Weird Back Problem Advice Needed

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tito1411

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Hello all, this is my first post and im looking for anybody who may have a similar problem. My long story started at 13 years old when one day I woke up walked to the kitchen and got this sharp pain in my lower back that knocked me to the ground. Two weeks were spent in bed and no doctors could find anything wrong. I was active and played sports, rode bmx, and did just about anything a kid does. From time to time I would get this sharp, sharp pain in my lower back and I would drop to the ground unable to move. Somewhere along the line I figured out that I could lay on my back for 10 or 15 minutes and the pain would be gone and I could carry on like nothing hapenned. More trips to the doctor only to have my parents be told that I might be faking it. They didnt believe it until I fell to the ground in the Western Sizzlin parking lot and about 10 minutes later got up and walked away like nothing was ever wrong. Doctor after doctor examined my back and found nothing wrong until one doctor in Florida said I had a Spondylolisthesis. Since then I have been to several more doctors and a chiropracter who showed me my xrays and could find nothing wrong with my spine. This pain has been coming about every 4 to 5 years almost like clockwork. In between the attack I can do anything and everything without a problem. I am very active and lift weights, run, box, do yoga, lots of stretching and core, and practice jiu-jitsu. Here recently I have figured out that if I sleep for longer than 7 hours my back will knot up and I will get a list to one side. If I stay on my feet eventually it gets so bad that I cant move an inch. However if I go sit in my computer chair the list will go away and everything wil be back to normal in about 15 minutes. I can then get up and take off like nothing was wrong. Ive been sleeping for less than 7 hours a night for the last 9 months and not a peep from my back but Friday I forgot to set the alarm clock and woke up after 8 hours of sleep to have my back knot up again. I sat in my chair and 15 minutes later took off and worked all day without a single complaint from my back. I dont think I have a Spondylolisthesis because that is a physical defect that wont come and go like my pain does and I twist my back every which way it will go when I do yoga and I dont feel any pain or discomfort. I think this is some weird muscle spasm issue. Its weird how it comes and goes just by sleeping for too long. Im getting ready to go see a doctor again but surely someone else has had this problem.
 
There is one possibility that I bet no one has looked into. You can have a problem with the blood vessels in your spine including a stroke. A TIA(transient ischemic attack) in the brain is a very small stroke that resolves on it's own in about 15 minutes or even the spasm of a blood vessel. It can happen in the spinal cord too. My brother-in-law had it and it's really rare. But what you discribe is exactly what he had...sharp back pain, on the ground unable to move then okay after a while. He eventually had a major stroke of the spinal cord that did a lot of permanent damage so you are wise to check this out.

While I doubt you have this rare condition, I bring it up only to point out that something is wrong and it's time to see a neurologist or spine specialist for evaluation. The next time, you might not get up. Remeraber, the spine is part of your brain and if you were fainting instead of falling down, you'd be seeing someone to get to the bottom of this. Time to start really investigating.

good luck..............Jenny
 
Thank you Jenny, I wanted to hopefully find someone else out there with a similar experience. Im going to see a doctor soon and maybe they can find something wrong this time and Ill know what i'm dealing with. CT huh, this whole thing started in Bridgeport! :)
 
have you ever actually ahd an MRI done on your back at all? what jenny stated is true, but you can also have a couple different types of actual vascular malformations in or around your cord(they happen in the brain too) that would ONLY show up on an MRI. i had, still have part of whats called a "cavernous hemangioma" that i was told was congenital, kind of my 'birthmark" but in the middle of my actual spinal cord. this is a veinous fed type of lesion but you can also get what is called an AVM? an arteriovenous malforation that is arterially fed too.

the early onset of these episodes really would kind of dictate that whatever is going on there just could have been there from birth and it just showed itself, usually with a small ooze if it is the veinous fed lesion,when you had that very first episode. if you have never actually had any type of MRI that shows the cord clearly, you really would not have any other real way of actually knowing it was there at all. it would not ever show up on simple x ray, and not always real well on CT either unless you ahave had at least a small bleed. but this should really be looked into with a contrasted MRI if possible. i would NOT settle for just a CT with this, no way given how your symptoms have presented. MRI would give the clearest picture for this type of possible problem espescially if they use a contrasting agent too on you.

i did not actually find out i even had this sucker up in my c spine area cord til i had herniated a disc right above it and it just 'showed" as an 'incidental finding' on my MRI report. i was like around 39-40 years old and never knew it was there. if you have not yet had that very crucial MRI, you NEED to have one now. hopefully whatever is going on will show itself. please keep us posted, Marcia
 
Thank you Feelbad. What kind of symptoms were you experiencing because of this? None of the doctors have done an MRI, just taken X-Rays. Where should I start as far as doctors go? Should I go directly to an orthopedic surgeon or a general practitioner?
 
well, depending upon just who you have been seeing like a neurologist or some other specialist, they can refer you for the MRI. or your very own primary can also do this for you too, mine has done ALOT of my ongoing needed MRIs. alot of what would come as the 'next step' in all this would be dictated by what does or does not actually show up on that MRI, you know what i mean?

i would just see your primary for now to just obtain that very badly needed MRI that quite honestly,given the presentation of your symptoms an length of time this has been going on in you, should have BEEN done a long time ago. i cannot believe that no actual doc or espescially any level of true specialist would not have ordered this very basic test on you. seems kind of negligent considering what the symptoms showed, ya know? a simple x ray will ONLY show the harder/boney structures and not that very important inner column area down to your cord level where just about anything could have been going on but nothing would have showed up on that x ray.

since this has just been a long ongoing problem, your primary owes this one test to you since it is HIS or her job to try and find out what any level of medical problems we have going on actually are being caused by. once that diagnosis gets determined it is also their job to simply refer you to the appropriate specialist for the best possible care if the problem is just way too over their heaRAB.

i have been very lucky with my primary and him just doing all that has been needed to be done with me and my many major medical issues that he sent me for tests for then got me to the appropriate doc for the job. it is just part of your primarys job to help coordinate all of your ongoing care.

but do see him and ask him for that very needed contrasted MRI. that MRI is just your main issue right now to just get done. whatever shows up, well, you just go from there. but that should just have been done ya know? and using the contrast just helps identify certain findings within any area that gets scanned. some things just do not show as well without it vs with it. just get that done as soon as you can. hopefully it will at least show something that can be diagnosed as the base of the problem. just knowing what IS causing symptoms in our bodies is a huge deal in and of itself.

unfortunetly,any true symptoms of actually having any type of vascular malformation in your cord can vary greatly depending upon just hwere it is and what is being affected by it. my biggest thing was this very huge 'perception' that felt like someone was trying to litterally pry off my shoulder blade with a crow bar. it was this insane feeling/perception of actual torqueing and prying and a huge feeling of alot of pressure kind of pushing 'out' right there too? i kept waiting for the alien baby to pop out from under my freaking shoulder blade on my right side. it was just THAT intense for me. cord stuff really is much more 'perceptionary" in nature than like the radiculopathic sensatations you get from like nerve involment strictly in the spine area with nerve compromise or affectation, with just the nurabness and tingling and nerve jolts stuff running down the arm to the fingers?

i can always tell now just what is from my cord damage crap and what is my c spine mess. any actual symptoms of cavernous hemangiomas or the AVMs are just very highly individual and can affect just about anything and in MANY different ways too. sorry i could not give you a better symptom list here, but its just the way this particular area is. just concentrate on that one main goal of getting that contrasted MRI done right now. the rest will be determined after that gets done. good luck tito and do please keep us posted. marcia
 
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