Cervical spondylosis

[Pam6971]

I was diagnosed with CS December 2011, just woke up one morning with a sore neck, I'd say I've tried majority of painkillers, none worked, I'm now taking MST continus, prolonged released morphine tablets 50mg twice a day, they ease the neck pain but do nothing for shoulders, arms, hands, fingers, legs & feet, wish there was a magic cure for ppl with chronic pain. Hope you all aren't in too much pain today. x

[Bananas5]

Morning Pam.

Cure for chronic pain and losing weight! Yup invent a tablet and we'd all be very rich.

David has had CS for 30 years although not too bad in earley years. He like you has tried many meds and is about to come off Fentanly and go on to MST.

What has worked for him and very successfully for about 14 years is acupuncture. Donkey's ago he started at weekly progressing up to 6 weekly where he now gets what is called a 'maintenance' dose.

If for any reason the 6 weekly is broken we pay private or he has to go right back to weekly and build up again.

Sceptical in those early days he is now smitten! Of course what it does is to bring out the bodies on ain relief as endorpins. And he gets about 30 mins of sleep too!

Pat x

[Pam6971 in reply to Bananas5]

Not good when you can't sleep, I've found not taking the Mst at night gives me a better sleep but I wake up sweating, normally I get about 3 hours sleep then awake for 3-4 then awake every hour after that, few years back I was sleeping half an hour at a time, just can't win, Mst seems to be the only one I've not had weight gain with, went from an 8 to a 12-14 in a matter of months, still trying to lose it, though at least now I don't look pregnant lol. I was pill free for a year but started back on medication January, i keep telling the doctors I can handle the neck pain, it's the rest that drives me mad.

[lifexperience in reply to Bananas5]

I have had Cervical Spondylosis since 1989. I was not overweight but under 9 stone. I was very active, and it was an active job that set my neck off. I have found weight does not effect this type of Osteoarthritis. I also know that knee arthrits affects very active cyclists, who are not overweight. All the experts make out Osteoarthritis is coursed by being overweight, which is not the case for many young sufferers and for older ones. Exercise does not help, but makes arthritis worse, as Osteoarthritis is wear and tear of the joints, I guess a lot of have done a little too much exercise. I would love to be offered a drug that actually relieves the pain, but sadly I have to endure it.

[Surreychica_1 in reply to lifexperience]

True I am not overweight either. I was but I dieted for four years and got right down from 13 stone to 10 stone 4 I am please with that,

[Bananas5]

Sorry that was misleading of me. He gets a half hour sleep whilst having acupuncture!

Ddvid night sleeps are interupted by so many other things he has wrong but certainly acupuncture works for his CS

x

[Pam6971 in reply to Bananas5]

Might have to look into it, I think we all need a doctor who suffers the same for them to understand what we're all going through with our pains, think they would understand where we're all coming from if they did. x

[Surreychica_1 in reply to Pam6971]

I agree totally. When I went to my doctor and I had, had x rays on my spine he noted I had osteoarthritis but didnt give me a clue on what I should do or what was going to happen., He just wrote me out a prescription for pain killers.

[CarolineC57]

Hi Pam - I've recently been diagnosed with CS although I've had it for quite a few years. Initially, the worst part of the pain for me was the shoulder pain so I foolishly concentrated on this when I told the doctors my symptoms. As a result I've had several different diagnoses. I was first tried on steroids as they thought it might be polymyalgia rheumatica. Then I spent the next year trying to come off them.

Next, they told me I had fibromyalgia since I was complaining of pains in knees and ankles too (eventually diagnosed as osteoarthritis). I've also been checked for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and sjogren's syndrome due to the pain and some other symptoms I have - negative results in all cases.

Finally, a few months ago, I persuaded the GP to refer me to a physio as the shoulder/neck pain was getting unbearable - and, especially, messing up my sleep. The physio then diagnosed CS. To be honest, I was quite relieved they'd finally given me a correct diagnosis!

So, the only pain meds I'm on is pregabalin for the fibro (which I guess I may actually have as well - but they help me sleep anyway) and the occasional naproxen. I haven't heard of the meds you mention. I'm not keen on taking too many meds so I'll carry on as long as I can with only what I'm taking at the moment.

The physio helps, with a bit of massage and manipulation, and I do gentle stretches and a clinical pilates class every week (run by another physio - who is excellent). Acupuncture might be worth a try too I guess.

All the best to you in coping with your CS. I think the worst part of it is the disturbed sleep. Hope you feel OK today.

[Pam6971 in reply to CarolineC57]

I'm glad the pregabalin & naproxen work for you, they didn't help me, I was diagnosed pretty quickly, a full nights sleep would be amazing, hopefully 1 day the doctors will find a miracle cure for us all x

[CarolineC57 in reply to Pam6971]

No, the pregabalin doesn't touch the pain - it just helps me sleep a bit. Naproxen numbs it a bit but I don't like to take it too often.

Yes, a miracle cure would be lovely. Ah well, we can dream!

[Pam6971 in reply to CarolineC57]

They didn't even help me sleep lol, before then I was on 9 gabapentin & 8 tramadol & still didn't sleep, doctors had me on 12 gabapentin few months ago then started me on the morphine x

[CarolineC57 in reply to Pam6971]

Yikes! That's a lot of paid meds! I'm quite nervous about using a lot of meds so I don't think I'd dare take that much. Here's hoping I can continue to manage without for a good while yet.

[Pam6971 in reply to CarolineC57]

I went a year pill free so it can be done lol x

[johnsmith]

Try Erythromycin. This is an antibiotic which has been trialled as a very effective anti inflammatory.

There is a belief among many doctors that you cannot get bacteria remaining in the body. Bacteria can enter via bleeding gums and the dentists understand this very well.

I have had this antibiotic for conditions that have caused me a great deal of pain and the antibiotic has removed the problem.

Google "erythromycin anti inflammatory effects".

Hope this helps

[CarolineC57 in reply to johnsmith]

Hi John - I've never heard of using antibiotics for an arthritic condition. Are you sure about this? Perhaps you misunderstand what cervical spondylosis is? Personally I wouldn't like to take antibiotics long-term. CS is a lifelong condition - once you have it, it won't get better.

[johnsmith in reply to CarolineC57]

Thanks for the reply. I will take though what I know and what I can logically reason. This may take a few back and forth replies as I will have to write according to your understanding and at the same time be corrected by yourself on any misunderstanding that I have.

I have just looked up "cervical spondylosis". This is what

nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-...

says:

"Cervical spondylosis is the medical term for neck pain caused by age-related ‘wear and tear’ to bones and tissues.

The most common symptoms of cervical spondylosis are neck pain, stiffness and headaches. More rarely, it can trap nerves in the neck, leading to:

pain radiating from the arms

pins and needles in the arms and legs

loss of feeling in your hands and legs

loss of co-ordination and difficulty walking

However, many people with cervical spondylosis experience no noticeable symptoms."

I have used Erythromycin for severe pain conditions. It was an accidental discovery back in circa 1998 when I had a very very severe dose of neck pain and there was a panic that I may have had meningitis or something like that. The neck pain vanished within a day. In 2003 I had very severe back pain which my chiropractor told me was an infection. A GP at my surgery refused to give me antibiotics and insisted that I take Ibuprofen which was useless and I ended up being taken by ambulance to hospital the next day. The pain I was in was very intense and I could only just walk. The consultant at the hospital insisted that it was not possible to get a back infection (Discitis is a back infection condition ie consultant was incompetent). The constant gave me Voltaren (diclofenac). This eased the pain but I was very aware of the existence of the cause being present. Voltaren got though to the nect day when I was able to see my own GP. We trawled my medical notes to find the 1998 neck pain incident.

Stopped taking Voltaren and took Erythromycin instead. The symptoms went within a day. Check my medical notes last year and found that Erythromycin prescribed in 1998 and 2003 but no explanation as to why it was prescribed.

Two years ago I tore my tendon in the arm which left me in severe pain for about six months before it was diagnosed by MRI scan. The MRI scan showed a lot of fluid build up which would have caused pressure on nerves and reduced space for arm movement. Persuaded my GP to give me a one week course of Erythromycin which was not enough. Persuaded the orthopaedic surgeon who got the MRI scan to have a two week course of Erythromycin. The orthopaedic surgeon told me that Erythromycin had been trialled and found to have extremely good anti-inflamatory properties.

The two week course of Erythromycin removed the pain in my arm totally. It took several months of work with my Alexander Teacher to get nearly full movement of my arm back. The referral to the physio by the orthopaedic surgeon was almost a waste of time. Needed the referral because I had no idea how to handle the tear in the tendon.

See

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

It says:

"Erythromycin therapy in bullous pemphigoid: Possible anti-inflammatory effects

.....Two patients with bullous pemphigoid treated with erythromycin demonstrated improvement. This response suggests that erythromycin may be a fairly safe supplemental drug which may allow a lower dose of systemic steroid, or may be of benefit when used alone or in combination with topical steroids in treating patients who are not ideal candidates for a systemic steroid. Erythromycin appears to have a significant anti-inflammatory effect, and possible mechanisms for this effect are proposed."

jac.oxfordjournals.org/cont...

it says:

"Anti-inflammatory effects of macrolides—an underappreciated benefit in the treatment of community-acquired respiratory tract infections and chronic inflammatory pulmonary conditions?

....Conclusions: (1) Research into macrolide immunomodulation for chronic pulmonary disorders demonstrates consistent positive effects, although of types other than seen with diffuse panbronchiolitis. These effects, together with their inhibitory activity on biofilms, have the potential to make them a useful option. (2) The benefits for CAP are consistent, and higher when a macrolide is given with another atypical agent than if the other atypical agent is given alone, suggesting a non-antibacterial benefit. (3) Recent research of the immunomodulatory properties of azithromycin imply that azithromycin may have a previously unknown short-term biphasic effect on inflammation modulation: enhancement of host defence mechanisms shortly after initial administration followed by curtailment of local infection/inflammation in the following period."

This is enough for now. There is a lot to digest. Please can you reply with any questions.

[Surreychica_1]

what about a physiotherapist would that not help your condition!