does anybody have any idea what’s wrong with me?

[avavs777]

hi all,

i have been experiencing chronic back pain as well as a plethora of other symptoms (leg weakness and aches, tingling and numbness in fingers, migraines with aura and quite a few more). i have scoliosis but according to the spinal surgeon i saw a couple of months ago it isn’t severe enough for him to do anything about it. this has made me wonder whether all these symptoms are linked to something neurological.

i was just wondering if anyone has experienced some of these symptoms and been diagnosed with anything? i’m really stressed about it as i’m having horrific migraines that (i think) are causing me to lose consciousness in classes and the back pain is so severe sometimes it makes me want to die.

[Atticus64]

Consider Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Consider Upper Crossed Syndrome.

[avavs777 in reply to Atticus64]

thank you so much. i’ll definitely have a look into those.

[Antigua1979]

Hi there, I’m sorry to hear you are feeling so dreadful . You didn’t mention whether you have had a MRI scan ? I would see if you can get your GP to arrange one of your head and cervical column. Your scoliosis might be causing entrapment of a nerve . Having worked in surgery in the past I know that things have to be pretty bad before they really want to operate on your cervical spine and these operations are very complex . Do you have any bladder or bowel issues ? If you do that is a red flag and you will need to take yourself to your nearest A&E ASAP. You could also seek a second opinion from a neuro surgeon who specialises in complex spinal surgery. I tend to agree with him airing on the side of caution . You may have surgery and be left with more complications than you have already , so get a second opinion and if they both agree that at this moment in time it would be best to manage your symptoms I personally would do with that . I had a spinal tumour and lived with it for 5 years before I had surgery. I had five reasonable years and only had surgery when my symptoms changed and it became an emergency. The choice then was taken out of my hands. The tumour was removed en bloc ( complete removal) and I have regular scans to check all remains well. Some of my symptoms are better and some unfortunately are worse. . It may help to speak to a neuro nurse as well via a charity . If your in the uk there are lots including the Brain and Spine Foundation who have nurses you can talk to free of charge. I wish you the very best of luck and let me know how you get on .

[avavs777 in reply to Antigua1979]

hi there,

thank you so much for your comment. i was experiencing some chest pain a couple of years ago and my gp did actually suspect that i had a trapped nerve caused by my scoliosis and referred me for an mri… long story short i ended up having the wrong scan which i never even received a report on. the scan i was supposed to have (standing thoracolumbar mri) then has just been rescheduled for early oct. i have been experiencing severe urinary frequency for two years… i’ve been prescribed a lot of different types of medicines for that but nothing has worked. both the urologists i’ve seen have not been able to work out a cause. i guess if that was being caused by something that needed intervention they would have been able to tell from my scans but i’m not sure.

on another note, i’m sorry to hear about your tumour, and i really hope your symptoms ease soon. again, thank you so much for your help, i’ll definitely try speaking to a nurse.