Hello, all!

I'm sorry I've been absent for so long...four years maybe? Anyway, I hope everyone is doing as well as to be expected.

I have a question for anyone who is willing to read it and give advice. Any and all responses are appreciated

With my rsd, I've always had chest pain and intermittent numbness in my arms in addition to the other rsd symptoms. Sometimes it's not as frequent, and other times it's more frequent. Anyway, the doctors have basically said it's rsd related, nothing wrong with my heart, etc etc. About a year ago, my primary doctor - whom I absolutely love! - was doing some tests to make sure that there was nothing she was missing with my rsd that she could find out before putting my on a treatment plan and such. She scheduled an MRI of my brain and neck, both with and without the dye. After the results came in, she discovered that my C3 and C4 discs are torn and bulging. In an MRI I had two years prior to this, there was no sign of tearing or bulging. With this region of my neck, the symptoms include intermittent arm numbness and weakness (C3) and chest pain (C4). I know these symptoms are also involved with rsd. However, these symptoms have intensified and become more frequent and severe within the last few months. I know I've been under a lot of stress with school and work, so I know this can definitely have an impact on this from the rsd perspective. Also, I don't sleep all that well (shocker...lol). On the other side of things, I know that my neck can also contribute to these symptoms.

I guess my question is this...I am scheduled to visit my primary doctor in about a month or two, but should I consider scheduling a visit with the neurosurgeon with whom I met with after the MRI results first? My chest pain and numbness have definitely intensified, but I know I can deal with it I guess (though I am unsure if this is necessarily the right thing to do for my health or not). I know when I visit my doctor, I'll bring up the worsening symptoms, but yeah. I don't like missing my college classes, but I know that my health should come first and that I do have some afternoons off and a few classes I can miss if absolutely necessary.

Thanks!

I am very sorry to hear what you are going through.

I guess if it were me I would have a number of questions. The first is...what exactly does it mean to have torn and bulging discs at C3 and C4? I know what it means but what I mean is what does this mean in terms of your health and the current state of the situation? Second, is there something that can be done to "fix" the situation like surgery or whatever? Third, what are the risks of such a surgery/procedure? Fourth, what are the risks if you DON'T correct the problem (ie...will you continue to get worse, could this end up being a very serious risk to your health, etc)? Then...you really have to weigh the risks of correcting the problem with those of NOT correcting the problem and make the decision that is best for you. Obviously, having RSD really throws a wrench into the situation because you will have additional risks of spread, etc if there is a surgery or anything involved in correcting the problem (that is assuming their is a way to correct the problem...you will have to forgive my ignorance in this as I have no personal experience with it).

I'm not sure which doctors would be the most helpful to you is answering all of these questions and in helping you to decide what treatment plan is best for you at this point in time...but I suspect you will want to talk to several of them. And you will definitely want to make sure that whoever is treating you for your RSD is well aware of what is going on and can advise you from that end. I'm pretty sure I have read that there are things you can do to help minimize the risk of spread if you do have to go in for any sort of surgery or invasive treatment for this.

I also think that you should definitely hold off on ANY treatment options until you feel very comfortable with your decision about what to do. Too many doctors seem to like to pressure patients to go ahead with something before they are completely comfortable with the situation and before they can come to terms with and accept the possible risks. They tend to play on our desperation to get better...though thank goodness you do not sound like you are desperate and instead are just trying to calmly gather your thoughts and information. So when it comes to whether or not you should see the neurosurgeon...I say that you should do whatever you feel most comfortable with. If you feel that they can give you information to help you make a decision about this or understand the results of your most recent MRI...then by all means go and see them.

Take care and good luck.