Has Any One Seen This Before

this sounds like a case of "maralgia parasthetica" this is a pinched nerve in the groin that can be cause by pregnancy. The nerve runs down the front and outer thighs, it causes tingling and numbness and a pins and needles sensation. I had a minor case with both my pregnancy's. It sounds like you have a pretty severe case, if I'm right about what it is. Look it up and get more info.

Did you have an epidural? I've heard of strange things like these happening from nerve damage. Other than that I don't know..

K., I can see you have received quite a bit of response to your request, so I'll make this short and respond to your medical condition. Ask your doctor if your symptoms could be related to a possible genital-femoral nerve injury or damage from your last pregnancy. I suggest this possibility because that is what I had with my third child. He was big from the get-go and rested on said nerve throughout my pregnancy, which sent shooting and searing pain through my genital area (sorry to get so personal:) ) and down my legs. I also experienced quite a bit of numbness down the front of both legs and often could not walk. Fortunately this resolved a few months after I had him, but I have not completely recovered from it after 2 years. I hope this helps! I wish you all the best and will keep you in my thoughts!

I hope you find this timely information. I have in the last year discovered a wonderful world of alternatives to doctors advice and medicine. I have a fantastic Chiropractor in Bothell. Dr Ashley ###-###-####. I also have recently been referred on to something I feel is even more thorough that the Chiropractor. It is called Neurolink. Go to neurolinkglobal.com and find a provider near you. You will not regret it. I have had lower back, syatic nerve pain for years and pain in the epidural space after delivery of my second child. All this was cleared up in a couple of treatments. Best of health to you

A.

I would see what your doctor suggests...maybe even go as far as a specialist if you have to. It is such a hard call to make. I don't like abortions, but if it is for serious medical reasons (like being paralyzed, safety of mother type thing) I would have to say I would seriously consider it. I can't imagine trying to raise my son if I were paralyzed. Good luck to you. I know it is a very diffcult decision to have to make. I would weigh every possible outcome with pros/cons to help make the decision.

Oh my gosh! How awful for you! You should see a neurologist or get another obgyn's opinion before you do anything permanent. If the doctors were unable to find a cause, how can they tell pregnancy is the only thing wrong or that you could become paralized? If you feel in your heart you really don't want to risk it, then terminating the pregnancy is what you should do, but be sure you have covered all options to find out if this condition can't be remedied before you have to go through something so emotionally painful. God Bless you and keep you. Below is some info I found that you might find interesting and hopfully helpful. I'll keep you in my prayers. K.
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Case Report
History and Examination
This 26-year-old obese women, gravida 1, para 0, in her 24th week of pregnancy presented with a 3-week history of upper-back pain, leg paresthesia, progressive difficulty walking, and leg weakness. She did not have headaches, fevers, chills, or incontinence. She had received routine prenatal care, and her pregnancy was unremarkable until onset of symptoms indicative of a hemangioma. On evaluation, she exhibited profound myelopathy with 3/5 motor strength in the legs, a T-10 sensory level, and hyperreflexia with sustained clonus in the legs. Examination of the arms revealed only slight intrinsic muscle weakness of the left hand.

Neuroimaging
Admission MR imaging of the spine revealed an isolated C-7 vertebral body lesion with extradural extension and compression of the spinal cord, and evidence of T2signal abnormality within the cord (Fig. 1A and D). Gadolinium contrast material was not administered because of the patient's pregnancy. The lesion appeared to expand the entire vertebral body, but did not involve adjacent disc spaces or paravertebral soft tissues. Admission CT scanning revealed a honeycomb-patterned C-7 vertebra and large vacuolated spaces within the entire spinal column, including posterior elements (Fig. 2). These findings were consistent with a vertebral hemangioma.

Figure 1. (click image to zoom)
A–C: Sagittal T2-weighted noncontrast-enhanced cervical spine MR images obtained preoperatively (A), on Day 3 postoperatively (B), and 2 weeks postpartum (4 months postoperatively, C). D–F: Axial postoperative T2-weighted noncontrast-enhanced MR images through the C-7 vertebral body (T2-weighted fat-suppressed sequence, D), on Day 3 postoperatively (E), and 2 weeks postpartum (4 months postoperatively, F). Improvement of ventral epidural mass effect is seen postsurgery, with progression of paravertebral hemangioma (arrows).

Figure 2. (click image to zoom)
Preoperative CT scans with reconstruction of the lower cervical spine in sagittal (A), coronal (B), and axial (through the C- 7 vertebra, C) views demonstrating a classic honeycomb pattern involving the entire C-7 vertebra, consistent with hemangioma (arrows).

Initial Treatment
The patient was initially given glucocorticoid boluses (4 mg Decadron intravenously every 6 hours) and remained stable for 3 days on bedrest. On Day 4 of her hospitalization, she experienced a decline in motor function, prompting emergency decompression. Repeated MR imaging performed at that time revealed no changes in the lesion.

Operation
Anterior cervical corpectomy was performed through a wide, low-anterior neck dissection. Care was taken to preserve the right recurrent laryngeal nerve. Continuous fetal heart monitoring was performed by an obstetric nurse during surgery. There were no signs of fetal distress during the operation. Extensive bleeding was encountered during corpectomy; an estimated blood loss of approximately 2.5 L necessitated transfusion of 2 U of blood. Corpectomy at C-7 was achieved and osseous bleeding was easily stopped with bone wax. Extradural hemangioma tissue overlying the dura mater was partially removed, but extensive bleeding prevented complete resection. Cadaveric tibia allograft was used for a bone graft, and standard anterior cervical plate stabilization was performed. Several specimens were obtained intraoperatively and sent to the Department of Pathology for histological examination. No fluoroscopy was used during the operation.

Histological examination demonstrated fragments of bone with prominent vascular channels, vascularized fibrous tissue, and benign vascularized fibroadipose tissue, which were consistent with a diagnosis of osseous hemangioma. Postoperative MR imaging demonstrated subtotal resection of the hemangioma and persistent extradural compression of the spinal canal (Fig. 1B and E).

Postoperative Course
After surgery her paresthesias resolved and motor strength in both legs improved to 4+/5 within 1 week. At the time of discharge, the patient exhibited hyperreflexia and clonus in the lower extremities but was ambulating with a walker. There were no complications regarding her pregnancy at any time during her stay in the hospital.

At 40 weeks gestation, the patient delivered a healthy baby by normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. The baby's Apgar score was 8 and 9 and its weight was 3420 g. By the time of delivery, the patient was ambulating independently and had attained full strength in her legs, normal bowel and bladder function, and resolution of pain. Residual weakness and numbness of the left hand was minimal and did not interfere with her normal daily activities. Postpartum MR imaging demonstrated a decrease in extradural spinal compression, but extension of the hemangioma into the paravertebral space (Fig. 1C and F) was seen. A cervical x-ray film demonstrated a stable fusion graft and normal spinal alignment (Fig. 3).

Figure 3. (click image to zoom)
Postoperative x-ray films revealing lateral swimmer's (A) and anteroposterior (B) views of the cervical spine 4 months postoperatively.

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References
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Author Information
John H. Chi, M.D., M.P.H., Geoffrey T. Manley, M.D., Ph.D., and Dean Chou, M.D., Department of Neurological Surgery, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, California
Neurosurg Focus. 2005;19(3) ©2005 American Association of Neurological Surgeons


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Hi K. -
You need to see new doctors. I'm in agreement with others who've already responded here, and I'd be highly suspicious of ANY doctor who said "well, we don't know what it is, exactly - but another baby might paralyze you...". Ridiculous!

Also, another poster mentioned the possibility of MS, and I felt the need to address that too, since the mere suggestion of it is alarming. However, since your symptoms have not really *progressed* over four years, I doubt it's anything as serious as MS. I too have known people with the disease, and their symptoms have usually progressed rather quickly; at least over the course of several years.

I suspect nerve damage as well. Or some of the other problems mentioned here that are more orthopedic in nature. It really could be any number of things, most of them quite benign. I don't know for sure, but I wish you the best of luck. See some other doctors. I don't like the ones you have now. ;)

K.,
I've never heard of that happening before, but that doesn't mean anything. Your body changes so much with each pregnancy, that anything is possible. That is such a terrible position to be in. Talk with your OB and see a specialist if needed before you make your decision. But what it comes down to is your ability to care for your 4 yr old - if this will cause serious health problems - is that a risk you are even able to take? I don't consider myself in favor of abortion, but if there is a significant risk to the mother, then I think it's an option. Also if you do carry the baby, it sounds like there is a high risk of you falling while pregnant which has high risks for hurting your baby.

I wish you the very best in this decision.

Hello,
I am sorry for everything you are going through right now. It seems like you might want to seek out second opinions. The doctor can't diagnose what's wrong but they are telling you what might happen. The other question to ask yourself is, if you do choose to end the life of the child in your womb, will you always wonder if you would have really been paralyzed and was the abortion really necessary. If you choose to abort it is a decision that you will wonder about and regret for the rest of your life. I pray that you make a wise decision.
A.

you have so many responses to this, and I hope some of the suggested causes lead you towards discovering what is wrong. I know how scary and frustrating this is for you. Just after my son was born I was diagnosed with Limb-girdle Muscular Dystrophy. It is a very rare condition and dispite years of tests and specialists they didnt find it until it progressed more and I went to OHSU. After my diagnosis we decided to have another child so that my son would have someone who could run and play with him (my condition is a deteriation of muscles). The pregnancy was VERY hard probubly mostly due to the extra weight and I broke my foot at 6months. We know that my pregnancies have made me deteriate faster, but I would never trade my children for the world and my little girl is a ray of sunshine. It is your choice what to do about this, and I know you took all the precations to prevent it. I would suggest talking with your husband, praying, and seeing a new doctor. Just because someone holds the title doesnt mean they are any good at all. Good Luck, Jen
I do believe that if you beat the odds and got pregnant there was a higher power involved and He will watch over you and guide you through this.

i knew someone who had that problem, the baby was on a nerve, and she couldn't walk. but once she was born she went to the chiro a few times and is fine. sounds like a pinched nerve to me. its ultimately your decision, but i would def think hard about it. what if you try partial bedrest? would that help? good luck! thats tough..

The ladies that posted came up w/ some very interesting avenunes to look into as far as causes. Don't know what you were tested for but I would most definatly research this more, ultimatly to find out the true cause of this. Maybe this baby is telling you something that can solve the problems you've dealt with, give you and your doctors insight to how this is affecting you.
My daughter has a hemangioma on her back right over her spinal cord and I've always been concerned if this will cause trouble for her later on in life. They won't operate on it cus it will cause too much bleeding for her little body right now.

Your personal desision is what is right for you. Not for anyone else to judge. Many Blessings to you and may a cause be found and cured.

L.

It sounds to me like 2 different things. Sciatic nerve problems...however, your symptoms almost sound too severe for this...and the other thing would be MS. Have you been tested for MS at all? Your symptoms are SCREAMING to me MS. I have 3 close family members & friends that have MS, and what you're describing sounds exactly that. Have you had cat scans done yet?

I think the question to abort or not is not something anyone on a message board can tell you. However, I will say that if it is the pregnancy that did it, they are more likely to figure out what it is if you are pregnant than after you had the baby. I would think that it has something to do with a nerve being pinched or pushed against in some day.

I actually know someone that had something similar happen too. It turns out for her the cause was the nurses over extending her legs during pushing. She had an epidural so she could not feel that her body was being bent past its limit... It caused serious damage to her lower spine. She did end up having surgery but gets along fine now. She also had another baby, but delivered by planned C-section to prevent any undo pressure on her lower back.

Good Luck! I know this must be agonizing for you!

Good Morning K.~
WOW! you have gotten some great advice. I would definitely do some research first. Try WEBMD, I have always had great success at finding answers there. I was disgnosed with Hyperthyroid Disease (Graves Disease) 3 months into my 2nd pregnancy and learned so much about it that I recommend WEBMD to everyone.
I would definitely try to get a 2nd opinion. That would be freak me out to have a doctor tell me they arent sure what is wrong and that a pregnancy could paparlyze me, how do they it would, if they dont know what the problem is.
Let us know what the outcome is.....

K.,

I dont know what to say, are you married, what does your signifcant say, all i can say is my heart goes out too you. and ill be praying for you. if you need someone to talk to i am in spokane my cell is ###-###-#### and if i dont answer ill be glad to give you a call back leave me a message, but i am here for you.

K.

K.,

I have never heard this before. As far as aborting that has to be a personal decision. In my opinion if it comes down to a baby or your health you already have a child that needs you. If you really want this child than you have to take a chance. Whatever you choose is between you and your hubby. What is right for one person may not be for you. My best advice is pray about it. Good luck with your decision.

I'll be short & to the point. DON'T have an abortion. Obviously this child is meant to be. If you have done everything you can to prevent pregnancy & still got pregnant, there is a reason! Go to a Chiropractor if you haven't already. But if you have this baby, you will see that it has greatness to give the world!
Good luck with everything.

realistically, only you and your partner can really answer this question, however I agree with other commenters in that you need to definately get some sort of other care. With my 2nd son's pregnancy I had some bad sciatica problems and started physical therapy when I was 4 months pregnant until the end. This was WONDERFUL... I started because I would get shooting pain in my lower back/pelvic area and then my legs would just give out. A chiropractor would give you similar care as a physical therapist... a big bonus: massage after each session! (that should be once every couple weeks to once a week!) YEAH!!!
It turned out that I was "walking" wrong and was hyperextending my knees and screwing up my sciatica nerve. I went on and carried 2 more children after for a grand total of 4!!! Also--- there is a fantastic back/belly support you can buy at places like babies r us or the physical therapist can prescribe and insurance might cover (it's only $30 without) that works WONDERS!!! Contact me, mine might fit you and I'm DONE with it!

Only you are going to be able to know whats right for you. but i will say this... you already have one child to think about whats in thier best intrest? Can you take care of two kids if you cant walk:? Do you have that kinda of support in your life? Will you grow to resent this child if that happens? You cannot let anyone tell you whats right or not. Think long and hard. You and only you have to live with your decision. I wish you good luck and hope for the best for you and your family.

I would find a good neurologist and a chiropractor and try to figure out what is wrong first. It could be something very simple, or something very serious, but before you think about wether or not to have the child, I would figure out what is wrong with your body first. It's a very personal decision if you want to abort a child or not and that's really up to you to choose if you want to do that. . . no one else can help you with that choice. I wish you the best of luck in this, and please, let us know if you find the cause.