Just over two weeks ago I wrote about our upcoming trip to Cabo San Lucas for CCSVI treatment for my wife. I have delayed updating that blog because of a "simple" accident that has prevented a full posting on the results.
As for the trip itself, it went very well indeed. As others who have written on this site have noted, the facility in Cabo is a small hospital, part of the Amerimed Hospital Group, which operates with a very skillful vascular surgeon at its head, supported by wonderful doctor and nursing staff.
When we were there, two other ladies from Ontario (1 T.O., 1 Ottawa) were there, all very excited to be part of that weeks contingent for the treatment. Our situation was probably one that doesn't happen too often however. First of all, the three patients were all booked in for testing and treatment on the Monday - these tests involved a hearing test with a Ear, Nose & Throat Specialist, (the Clinic has noted that a lot of MS'ers complain of poor hearing but that treatment seems to improve the problem - why ? they don't know but are going to keep track of the patients on a "before and after" basis); then a full neurological exam with a variety of sensory skills being tested;
a Doppler Ultrasound is completed, and finally a Brain MRI (the only possible disappointment was that this was not an MRV which would have shown the "head" veins - the MRI "only" showing the lesions in the brain and whether any were active.
These tests were to be followed by the treatment itself. (In case you are wondering, in my wife's case as an example, the Doppler did not show any significant blockages - the Technicians comments were that in both Int Jugulars there was "slow flow", turbulance noted again in both, with some reflux in the right jug. The tests were done in both supine and upright positions. The Clinic's head, Dr Rafael Moguel, although a conservative surgeon, has come to believe that even if the Doppler shows no significant blockage, that venography should still be performed - this is after all the "gold standard" to truly see any problems.) Unfortunately the Clinic's resonator - the piece of equipment that shows the veins and wire - broke down !!!!!!! No treatment until fixed.
The next day, all three ladies called back for the treatment appointments. The Clinic also acts as an emergency centre for the cruise ships coming into and passing by Cabo. Did you guess ? - the day of the treatments, two (not one) TWO emergencies came in - a severe heart attack (that required angio and stenting of two of the major arteries) and a stroke victim who need stabilizing. In both cases, the emergencies take precedence so all three CCSVI treatments are put on hold.
By 8.30 PM, the emergencies were attended to (the stroke victim was considered "comfortable" but sadly the heart attack victim was in serious condition, the odds of only 30% recovery given - this information was not divulged by the Clinic, we were able to talk to the companions of the two in the Clinic waiting room), and it was time to get the MS'ers in for CCSVI treatment. My wife was the last, and her turn in the procedure room didn't come along until 10.45 PM. The procedure took 1 hour and 20 minutes, the Doctor advising me later that the Azygos was good and had not required any work, whereas both Int Jugulars were severely restricted in the 70% range and he had used "big balloons" to open them and he felt that they had accepted the ballooning well.
After treatment, patients are kept in a recovery room for an hour, hooked up to heart and blood pressure monitors, with a nurse checking on the condition of the thigh incision and the monitors every 5 minutes or so. At approx 1.10 AM, the nurse advised my wife to sit up, but ensure she had no dizziness, and then dress slowly. Well by now, my wife was very tired, it had been a long day, firstly waiting for the call back to the Clinic, then the stress of waiting for the treatment knowing that there were two emergencies being attended to plus there were two other MS'ers also waiting. Did she take her time in sitting up and then slowly getting dressed - Did you guess ? - no she didn't, she slid off the edge of the bed not realizing that her one leg was a little bit numb due to the local aneasthetic, immediately collapsing onto the floor before either the nurse or myself could get a hold of her. The result, a severely sprained ankle that could not bear any weight !!!!!
(To date, the ankle is still too sore to take weight for any lenth of time - I'm saving loads of money because she can't go shopping - but seriously this is delaying our being able to see if the treatment had any positive results on her balance, walking and dropped foot problems, hence my "title" that CCSVI treatment is no match for a sprained ankle.)
We were able to get back to the Clinic for post procedure check ups on Thursday, firstly the E.N.T. repeated the hearing tests - some improvements in both ears, left moreso, the right ear he initially felt had been damaged for some time, and although there was some improvement it was still far from "normal". Into the Neurologist who also repeated the tests she had previously administered and once again there were definate signs of changes for the better.
Its now been two weeks to the day since she was treated. She says she "feels" better, her head is clearer, and she sees better than before, and she has a sense of being more energetic (but the ankle is making that difficult to prove right now). One of the major changes has been in the need for night-time bathroom trips, sometimes not having to get up at all, but certainly only needing one trip vs the 4 or 5 she needed prior to treatment.
As I said in my first blog, the main objective of the treatment was to stop the progression; we won't know if that has been achieved for a while. Once the ankle sprain has healed itself we can check out the balance and walking ability, but until then I believe I can safely say the treatment produced positive results, no miracles or anything earth-shattering, but small improvements. We can only hope that as the brain is now no longer suffering from the toxic waste it has endured for the last almost 15 years, that gradually it too will heal itself little by little. Thanks for reading.