Has anyone dealt successfully with Cervical stenosis without surgery?

@billandri Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I have had disc degeneration and cervical stenosis for over 20 years. I have had 4 doctors review my MRI's and history and tell me I am not a surgical canidate (I would not see a benefit in operating) To help deal with the pain, a combination of epidural injections and pain relievers gives me the most benefit. Billandri, can you share with us what you have tried to help with your condition?

Bill I can tell you the surgery is not that big of a deal. I’m 35 and had a fusion done a year and a half ago on c4c5. It started as you said In fingers. Eventually both of my arms were numb. I was unable to wake them. I researched my surgeon and picked the best one in my opinion. Can honestly say I had a 100% improvement. I felt and was ready to go back to normal activities in two days. Honestly wish I’d had done it sooner. I understand not wanting to go the surgical route. But I definitely suggest you research all your options. And if you do surgery talk to a lot of people in your area n find a good surgeon.

@badbonz What you need to do is contact Mayo and they will set up a temporary patient number for you that you will use to send in your imaging studies and a letter about your symptoms since they have to track and organize it in their system. You can request (like I did) that imaging studies be sent to Dr. Fogelson. They will also ask you questions about your diagnosis and symptoms when they set up the number. The most efficient way to do that is call his appointments phone number that I'll send to you in a private message and you'll talk to a nurse. (and please tell them how highly I recommended him). It doesn't cost anything to have them review your imaging and it can be returned to you. Then you'll be contacted by phone if they offer an appointment. I think that because all the other surgeons had misunderstood my case and how advanced the stenosis was, it helped me get treatment at Mayo. They do prioritize based on need and urgency. I was called a month after sending my imaging because of a cancellation, but they told me the wait was usually 3 months to get in at that time. You can find the insurance information on the website. Once you get accepted, they give you a permanent patient number and schedule appointments to evaluate all the issues you have that could relate to the problem. For me that was a neurologist evaluation (and he ordered tests- nerve conduction, blood work, MRI). I also had an evaluation for thoracic outlet syndrome and physical testing for that. All of that happened the day before and the morning of the evaluation with Dr. Fogelson, and the doctor who evaluated the TOS called Dr. Folgelson with his results while I was in the room at my appointment. That is how efficient they are and thorough. So when I met Dr. Fogelson and he reviewed my imaging with me that I had sent in, he offered surgery and we talked about my choices. I did have to wait for the results of one blood test that took a couple weeks, and results were good, so I asked to be scheduled for surgery. A few weeks later when they were setting up his surgery schedule, they scheduled me, and it was about 5 weeks after that first appointment. if you do see him, I hope you'll share your experience. My patient story is listed with his profile on the website. Thanks for asking.

I am a active 64 yr old with similar symptoms although my numbness has been going on for one year but does not limit my activity.
One doctor recommended 2 surgeries the other one did not..The thought of having the anterior approach scares me as heard it is very painful to swallow and talk after surgery. Does anyone have any experience with that?
Good luck with your decision. Your are young so as long as you have a good surgeon and hospital surgery should be uneventful. Do your research. i am in the medical profession and have learned a lot from this discussion group

Hi Jennifer
Could you also PM number of Dr. Fogelson's office i would like to send my imaging studies to him to review. i am very with Mayos as we have had my daughter there twice and my dad also went there years ago. Such a great place.
Thanks so much

Bill I can tell you the surgery is not that big of a deal. I’m 35 and had a fusion done a year and a half ago on c4c5. It started as you said In fingers. Eventually both of my arms were numb. I was unable to wake them. I researched my surgeon and picked the best one in my opinion. Can honestly say I had a 100% improvement. I felt and was ready to go back to normal activities in two days. Honestly wish I’d had done it sooner. I understand not wanting to go the surgical route. But I definitely suggest you research all your options. And if you do surgery talk to a lot of people in your area n find a good surgeon.

Hi @collierga You'll need to have Mayo set up a patient account for you first and give you the number. Then you will be able to send medical records and imaging studies in and ask them to be sent to Dr. Fogelson for review. The records office will input the information in the computer system so he will be able to view it when he logs in and they hold on to the imaging CDs. I got mine back long after my surgery, but you can ask how they handle returning discs if you need it back. You might ask for extra copies if case something is lost in the mail. You can contact Mayo online for this, and someone from triage calls you back. I will send you the triage phone number for neurosurgery privately, and they can set up the account for you and they will ask questions about your medical history.

Hello Jen: I just recently joined Mayo Clinic Connect. Tomorrow I'm having my first appointment at the Rehab Centre for atrophy in my left leg, numbness on the bottoms of my feet, and diabetic neuropathy. Even though I have kept my blood sugar low (5.2 - 5.8) in the past year or so, I'm just starting to experience neuropathy now. In the past couple of weeks, I have developed a rash on my shins and around the ankle area, which is as itchy as the devil and brings on a burning, stabbing pain. It's disturbing my sleep. Well, even with all these complaints, I at least felt as though I knew what was causing it -- i.e., my Type 2 Diabetes. Then I joined Mayo Clinic Connect! Now I see posts and links to articles that seem to indicate statin drugs can cause neuropathy. Another post led me to what I had thought in the first place, which is that my cervical and spinal stenosis could be causing my problems. I've been taking statins on and off for years, my cervical MRI indicates "severe stenosis" and my lumbar problems have caused marked stenosis in that region. So here I am back to being puzzled as to what's causing this neuropathy. What questions do you think I should ask my rehab therapist tomorrow when I see her at my appointment?

I am a active 64 yr old with similar symptoms although my numbness has been going on for one year but does not limit my activity.
One doctor recommended 2 surgeries the other one did not..The thought of having the anterior approach scares me as heard it is very painful to swallow and talk after surgery. Does anyone have any experience with that?
Good luck with your decision. Your are young so as long as you have a good surgeon and hospital surgery should be uneventful. Do your research. i am in the medical profession and have learned a lot from this discussion group