Friday, March 18, 2011

A Personal Story About My Neck

Today I'm going to tell you a personal story. It's about my neck. And, it might be about your neck.


About nine years ago, I had a lot of migraines. To make the migraines go away, I went to the chiropractor and had my neck adjusted.
 I felt better.
 But one day, I was playing catch with my 5 year old in the back yard and went numb on my right side. I couldn't see very well - things looked like the inside of a kaleidoscope. It didn't hurt very much. Actually, I felt kind of drunk.
 I called an ambulance. My 5 year old put away the dog and let the paramedics in.
To make a long story short, I had had a stroke. The vertebral arteries on each side of my neck were dissected.  See, we have major arteries in our necks:
They weren't made to be stretched and turned. My neurosurgeon (one of the best in the country) told me he sees it all the time. Most often in young moms.
I don't have any residual effects. I was very lucky.
I bring this up now because yesterday, I saw my regular doctor who told me she happens to have three other patients who stroked due to chiropractic neck adjustments. I just felt I had to tell you.
Now, when I have a migraine, I do this:

And maybe take an Advil or have a glass of wine. I let my husband make dinner. And I go to bed. 
There's an article on this issue here.
Sorry - I know this is off-topic. But, I just felt I should tell you.


1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness, what a story! How lucky you were and how smart to handle your migraines this way today. Migraines are just awful, but a stroke is worse. Take good care of yourself!
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete

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