been for a mere weekend of morning vision loss, I never would have noticed. So my prescription for Diamox (another sp?) should come in a couple of days, and that'll simply keep the pressure down in my head, which will restore most of my vision and knock those silly headaches out of the way. I'm so glad it's not something more serious, and thank you all! No matter how much I'm here or not here, it's nice to know you guys are here.

Jen

Yay!

That's great news, Jen!!

I don't think it could possibly have come out better!

So... congrats!!



Thanks for letting us know.

Paul

Fantastic and welcome news about the false tumor, Jen. I'm very pleased for you.