Tracking The Problem 2

In a previous post I mentioned how my chronic back problem decided to really flare up, resulting in a late night visit to the ER.

The pain is under control but not the numbness. My left leg is numb, right down into my toes. My leg did feel better a few times to the point that I thought the problem was gone. But it keeps coming back. Sometimes I feel weakness in my ankle, causing it to give in and twist, almost resulting in another fall that would aggravate the situation all the more.

So tomorrow evening I’m scheduled for a MRI. I had one done years ago when my back trouble first flared up. Back then you had to go down to the Albany area to get it done. In those steam-engine days the patient was slid inside a narrow torpedo tube, his nose just a few inches away from the cylinder wall. You had to remain still while your body was enveloped by a powerful magnetic field, twenty minutes, half-an-hour, whatever. You could feel the fillings in your teeth resonating.

Talked with the MRI department today and apparently the newer machines are less claustrophobic in design. That’ll help but the exposure time is still long; have to lie still and not move as the machine slowly creates its images.

It’ll be worth it to find out what is causing the numbness or at least rule out other causes.