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Half of my leg is numb

I suffered a gunshot wound 1/4 of an inch away from my lower part of my spine. Thank god I didn't become paralyze.
After surgery (repaired my intestine and colon) I woke up and I had no feeling on my right top part of my thigh but, I can move my toe and feel from the knee down but from my hip to knee is numb. So far the doctos have said i have no motor or sensory nevers on my thigh? I felt like pins coming out of my leg the first days then my knee was swollen pretty bad. 1 month later i can walk with 1 crutch and not feel as much pain as before but its still numb. I had an mri done and read this on the report

1. Abnormal signal lateral to right psoas muscle and medial to right iliacus muscle suggestive of fluid. Atrophy of both muscles. Cannot exclude inflammatory process at junction between these two muscles in right hemipelvis.


2. mild dextroscoliosis of the lunar spine.

3. Prostate gland is upper limits of normal size

4. Small amount of edma within superior right hemisacrum.


Im 22 years old in bed for 3 weeks straight and I still cant walk right,no feeling on my thigh, and its hard for me not to just break down. This is my first time experiencing this and im having a hard time dealing with this. Maybe so explanation on whats wrong with me will make me feel better I still have to wait weeks to see my doctor again.
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Avatar universal
It would have been helpful if the physician who ordered the MRI would have sat down with you and told you what the radiology report meant in a more timely manner.  You say you will not see docs for weeks, so perhaps that's when it will be explained to you.  So, all you got for now is the hospital docs saying you have a nerve problem in your thigh, and some of the information in the radiology report.

I am not an expert at reading those MRI reports, but I CAN tell you that basically what you're experiencing is a muscle and nerve problem in the thigh right now that SHOULD resolve given time and treatment.  This is because the report in the first point says you got fluid and inflammation going on with your thigh muscles.  It also says in the fourth point that you have swelling (edema) in the lower spinal area on the same side as that thigh.  Put those two things together and what is PROBABLY going on is, subsequent to being shot and going through what must have been a horrendous operation, not to mention quite risky considering how close the wound was to your spine, this created a bunch of swelling, which is very typical after an operation of any kind and can go on for MONTHS, and this swelling will block normal fluid passing in and out of your legs, and will block transmission of nerve impulses since it's undoubtedly pushing on nerves that supply that leg.

Now, the way the nerves work that come out of the lumbar spine is, each vertebral body has a nerve that comes out of each side and goes to a specific part of the leg.  For example, and I cannot remember the actual lumbar spine numbers, but all nerves associated with one vertebrae will affect the most oddball locations, like the front and side of the thigh, the back of the knee, and two toes in the foot.  Imagine that!  There is not a nerve that affects ALL the toes, rather just a couple!  Anyhow, the lumbar nerves affect diff parts of the legs, from top to bottom,and kind of wrap around in a curvy way, thus it picks up just certain parts.  The nerves that affect your upper thigh are being pushed on from swelling from the injury and surgery, with several lumbar vertebra being the source.  In addition to that, all this swelling is also goofing up the fluids in your leg, which can include pushing on blood vessels, muscles, and nerves.  You're all blocked up.

Now, one time I was in a car wreck and I tore up my ankle, it had to be sewed up and casted, and in about six weeks, they took the cast off and talk about swollen!  Good grief, it looked crazy.  The hospital didn't do anything about it, and in a couple more weeks I was released.  So, that's when an appointment with a top orthopedist was arranged, and HE was able to stop that swelling for me with treatment.  He also improved some other stuff the hospital did on other parts of me that were wrecked up.  So, you see, when you finally go see whomever you have an appointment with, they will address this issue of your right thigh being numb, not working, and swollen and filled with fluid, to where you cannot use it.  He will take care of it.  But I am somewhat concerned that you are having to wait so long for relief, particularly as relates to the possibility of your blood vessels possibly being squeezed too hard from swelling.

Now, you may not be able to SEE the swelling, but the radiology report says it is all swollen and fluid-filled, resulting in no feeling as the docs said.  So, if you don't see that it's swollen, altho you should be noticing that by now, it's still swollen inside the skin and pushing on a lot of stuff inside there.  This needs to be relieved, and there are various ways to do that, including steroid shots, perhaps draining some of the fluid, looking for blood clots, checking for possible infection or possible nerve damage from the gunshot injury and/or the surgery.  Lots of scenarios as to how this can be fixed.  

I just wish you could see one of these specialists sooner rather than later.  SIGH.  Since you are 22, your parents maybe can work this thing out to where you can get in sooner, or if you are still in college, those docs down at the campus clinic can have a look at the situation (bring the MRI report, hospital records, etc.), or even go back down to the ER and they'll see you that day!  It's up to you, but I would at least try SOMEthing to be seen sooner.

You are going to be okay, the docs have ways of managing these effects of injury and surgery, and I am fairly certain that by mid-summer you'll be walking a whole lot better and of course feeling a lot better.  Keep us in the loop.  And remember, since you are injured, you are required to get special treatment, like dinner brought to your beside, and you are required to rest, rest, and more rest and goofing off in general.  SMILE.
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please i got shot on my butt close to my thigh, the doctor said no arteries were touched or damage and even nerves but my leg is numb i cant feel sensation from the back of the knee down to under my feet but i can feel sensations on top of my foot and by the right side basically its my left leg tho!
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