So he must "think" he knows where the damage is if he is suggesting surgery ... ?? Any idea what caused it yet?

Cherie

Uh oh....

Thinking about you, Princess without the Pea..

I'm saying prayers that you wont need surgery. They do sound pretty nasty!

i hate ortho stuff cheryl.
remember to get a 2nd opinion just for the heck of it, if you feel it may help.
good luck on your emg tomorrow.

Thanks Judy. I have 4 docs working on this! The Neurosurgeon is the best in this part of the country. I trust him. After the EMG tomorrow, he will have all the tests in and hopefully he can put all these pieces together and come up with a game plan.

I asked the ortho doc yesterday what he thought about cause. What could have precipitated this event. He said age, wear and tear, nothing, MS, hard to tell. There is definitely more than one thing going on. There is a pinched nerve at the C3/4 and possibly one lower, T5/6.

It's the upper arm that is causing so much pain right now and that's what's puzzling the docs.

I will let keep you all posted. This is just so weird..but typical me!

Do ya mean without the "P" Shappy

I could never be without YOU P Shappy!

Here's my story, and you know I'm no expert but I've been down a similar road.

My pain doc says there is no point in one steroid shot for nerve pain - so did my last pain doc. They are meant to be given in pairs. ESIs, Facet joints, and nerve blocks, all my current doc, would one, two weeks apart.

He did not flinch when I told him my first EMG - left hand - was normal, and my recent one - left arm and leg, were normal as well. He says that happens. Hard to detect a lot of stuff by EMG.

I only saw one neuro surgeon, who said pretty much the opposite - that shots were very little use - which I found to be so not true, they work wonders for me. And that EMGs pick up everything. Also not true, I'm certainly not imagining this pain and loss of use.



I'm not saying you are wrong to trust this dr, just consider the source. His tool is a hammer, your problem is a nail.

I have seen very few people *fixed* by surgery, especially where C spines are involved - go ask in the spinal forum. Please do attempt every other means of addressing this less invasively, and resort to surgery only as a last option.

And you know I'm saying this as a friend.

Thanks Cathy! The neurosurgeon is not the one who is recommending surgery. He is very conservative. I am waiting for the EMG which is today, and then HE will evaluate all the test results.

Trust me, surgery is going to be the LAST resort (if at all), not the first. The ortho doc (they're the ones who like to cut) is the one who is suggesting surgery. He's the new guy on the team. The neurosurgeon is the one I trust. He's the good guy.

As for steroid shots...well, I will probably have another one in 2 weeks.