Saturday, April 24, 2010

Please welcome Mike Perry

Please welcome Mike Perry of California. You may email him at baja.mike.perry@gmail.com.

Mike says:

"I broke my back in 1974 in a parachute accident while on active duty with the Air Force. The back healed and with only occasional problems from time to time, I led a very active life (fighter pilot, commercial airline pilot, actor, business owner, financial planner).

Then, one day a little over two years ago I woke up with severe pain in m lower back and it never went away. My orthopedic surgeon did MRIs of my back and found degenerative discs, spinal stenosis, and arthritis. They diagnosed the pain as pinched nerves from the compressed vertebrae and wanted to do Epidural injections for the pain. I opted not to have epidurals, but instead went with opiod drugs. My pain mgt Dr. found scar tissue in the arachnoid area and rediagnosed me with Arachnoiditis.

My symptoms include chronic severe burning and sharp pain in my lower back shooting down into my buttocks, and sometimes down my legs. The pain is worst when I sit and limit my standing to a very short period of time. I end up spending an average of 18 hrs a day laying down. I have Headaches with blurring of vision. Extreme weakness, often staying in bed for days. Night and Day sweating for no reason. I often wake up soaked in sweat. I have a sharp pain in my lower right abdomen that has bothered me on and off again from time to time. I have problems with sexual dysfunction, constipation and trouble urinating. A veritable nightmare.

I had never heard of this disease until my Dr. diagnosed me with it on Tuesday (2 days ago). I have been dealing with this for over 2 years and it's not surprising to me that it's incurable."

1 comment:

  1. my name is Mike from new mexico although Ihave lived in Houston,NYC and Dallas,I have been active all my life even after a car wreck in 1981 that broke my back in 8 places,I was only 18 and spent a year in rehab with 2 steel rod placed in my back.all my lumbar was trashed,but I was in very good shape and got on with my life.I became a broadcast engineer and even with moder to sometimes sever pain I had a very succesful career for almost 25 years,Then all the sudden around 2003 I started getting Pain I had never dreamed of,evil pain that would drop me to my knees, severe pain down my sciatic path to my foot.While working as a Engineering supervisor at Ch-33 in Dallas all of this started and never got better ,but worse.I was SURE I had a pinched nerve as how did I make it so well with nothing but a tiny limp for 25 years.Well the pain got worse and my balance started to seem a little bad so over 2 years I saw 3 orthapedic surgeons and 3 neuro surgeons and after 4 mylagrams the last neuro doc said I can tell you why no other doc found a pinched nerve ? cause you have alot of scar tissue on your spinal cord kinda chocking your nerves ( adhesive arachnoiditis ) he told me thats why I was loosing the power in both my legs and the drop foot and the horrible horrible pain down my butt legs and ankles, he said its progressive and why I have been on stronger and stronger Schedule 2 nacotics of the cancer strength kind to continue to work a 40 hour week. He said nothing can be done, you just go on and on till you cant go on. I think I cryed for an hour in my car. Well for the sake of time I worked till I was forced out of my career in 2005 and went on disability I just could not keep from triping over my own feet ,but I went on Perm Disability and between LTD ans SSDI I saw I would not go homeless,but what next.Skip on in time, I moved with my girlfriend to Albuqueque NM an bought a house, where I could relate to you with the next 3 years 2/3 of the day laying down.I have always been able to drive, but I have been on crutches since 05 and cant stand long or sit long, but with pain meds !! i have always keep mobile and became a stay at home step dad while My girlfriend went back to school and got her degree as an RN, but this whole story ends not so happy, because I have been so not happy,cranky and depressed and when she got her degree she ended our 9 year relationship.She said she could not take what had become of me.She claims its nit that I had become a crip and my medical condition,but what the medical condition had done to me,I was cranky,misirable and depressed and she said a formal shell of myself.I think alot is true ,but alot unfair with no support in the last year or 2. I have not given up ,but I moved out and rented a house.I have alot of reason to keep it together.I have a 20 yr doughter that moved out with me and is in college,She has vision problems and cant drive so I need to get her to college back and forth long enough to get that girl a degree, I also have a 24yr son in the navy in Seattle and those 2 are the only reason I have not given up. I was married to there mom for 18 years and we divorced and I raised them without her from then on for the next 10 Years.I am most grateful that I got them raise for the most part befor I got to this point.I am sorry alot of my story seemed maybe seemed to go on too long,but It seemed important to tell you who I was and am and how Arachnoiditis ha s affected my life. Last but not least , I feel after this last relationship ending I dont think at 47 anyone will ever want to be with me again.I not a bad looking guy ,but now its causing me bladder problems on top of being on crutches and this is wher I end.writing to you in the middle of the night to let you know that even though different people and lives I think I just might Identify and understand what your going through and you I. Take care and I guess Fakeing it is making it so for another day I will keep on keeping on. Mike Nielsen

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