[cali4nia]

Hi all, wow this seems like the kinda' place that can really help me deal with how I am feeling. Seems like a lot of support around here! xo

I'm a 37 yr old mom and for the past 20 years I have suffered from periodic neck pain. Every now and then it would seize up and I couldn't move for about a week then I would slowly start to feel better and then I would carry on like normal till the next seize up. I would go to physio, chiro and massage and it would get me back on track till the next episode. On July 3rd my third son was born, 5 weeks later on a Friday night he had a life threatening episode where he stopped breathing and after a frantic 911 call and several tests by noon the next day the Dr came and sat down in our hospital room and told us that our baby was having seizures and that we would be medi-vac'd to Vancouver children's hospital the next morning (a whole other story, but he 's home and doing great now with a diagnosis of nothing other than epilepsy!) So that day the Dr. came into my room and had the "talk" with me, during that talk, my neck seized again and this time it was excruciating and landed me downstairs in the ER getting some pain control. This was on August 15th, 2012 and I'm still waiting for this seize up to go away! 5 days ago I had a CT and this was my result:

C4-C5:small posterior disc protrusion w/o central canal stenosis
C5-C6:mild right posterior lateral disc osteophyte complex formation and a small posterior disc herniation, resulting in minimal central canal stenosis and effacement of the right lateral recess.
C6-C7:tiny posterior central disc protrusion and minimal posterior disc osteophyte complex formation with minimal central canal stenosis.
C7-T1:minimal posterior disc osteophyte complex formation without significant central canal stenosis.

I'm still waiting to see a specialist to go over these results, I've seen my family Dr and he said I most likely need surgery. They seem fairly mild, minimal, tiny etc...why am I in soooo much pain? I can't turn my head to the left AT ALL, I have harsh burning sensation all down the left side of my back into my hip, all down my left arm, in my shoulder and up the side of my neck into my jaw. At times I'm unstable on my feet, almost clumsy feeling, and suffering from incontinence (apparently from child birth?) and always a sensation of feeling like I'm getting the flu (if that makes any sense). Anyways I guess I'm just wondering if anyone can give me some info on my results? Are they what's causing my pain if they are so minimal?

Thanks for reading...Happy Sunday to all!!

[cali4nia]

I'm just wondering if many people have experienced false results with CT or MRI? I would like to hear your story!

I've had x-rays...they showed stage 2 DD disease
I had a CT it showed:

C4-C5:small posterior disc protrusion w/o central canal stenosis
C5-C6:mild right posterior lateral disc osteophyte complex formation and a small posterior disc herniation, resulting in minimal central canal stenosis and effacement of the right lateral recess.
C6-C7:tiny posterior central disc protrusion and minimal posterior disc osteophyte complex formation with minimal central canal stenosis.
C7-T1:minimal posterior disc osteophyte complex formation without significant central canal stenosis.

and according to my Dr this is a "normal" CT and walked away from me. I am now waiting for an MRI to show something??? if this is normal, then why did my GP send me to see a neurosurgeon?? I'm so confused and frustrated

I hope to god the MRI shows something, I really need my pain to go away! It's been 9 months of hell.

I need some hope here!

[Leesa]

I don't call a CT scan "normal" when you have herniations & bone spurs with a bit of stenosis.

Granted, it's not a "terrible" scan, but it's not normal.

Your GP sent you to a Neurosurgeon because X-rays don't show any soft tissue when the discs are. They only show bone. Your GP had no idea if you had herniations or not. The only way to know is to have a scan or an MRI.
And to get the best opinion, he had to send you to a Neurosurgeon. GP's need to cover their backside so they send their patients to specialists and it really is a good idea.

When you get your MRI, post it here and we'll try to help. God bless & take care. Hugs, Lee

[cali4nia]

So my MRI is tomorrow at 3:30 pm, hopefully I will have results within the week sometime. I will post the them when I get them. I have also looked into a private clinic to get a second opinion. It's just been so long, I mean if Chiro or PT was going to work I should have seen results by now don't ya' think? It's been 9 months...

[cali4nia]

I have heard that you can help a bulging disc or herniated disc with pt or chiro. But at what point would you give up? I mean there must be a "give up" point...for lack of a better term. How long does a Dr let it go before they decide "OK, enough is enough, this is obviously not going to fix itself".

Anyone experience this or have or are currently going through this? I have been going to chiro 3-5 times a week for 8 1/2 months and not a bit better, some days worse actually! I did pt at the beginning but stopped because it made my pain worse too!

Any advice?

[ginnie]

I would not go to a chiropracter without clearence from a neurologist. I tried that a time or two with my GP's suggestion. It made my neck worse. If you have had no response thats good, quit now and get another option. Herniated disks can get worse, so see a good neurologist or neurosurgeon for MRI. I wish you all the best. ginnie

[cali4nia]

I have seen an neurosurgeon and he was a total jerk! I was sitting in his office, looking at a copy of my ct results (c5-t1 all have something, or so it says in the report) and he looked at me and said "your ct is normal" I don't see anything wrong with your neck...once I started to cry from frustration he ordered and mri...lets hope it shows more!

[ginnie]

I hear you... my first neuro surgeon was a jerk too. I actually waved bye bye to him and walked out, and yep I had an attitude! It took a bit to find those specialists who knew what they were doing. Don't give up about neurologists, they arn't all that way. My second surgeon was awsome, and had the bed side manners not many have. Keep your chin up, and seek another specialist. I also had trouble with a pain specialist. I interviewed four new ones. Now my team is great, and I am grateful I made the effort to find them. ginnie

[Leesa]

I agree with Ginnie about Chiros! Do NOT go to a chiro without the okay from the Neurosurgeon! You could cause permanent nerve damage or even end up paralyzed! I've had 2 different neurosurgeons tell me that by going to a chiro, I could end up paralyzed by being manipulated, and it was just for ME -- it was ANY spinal patient! So be very very careful!!

And yes, Neuros can be TOTAL creeps. After my 2nd surgery, and I wasn't getting any better, painwise, he had the audacity to say to me: "You can't have pain, I fixed you." How's THAT for arrogance??? In the meantime, I was sitting there in AGONY. What an idiot. After he took a 2nd look at the MRI, I dont' know what he saw, or if he was just trying to get RID of me, but he couldn't have been nicer -- he told me he'd do ANYTHING I wanted. Just ask. I was so stunned, I didn't know WHAT TO SAY! I was in the process of trying to get SS disability, since I could barely walk without assistance, and I asked him to write a letter to SS saying I couldn't work anymore --- and he did it immediately!!! I almost fell out of the chair.

So I think he was just trying to get rid of me. And he did -- I'll NEVER go back to that arrogant creep again-- i don't care if I'm bleeding to death. He's the one that disabled me in the first place, so why go back?

Keep looking for a decent doc. There ARE some around and I found a great one after this. Best of luck and God bless. Hugs, Lee

[Leesa]

Or Lord -- chiro. I hope you got a Neuro's ok before undergoing THAT.

Anyway -- make sure you get a copy of the report and bring it here. Yeah, I would have thought you'd have gotten SOME results by now after 9 months!

Are you taking any pain medications? If not, why? Won't your doc give you any?

Hope to hear from you soon. Hugs, Lee