I have low back pain, pelvic perineum and radiates down legs, weak legs. Some foot drop. Difficultly standing upright, balance problems. Pain increases and get weaker when walking and trying to stand.
I have difficulty controlling my bladder. A constant urge to urinate, with a weak flow of urine, stop/start symptoms. Can never empty my bladder fully and have some incontinence.
Have had 3 mris. Last 2 didn't show it and don't have result of latest one. One last year said mild right foranimal narrowing but no cauda equina. Keep wondering whether I move too much.
In September 2016 I had joint pain then stated to get back pain and balance problems. After I while I couldn't get up off the floor, weak legs. I was urinating frequently then. I was given fluoroquinolones. I went to hospital and eventually moved legs a little but haven't been the same since. More gait and balance problems. Curved spine. Scapular winging.
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rg11
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I am sorry to hear that you haven't got proper answers to this. Have you been assessed for Ehlers Danlos syndrome? Many of those symptoms fit in with that.
Good morningI have also been diagnosed with cauda equina and, to cut a long story short, had spinal injections in April after being told, that at 82, I am too old for surgery. The injections didn’t work so I’m left now with excercises and painkillers!( Tramadol, which makes me constantly nauseous so I avoid them).
I have had psoriatic arthritis for years and my hands and knees are very painful. I am unable to kneel.
Added to this fun and frolics my husband, for whom I am the main carer, appears to have reached Stage 6 in his mixed dementia and is becoming increasingly difficult in his behaviour. I alone see this as he’s lovely with everyone else.
As for the cauda equina, I was given a printed card with red flag symptoms on it ie the circumstances in which I should go to hospital( presumably to allow the NHS to avoid litigation). I’ve become pretty desperate now as I’m in a similar position to you, in that I can only stand or walk for a few minutes before I HAVE to sit down.
Both groin areas feel as though strained and sometimes develop sciatica.
Hi rg11 sorry to hear your in so much pain. I have been left with incomplete cauda equina syndrome after my disc slipped and cut the nerve to my bowels back in 1999. I notice you dont mention numbness that is a red flag for this condition I have numbness in the saddle area and have been left with this. Take care
I do feel cramps in my buttocks, thighs down legs. Feels tight in saddle area. Haven't been on a horse since pont trekking once when I was a lot younger but if I ever did go on one I feel I'd need proper back support.
Idea only, get online finger prick tests done for both vitamin D and ‘Active’ Vitamin B12. (Not serum Vit B12)There’s a mixture of vitamin D and B12 ‘listed’ deficiency symptoms going on there.
Hi there,I had Impending Cauda Equina and Spondylolidthesis (Vertebrae slipping forward causing spinal instability). I had numerous symptoms including sciatica/numbness/pain/pins & needles in my legs/feet & many different bladder symptoms. Fortunately my usual Neurosurgeon spoke with me and arranged emergency surgery, after his colleague put me on a waiting list to see him instead!
I’d had some symptoms for years, mainly severe cramps and pins & needles in my legs & feet, which could have been the advanced arthritis in my lumbar spine, certain bladder symptoms (which I thought were due to me getting older & having had children, at 51) and for only a few weeks, I had sciatica which affected one leg (red flag), along with lower back/buttock pain too. Once the bladder symptoms became more severe, retention for example, I think they may have sounded warning bells too, especially as they deteriorate d over a period of days.
I had as one nurse called it, a “hell of a surgery”, 3 x Laminectomies, 3 x Foraminotomies, 2 discectomies & a Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion, utilising several rods & pedicle screws.
I was left with mainly right sided back/buttock pain, quite severe pain on sitting, numbness of part of my right lower leg, nearly complete numbness of my right foot, horrendous “lightening” nerve pain, of a severity I’d never experienced before, even in my cervical spine where I’ve had 2 x ACDF’s & resultant Radiculopathy at C5/6 & C6/7, shooting down my entire legs, likewise entire feet, awful! Muscle spasms now affecting my quads & hamstrings, as well as my lower legs & feet, pins & needles down my thighs & several bladder symptoms. My balance is affected, (I’m prone to falling) & after walking even a short while, the right lower leg & foot swells (& often my left), becomes even more painful, usually nerve pain along with pins
& needles and I grind to a halt.
There’s a lot worse that could happen with patients who have been left doubly incontinent, paralysed etc. A terrible but thankfully rare condition that warrants NHS red cards to potentially educate doctors/nurses to identify such symptoms & red flags to prevent others being misdiagnosed or left without having emergency surgery. It’s not just a tool to prevent litigation.
I’m thinking of having Radiofrequency Ablation at some point to help with my pain.
I do hope you have some improvement in your symptoms.
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