09/20/08 - MU - Leg Numbness

What? A second medical update? Yes. The jury is still out as to the cause of this problem...

My left leg is numb. The spinal tumor is supposedly not the cause as it is in my neck region (where it might affect my arms) versus my lower spine. I had an appointment with a radiation oncologist two days after the tumor was identified on the MRIs, and he did a basic examination and said it was likely due to arthritis or a slipped disc. I trusted his quick evaluation.

I saw my PCP last Wednesday who said that the numbness was likely an inflammation of my sciatic nerve, "sciatica." He prescribed a type of steroids to try to combat it. I blindly took them. Now I can't sleep, my leg is still numb, and a potential side effect of the steroids is bleeding. Obviously, I originally had a lot more concern about the tumor...

I thought about quitting the steroids, cold turkey. Unfortunately, steroids have to be gradually dosed-down, so now that I've taken the initial two-day large dosage, I'm just sticking with the normal amount, especially after speaking with a nurse that we know.

Moral of the story? Ask a lot of questions (which I try to do and I should know better by now).

The cause of my numb leg? Who knows? Maybe we'll find out if it was my tumor, arthritis, a slipped-disc, or sciatica. Oh yeah, outside chance that it could also be my cholesterol medication...

I guess I'm falling apart...