Jason, I am 71 years old. It has not yet been a year since the accident. Student loans can and will wait. A bulged disk at c3 and c4 can cause many things. Several nerves pass thru that area of your cervical spine. One is the phenic nerve that controls diaphragm and breathing. Is that working OK? No breathing problems? Have you had physical therapy with wet heat applied to the area? Or the little electric jolts to the painful area? Do you hurt at the bulging disk spot or all over the body? Another suggestion, Antidepressants are not addictive and they do somehow help alleviate pain. In fact, do wonders for it. I wouldn't trust just any doctor to prescribe an antidepresant. Psychiatrists know which ones are best for people with pain. Benthere.

thank you patsy, well, I am on cymbalta seems to help a little, antidepressants like zoloft and several others don't work right with me, I have done the whole guinee pig in the past, but I am going to a top notch, hard to get into head doctor on the 17th of this month, so hopefully he has a better idea. Physical therapy worked but at 3 months insurance cut it off and all progress seemed to fade. But heat and my little portable Tens unit are very nice. They do work but the effect doesn't last maybe 20 minutes later I have to do it again, if I do need to do something like chores If I am able I wear the tens unit and it does help. couple weeks ago I got a epidural shot in my neck and that worked for about a week,

you asked about the pain, well It has been moving throughout the body, mainly out to shoulders, and about half way down my back, there are several spots, very painful, about the size of a nickel. its hard to explain but I would describe them as pressure points. But Breathing is ok.

thanks again for the feedback

If you are without income, can't you apply for Medicaid? That would pay for therapy. The kind of electric therapy I was referring to is not the TENS. It was done to me at a physical therapy clinic. Electrodes or something like that were placed on each side of my neck near the offending degenerated cervical disk. Then a machine passed gentle currents thru the muscle at those two points and it felt like a massauge. Really helped. A chiropracter once told me that a bulged disk can be moved as little as one tenth of a millimeter and then the pain is gone. I don't go to chiros any more though. Prefer other methods. Also, because i am older, Medicare paid for a little machine i use at home. I call it a neck stretcher. You strap your head into it, pump it up and it gently moves your head up, thereby stretching your cervical spine. Then you put it on hold a few minutes to keep it at the comfortable position. I had a choice between that and a cervical collar to wear around the house. Sounds like you really have a few pinched nerves. A neurosurgeon recommended these two things for me. He felt I wasn't bad enough for neck surgery--yet. I hope this info is of use to you. patsy, age 71

PatsyElsie, One can apply for Medicaid, but you should know it generally takes AT LEAST 2 years to get and several applications, and I'm guessing a vague, uncommon diagnosis makes it even more difficult.

me 2. try all medicine. Paxil now