Hey everyone, another newbie here. I’m a bit lost at the moment, some experience and information from you all would be fantastic.
I’m a 28 year old male, who has started apprenticeship as carpenter about a year ago. I have been experiencing pain in my left arm for about 4 months now. It goes from extreme pins and needles in my hand and fingers to radiating pain down my forearm. Iv also had issues with pins and needles in my right arm and both legs (but my left arm is definitely the worse). I haven’t been to work for 4 months because everything seems to be amplified a lot whenever I am standing up straight with no slouch. It’s kinda like a rush of pins and needles spreads down my left arm and feet instantly and gets worse the longer I’m on my feet. If I form an extreme hunch it dulls down the sensation, but it makes me look like the hunchback of notre dame and im sure isn’t doing my neck any favours with the really bad posture.
I’m currently taking 150mg of lyrica and muscle relaxant twice a day. I am having side effects of memory loss, confusion and blurry vision with the lyrica.
Now I’m a bit confused on what to do at the moment as I have had two widely difference assessments by two different neurosurgeons. The first neurosurgeon I saw three months ago recommended I get nerve root block injections and rest with no physio therapy. If that doesn’t improve he pretty much said its about what you can live with or surgery is the only option.
Now the other day I saw a different neurosurgeon who is through the public and private system. He basically said he couldn’t see anything too wrong on my MRI scan relating to my left arm for the two seconds he looked at the MRI and shoved me out the door within five minutes at the cost me $270. He said it will fix it self and could take from six months to two years. He didn’t look anything over like radiologist report and basically said im lucky I didn’t have anything major like cancer. I will note he already had my file on record through correspondence with my GP. I was originally on the public waiting list to see him which was a two years wait list but I paid to see him privately. I will note that this guy is supposably big shot surgeon who is renowned in Australia for his big risky operations that no one else has done. It really seemed like ego thing with him and I was a waste of his time.
Does anyone have any idea how long I should wait for the nerves to fix themselves? Is the narrowing of the c6/c7 left exit foramen going to be an issue? Even if the disc improves eg swelling goes down?

MRI Result:
C5/c6
There is moderate to large right paracentral focal disc extrusion which measures up to 9mm wide x 4.2mm deep. This contacts and likely impinges on the exiting right c6 nerve root as it enters the exit foramen. No significant narrowing of the central canal or left exit foramina. Appearances are similar to an mri performed 5-6 weeks ago,

C6/c7
There is small slighter broader focal disc extrusion in a left paracentral location at this level which measures up to 11.5mm wide but is shallower at only 2.4mm deep. Also, there is a left uncovertebral joint osteophyte, these results in a moderate to severe narrowing at the left exit foramen, no significant narrowing at the right exit foramen this is possible source of impingement or irritation on the exiting left c7 nerve root.

Comments
There is moderate to large focal disc extrusion, right parcentral location at c5/c6 which narrows the entrance to te right c5/c6 exit foramen possibly irritating or impinging on the right c6 nerve root at this location.
A more broad based disc bulge and accompanying left uncovertebral joint osteophyte on the left at c6/c7, the combination of findings narrowing the left exit foramen and possibly irritating/impinging on the exiting left c7 nerve root.

images of injury
*edit*

Hi bryce86,

Can't believe that second neurosurgeon, what an idiot, heard that type of treatment before from others, not nice, seriously I've had enough of the Dr's who behave that way.

From what I know I would go with what the first neuro told you, I have a herniated disc at C7-T1 with nerve pressure and my awful pain is in neck, left bicep, forearm and 2 fingers, pain/tingling/numbness. Funnily also in my left leg/ankle/foot and 2 toes but am told there is no way that can be coming from the cervical spine, cervical problems only affect shoulders, upper back pain, arms and hands so it has to be lumbar, had an MRI and that's showing a bulging disc.

I'm wondering why your legs have pin and needles, have you had a lumbar MRI?

When you are standing up straight there's more pressure, you might find it also happens when you sit down too.

I think it does come down to what you can live with (or so I was told) or next step is surgery, more PT flared everything up and I am now in acupuncture to try and help with pain.

One well known Dr told me a few months ago, basically PT etc is just masking what's going on, if you can't live with it, surgery is next.

I did have a cervical steroid injection, it has helped maybe 60-75% depending on the day, sometimes it's very painful still.

A Chiropractor told me just yesterday just because we can't see the pain or an MRI doesn't look that bad it doesn't mean you are not in horrendous pain.
You mention narrowing, he also said the narrowing that I have could be a problem too.

Not sure if you've tried the injections? you can always try them, they work wonders for some people but not others, you just never know.

Thing is we can try PT, acupuncture to try to relief the pain, traction and other things but after injections don't work my Dr said surgery.

Look in to those injections to see if they are something you'd be interested in trying, be careful though, if you do try one, make absolutely sure the Dr uses an X-ray to guide the needle, run if he doesn't. They can have side effects so it's kind of like a gamble really.

You are suffering so something has to be done for you.

Take care of yourself....

Hi Sitke

thanks for the reply. Yes I have tried CT guided cortisone injection on the nerve but to no avail I'm afraid I didnt notice any change. I was going to try again but iv heard it can be really bad for you ligaments and muscles if you keep getting them. I also had some side effects from the cortisone as well it made me really depressed and sick. I didnt like it at all! especially the depression part as i have never experienced depression before and it sucked! I really feel for people who have to deal with that every day!

Yeah the legs numbness and pins/needles is strange considering there no nerve exits at the level of the spine. I wasnt sure if maybe it was a side effect of spinal cord compression. As i have very little fluid too no fluid between my c5/c6 from what i can see on the MRI on the computer. I might get a MRI scan of my lumbar to make sure.

The more i think about it the more mad i get now with the surgeons consultation. He failed to mention important observations like left uncovertebral joint osteophyte which pretty important with combination of the extrude disc. He also even used the wrong terminology calling my discs just buldges when in fact they are extrusions which means a tearing of the disc and are deeper. If two radiologist pick it up, he could of at least given my MRI more then two second look over. Its the little things like that really make me doubt his intentions.

Well thank you for your reply Sitke it was really helpfull. Also may I ask how long have you had your issues? Im still undecided how long i should wait before seeing a surgeon again.

Hey bryce,

I'd be really angry too at that neurosurgeon!! and you needed help and paid for it yourself, shame on him! Definitely would not see him again no matter how great he is supposed to be, it just helps talking to someone who is compassionate and listens to you.

I changed my Dr as she kept waiting and waiting for me to get better with no tests and things got much worse, I almost went bananas with upset.

They say you can have 3 injections in a row, time in between, but I'm like you, I had side effects, felt so sick to my stomach, sharp pains in my left chest area (not fun!) and itching, luckily one injection gave me some relief but I'm not having any more.

From a car accident last year I've always had pain in my neck and left shoulder but around the 5 month mark was when everything flared up, and pain started going in to my left arm/leg.

If you are in a lot of pain and it's affecting your daily life honestly I would go back to a neuro right now, not wait.

Your MRI is worse than mine and I'm in agony at times so I commiserate with you.

It's so awful to live this way every single day, just hoping suddenly it will just stop.

I know how hard it is to go to a Dr and be treated the way you were, bad enough you're in all this pain...I try to just go forward, what do I do next, there has to be something as you can't live that way...I'd go back and see the other neuro if I were you.

Don't know if you try heat on your neck and arms? that's the only thing that brings some relief for me, I bought a bean bag type "collar" from Walgreens, warm in the micro and sit with that around my neck.

I wish you all the best, let us know how things go? Feel better....

It seems to me that most doctors, whether they are GPs or Orthos or Neurosurgeons, seem to view pain as a nuisance for the patient and not something that deserves serious attention. I hope that one day they experience this severe, life-crushing pain because they seem to completely lack empathy for the suffering patient. Instead they only focus on mechanical and physiological problems - like robots without feeling. Is that what Med School is teaching them nowadays? If something does not affect mechanical or physiological function - then it is not a serious problem?

Whatever happened to doctors who pledged to ease human suffering?