Hi there was told by GP that i have degeneration of upper and lower spine and that she thinks its Osteoarthritis had a number of problems with numbness /pins and needles which comes and goes throughout the day can be anywhere on body mainly arms /hands/legs and feet but some facial aswell and she said because my MRI shows no signs of commpression it could be this thats causing it i have still got to go for bloods but shes told me to try Amitriptyline just a small dose at night to see if it helps has anyone else experienced pins and needles and numbness with Osteoarthritis ??
Many thanks
Gina
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Ginajones
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It sounds like a contradiction in terms, you have degeneration of the upper and lower spine and it is quite likely that a nerve root is being pinched, amitriptyline is often used for nerve pain. It would be quite interesting to hear the views, of those who suffer from osteoarthritis.
Thank you for your reply Neckback x yeah it would be interesting to here from others although i have pins and needles almost everywhere eveyday and night !! Drifting in and out !! the top of my foot it still partially numb but the neuro said no sign of commpression or netve damage !!!! Hopefully the meds might help xx thank you again appreciate your reply x
The problem is that whilst MRI scanning is ok for picking up very obvious problems e.g. a slipped disc, I have it on good authority from a leading UK based neurosurgeon with a specific interest in Myelopathy that “... the damage is mostly visible in the symptoms. Conventional MRI doesn’t help much. In fact there isn’t always good correlation between findings such as myelomalacia or t2 signal or thinning of the cord...There’s work ongoing to see whether new MRI sequences could help. These do look more promising. But there’s still a long way to go until we can use them reliably in our clinical practice.”
In other words, the MRI result is not the be all & end all - they should take it as part & parcel of all the information they gather. You can have "mild" MRI findings but horrendous symptoms whilst there are folk walking around with "severe" spinal cord compression that don't even know it's an issue. Furthermore, you can still develop spinal cord compression depending on the position of your head & neck - so flex & extend imaging is useful here. But accessing it is another matter.
Has your neurologist offered a full head, neck & spine MRI, nerve conduction studies & electromyography testing to complement the clinical investigations? They are also part & parcel of diagnosis. Blood testing including screening for Vitamin B12 & other deficiencies should also form part of the clinical workup.
Have you got a copy of your MRI scan report - they can be enlightening & requested via the radiology department where you had your scan.
You could also ask for a second opinion if need be.
I hope you get some answers soon because something is going on that may warrant further attention.
Thank you shirley sorry for my late reply x ive had a brain ct and Mri and all came back clear got to have some bloods done next week incuding vit B12 but in the past my vit B12 has been good x yes i have report from the radiologist my GP sent it to me via email and reading through im quite astonished really !! Had to transerlate most of it !! Im a language i can understand the top of my spine is slightly bent and i have 1 if not 2 cysts on a couple of my bones but apparently they are not worrying on C7 and not sure but maybe on my lower spine aswell !! Some disc bulgers ect ect !! Can privately send you a copy if you like at the moment im picking through it all xx ive also requested my actual MRI scan but that will take a few weeks i think xx Thank you so much for your imput !!! Appreciate it loads xx
I have OA and pins and needles, but am diabetic and have peripheral neuropathy as well. I can't take it now (kidney failure), but gabapentin helped a lot with the pins and needles. It helped a little with the actual pain. I hope you get better.
Thank so much for your reply im sorry to hear you have kidney failure aswell it must be hard for you take care sweetie and thank you again for taking the time out to reply to me appreciate it xxxx
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