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Details
(ID=342)
Date:
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Name:
Grace Rowan
Date:
15-jun-2011
Main Condition
Main Condition:
Vertigo, migraines, joint pain, muscle spasms, numbness, vision problems
My Brief Story
Brief Story:
I don't even know where to begin in my journey, so I guess I'll start somewhere in the middle, what led me to my desperate call to Dynamic Life Chiropractic. Around June of last year, 2010, I got vertigo. And I don't mean, dizzy spells or occasional attacks, I mean full blown, non-stop, the room is warped, I feel like my head is in a fish bowl, the ground is moving out from under me I can't steady myself, I am always rocking and I feel like I am constantly about to pass out vertigo. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I thought at first, the I must have something wrong with my middle ear, cause coupled with my vertigo was ear fullness, pain & loss of hearing. After 2 weeks of dealing with the vertigo, I finally called my Doctor. As per usual, I was checked out and declared "fine" and given a prescription for flonase for my persistent allergies and antivert for my "dizziness" and was told to see how that worked for me for a few weeks. Nada. I was still disoriented and constantly fighting to stay up right and conscious, I was having panic attacks about it constantly. Until one day I called my doctor to say, now it is worse, and I also am getting shocked and my face is numb. She ordered an MRI of my brain and C-spine. I thought finally I was on my way to finding an answer, of course the 2 answers that were top of the list were, MS and brain cancer. Not something I wanted to hear but I wanted to at least know what was happening to me.
Here's where I should integrate my host of other issues I have seen my doctor for. I suffered from migraines on a pretty consistent basis, I never saw them as an issue, I just considered myself a headachey kind of person and took my ibuprofen and dealt with it, in March 2008 I was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome after seeking help from my right arm being numb for over 3 months. I went to a physical therapist who treated me and said I would need chiropractic care and massage therapy and that, I must have suffered whip lash and that my c5 was for sure not "right". At that time I had no health insurance and no job so I didn't follow through. What could I do? I dealt with the pain. The day after I received the PT, I got floaters in my vision, they have multiplied over time, yet another issue I had to address but researched and found was "normal" and they could not be treated. I am constantly starring through gray webbed globs. In July the year prior I was running a fever, and went in to the doctors, I had blood work done, everything checked, I was "normal" but running a fever consistently of 100, I was referred to an infectious disease specialist. I threw the card out, I knew there was something big wrong with me, but I wasn't about to be sent to someone I knew couldn't help me, deep down I had a feeling this all had to be connected. I work out pretty much all the time and am a formal personal trainer, so a lot of my back soreness and spasms I chalked up to working out too hard. in March 2006, I was diagnosed with IT band syndrome from constant hip and knee pain on my right side. When the whole right side of my body became wracked with numbness and pain, I would joke all the time about needing that whole side of my body replaced. I had all these symptoms, and years of no answers, so I just lived the best I could.
Since as far back as I can recall, I have "allergies" now granted, I am allergic to tons of things, but every time I went to a doctor for respiratory issues, they'd look up my nose and go, Whew, every thing's swollen, here's a decongestant. I could not breathe through my nose, EVER, without a decongestant, and by the time the vertigo hit, no matter what kind or how many it took, it did nothing. I had also complained to my doctor about blurry vision, and "pee problems" My pee, was all messed up. I would have to go and then sit down and nothing would come out, or, I'd go, zip up, wash my hands, and immediately have to go again. Sometimes I'd have to pee like 8 times in a row, and I was in my 20s!!!! I was offered some more pills, NO. I wanted to know WHY!? not just cover up the symptoms.
So here's me, in my current state, trying to live life, my bladder isn't functioning correctly, the right side of my upper body is numb and tingling and painful, my neck, back and chest are going into spasms, my knees start "exploding" when I step down it feels as though the joint is being blown to pieces, it's so painful I shriek like a maniac .. in the middle of work, stores, my house, etc. not so fun, occasionally I get stabbing pains in the bottoms of my feet, the left side of my face is numb and feels as though spiders are crawling underneath my skin, I am swiping at my face all the time due to the sensations, my body gets "zapped" sometimes in certain areas, sometimes all over which was also very startling and often painful, at any given moment, its like getting hit with a electric bolt, I begin getting flashes of light in my left eye coupled with the floaters, I can't breathe very well through my nose and have sinus pressure that is never relieved, I have bloody snot and post nasal drip that causes me to choke so violently that often times I would throw up, my ears hurt and feel full and "crackle" all the time, muscle tenderness everywhere, tremors for brief periods, my legs have a sensation as though "bands" are begin tightened around them, especially in my hip area, the vertigo is so bad I have to force myself to walk differently and stay close to something to hold onto just to stay upright and I panic about fainting so bad I have trouble breathing and it gives me nausea, my body temperature is elevated so I always feel like I am sick, and oh yeah, I get sciatica too. Many days I was so afraid I was dying or having a stroke or about to die I would just break down and sob uncontrollably. I didn't know how I was gonna live like this anymore, I was on the Internet googling symptoms every chance I got to try and find something, but alas, I had the MRI, so I thought I would finally, finally get some answers, and I didn't care how horrible it was, I just wanted something. I go in for the MRI, I wait, patiently, I call my Doctor... the tests were... "normal".......... my heart sank, What now? This, is not normal, what was happening to me was so far from normal I just sat there in shock for a bit, and then started bawling. My doctor then said, if I was still having my "symptoms" I should see a neurologist. At this time I was so fed up with doctors telling me I was normal when clearly something was severely wrong, I didn't go , and I continued to try and find an alternative option, or someone that could help me. I kept coming back to my ears being "messed up" so I decided I would see an ENT, and after another day in my dizzy hell, I finally gave up and called a neurologist as well.
I'll cut short my disappointment of hearing from the ENT that everything was "normal" although one $300 hearing test later there was "negative pressure" in my left ear, I was given flonase and told it should clear it up. It didn't. Though the ENT was the first to mention cervicogenic vertigo, but when I tried to dig deeper into that he dismissed it. Apparently, It's a controversial diagnosis. So with that I went off to see the Neurologist, praying I would soon find out what was wrong with me. After sitting down with him and an intern and going through my insanely long "list" of problems with them and going through a battery of physical tests, he tracked down my MRI results and came back into the room with them, He looked and said "Oh, it's all good, totally normal" and then turned to his intern and said "just a bulging disc in the cervical spine" Which set me on high alert, I asked why that would be considered normal when a lot of my problems revolved around my neck, he told me it wasn't "that bad" and to not "chase that route" as a solution to my symptoms. I began crying like crazy and he then told me he could do a couple different blood and nerve "tests" if I wanted, and then when I asked if it could be fibromyalgia, he told me that it was a wastebasket category but I could "go that route" if I wanted and see a Rheumatologist. Then he looked at me plainly and said "Can I ask you a question? Could this all be caused by stress?"
I left there so angry and crying more then I have in my life. Here I was with more questions, no relief and no direction except for more expensive tests and more specialists. But what he said about my bulging disc made me race home and start googling away again. I knew it was my neck now for sure, I was in two very horrible car accidents and had whip lash in both, as I sat frantically typing I came across a website,
www.upcspine.com
.
As I read, I started shrieking, THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHAT'S WRONG! I poured over countless testimonials and got more and more excited that I would finally be able to get rid of all these horrific ailments and be myself again, I researched more and more about upper cervical chiropractic care and then went immediately to the page that had a list of practicing Doctors in the field. It boiled down to 3 in my area and I went to check out all the sites, But reading Dr. Judge's story about his own battles with ailments no one could figure out I knew it was him I had to see, that he was the only one who wouldn't tell me I was crazy or think I was making things up. And then I read a testimonial from a patient, and I recognized her story right away, she was a former client of mine when I was a personal trainer.
I knew it was a sign and I called the very next day I got off work and was greeted warmly on the phone as I spat out "I need to see the Doctor right away, I'm really messed up." I told my story briefly and got my appointment for as soon as I could. I walked into Dynamic Life and I haven't walked away since. I have had to come quite frequently since February, but when you've been slowly building these symptoms and dealing with them for over 6 years it's tough to overcome it in an instant. Dr. Judge confirmed an atlas subluxation, and c2 as well. When I found out I wouldn't be adjusted on the first visit I burst into tears again. I was so desperate to feel some sort of relief from all the pain and I really wanted to see and walk like a normal person again. But my prayers were answered when I did get that adjustment, almost immediately I felt I could breathe better, that my throat opened up, I gained feeling back in my feet and right arm and my ears felt less full. I recall that night, as Dr. Judge called me to check on how I was feeling excitedly telling him how a multitude of symptoms were all but gone and how I had many moments of not being dizzy. I was thrilled, I had finally found the golden ticket. Over the course of the last few months, I have had all but a few of my symptoms completely eliminated, with the vertigo and floaters still fighting to stay with me, on most days I hardly even notice them though. When I do go "out of whack" my symptoms can get pretty fierce, but I am comforted by the fact that I am getting the right care and it's working, and I owe it all to Dr. Judge and his staff, who finally told me, you're not crazy, we can help you. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your body can't be fixed in a day after years of damage, be patient, have faith, and see Dr. Judge, you can have your body, health and life back.
Chiropractor's Details
Name:
Dr. Daniel Judge
Practice:
Dynamic Life Chiropractic
Has own X-Ray equipment.
Street Address:
725 S. Adams Rd.
Suite 198
Suburb/City:
Birmingham
State/Province:
MI
Postcode/Zip:
48009
Country:
UNITED STATES
Telephone:
(248) 593-0843
Email:
Birmingham@DLChiro.com
Web Site:
http://www.dynamiclifechiropractic.com/
Chiropractic Technique:
Blair Upper Cervical
