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@gldnrtrvrlvr Thank you for your comments. I would encourage you to get another surgical opinion if you have severe stenosis. They might be looking for spinal cord damage that happens when the blood supply to the spinal cord is cut off by pressure, and tissue starts to die to show a white area on the spinal cord imaging. That becomes permanent damage. I didn't have any myelopathy visible on my MRIs, but my Mayo surgeon said it doesn't always show on the MRI. It was when I told surgeon #5 about the vertigo, that he dismissed me. I think that opens up a can of worms that could be more serious issues. I've read my Mayo surgeon's papers where he talks about vertigo with cervical spine issues, but I was really afraid to talk too much about it, so I focused more on the muscle spasms. If no one has talked to you about addressing the stenosis, you might want to consider Mayo Clinic. It's a different world there where every doctor there is focused around solving your issues as best they can and you'll be referred to other departments. I don't think most doctors like to hear about fibro either because they want good surgical outcomes, and if a patient has fibro, they may continue to have pain after spine surgery and blame the surgeon. Fibro becomes a catch all diagnosis when they can't identify the source of pain. I was told that long ago, but after I resolved my food allergies, I wasn't in pain anymore. Pain can also be from the fascia if it doesn't move properly, and myofascial release can help that which will also release the waste products that are stored there in the dehydrated tissues.
Your surgeon might be more focused on lumbar issues. My Mayo neurosurgeon is a spinal deformity expert, and teaches cervical surgeries, also has a spine orthopedic fellowship, and does both fusion and disc replacement. I'll be happy to share his information with you if you wish. I'm an artist who was loosing the ability to do my artwork, and my surgeon gave that back to me. In gratitude, I painted his portrait as a gift to him when I was recovered enough to do it. If I ever need spine surgery again, I'm coming back to him at Mayo. I think highly of him as a kind person outside of his profession.
I would recommend optimizing your vitamin D to help the osteoporosis. I take Vitamin K2 D3 from Orthomolecular on the advice of my functional medicine doctor. I think Mayo would be a good place to go regarding your vitamin B genetic issues in case they have something that could help. Migraines and TMJ can also be caused (or made worse) my muscle spasms from a cervical spine problem. Working with a physical therapist helped me a lot during the years when no surgeon would help me, and she would realign my spine the best she could and block pain with some neurostimulation ( Dolphin Neurostimulators).
You do have to advocate for yourself. Don't just wait because your surgeon thinks you're not bad enough for surgery if you don't agree. I think loosing your balance is a problem. I actually fell over like a tree and could not stop myself even though I had my hand on my porch railing. I called my physical therapist a few times and she had shown me things to do in the office. One one occasion, I had fixed about 90% of a vertigo problem myself before I got to my PT appointment. I've been in physical therapy about 4 years treating the thoracic outlet syndrome and I have learned a lot in doing so, and during that time, I developed stenosis after the disc ruptured and bone spurs grew. I had to push for MRIs when doctors kept wanting to wait a year between them, and I saw the bone spurs double in size in 9 months time. My biology background helps me to understand MRIs. Again, thanks for your comments. I'm glad I could help. Let me know if you have other questions.
Replies to "@gldnrtrvrlvr Thank you for your comments. I would encourage you to get another surgical opinion if..."
Amen to Mayo being a "DIFFERENT WORLD"! And absolutely you need to advocate for yourself. Read as much as you can without going down a rabbit hole. Medicine is an esoteric language that you need to familiarize yourself. Talk the talk and get your doctors to walk the walk. If there is something to avoid discussing, I would also suggest pulling out any diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The prejudice you because of it. That is not right, but so very true. Stick with the facts of the symptoms, and it sounds like leaving out vertigo, which could be one of those hot buttons that you avoid as well. Good luck to you, and I hope you find what you seeking to alleviate your symptoms. God bless, and hopefully you can make it to Mayo Rochester. Buckle up, because you have NEVER seen medicine performed quite like this. You are put through the gambit of testing by, well simply the best doctors in the world. And lastly, everyone at Mayo is "NICE"! Yes, even the doctors!!!! Unbelievable experience when your health goes sideways. Thank you for all that you do Mayo Clinic!!! Sean L. Roop