When Medical Professionals Drop the Ball
I ran out of Lyrica. It wasn't intentional. I called in for a refill two weeks beforehand. Two weeks, dear readers. I've spoken to the pharmacy and my doctor's office numerous times. Both are busy pointing fingers at each other.
The medicine aids with nerve damage post-surgery. That isn't my issue; the rest of my body woes are. Yes, the sciatic nerve damage is exploding with pain. But the other things are starting to add up, especially the peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy, a result of damage to the nerves located outside of the brain and spinal cord (peripheral nerves), often causes weakness, numbness and pain, usually in the hands and feet. It can also affect other areas and body functions including digestion, urination and circulation. - MAYO CLINIC
Every nerve in your peripheral system has a specific function, so symptoms depend on the type of nerves affected.
Every nerve in my peripheral system has told me to fuck off.
Wait. Maybe just a few? Do go on, Mayo Clinic...
Nerves are classified into:
Sensory nerves that receive sensation, such as temperature, pain, vibration or touch, from the skin; Motor nerves that control muscle movement; Autonomic nerves that control functions such as blood pressure, perspiration, heart rate, digestion and bladder function
No argument from me.
Signs and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy might include:[...]
- Gradual onset of numbness, prickling or tingling in your feet or hands, which can spread upward into your legs and arms
- Sharp, jabbing, throbbing or burning pain
- Extreme sensitivity to touch
- Pain during activities that shouldn't cause pain, such as pain in your feet when putting weight on them or when they're under a blanket
- Lack of coordination and falling
- Muscle weakness
- Feeling as if you're wearing gloves or socks when you're not
Again, no argument. I don't feel as though I'm wearing gloves or socks when I'm not. Nothing is paralyzed. The one that drives me insane, other than the painful ones, is that sensitivity to touch and vibration.
Oh holy shit, that touch. It sounds kinky. It's not. I changed out of my baggy sweatpants and put on my tight plaid pants (that everyone but me hates). The baggy sweats were rubbing against my skin, making it prickle down my left buttock and leg.
Pressing on my Fibro pressure points would earn you a kick in the groin.
BUT, I'm wondering if the stress and pain have awoken the dormant beast: Lupus. It's everyone's not-favorite autoimmune disease. It gnaws on joints and smacks innards with the Ugly Stick. I'm basing that off the lesions reemerging and my intolerance of cold.
It pisses me off because, hey, COVID. My immune system couldn't fight off the flu right now.
All I need to complete this buffet table is shingles to rear its ugly head. That would be hilarious.
Such is life. I wait in neurotic desperation for someone to refill my damn Lyrica.
Citation
"By Mayo Clinic Staff". (publish date unknown). Peripheral Nephropathy. In Mayo Clinic Diseases and Conditions. Retrieved 13:47, January 6, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352061