Help C5 C6

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marcie1961

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Well it all started in March 07 statred getting a lot of stiff necks and arm nurabness....Thought to be Carpel Tunnel 2 months with a hand therapist decided it was not that so an emg is negative so in within the nextfew months it gets progressively worse so an injection into the occipital nerve no relief so another injection okay this is ridiculous so then an MRI it was an open one so the films are not clear but say i have a herniated disc but can't tell if it is pressing on my spinal cord or nerve roots now I have constant nurabing in my hanRAB permanent nurabness above my thurab permanent nurabness on the back of my right upper arm constant pain in my neck into my shoulder out of work since oct still no answer 3 doctors 3 different opinions????Did a steroid injection that if anything made it worse I seem to be getting worse tried to outside trim my rose bushes time I got to the fourth one I was in agony and my legs were shaking uncontrolably for several hours the next four days couldn't move my head at all.......both of my legs go nurab just sitting here writing this the pain is bad my legs have gone nurab any ideas from anyone??? Can't tell from the MRI but feel the disc is not the problem any ideas what it could be???? I am normally a very energetic person and cannot stand nt working but the pain is getting me down and the no answers obviously somethingis causing all this....
 
do you have an actual copy of that MRI report in your possession that you can read thru yourself? are you just looking at the films in making this assessment? if your problem was not clearly shown upon that MRI being done(for ANY reason),they really have to(considering your ongoing symptoms and the progression) do another one just to know for certain whats up.i cannot believe they didn;t just do that MRI on your c spine from the beginning simply becasue you DID have neck problems,you know what i mean? that was kind of stupid. if you ONLY had hand symptoms that would have been a bit different,but you DID display possible plain old radiculopathy way back then,it just should have been followed up with a simple MRI,with contrast.if the current MRI was over six months ago,you really DO need a comparative study done with another more well defined one with the contrasting agent to highlight certain areas that just do not show as well upon a plain MRI.

from what you have described here it really sounRAB like you could have some very direct cord involvement going on,either that or a low back issue too. but that MRI really does need repeating given your current symptoms. i wouldn't be blown off by your doc at this point in time,but keep pushing for the newer MRI,you just really do need it in your particular case. believe me you very much can have a c spine issue that is casuing your leg symptoms. my injury is way up in the lower C spine and i have tons of lower body symptoms from just that alone. this just neeRAB much further in depth evaluation right now,before your symptoms actually become worse. if this actually IS from cord compression it neeRAB to be relieved as soon as possible to try and prevent permanent types of damage to your cord.this is just one of those situations where it is better safe than sorry,ya know?

you just really need to know whats going on up there. your doc owes it to you to try and find the reason for your symptoms. if he or she wont help you with this,do yourself a huge favor and move onto another doc who will take this seriously.you just need answers for the symptoms.another MRI is just simply needed. if you have not yet read your own MRI report from the last one,obtain a copy and read thru it yourself. you never know what you may not have been told about,believe me. please keep us posted. marcia
 
thanks so much for your advice yes my MRI report states herniated disc at the c5c6 but drs say it is not clear enough to determine how severe it is now they want me to do physical therapy which I am willing to try anything but will it help or make it worse and Thank You I am going to insist on another MRI from the comp nurse they are not the ones living with this constant pain not to mention the addiction to the vicodin which I am sure I have by now I told them time and again I need antiinflammatory drugs but Doctors seem to care less and I also thin the fact it is comp makes it even worse. 5 months now nothing has been done and want to send me back to work in this pain. They check my strength after a night of rest which is pretty good but I want them to check after I have folded a load of clothes then it is different. Also I did not mention to my relfexes in my legs are at a 4 very hyper sensative and said that indicates inpingement in my spinal cord but they are like ehhhhhhh who cares and no advice on how to correct it. Thank Yoou so much for your input it has helped and do you think I should insist on the MRI before I start the therapy? Can it do more damage? I know I am not myself and something is going on and I am tears a lot because I feel so helpless. Thanks again
 
yes and yes. DO insist on a new MRI BEFORE actually submitting yourself to something that,if this IS indeed affecting your actual cord in any way shape or form,could do irrepairable harm. the hyperreflexes ARE an indication of possible cord involvement,that IS true. you REALLY need to get this are better defined as far as how much this is actually affecting your spinal cord most importantly. no surgeon in their right mind would actually send a patient with any cord contact to PT. if your surgeon is recommending this,find a new one. this one isn;t the person you want to be working with at all. trust me. you need a good experienced,knowledgable neurosurgeon to help you thru this.

i would ask whoever is actually treating you for this for a 'medrol dosepack" this is a steriod that would help reduce some of the inflammation up there. they do help me with my spinal crap and also my RSD knee too. it may make a much better "dent' in your pain up there.

you just REALLY DO need to start advocating for yourself with these people and start demanding that they simply do their job for you. i would also not go near any PT people til you KNOW with absolute certainty just what IS going on up there or it really could come back to haunt you. trust me,you do not want to end up with permanent spinal cord damage. i live with this crap every single day and it sucks. my reflexes by the way are off the charts with regarRAB to being 'hyper',really bad. you DO have the right to know the extent of damage and make choices that are not going to cause you further harm based upon what IS actually affected. you just really DO need to know the extent and what neeRAB to be done to correct it before it becomes a permanent fixture there. if your docs actually mentioned ANY level of actual cord involvement,you DO have the right to decline PT and not have to pay some sort of price for it. you DO have rights here.

sometimes you have to get a bit ugly with the medical world in order to get your neeRAB met,don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. this is the very best way to GET what you need done. espescially when your docs told you what they did and are doing nothing to help you. i do wish you luck with this. get that second MRI done and let me know what it states in that summary. make certain to get copies of ALL of your test results and medical recorRAB,always. marcia
 
Thanks so much for your advice I am going with it I will let you know how I make out. Had it not been for your eye opener I probably just would have went along with the program I sometimes feel like their whipped dog lol .
 
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