i tried to google that test and i am not really getting anything baack on it.. i did ask y he wanted to so the test and he told me it was to see if he could do the surgery on me. i have very back head aches and there is a muscle spasm so bad at the base of my neck so bad it is bulging pretty far out now and i have been doing heat but it doesnt help. He told me he would like to do the surgery on my neck but the discs above and below may be too damaged to have the surgery and he wants to see in detail how bad it truley is. i did have the eeg and emg also as u know the mri. could you please explain exactly what happens during the precedure.

Yes, It is a proceedure to see if surgery is possible. I also found out that there are more things that can be done with this proceedure. It can also be a minimally invasive kind of sugery. If he is concerned at all of the verterbre above and below your damaged sites, I would not do the surgery. Your spine would have to be strong enough to hold the hardware. I think that is what he wants to do this for. Look up Endoscopic Epiduroplasty as well. It mentions the myeloscopy. There is a needle, and a scope involved, where he can see on a screen just what is going on. It is also a proceedure that would leave open the possilility of surgery down the line, or at a later time. This is investigative type of proceedure. I did not read anything on four sites, that addressed the pain issue with this proceedure. Maybe the Anesthetic used to numb will make this test not so bad. I will keep looking. ginnie

thank you soo much .. at this point in time i am petrified.. i also finally got a referal to a pain management doctor who handles the prescription part of the pain management.. my old doc. gave me percocets before he discharged me and again they do not work..

Hi, and I sure don't blame you for being scared. It is scarry, and I wish there were something I could do for you. I did a bit more research. Google in " What is Myeloscopy', or 'what is Epiduroscopy'. I found out that very few physicians are doing this proceedure anymore. Several articles were about that. It is largely ineffective from what I read. Not much written about the pain factor either. If percocet does not work, Morphine does. I am on a low does, and use percocet for break though pain. I know that is a scarry drug too, but not if you really need it. I was on a very high dose before surgery, and it was lowered quite a bit until my current dose. I have no desire to up the medication at all! It is very hard to reduce this drug too. It all has to be carefully weighed, the pros, and cons of taking a med like this. I don't like being on these meds either, but I want a quality of life. I may again try to reduce the amount, as I found out RSD doesn't like narcotics. I am caught between a rock and a hard place too. None of your decisions are easy. Keep looking into that test. It was also stated because of poor results, that many insurance companies are not covering that test. You may want to check into that part too. take care, you are in my prayers. ginnie

i do know he is not doing the test for helping for pain. just to see if my neck can handle surgery. But i do think it would be good toknow how bad my neck actually is. So i know what i am looking at in the future. As far as the drugs i am finding myself doubling up sometimes due to the pain. What are the best ?s i should be asking my new pain managment doctor.

Hi cboncal,

I've been following this thread, and I'm in agreement with Ginnie.

If it turns out (whether you get the myeloscopy or not) that surgery is ruled out, then IMO pain management is your next best option. In some cases it may be preferable to surgery anyway.

Google: questions to ask pain management

I also have multi-level cervical issues deemed inoperative. I get the same headaches & muscle spasms. Some of the spasming is due to the stenosis, and some is due to the inflamation of the arthritis. One thing that my PM doctor sent me for was myofascial trigger point therapy, done by a CERTIFIED MTP Therapist (NOT a PT, chiro, or other massage therapist who claim they know the same stuff). It has done wonders for both my neck and other difficult muscle-related pain issues. In addition, I've had to strengthen my neck muscles, learn how to relax them (as much as I can), and re-learn some posture techniques and how to sleep to avoid strain on my neck.

I don't believe in recommending/suggesting specific pain medications, even in a peer-support capacity. I think that's best left between doctor and patient because not everything works the same for everyone, and there are many factors/medical issues to consider.

Your PM doctor may prescribe a muscle relaxer or anti-spasmodic along with a pain medication. Please be aware that if patients don't specifically tell their doctors that something isn't working, the doctor may not ask; they will assume that everything is ok/working, so speak up and be specific. There are many many medications in each of these classes, and while extreme care must be taken when using them, if one or more don't work, there are others that may be tried. It can take time and trials to find the right pain management formula (whether medication, other, or combined therapies) for each individual. Moral: Hang in there.

Doc

I am glad Doc. Smith came into the dicussion. He is so right about the medications. Please tell the doctor that what you are using isn't doing much good. There really are alot of meds to choose from. I hope he or she has compassion for you in dealing with your pain.
Because of the over all condition of your spine, just be real careful in making your decisions. Surgery isn't always the answer. That one test isn't going to give all the critical information he needs on the spine. Please continue to look into it, and read all the information. I sure do wish you all the best on this in what ever your decisions are. ginnie

i have been trying to research this and am having a hard time.. so what is this test suppose to do or is it just so he could make money. I will def speak up about my medicine problems..and thank you for the advice

From what I read, this test involving needles is suppose to tell him something about the condition of your spine. However this test isn't done alot as the results don't really come out well. Also more than one area in your spine would have to have a needle applied to it. I would seek another opinion before I had needles in my spine, just personal opinion. If he can't see on the MRI what is wrong, I don't think this test will do much good. It can be a ploy to receive money, and sometimes the test is NOT covered in insurances. That way you would indeed owe the doctor and the hospital. Check into insurances. I wish I had the ability to send the sites to you that I found. I may be able to do that with your home e-mail, if you would care to share that with me. You can Private message your information, and I can attempt to send the web pages to you. I am not that great on the PC, but I sure would give it the good old college try. I am finding alot of information on this, you just have to go down the list of sites and look at each one. No one site gives you all the information on this test. It was maybe 6 different sites I went to. ginnie

I am talking to this good woman with the back issues again. I have found alot of information on this test she wants to know about, but she is unable to find the same information. I am lousy on the transfering of information from the Web. to someones home e-mail. What is the best way to do this so I can send her some of the pages with all the information on the test?. this is where my lack of ablilty gets in the way. thanks ginnie