New and desperate for help - please!

[blightcp]

I just PM'ed you with information on Dr. Conway. He worked with both doctors you mentioned above and has done hundreds of PN surgery.

[desperate]

Thank you Carl, I've responded

[HerMajesty]

FYI - sometimes with people new to these difficult, elusive, chronic painful conditions - there is a tendency to feel like the most "heroic" approach - such as a surgical specialist - is the way to go because a radical problem requires a radical solution. You will see from my signature, my 1st brush with such a disorder was 30 yrs ago at age 14 so I have a little experience in the dynamics of these conditions. My best piece of survival advice: MOST CONSERVATIVE MEASURES FIRST. Do please consider SIJD evaluation before anything invasive.

[desperate]

Hi HerMajesty,

I'm not really sure if an SI evaluation is right for me persay. For starters I do not have a tight pelvic floor; according to Dr.Gordon and my PT. Plus, the SI ligament did not appear to be a problem in my Potter MRI - where as the SS ligament is midly thickened.

I've done about 8 PT sessions - and still have no results. In fact symptoms are getting worse. However, I am continuing to attend sessions as a way of "well-being".

Now, as a general question to all - this morning I got the same numbness "fell-asleep" type pain in both of my arms. I experienced this about a month ago when I first started taking a muscle relaxant that had side-effects of numbness. I stopped taking that medication two weeks ago. I'm questioning as to why I feel such pain in my arms and legs - and why this is affecting my entire body. Has anyone had symptoms similar to mine?

Thank you

[blightcp]

Hi HerMajesty,

I'm not really sure if an SI evaluation is right for me persay. For starters I do not have a tight pelvic floor; according to Dr.Gordon and my PT. Plus, the SI ligament did not appear to be a problem in my Potter MRI - where as the SS ligament is midly thickened.

I've done about 8 PT sessions - and still have no results. In fact symptoms are getting worse. However, I am continuing to attend sessions as a way of "well-being".

Now, as a general question to all - this morning I got the same numbness "fell-asleep" type pain in both of my arms. I experienced this about a month ago when I first started taking a muscle relaxant that had side-effects of numbness. I stopped taking that medication two weeks ago. I'm questioning as to why I feel such pain in my arms and legs - and why this is affecting my entire body. Has anyone had symptoms similar to mine?

Thank you

I'm not a doctor but my wife was born with a serious heart defect. She has had 7 open heart surgeries so I am pretty medically aware of most signs and symptoms.

This is from web MD:

Fexeril Side effects Include:

Stop using cyclobenzaprine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeats;
chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;
sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

Muscle soreness is a normal symptom though.

This is most likely a generic stroke clot indicator advisment but I would get i checked to make sure you are not having TIA(S). This is unlikely but it's not worth risking. I don't mean to alarm you but Paresthesia (tingling or numbness of the extremities) is not listed as a common symptom with most muscle relaxants.

On the SS ligament thickening, have you had a fMRI? It may be worth it to make sure the nerve is not in the "thick spot" of the SS. My PN was scarred into the SS so it raised a flag with me.

PT can also work on the external muscles as well, this helps keep sciatica and pulled groin issues if the outer muscles are tight. I do agree that a good PT that is aware of PN issues is as good or better than a therapist, I don't know what I would do without her to back me up like she has.

[HerMajesty]

It doesn't matter which ligament. My fault for using the shorthand term "SIJD", meaning "sacroiliac joint dysfunction" - which is actually only one possible aspect of pelvic joint dysfunction. Abnormality in any ligament can indicate that the pelvis might be misaligned. Having it checked by a PT who is fully aware of pelvic biomechanics (which is not just any PT) is the way to determine if you have a problem with pelvic physiology (range of joint motion - hypomobile and / or hypermobile pelvic joints). This does generally lead to pelvic floor dysfunction but it developes over time, just as it would develop over time if your problem is in fact PNE requiring surgery. Having your pelvic biomechanics properly evaluated takes one single office visit. If nothing is wrong, you have lost nothing and will not be putting yourself at risk as it is an entirely noninvasive exam. So, as I said prior, most conservative approach first. This is a good principle of survival whether conservative measures are ultimately helpful, or whether you eventually have to go more invasive.

[HerMajesty]

It doesn't matter which ligament. My fault for using the shorthand term "SIJD", meaning "sacroiliac joint dysfunction" - which is actually only one possible aspect of pelvic joint dysfunction. Abnormality in any ligament can indicate that the pelvis might be misaligned. Having it checked by a PT who is fully aware of pelvic biomechanics (which is not just any PT) is the way to determine if you have a problem with pelvic physiology (range of joint motion - hypomobile and / or hypermobile pelvic joints). This does generally lead to pelvic floor dysfunction but PFD develops over time, just as it would develop over time if your problem is in fact PNE requiring surgery. Having your pelvic biomechanics properly evaluated takes one single office visit. If nothing is wrong, you have lost nothing and will not be putting yourself at risk as it is an entirely noninvasive exam. So, as I said prior, most conservative approach first. This is a good principle of survival whether conservative measures are ultimately helpful, or whether you eventually have to go more invasive.

[desperate]

I'm not a doctor but my wife was born with a serious heart defect. She has had 7 open heart surgeries so I am pretty medically aware of most signs and symptoms.

This is from web MD:

Fexeril Side effects Include:

Stop using cyclobenzaprine and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeats;
chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling;
sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body;

Muscle soreness is a normal symptom though.

This is most likely a generic stroke clot indicator advisment but I would get i checked to make sure you are not having TIA(S). This is unlikely but it's not worth risking. I don't mean to alarm you but Paresthesia (tingling or numbness of the extremities) is not listed as a common symptom with most muscle relaxants.

Sorry blightcp, i'm not really sure where this is all coming from? I've never taken any of those medications - and have stated that I am no longer taking a muscle relaxant which is why I am concerned about the numbness.(in fact I am not taking any medication ATM) I understand your concern about checking if it is TIA - would this be something I would ask my family physcian about?

On the SS ligament thickening, have you had a fMRI? It may be worth it to make sure the nerve is not in the "thick spot" of the SS.

What would the difference be between a fMRI and doing a MRN - I am considering doing a MRN. I've never heard of an fMRI wheer would i be able to do one - are there specialists that read this that are posted on this site.

Having your pelvic biomechanics properly evaluated takes one single office visit. If nothing is wrong, you have lost nothing and will not be putting yourself at risk as it is an entirely noninvasive exam. So, as I said prior, most conservative approach first. This is a good principle of survival whether conservative measures are ultimately helpful, or whether you eventually have to go more invasive.

I assume this can be done by any PN/PNE educated PT. My only fear with going conservative is that they take a lot longer maybe even 1-2 years to notice any difference. That's the only reason why I've considered invasive treatment such as surgery.

[HerMajesty]

I assume this can be done by any PN/PNE educated PT. My only fear with going conservative is that they take a lot longer maybe even 1-2 years to notice any difference. That's the only reason why I've considered invasive treatment such as surgery.

No, not all PN educated PT's deal with pelvic misalignment, although some do. Many deal almost exclusively with soft tissue (muscles, etc). You need to call around for a PT in your area who has experience with manual therapy of the pelvis, and actually many of the most knowledgeable in this area are Sports PT's, not Pelvic Floor PT's.
Invasive measures often lead to long, slow recoveries. So can the less effective methods of dealing with pelvic joint dysfunction, such as PT excercises with a goal of hoping to reposition the joints indirectly by strengthening the core muscles. Direct joint manipulation, done correctly, is very brief treatment. I believe I already supplied earlier in this thread, the name of a PT in New York who corrects joint dysfunction using Hesch Method. This takes on average 3 visits over the period of a week. That is how long it took to permanently correct my SIJD using Hesch Method. Much less time than surgical recovery.
If you shop for a PT local to you with some experience in this area, you could probably be told pretty definitively if your pelvis is misaligned. But if it is, i would suggest you go to the PT I recommended to have it corrected. there are a lot of faulty methods to correct the joints; some do indeed take a long time but some are also dangerous - there was a woman who used to post on here who saw several PT manual Therapists who did rough adjustments and injured her - so I tried to pooint you in a safe, effective direction.

[Violet M]

Totally agree with HM on getting SIJD ruled out. It was a major factor in my case but due to my aging ligaments, I could not hold an adjustment. You are still young and your ligaments shouldn't be in the sorry state mine were in.

Violet