jeanne Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I'm off to Milwaukee for testing and consult with Dr. Heffez. I'm nervous, but hopeful. Any positive advice? (Please don't scare me!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corina Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Hi Jeanne,I don't have any real good advice for you except to try and stay calm (but I know: that's easier said than done!!!). I hope you'll have a safe trip and that you'll find the answers you're looking for!Corina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanne Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Thank you, Corinna, for those words of encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Good luck jeanne. I have heard good words about Dr. Dan and his conservative approach to surgery. I know he tells many to wear collars and or try PT first. I don't know your exact situation.Hope you get some answers and if you get lots of testing, good luck enduring them! lolI know the testing to get answers is part of the journey but some more entertaining than others. Keep us posted.And let your imagination gallop you through any MRI's!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanne Posted October 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Thank you for the posting.I've been through a lot of testing. You're right...some are more "entertaining" than others. When I asked a lab tech, who was hooking me up to a machine with lots of connections, if this was going to hurt, he said, "Not really. Just like a little bee sting." Well, it turned out to be 10 little bee stings that each lasted about 5 minutes...all happening at the same time. Later, my daughter who was in the room with me said that she had thought to herself, "A little bee sting? Is there such a thing?" It was less "entertaining" than some of the others.I have two days of testing planned in Milwaukee at this time. I try to look for the entertainment in them! Thanks for a new choice of words and the good wishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia3 Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 JeanneWas the 'bee sting' test by any chance an EMG study, for nerve conduction. I had one and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't real fun. But I was lucky. The pain was in an area that didn't have needles in it.The wonderful person getting me ready for the testing told me "some grown men have walked out in the middle of the study it's so painful".!!! I don't know if I appreciated her honesty or if she enjoyed my possible thinking "this test is gonna hurt &^%$#@!" I had neck pain we were checking --later showed bilateral carpal tunnell--but when they checked the ulnar nerve, my arm flew off the table and almost smacked the doctor!! He just kept right on doing the study. I might have laughed but at the time, it smarted.Now it would've been 'entertaining' had I actully tapped him!!! You will use up some endurance in two days of testing. Try to hyrdate yourself and stock up on salt or whatever seems to get you thru and stick some candy bars or granola bars in your purse!!And in the middle of some of the fierce testing, click your heels three times and say "There's no place like home".Glenda the good witch said Dorothy had the power to leave Oz the whole movie but didn't know it. Just wondered if that might work in real life but I am digress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyMouse Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Jeanne, that sounds like an EMG with those needles getting jabbed into mucsles and nerves. owie. I've had several of those. I'm a former patient of Heffez and can tell you that the visit shouldn't be something you worry about. He and his staff will do a very thorough history. He might order some more films if the ones you have don't have the views he thinks are needed. If you're not in an emergency situation, he will probably recommend several non-surgical things that will need to be explored /tested out before he'll even consider surgery with most patients. Some of the suggestions might include Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, use of a neck or back brace, special suggestions for posture at work and home, and possible consult with pain management folks and/or rheumetology etc. Feel free to give him my regards. I haven't seen him since he left Chicago.Nina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeanne Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Thanks folks for the responses.I don't know what the "bee-sting" test was called but it did determine that the sweat glands on the lower part of my body were non-functioning. Evidently that was a a confirmation of the POTS.The condition is out of control right now and I am in huge pain all the time. Breathing is labored now. I am too weak to unscrew the top of a bottle of water by myself now. I am hopeful for some help from Dr. Heffez. I wouldn't even be considering asking for a surgical eval if it hadn't gotten so bad that I can't function.I want my life back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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