I’ve come to expect dealing with the government on just about anything is always going to be a non-trivial exercise. Twenty years in the military followed by 13 contracting for them leaves me circumspect about my troubles with the VA. They fixed my hips, despite denying service connection, so still an overall big plus by any measure. Round 2 took over 7 years for them to recognize just exactly how messed up my c-spine is. They (VA) now await the paperwork on this:
19 OCT 20: Nothing really changed with the Gabapentin. Mostly I noticed stumbling around and dropping stuff all the time more than usual. Muscle relaxant before the surgery just made me constipated. The brace helps make uptime less uncomfortable, while my butt, quads, obliques and lo-back continue getting very stiff and sore. Feels like I been on my feet 10 hours every time I sit down. Pushing myself to walk 2 miles around a lake, whereas before the left hip went out I was doing 20 miles in the mountains for fun. Cannot stay on my feet for more than an hour or so without extreme discomfort. Been using the foam roller and bending/stretching every day for going on 2 years. Wondering if I should expect to make the brace a permanent part of my wardrobe? I already bought a new one last month since the Aspen velcro’s almost gone.
Overall improvement after the surgery was dramatic and steady for 4-5 months without constant pain from the injury. But it plateaued with this muscle strain/tension. I can now clearly tell I’m no longer walking right. Getting up stepping off, feels like the right side is a half second behind the left as I drag it along. Although maybe not really needing it, I seem to “want” to use the cane in the left hand and now always start with a little limp to the right. The related muscle symptom(s) has not changed appreciably since mid 2019. Top of the right glute and lower-right erector are pretty much continuously lit, like the right rhomboid at my C-spine. I feel exhausted at the end of every day, after not doing much. Pushing myself to do more leaves me wiped out. Sometimes the glute does this random twitching thing. Did it alot last year and up to the surgery. Stopped for a few months earlier in the year, started again, now including the right quad last month. Gabapentin?
I would really like a current medical assessment. What’s the story on this nerve root damage? Apart from PT, we have little-to-nothing for treating the symptoms, and it’s permanent right? Give me a call, email or message here if you or the Dr has any questions before our appointment. I have a couple more me and Dr. Donner are gonna talk about privately. We need to clear something up, and I want an authentic, targeted prognosis, not false hope or drugs.