Where oh where has Pinged been???

Pinged

In Search of Bagger Vance
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
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Location
Kansas City & Ludington, MI
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Here's the short version. While in Michigan in early January I fell and cracked the back of my head on the ice. Fast forward...

A week ago Saturday I played some golf in Colorado- 60 degrees and lovely. By Wednesday I went to play pickleball (kind of like tennis only played indoors on gym courts) and kept kind of being uncoordinated and hitting the ball into the net.

Thursday I woke up unable to stand and balance really- holding onto things to get around. I went to a chiropractor who assured me after a 90-second diagnosis that I needed an adjustment to my C5 and C6 vertebrae, and that I had a Vitamin B deficiency. He sold me some expensive vitamins, sent me home and scheduled a follow-up appointment for this past Tueday.

Friday morning I woke up even worse- and went to the ER. Docs did a 60-minute evaluation and said I had either suffered a stroke, or was becoming symptomatic as a result of a brain tumor!

After several CT scans, however- they concluded that when I fell on the ice a month earlier I had suffered a double hematoma which was putting pressure on my brain and I was likely to suffer a permanent stroke or brain damage without immediate surgery. THANK GOD I didn't listen to the chiropractor or I might not be alive!!

Had the surgery Saturday morning. (They drilled four large, thumb-sized holes in my skull to relieve the pressure.) Immediately my symptoms went away although I had/have one heck of a headache. I went home from the hospital Monday afternoon and am at home on a 2-week recovery regimen. Neurologist says I SHOULD be back to new in another 10 days or so. We'll see.

SO... that's my story. Crazy! :beat-up:

Steve
 
Steve,
We were wondering that. We hope everything starts feeling better and that you will be back on your feet soon enough. Thank you for letting us know. And of course thanks for going third person in the title...I love it.
 
Wow!! Glad you are doing better!! Any chance that quack will buy back his vitamins and refund your office visit??
 
Geebus! What a crazy story, glad you're getting better!
 
There is a reason Chiropractors get so much grief as there are a lot of quacks in the profession.

Glad to read the Dr's figured out what was wrong & you will be fine.
 
OMG what a crazy story. I am just so happy to hear you are doing better and the right doctors caught the problem in time. I wish you a speedy and successful recovery.
 
Wow!! Glad you are doing better!! Any chance that quack will buy back his vitamins and refund your office visit??


Ummm... yeah. I phoned the guy from the hospital on Monday while recovering from surgery and explained the situation. I politely requested a refund of my $119. Today the check arrived: No apology, no note- just $119.

My GUESS is that guy wanted to get as far away from me as possible and he's probably already deleted my medical charts and records there.

I can tell you this much- if I had come THAT CLOSE to making a lethal misdiagnosis, I would pull down my shingle, close up shop and start looking for a job TODAY! I could not get up and look myself in the eye knowing how close I had come to a potentially fatal error.

Since then, I've talked with several nurses, several family practice docs, 2 ER docs, a friend who's an Ob/Gyn and even a NICU nurse. I told each of my basic symptoms that I told the chiropractor...

1. Fell on the ice a month ago.
2. Played golf on Saturday.
3. Struggled with coordination playing pickleball on Wednesday
4. Staggered into the office on Thursday holding onto every tree, bush, railing, chairback and handle to stay upright.
5. I could no longer hold a pencil, write or type.

INSTANTLY all the other doctors and nurses said: "Stroke or brain tumor! Go to the ER. Every minute wasted in a stroke is brain recovery lost!"

So my question is: Was this guy too greedy to let me walk out, too arrogant to think he knew everything even though it flew in the face of conventional medical wisdom, or just too stupid to have a clue what he was looking at when I presented my symptoms in his office?

Suffice it to say- I'm DONE with chiros.

And for what it's worth- There has been some research showing that women particularly are subject to sudden onset strokes as the result of having their necks cracked by chiropractors as it dislodges placque from the carotid arteries. (spelling?) So you gals be VERY careful before having a chiro jerk your neck around. The chiro advocacy sites have very carefully outlined strategies to deny any wrongdoing and fight any malpractice suits that are the result of strokes resulting from "adjustment".

Steve
 
Glad to hear you're doing better, and welcome back to THP!
 
Lots of training go into being a chiropractor, but they are still not medical doctors in my mind. We have had this debate before on this forum. I will never use one again based on my own experiences and the fact that it was temporary relief that only made me worse over time. It was later diagnosed as something MUCH more serious that I had to have worked on.

But others have had good experiences with them and swear by the treatment they have received.
 
Man, thats a crazy story. Im glad that your back here with us, im sure those 10 days will fly by.
 
Now you have to get caught up on all the contests coming up Pinged.
 
holy crap.... dude, glad you're ok and back at THP!
 
Glad to have you back Pinged.
 
Scary story--glad you got it taken care of in time.

And welcome back; we've missed you.
 
Wow. Glad you're doing better. This could have turned out so much worse. My wife's cousin fell on ice last week and was laying in a pool of blood for 10 min before someone found him. He fractures his skull but the chiropractor said he'll be fine with a few adjustments:laugh: (actually, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital and is doing fine).
 
My first girlfriend in HS crashed on a golf cart and also suffered a hematoma. It almost killed her but she got through it fine in the end. Those things are scary. So glad you caught it and were able to get surgery in time. Must have hurt like heck when you fell on the ice.
 
My first girlfriend in HS crashed on a golf cart and also suffered a hematoma.

Isn't a hematoma just a bruise? (Not trying to be a jerk. Just trying to understand how it could be life-threatening.)

How did she crash on a golf cart?
 
They're like hemmoraghes...internal bleeding, right?

Glad you're good, Pinged...guess the saying isn't true, you just might need something like you need a hole in your head. (Or four.)

(You know what saying also isn't true? "It's like learning to ride a bike." I had to re-learn to ride a bike...your body TOTALLY forgets.)
 
wow ya thats crazy. glad that u got things square and got fixed quickly! have a speedy recovery
 
Isn't a hematoma just a bruise? (Not trying to be a jerk. Just trying to understand how it could be life-threatening.)

How did she crash on a golf cart?


Yeah that link explains it. I think you're right as a general matter, HL; I should have clarified that, like Pinged's, it was under her skull. My recollection is that, when she was 13, she was a passenger while one of her friends was playing around and flipped it when taking a corner. She flew out and cracked her skull on the cart path.
 
Replying to the comment where you quoted me...

I had seen a Doctor and a Chiro for a back issue and they both gave different advice. The Chiro was a friend of my boss and gave me a super cheap rate so I went with him and in time he got my back problem resolved. However I did notice that I received the same treatment everytime I went in and never was diagnosed except the initial visit. In other words, never looked at x-rays or evaluated after months of treatment.

Since then I have become friends with a guy who trained under my old chiro and he told me I was lucky that everything turned out okay. He basically told me that my chiro gave the same treatment to people that came in with different problems.

With you telling the chiro you had a head injury and the problems you were having he should have realized that this was beyond him and you should seek medical attention. The fact he wanted to make a few bucks and schedule another visit is purely unethical and you are right in your comments that he should close up shop!!
 
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