Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Update on Michael

While Arielle and I had our adventure at the oral surgeon - Michael was in another town seeing the neurologist.

You may remember two weeks ago he told us Michael does NOT have Parkinson's. He ran a bunch of labs for toxic metals, thyroid, vitamin deficiencies and ordered an MRI on  Michael's brain.  All came back normal. Praise God - and yet - Michael is still stumbling into things and off balance. He would never pass a test if stopped by the highway patrol.

Two weeks ago the neurologist was determined the shaking and loss of balance was "atypical essential tremors." This does not run in Michael's family. He started him on a med and told him, "If it is essential tremors this will alleviate the symptoms by the next time I see you."

It hasn't. He said, "We just need to up the dosage."

Meanwhile, we found out Michael's father was diagnosed with Parkinson's by one neurologist - they chose to ignore the diagnosis. Michael's dad struggled with loss of balance...but Parkinson's isn't thought to be genetic.

We're clueless. We see the base doctor again tomorrow and will discuss all this. We would like a second opinion to feel more settled. We'd like a neurologist to have ideas of what the problem could be rather than simply clinging to an "atypical" diagnosis - even while the drugs aren't working.  Our research seems to show  many docs would have started him on Levodopo (Parkinson's drug) to see if he responded to THAT drug - but this doc is 100% in favor of the DAT SCAN as the definitive tool for diagnosing.

To be clear - we are fine saying it's not Parkinson's. We'd just hope for a doctor who would have a clue as to what it may be.

Prayer Requests:
  • Michael has been unable to make contact with the VSO on base. This is the agent who walks a claim through the VA system. This should have begun months ago; was delayed due to outstanding referrals and now we simply can't reach this man and have tried for 3 weeks....in a variety of ways.
  • We've decided it will be a better bet to drive to Travis AFB; rather than  keep waiting on this office. 
  • MANY details need to be put in place for the retirement ceremony.
  • Arielle needs to be moved.
  • We still have quite a few decisions hanging in the balance right now - prayers for clear direction are always appreciated.
  • Yes - we crave answers as to why Michael walks like a drunk.

2 comments:

Linda said...

Praying, praying, praying - for all the details, for God to go before with these doctors, for absolute peace of mind with a diagnosis, for all of it.

Anonymous said...

Praying
Bre D