Excruciating chronic left side neck pain plus lumbar issues

Alfred B, thank you so much for sharing. Many of your MRI findings are the same as mine. I’ve had 3 or 4 of lumbar spine and just one of cervical spine. What are we to do??? Mayo is supposed to be the best yet one doctor barely evaluated me and wrote me off as misperceiving pain. Is this what happens when they don’t know how to diagnose ?? I thought they were to work as a team of doctors, but the first and only doctor I saw determined my outcome. Now I am reading some horror stories about Mayo from Mayo patients. Is it the best or is that what it once was. Where do I turn. ??? Possibly back to the physician who looked at my neck MRI in 2018 and told me I would need surgery?

Hi Alfred
You sound like you are going through a similar thing to me..
I work in disabilities and was assisting to transfer a client in a ceiling hoist when I overstretched my arm to support a clients head in a sling, I felt a pop in my right shoulder went home to bed and for the life of me could not sleep due to the constant sharp burning pain in my scapula and right arm/hand.. first diagnosis was shoulder bursitis, 2 steroid injections, 4 mths of physio and still no improvement, had mri scans for both shoulder and brachial plexus, all normal then mri of cervical spine showing impingement at both c6 and c7 nerve roots…. I had no neck pain, they did epidural injections in c6 and c7 nerve roots which ended up causing terrible neck pain, stiffness and loss of motion.
5 months ago I had adfc surgery to fuse both c5/6 and c6/7 with neurosurgeon telling my success rate of surgery 96%..
What a load of rubbish, my neck feels fused forward, the pains in my neck, shoulder and arm are worse than ever, I now also have right sided facial numbness, ringing in the ears, suffering from terrible migraines and the same burning numb pain down my right leg and into my foot. Surgeon did follow up mri and ct scans, cat/spect scan and an EMG to check for nerve damage, all results came back normal.
I went to another neurosurgeon for a second opinion and got the same speal, all normal.
I’ve since been referred to a pain specialist for management who has just diagnosed me with right upper quadrant CRPS.
I was on targin 20mg twice daily, prn endone 5mg 2-3 times daily and endep 20mg at night.. I constantly feel like a walking zombie.
The pain specialist has just changed my medication, he’s taken me off the targin and put me on 15mg norspan patches, gabarpetin 600mg daily and endep 50mg daily…
Im still struggling with the burning pain and the hot/cold discoloured hand and fingers and severe ROM loss ontop of it all I’m now finding it hard to get up out of bed of a morning.
I’m so depressed, just wanting it all over and done with

Hi Alfred
You sound like you are going through a similar thing to me..
I work in disabilities and was assisting to transfer a client in a ceiling hoist when I overstretched my arm to support a clients head in a sling, I felt a pop in my right shoulder went home to bed and for the life of me could not sleep due to the constant sharp burning pain in my scapula and right arm/hand.. first diagnosis was shoulder bursitis, 2 steroid injections, 4 mths of physio and still no improvement, had mri scans for both shoulder and brachial plexus, all normal then mri of cervical spine showing impingement at both c6 and c7 nerve roots…. I had no neck pain, they did epidural injections in c6 and c7 nerve roots which ended up causing terrible neck pain, stiffness and loss of motion.
5 months ago I had adfc surgery to fuse both c5/6 and c6/7 with neurosurgeon telling my success rate of surgery 96%..
What a load of rubbish, my neck feels fused forward, the pains in my neck, shoulder and arm are worse than ever, I now also have right sided facial numbness, ringing in the ears, suffering from terrible migraines and the same burning numb pain down my right leg and into my foot. Surgeon did follow up mri and ct scans, cat/spect scan and an EMG to check for nerve damage, all results came back normal.
I went to another neurosurgeon for a second opinion and got the same speal, all normal.
I’ve since been referred to a pain specialist for management who has just diagnosed me with right upper quadrant CRPS.
I was on targin 20mg twice daily, prn endone 5mg 2-3 times daily and endep 20mg at night.. I constantly feel like a walking zombie.
The pain specialist has just changed my medication, he’s taken me off the targin and put me on 15mg norspan patches, gabarpetin 600mg daily and endep 50mg daily…
Im still struggling with the burning pain and the hot/cold discoloured hand and fingers and severe ROM loss ontop of it all I’m now finding it hard to get up out of bed of a morning.
I’m so depressed, just wanting it all over and done with

Hi leigh123,

how are you?

I feel so sorry for you. I know the pains you are going through, they are inhumane.

Less than 12 months (age 65) ago I was happily and capaciously riding 60km with my road bike on the weekend.

Then came August 2022 and when I felt the first neck pain I have declined from that point over the last 10 months. They tried injections and couldn't locate the source of the pain.

The car accident insurance (Transport Accident Commission Victorian State department in Australia) have not paid for advanced physio therapy that could have helped me improve. I have paid myself for therapy. The above accident insurance is hard to deal with. I always have to fight with them to get my procedures approved, what a joke!

Unfortunately I had 2 rough manipulations in my neck by a physio and osteopath which made me more painful therefor I decided to to be touched anymore.

Additionally my lumbar pain has increased over the last 3 weeks due to compressed nerves and am finding hard to walk. At night time I can't sleep despite strong opioids.
I am using Nortriptyline at night which is not doing much. I tried Gabapentin but I am allergic to the product.

As far as your operation goes, I believe that it is very important to have a top surgeon.
I am not fond of fusion. I prefer laser disc repair. In Australia we don't have minimally invasive laser surgery therefore I would have to travel to the US.

I would have to qualify for this type of surgery because I do not know if I would require stabilization of the neck and lumbar spine also.

Currently I have very deep seeded inhumane stabbing pain in my neck (causes me headaches and ear aches) especially on the right hand side. When I bend my head toward the right I also feel an increase of sharp pain in the right leg. Also getting shoulders, arm, hands and fingers referred pain. I have nerve issues as well as facet joint arthropathy .
Same thing happens in the left hand side. I can't understand why my neck pain is also causing leg pain. From my research this could happen if the bulging disc is so protruded that presses against the spinal cord in that cervical cord segment. Don't take this as gospel because I am not a doctor.

My latest MRI shows this:

C1/2: No impingement.
C2/3: No impingement.
C3/4: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen. There is
foraminal narrowing on both sides with impingement of both C4 nerve roots.
C4/5: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
foraminal narrowing on both sides impinging both C5 nerve roots and further
cord contact.
C5/6: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C6 nerve roots.
C6/7: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C7 nerve roots.
C7/T1: Annular bulging and endplate osteophytes with facet hypertrophy. Foraminal
narrowing worse on the right impinging the right C8 nerve root.
There is no significant soft tissue abnormality in the neck.

I read that fusions can be quite invasive because they fit hardware in your neck or back to stabilize the spine therefore there is a lot of muscle and tissue cutting according to what I read.

My feet, calves, Achilles' tendons are burning constantly,

Last night I took Targin 10/5 which only helped me a bit.

Someone recommended that I should do traction with special decompression machines first and use ultrasonic shockwave therapy. I don't know if this would help.

My doctors have not recommended anything apart from pain medication which is a temporary mask to the pain. I am not able to lie down for MRIs due to the extreme pain when I lie down.

I also read that people are trying alternative therapies such as PRP injections, Stem cells, prolotherapy. I told my doctors this and they don't know about it.

I hope that your pain will subside for you. Perhaps it is taking longer for you to heal.

I am not healing because I do have a structural and impingement problems in my spine.
The last 10 years of riding left a mark on me because I was a victim of 2 nasty car accidents where I was run over by 2 cars while riding in the bike lane.

I have just published my Gofundme fundraiser 4 days ago for the intervention.

Best regards

Alfred

Hi Alfred
It’s horrible what you are going through, hopefully they can find away to get you fixed and pain free.

I am in the Illawarra, NSW Australia, i am 41 and have 4 children.
I am going through work cover so also finding it hard to get different tests and procedures approved.
My injury started in April 2022, I’ve been doing physio and hydrotherapy 2-3 times weekly since then until now (15mths)
it took the drs 5 months to figure out it was my neck rather than shoulder bursitis (April 22- sept 22) then took them another 5 months to approve and do the surgery.
I was like you sceptical of surgery, but with the amount of pain I was in, I was willing to try anything, I really did not have a choice.
I was told it was a very successful operation and that in 6-12 weeks I’d be back on my feet.

Before surgery;
C5/6 Disc: Disc osteophytic changes causing moderate right neural foraminal narrowing and indentation over right C6 exiting nerve root.
There is also indentation over the cervical spinal cord at this level.
C6/7 Disc: Disc osteophytic changes causing right neural foraminal narrowing and indentation over right C7 exiting nerve root.

After surgery;
Anterior spinal fusion at C6/7 level with satisfactory alignment. There is loss of disc signal at C5/6 level with disc height space reduction and there is stretching of the posterior longitudinal ligament at this level with disc-osteopnvte complex
There is effacement of the anterior CSF space with also undulation of the anterior surface of the cord. There is slight blurring of the signal at the right-sided dorsal root ganglion at this level and narrowing of the right neural foramen.

This has gone on almost 15 months now..
I also tried to look into the laser surgery but both the neurosurgeons I seen agreed fusion was the only fix.
The second neurosurgeon Dr Pope (he is head neurosurgeon at the matter hospital in North Sydney) supposed to be one of Australia’s best, just a suggestion to connect him, he also does Skype consultations.
They are putting me in for another ketimine infusion next week, and also want to do a spinal tap to check for MS as I also have multiple lesions (white/grey) matter on the brain which they found via mri after my last horrific migraine, they have been suggesting in future I may need a nerve stimulator implanted, which I am not keen on, I’ve heard horror stories.
I seem to think my pain now is from the nerve roots being compressed for so long prior to the surgery, so hopefully they can find a way to help you before your nerves are permanently damaged.

I find I sleep better in my recliner chair than in bed as I also have trouble laying down.

It may not sound like much but I have found nurofen gel (only the nurofen brand) rubbed on my neck and shoulder every few hours seems to help dull the aching burning pain.

Hi leigh123,

how are you?

I feel so sorry for you. I know the pains you are going through, they are inhumane.

Less than 12 months (age 65) ago I was happily and capaciously riding 60km with my road bike on the weekend.

Then came August 2022 and when I felt the first neck pain I have declined from that point over the last 10 months. They tried injections and couldn't locate the source of the pain.

The car accident insurance (Transport Accident Commission Victorian State department in Australia) have not paid for advanced physio therapy that could have helped me improve. I have paid myself for therapy. The above accident insurance is hard to deal with. I always have to fight with them to get my procedures approved, what a joke!

Unfortunately I had 2 rough manipulations in my neck by a physio and osteopath which made me more painful therefor I decided to to be touched anymore.

Additionally my lumbar pain has increased over the last 3 weeks due to compressed nerves and am finding hard to walk. At night time I can't sleep despite strong opioids.
I am using Nortriptyline at night which is not doing much. I tried Gabapentin but I am allergic to the product.

As far as your operation goes, I believe that it is very important to have a top surgeon.
I am not fond of fusion. I prefer laser disc repair. In Australia we don't have minimally invasive laser surgery therefore I would have to travel to the US.

I would have to qualify for this type of surgery because I do not know if I would require stabilization of the neck and lumbar spine also.

Currently I have very deep seeded inhumane stabbing pain in my neck (causes me headaches and ear aches) especially on the right hand side. When I bend my head toward the right I also feel an increase of sharp pain in the right leg. Also getting shoulders, arm, hands and fingers referred pain. I have nerve issues as well as facet joint arthropathy .
Same thing happens in the left hand side. I can't understand why my neck pain is also causing leg pain. From my research this could happen if the bulging disc is so protruded that presses against the spinal cord in that cervical cord segment. Don't take this as gospel because I am not a doctor.

My latest MRI shows this:

C1/2: No impingement.
C2/3: No impingement.
C3/4: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen. There is
foraminal narrowing on both sides with impingement of both C4 nerve roots.
C4/5: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
foraminal narrowing on both sides impinging both C5 nerve roots and further
cord contact.
C5/6: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C6 nerve roots.
C6/7: Uncovertebral discophytic ridging and facet hypertrophy are seen with
bilateral foraminal narrowing impinging both C7 nerve roots.
C7/T1: Annular bulging and endplate osteophytes with facet hypertrophy. Foraminal
narrowing worse on the right impinging the right C8 nerve root.
There is no significant soft tissue abnormality in the neck.

I read that fusions can be quite invasive because they fit hardware in your neck or back to stabilize the spine therefore there is a lot of muscle and tissue cutting according to what I read.

My feet, calves, Achilles' tendons are burning constantly,

Last night I took Targin 10/5 which only helped me a bit.

Someone recommended that I should do traction with special decompression machines first and use ultrasonic shockwave therapy. I don't know if this would help.

My doctors have not recommended anything apart from pain medication which is a temporary mask to the pain. I am not able to lie down for MRIs due to the extreme pain when I lie down.

I also read that people are trying alternative therapies such as PRP injections, Stem cells, prolotherapy. I told my doctors this and they don't know about it.

I hope that your pain will subside for you. Perhaps it is taking longer for you to heal.

I am not healing because I do have a structural and impingement problems in my spine.
The last 10 years of riding left a mark on me because I was a victim of 2 nasty car accidents where I was run over by 2 cars while riding in the bike lane.

I have just published my Gofundme fundraiser 4 days ago for the intervention.

Best regards

Alfred

Albert, I am so sorry. It is inhumane!! Are they actually correctly reading our imaging? I randomly pulled two images from my recent cervical MRI which as stated by radiologist “has no signal change” and by mayo physiologist, DO has no findings that would cause any pain or symptoms that I’m having. Anyone know anything about reading MRI ?@imagingventure

I am no expert but I can see that there is big bulge between at C5-C6 and a smaller one at C6-C7 pushing towards the cord.

Normally specialists will not treat the MRI but the symptoms that you get.
In my case I have bilateral constant pain at C5, C6, C7 nerves. They are worse when lying down.

Last Friday I had burning, excruciating, unbearable pain which I managed with 1 Targin tablet, 2 Nortriptyline tablets and some CBD oil, it was that bad. My blood pressure reached 165/110 for a short while when the pain peaked.

I am no expert but I can see that there is big bulge between at C5-C6 and a smaller one at C6-C7 pushing towards the cord.

Normally specialists will not treat the MRI but the symptoms that you get.
In my case I have bilateral constant pain at C5, C6, C7 nerves. They are worse when lying down.

Last Friday I had burning, excruciating, unbearable pain which I managed with 1 Targin tablet, 2 Nortriptyline tablets and some CBD oil, it was that bad. My blood pressure reached 165/110 for a short while when the pain peaked.