NeuroTalk Support Groups - My story, could this be SFN? Please help!

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- - My story, could this be SFN? Please help! (https://www.neurotalk.org/peripheral-neuropathy/213388-story-sfn-please-help.html)

There is some ongoing new research into what alcohol can do to a person...even once a week use.

This link has some other links in it to those new papers and conclusions:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post1109420-353.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by glenntaj (Post 1112562)

--I suspect that B12 level may have some thing to do with this, as symptoms of B12 deficiency can mimic many other things.

I DON'T think this is an isolated small-fiber neuropathy. A small fiber neuropathy would affect sensory and autonomic functions, but, by definition, it would not cause muscular symptoms, as the small unmyelinated fibers underlie the sensory sensations of pain and temperature and many autonomic functions--they donot enervate muscle. But B12 deficiency can cause problems with both the peripheral nerves and the spinal cord, and given the variety of symptoms reported, it does sound as if you may have some spinal involvement. This could possibly be enhanced if there is any compressive forces in the spine or along the spinal nerve roots (have you had full neck/back MRI for disc bulges/herniations?--you are, after all, working a very physical job).

Hi Glen , and thank you for your thoughts!

I've taken the MRI of the spine, and it didn't show any compression. Bot I do know that I have issues in my thoracic spine. I do have damage to a disc in my thoracic spine which once or twice a year bulges and affects the dura mater which covers the spine. Its been like this for about 10 years since i damaged it while weight lifting.
After my first spinal tap, they found some slightly elevated levels, which they said could be due to a bulging disc. The tests were normal again after my second spinal tap. (I hadn't had problems in my thoracic spine for a long time then).

Best regards

I would say you are underestimating that thoracic issue.

You could be compressing the dorsal roots, and that would
be serious. It takes a special MRI to visualize the dorsal roots along the spine... here is a link that explains that:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread147771.html

I'd go easy on the weights if I were you. From what I have seen here on our spinal forum, doctors do not like operating on the thoracic spine unless there is no alternative.

I wish you had included this in your introduction.
Supplements may help with repair, but if there is substantial damage, repair may be limited.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsD (Post 1112714)

I would say you are underestimating that thoracic issue.

You could be compressing the dorsal roots, and that would
be serious. It takes a special MRI to visualize the dorsal roots along the spine...

I'd go easy on the weights if I were you. From what I have seen here on our spinal forum, doctors do not like operating on the thoracic spine unless there is no alternative.

I wish you had included this in your introduction.
Supplements may help with repair, but if there is substantial damage, repair may be limited.

Thank you for your thoughts.

It could well be that I'm underestimating the issue, but I've had it for so long and it haven't really bothered me much.
In addition I don't really understand how a thoracic dorsal root problem could affect the legs, as the thoracic nerve roots innervates the thorax and not the legs. My problems involves muscles and skin innervated by multiple nerve roots , and all of these can not be compressed? I find this very hard to believe.

The weights are self limiting these days, only some push-and pull-ups to maintain some muscles.

Regards

You can have leg and foot involvement from compressions arising from any cervical issues too.

Nerves from the lower torso hitch a ride on other nerve bundles and travel together to get to the spine and brain. This is why we have "referred pain"...

And there is this... Dr. Sarno has spent many years working with people who have various back issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Sarno

He believes that stress causes some people to tense up and this then reduces blood flow (by compression), to various body parts, which then react with a type of ischemic pain.

His book is quite interesting. He has been on 20/20 news show here and worked with thousands of people who improved. What I found interesting is that when he fixed their spinal issues, then they went on to develop IBS or GERD.... laterally transferring their tension to new systems!

The body is a complex soup of chemistry, and interrelated systems that is amazing. And until the newer high Tesla MRIs arrive for testing humans, some soft tissue issues just do not visualize at all. Our concussion posters here are waiting also for the newer MRIs, because then the brain damage might show up where now they don't in conventional MRIs.