Well the spinal tap went well. It was a fairly easy process. They found out that I ad over double the pressure compared to a normal persons spinal fluid. The doctor drained around 22cc which is the quick fix, since a normal person produce cerebral spinal fluid at a rate of .7cc/minute and I'm making it at who knows how fast. Then they have started me in some more medication to slow down the production. Now the fluid will be tested to see if there is any problems with it. The docotr is unsure of what the cause is as the doesn't often occur spontaneously in males of my body type. He thinks that the cause may be due to..... you guessed it, my drugs. so we've come full circle back to tapering mt drugs down. so hopefully this in conjunction with the new medication will allow me to start seeing some results in the next weeks(the doc said it wouldn't clear up instantly as my eyes have had some swelling in them). I will have to be going back in for another spinal tap next week to see how things ae going and probably for a few more in the future. But I feel a lot better now that it seems some progress is being made.
Robert
Friday, January 23, 2009
Friday
Hey just wanted to let you know that the cat scan showed no sign of a tumor and that everything looked good. I will be going in for the spinal tap in about an hour. So hopefully this will find the problem and we can get this eye deal over with.
Robert
Robert
Monday, January 19, 2009
quick update
Hey jut thought I'd let you know the latest in the eye story. I went to the doctor today and he saw some inflammation in the back of my eyes so he refereed me to an ophthalmologist. He found that my blurred vision is caused not by my drugs but from ppressure in the back of my eyes and on the optic nerve. He sent me over to another doctor who told me that there are two possible causes of this. Either a tumor or excessive spinal fluid pressure. He is leaning towards the spinal fluid pressure as I show no other symptoms of a tumor.So tomorrow I will be going in fo a CT scan, and depending in the results of that I may need to get a spinal tap to measure the pressure of the spinal cord fluid.
Robert
Robert
Friday, January 16, 2009
Friday January 16 (creative title, eh?)
Well, it's Friday night, and that means its Blog writing night, or so it seems lately. I'd like to thank you for all your comments .... there were an exceptional number this week, and its always nice to hear from you guys.
Here's the latest and greatest in the "Great Eye Escapade." As of Sunday, I began to get some slight improvement in my vision in that the blind spot was gone. There was a slight clearing up of the blurriness on Monday. Since then there's been little to no improvement. When I went to see the doctor on Monday he cut back more of my drugs, and wants me to continue to see him once a week until this problem is solved. I am, however, now able to read and use the computer, which has made my days go by alot faster. I am learning to use a 3-D animation program. This can be quite time consuming, but fun, which is what I need right now.
On to Physio ..... this has been the first week where I have gone every day and my body didn't take this so well. By Wednesday, I was quite fatigued and was finding it hard to complete my exercises. But I'd been going 5 days a week at GF Strong, so I guess I've just gotten soft going only 3 times a week. This week I have been doing quite a bit more walking, and have started each appointment with going for a walk around the sports centre. Dad I and also went for a walk around the indoor track there last Saturday. I still get sore and tired quite quickly while walking but my technique has improved.
Last Saturday I made my first social outing and went for supper at some friend's house. I did lie on the floor most of the time but it was definitely good to get a change of scenery and to hang out in that setting.
Well, once again I managed to talk my mother into typing for me, even though I'm quite capable of using the computer ..... I just enjoy being a dictator. That's all for the this week. Until next time , bye bye from Chris and me .... Mr. Robert. (Please hum the theme song to Mr. DressUp in your head,)
Here's the latest and greatest in the "Great Eye Escapade." As of Sunday, I began to get some slight improvement in my vision in that the blind spot was gone. There was a slight clearing up of the blurriness on Monday. Since then there's been little to no improvement. When I went to see the doctor on Monday he cut back more of my drugs, and wants me to continue to see him once a week until this problem is solved. I am, however, now able to read and use the computer, which has made my days go by alot faster. I am learning to use a 3-D animation program. This can be quite time consuming, but fun, which is what I need right now.
On to Physio ..... this has been the first week where I have gone every day and my body didn't take this so well. By Wednesday, I was quite fatigued and was finding it hard to complete my exercises. But I'd been going 5 days a week at GF Strong, so I guess I've just gotten soft going only 3 times a week. This week I have been doing quite a bit more walking, and have started each appointment with going for a walk around the sports centre. Dad I and also went for a walk around the indoor track there last Saturday. I still get sore and tired quite quickly while walking but my technique has improved.
Last Saturday I made my first social outing and went for supper at some friend's house. I did lie on the floor most of the time but it was definitely good to get a change of scenery and to hang out in that setting.
Well, once again I managed to talk my mother into typing for me, even though I'm quite capable of using the computer ..... I just enjoy being a dictator. That's all for the this week. Until next time , bye bye from Chris and me .... Mr. Robert. (Please hum the theme song to Mr. DressUp in your head,)
Friday, January 9, 2009
Title unknown
Well another week has gone by. It's been a bit of a slow week, as there has been no improvement yet with my blurry vision. Since I last posted my vision gradually got worse until Wed. and since then its been about the same.I went to the doctor yesterday and we came to the conclusion that it wasn't the Lyrica causing the problem. So now we've moved on to the next most likely culprit.
So far there has been no positive results. I would appreciate your prayers in this area as its very frustrating for me to not be able to see or read. Due to the messing around of my drugs, my pain has been a little worse than normal, but for the most part, its under control, as long as I'm not doing anything too active or sitting.
Not too many new things have happened in physio. Today I did go for a fairly long walk around the Sports Centre with Davis, my physiotherapist, giving me some tips on my technique that made me feel a little less stable. However, its a more natural walking position. He also had me walking with one crutch which nearly saw me on my backside. I did manage to get it figured out a bit, but I have to take very small careful steps. Some good news .... I am now going to physio five days a week as of Wed. the 6th. Hopefully that will help my progress.
Well, that's all for now folks.
Robert (as dictated to his mother).
So far there has been no positive results. I would appreciate your prayers in this area as its very frustrating for me to not be able to see or read. Due to the messing around of my drugs, my pain has been a little worse than normal, but for the most part, its under control, as long as I'm not doing anything too active or sitting.
Not too many new things have happened in physio. Today I did go for a fairly long walk around the Sports Centre with Davis, my physiotherapist, giving me some tips on my technique that made me feel a little less stable. However, its a more natural walking position. He also had me walking with one crutch which nearly saw me on my backside. I did manage to get it figured out a bit, but I have to take very small careful steps. Some good news .... I am now going to physio five days a week as of Wed. the 6th. Hopefully that will help my progress.
Well, that's all for now folks.
Robert (as dictated to his mother).
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year!
Well, first off I'd like to apologize for once again not posting for quite awhile. Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years.
MIne was pretty great. Jen and Wade were here for almost 5 days. It was good to have the whole fam together. I was able to get some pretty sweet presents from WCB for Christmas which will help in my recovery and make life around the house more comfortable. The one is a recumbent exercise bike which is the exact same model as at my physio which means its of pretty good quality. The other is a lazy boy that is able to recline completely flat so I can be comfortable in the living room without having to lie on the floor.
This week its been back to physio as usual except that my regular physiotherapist has been sick so I've been working with a different one. Its been good to mix it up a little and do a couple of new exercises. This week I also began to experience blurred vision that gradually got worse as the week went on. So today I went in to see the doctor to find out what was going on. I'd been suspecting that it was a side effect of one of my medications and after doing some research of my own, decided that it had to be Lyrica. He said that he agreed with me although he said it could be one of two other drugs. But since Lyrica is the most likely, he reduced my dosage by one third. Hopefully, that will begin to make some difference soon, as the blurred vision has made it difficult to do anything as my daily life consists mainly of reading, working on the computer, and watching TV. Oooo .... I've also taken up drawing. If you're wondering how my spelling and punctuation have taken such a dramatic turn for the better, I am dictating this to my mother, as I can't see the letters on the screen or the keys for that matter. Hopefully she has been writing what I say, and not writing something like "Robert stinks."
To top this week off, I've also had a very sore neck. Today I woke up with such a bad kink in it that it made it almost impossible for me to turn my head. However, the weekend is looking more promising as Colin, Mike, Ryan, and Dylan are coming down to visit me. That should be heaps o' fun.
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for continuing to follow my progress and for encouraging and praying for me.
Robert
MIne was pretty great. Jen and Wade were here for almost 5 days. It was good to have the whole fam together. I was able to get some pretty sweet presents from WCB for Christmas which will help in my recovery and make life around the house more comfortable. The one is a recumbent exercise bike which is the exact same model as at my physio which means its of pretty good quality. The other is a lazy boy that is able to recline completely flat so I can be comfortable in the living room without having to lie on the floor.
This week its been back to physio as usual except that my regular physiotherapist has been sick so I've been working with a different one. Its been good to mix it up a little and do a couple of new exercises. This week I also began to experience blurred vision that gradually got worse as the week went on. So today I went in to see the doctor to find out what was going on. I'd been suspecting that it was a side effect of one of my medications and after doing some research of my own, decided that it had to be Lyrica. He said that he agreed with me although he said it could be one of two other drugs. But since Lyrica is the most likely, he reduced my dosage by one third. Hopefully, that will begin to make some difference soon, as the blurred vision has made it difficult to do anything as my daily life consists mainly of reading, working on the computer, and watching TV. Oooo .... I've also taken up drawing. If you're wondering how my spelling and punctuation have taken such a dramatic turn for the better, I am dictating this to my mother, as I can't see the letters on the screen or the keys for that matter. Hopefully she has been writing what I say, and not writing something like "Robert stinks."
To top this week off, I've also had a very sore neck. Today I woke up with such a bad kink in it that it made it almost impossible for me to turn my head. However, the weekend is looking more promising as Colin, Mike, Ryan, and Dylan are coming down to visit me. That should be heaps o' fun.
Once again, I'd like to thank you all for continuing to follow my progress and for encouraging and praying for me.
Robert
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