Yesterday sure threw me for a loop. I woke up and headed to an 8:30am appointment (not deep brain stimulation related). Afterwards I decided to stop by Target to pick up a few things. While in Target, I had a little incident. My left arm and hand (the arm and hand effected by the surgery) started to get heavy and tingly. It started feeling exactly like it did right after the surgery. Then it went numb and prickly feeling, like it was asleep. Then I felt those same sensations in my upper left thigh and above my lip on the left side of my face. I've watched way too many medical shows to immediately think I may be having a stroke. But, I wasn't confused. I could talk normally, stick my tongue out, my smile wasn't crooked and my eyes and face weren't droopy. The whole incident was over in a matter of minutes. I paid for my items and then drove to another store. I made a purchase there and left. Then I decided to call my mom and tell her what happened. She said I should call Vanderbilt right away. I was hesitant at first because, as I told my mom, they'll just tell me to go to the ER because what could they do for me 2 and 1/2 hours away? But Mom said they needed to know, so I called them. And guess what?! Dr. K's nurse told me I should go to the ER just to be on the safe side. She said that they could do a CT scan and check. I did NOT want to go to the ER. My symptoms had resolved themselves. So, I debated for awhile. Then Mom said maybe I could call my internists' office and see if he could order a CT for me. So I called him and it turns out that he's out of the country this week, but his office told me that if he was here he would tell me to go to the ER. So I debated some more. I know, I know. I should have just gone, but there were a few reasons I didn't want to go. Then I decided to call my ER Doctor brother. I left him a message. I was feeling great by this time, so I decided to head to Walgreens to get a Tdap shot. My new niece is almost here and her parents asked us family to get the shot. I was at Walgreens when my brother called me back. He said that as a doctor he would tell me to go to the ER, but he also understood why I didn't want to go. He said nothing could be diagnosed without a scan. I promised him that if I had another incident I would head straight to the ER. While he was on the phone, I asked him if getting the Tdap shot would effect anything that may be going on with me neurologically. He said no and that it was fine to get it. So, I got the shot and then ran errands. I got home and felt well enough to exercise on the bike. Dr. K's nurse called me back to see how I was/what was going on. I confessed that I didn't go to the ER. She said since I didn't want to go to the ER, I should call my local neurologist and try to get in to see him. She asked me to call her and let her know if I got an appointment. I told her I would. I called Dr. L. It turns out he's also not in the office this week. It's definitely Spring Break around here. :) I called Dr. K's nurse and told her this. Then I started doubting myself and told her maybe I should just go to the ER. She asked what symptoms I had and I told her none. It was just that one time earlier in the day when I had the symptoms. I told her that on one hand I didn't want to go to the ER because I didn't want to waste anyone's time if it turned out to be nothing. I didn't want to have to go through the whole DBS story, I didn't want to wait hours and hours to be seen, and I didn't want to spend a ton of money when I already had follow up appointments and a CT scan scheduled at Vanderbilt on March 29. I know these are stupid reasons, but I'm being truthful. :) On the other hand, if it was something, I didn't want to cause permanent damage to myself and I certainly didn't want to die. So, we came up with a middle of the road decision: if any of the symptoms came back, I would head straight to the ER and I would stay with someone (or someone would stay with me) overnight. I was happy with those decisions. So, I spent the night with my parents. They were adamant that if I started having any of the symptoms again we would be heading right to the ER. Both Mom and Dad thought that I either had a mini stroke or more likely a TIA (transient ischemic attack). We looked both up on Dr. Google (because you know that's what you're supposed to do - NOT!). And, yeah it sounds a little like that. Anyway, I know I'll probably get a lot of flack from people telling me I should have gone to the ER. And you know what? I probably should of. What's that phrase? "Do what I say and not what I do". Yeah. As much as this may surprise people, I don't actually like going to doctors. I love watching doctor shows, that's it. :) However, I'm pleased to tell you that I didn't have anymore incidents. My arm and hand is not as bad as it was right after surgery, but not as good as it had gotten before yesterday's incident. So, something may have happened, but it'll show on the March 29th scan and it's more likely nothing could have been done about it. In the meantime, it's back to exercising with the balls again.
On an entirely different subject, yet still related to deep brain stimulation, I think I'm suffering from "Phantom Hair Syndrome". It's not a real syndrome (I don't think!), but something I made up. I use it to describe what I'm going through. I completely think I still have long hair. I'll whip my head to the side thinking I need to get my hair out of the way. I still think I need as much shampoo as I used to. When I lay down on the couch or in a recliner, I think to myself, "Oh, you're going to mess up your hair and you have somewhere to go later." Only to be brought back to the reality that I don't have hair to whip to the side, I don't need nearly as much shampoo and I'm not going to mess my hair up! The other day I was cold. I thought to myself that I just needed to take my hair down from a poney tail only to realize, I have no hair to take down!! :) While I was staying with my parents, my mom came home one day and she had gotten her hair cut. I told her I had too that day, but the stylist was a beginner and made a mistake, so she just had to buzz my whole head! On another occasion, I had just gotten out of the shower and came into the living room where Mom exclaimed, "You forgot to blow dry your hair!" Dad says I look like I'm ready for the military now. I also almost forget to put the wig on sometimes before leaving the house. When I moved back home from staying with my parents, I drove to the end of their street, before realizing I forgot my wig at their house. :) There have definitely been funny moments involving my lack of hair and the wig and for that, I'm very thankful!
That's it for today. I'm posting this, even though I'm scared I'll get backlash that I didn't go to the ER. ;) I still covet your prayers. I would especially like prayers that I don't have anymore incidents and that my arm and hand function is completely restored by Monday. That's when I'm going to try to go back to work, but then again, April 1st is sounding better and better after what happened yesterday. Only God knows and time will tell!
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