A Request for Thoughts and Prayers
- Thread starter piperookie
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piperookie, you should insist they do a spinal tap. If the pain is still so severe and in the back of the head, I honestly believe it has to be some type of meningitis. If they have not found anything with MRI's and CT Scans, I would think they have to look for meningitis. I hope they find out what it is quickly so your brothers pain can be resolved. You guys are still in my prayers.
A small update, but an update none the less.
For those asking about Meningitis, he as been checked for both bacterial and viral meningitis several times. I hope and pray that he doesn't have fungal meningitis. We have finally found a medicine that keeps the pain tolerable. Oddly enough it is non-prescription Aleeve! Where Vicodin and Tylenol with Codine have both failed miserably, aspirin has moved his pain from a 9 to a 4. Not complete removal of pain, but a definite improvement. He is headed up to Hershey for some more testing today. UPMC will probably be the next step if Penn State Hershey can't find out what is wrong.
I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to have such a supportive community; I'm going to start sounding like a broken record. It takes a great weight off my shoulders to know that there are so many praying for him, and that he is in the hands of God. Thank you all so much!
For those asking about Meningitis, he as been checked for both bacterial and viral meningitis several times. I hope and pray that he doesn't have fungal meningitis. We have finally found a medicine that keeps the pain tolerable. Oddly enough it is non-prescription Aleeve! Where Vicodin and Tylenol with Codine have both failed miserably, aspirin has moved his pain from a 9 to a 4. Not complete removal of pain, but a definite improvement. He is headed up to Hershey for some more testing today. UPMC will probably be the next step if Penn State Hershey can't find out what is wrong.
I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to have such a supportive community; I'm going to start sounding like a broken record. It takes a great weight off my shoulders to know that there are so many praying for him, and that he is in the hands of God. Thank you all so much!
Piperookie, this has been an ordeal for you as well as your brother, but he obviously has a good and caring
family member in you and perhaps others. My thoughts are with you as you face this struggle. When my
wife had a sequence of two hip surgeries to replace a hip replacement, I used pipe smoking on the porch
at night after getting home from the hospital as a centering and meditation time, and it helped. Bourbon
wouldn't have gone well the next morning. I joke to her now that she drove me to cavendish. A lot has been
done on pain management, but pursue this through your regular doctors so your brother doesn't spend a
lot of money on treatments that aren't well founded. It is really great that he gets some relief from over-
the-counter pharmaceuticals. Hypnosis or massage might be other approaches, if directed through a
legitimate medical doctor, until this tricky diagnosis is discovered. Warm wishes.
family member in you and perhaps others. My thoughts are with you as you face this struggle. When my
wife had a sequence of two hip surgeries to replace a hip replacement, I used pipe smoking on the porch
at night after getting home from the hospital as a centering and meditation time, and it helped. Bourbon
wouldn't have gone well the next morning. I joke to her now that she drove me to cavendish. A lot has been
done on pain management, but pursue this through your regular doctors so your brother doesn't spend a
lot of money on treatments that aren't well founded. It is really great that he gets some relief from over-
the-counter pharmaceuticals. Hypnosis or massage might be other approaches, if directed through a
legitimate medical doctor, until this tricky diagnosis is discovered. Warm wishes.
I speak as an RN. I find it very telling that the pain is relieved with Aleeve and decreased with Aspirin. These are both Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories or NSAIDs. Whereas Tylenol is not and neither are the narcotics Vicodin or Codeine. Both of these narcotics will help NSAIDs work a lot better. Doctors will order NSAIDs with Morphine to relieve the very intense pain from bone cancer. I find this telling because it tells me that there's something inflamed. I'm not sure what it is. If the spinal tap is coming out normal, then there may not be an infection. It could be neuro. Something near the spinal cord. Did they do CAT and MRI scans of the neck when they did the head? A C-1, C-2 or C-3 hairline fracture or herniated disc will give intense pain to the back of the head. Has he fallen and/or hit the back of his head recently? I know from experience that not all fractures show up on the first day. I've seen x-rays show no fracture on the first day only to show up on an x-ray 3-5 days later. It isn't anybody's fault, the fracture just took that long to calcify - that's the white line you see when the fracture starts to heal.
Please know that he's still in my prayers for healing.
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