Cervical spinal stenosis suddenly got a lot worse. Diagnosis was four years ago

[jointpain]

I have noticed over the past few months weaker legs and body as a whole. But on the 13th January I fell from my bike and fractured my skull, causing bleeding within. I also broke three ribs and have grade 4 spleen injuries and a puncture to my left lung. I was unconscious on the road in the cold and wet. My friend phoned 999 but was told an ambulance would not arrive for 4 hours. Passing neighbours helped by loading my unconscious bleeding body into a car and taking me to Wrexham A and E where, because of my head injuries I was sent by ambulance eight hours later to Stoke hospital. During the next three weeks the only treatment I received was a catheter to administer a dose of UTI which I have never had before. Also once I gained consciousness food that contained gluten, even though my wife asked that I didn't have gluten and it was written on my board. No effort was made to assess how much blood was coming from my spleen or punctured lung. I was very unbalanced and fell a couple of times when forced to try and walk. I lost well over a stone (more than 10% of my weight) I was discharged to Wrexham but as they couldn't take me in an ambulance I got my cycling mate to take me home as myself and my wife thought it was better for me. Since I have asked for a referral for an MRI on my head and neck to assess the damage and one on my chest to assess the ribs and spleen, I asked if I could have an x-ray on my extremely swollen right thumb to assess if it was broken my GP referred me for the x-ray only. But for a month's time. So nine weeks after the fall.

[SheilaDugan Administrator]

First of all, my deepest apologies for a tardy reply. Have you been to see anyone as of this writing? Are you having symptoms of myelopathy (compressed spinal cord) .Please let me know your latest status.

Sheila

[jointpain in reply to SheilaDugan]

Not a tardy reply at all Sheila. Just the only reply! I did see my GP yesterday at 5.30pm. He doesn't know much especially about doctoring and medicine. As I hadn't had any follow up scan of my grade 4 ruptured spleen. He said I should chase Stoke hospital over that. The fall off the bike was 11 weeks ago yesterday. I saw the hand surgeon at 10 weeks, in Wrexham hospital, he said he could have repaired my hand if he saw it nine weeks before. Now I'll have to live with the pain. My MRI scans of my head and neck reports were given to me yesterday but very little information from GP. He said the numb right leg was caused by lower back problems that I must have sustained in the fall off the bike even though I never hurt my lower back. And not the cervical spinal stenosis Which I thought may have been more damaged from my fall as the skull fractures would have made my neck flex, which still hurts at times. And because I was at times angry over the poor treatment I received the GP wants me to have psychiatric help. I said I won't be seeing a shrink. He did reinstate the naproxen prescription and added one for laneprozole which I don't need. I don't think I will see him again

[SheilaDugan Administrator in reply to jointpain]

Wow, incredible. I do think you should have gotten a yes or no for spinal cord compression. I had been being clumsy and tripping with DCM (Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy) all based on my right leg jerking. Eventually had to have emergency surgery, and guess what, it was cervical!

If you have the means to go for a private consultation, please do. Or if not, I would get another GP and tell him what you are experiencing and you are concerned it may be Myelopathy. Unfortunately the awareness to the doctors in the UK, is not as good as we would like. We are working on it, however being a non-profit takes time. Let me know what you think. Here is a link to symptoms gathered from existing members. myelopathy.org/degenerative...