MRI

[nanecky]

Hi. I’ve had herniated discs C-5,6,7 for 17 years(work comp) finally was able to get a new MRI in May showing spinal stenosis has developed at those levels. I have extreme pain and numbness in my arms but mostly my left arm and fingers. My gait is normal if the room is lit but in darkness I am a Lot of balance issues falling into walls etc. My problems with my arms occur when I bend forward with my neck or even at the waist. I have other issues pain to a 10 across my upper back when I lay flat. That seems a little better with gabapentin and lamictal. Neurosurgeon didn’t do much of an exam and diagnosed the stenosis without radiculopathy or myelopathy. My pain doctor wants a new MRI with neck flexion and extension. He thinks my stenosis is exaggerated by these positions. Has anybody done this? BTW: he is waiting until after my epidural on the 5th hoping I will be better able to tolerate those positions

[Unnerved]

Hello, and I am sorry you are experiencing both the pain from the stenosis, and the pain of the physician circle that you can easily get absorbed into. It took me 10 years to find an amazing doctor who dedicated his life researching the very topic of the change in spinal compression and Chiari malformation based upon positional changes. I had this done, and it was amazing to see how compressed the cord can become on flexion or extension. The problem I came across is finding a neurosurgeon who accepts or respects the positional changes when considering surgery, I don't personally like the stance most physicians take in regards to our function, suchas the damage to our nerves should not be fixed until it can be proven by an EMG. Even with proof of compression, surgery was put off until the nerves in my arms were not just pinched but damaged, now I have loss of strength in both arms. I hear that no doctor will do surgery for pain, because my pain tranfered from my nerves to my muscles after surgery. That was my cervical spine..fused from 3 to 7, already being told I can expect more. Now my general practitioner is feeling my frustration because it's my lumbar now, I can't move my toe, I have drop foot..my doctor wants something done, and the neurosurgeons wants to wait until the emg shows permanent damage and then do surgery to prevent further damage. So even having a positional MRI done, its finding a physician who respects those findings above that of the nerve conductivity test. You already know it makes a difference, you can feel it, if you get the MRI done, this might be one that you take to a less invasive spinal laser institute if you have one available near you. They tend to be a bit more open minded since they would not be opening you up and altering your whole neck structurally, but that would be as a consult, i dont know the extent of your damage, but it couldn't hurt to see if they can help you first...take it from me, a multilevel open surgery can be more pain then gain..good luck

[Marcelle75]

What does the MRI say exactly? I would get another opinion from an orthopedic specialist. My GP and PM doctors thought I only had spinal stenosis. They looked at my images, but did not READ MY REPORT. I have congenital stenosis, which means my spinal canal is quite small compared to most people. I was sent for PT which easily could have made things worse as there was spinal cord compression at multiple levels, one level being the most significant. I had a 3 level ACDF in March. At about 3 months I started to feel a little better, then the pain has continued to get worse again over the past 2 months. My diagnosis came 6 years too late and I fear I have permanent damage. I cannot exercise my upper body or I end up in severe pain for 3-7 days. I was told give it 18 months to heal, but the majority of healing happens in the first 6 months for nerves. Have your doctor do a Rhombeg test with your eyes closed. I was having the same symptoms with relation to stumbling around in the dark. My orthopedist did this test on me and my whole body started to shake uncontrollably while I was trying to place one foot in from of the other. I was scheduled for surgery less than a month later. My doctor had planned on doing my surgery regardless due to my level of pain. So doctors can do surgery based on pain, but they cannot and should not guarantee relief from pain. They do the surgery to prevent further damage to the nerves and spinal cord, and to attempt to avoid permanent damage. I have friends in a support group who are paraplegic due to this condition. It is not good to delay surgery. You do not want to wind up with cord compression for any length of time or it will be permanent, and can even cause breathing problems and be fatal. You are very fortunate that your pain doctor is requesting these MRI tests with flexion and extension. That is huge, and should be beneficial in figuring out if it is in fact positional. My surgeon only did these on x-ray following my surgery, but I'm on Medicaid and I think this played a part in no new MRI's being ordered. I hope you can find relief soon!