Cervical nerve impingement increasing drammatically

Hello Alfred, so sorry you are dealing with such pain. I would suggest going to the ER as it sounds like things changed rather quickly and very debilitating. If your doctor isn't listening to you, there is another one out there that will. I would address this sooner rather than later. Best wishes.

@ab6540183 are you considering surgery? I have the same symptoms, left side as well, but not 10/10 pain like you.It varies 4-8 I would say. My left hand is starting to curl a little and my left arm is shorter than the right most days. Pain and numbness in the same places as you including left side of face and scalp, down neck, shoulder, arm, hand. I hope you have a good neurologist. I have had PT since Nov. 2022 which only helps at the time!! Tai chi helped me for years.

There are some serious pathologies evident in the MRI. I wanted to comment on going to emergency. I did that last year and they only did an x-ray and wrote in my chart something about being on chronic pain meds (I had had 2 cervical fusions already that year). I informed my spinal surgeon who saw the x-ray and ordered a new MRI and discovered my C3 had slipped behind C4 and had created serious narrowing of the spinal canal. So off to surgery I went again. If I had gotten in an accident, I was told I'd be paralyzed and this is one thing that needs to be ruled out for you. How old is the MRI?
I had just previously had a CT scan that was normal. Oh how I wished to tell that ER doc that he was wrong URGH! If you go to the ER, please bring a copy of your MRI report (unless it was done at the facility). If the doctor you're now with doesn't feel you need a new MRI or surgery, don't walk but run away from them. You need a new one. pronto

Hi dhansen78,

thank you for your understanding.

I am not in the US but in the AUS. Hospitals here are understaffed, full of people on waiting lists and they only thing you can get here if you go to ER a good morphine injection to stabilize you for the night, then they discharge you the next day. It is their protocol. They won't investigate further. You can only get better assistance from private hospitals but you need private health insurance. I joined last December but I have to wait 12 months to qualify for services, the so called waiting period.

Hi sb4ca,

thank you for your input.

My cervical/thoracic MRI is from 05/27/2023, therefore recent.

I have asked for another cervical MRI. I will be doing this next Tuesday to see if there are any changes.

I am sorry you had to go through all the hell with your fusion.

I personally do not want fusion, I don't want metal hardware in the neck due to loss of flexibility and also due to Adjacent Segment Disease after several years of having the fusion. Many people complain about new issues with the vertebrae above and below the fused segment. Some may need to re-operate. I also read that, as the body gets older, the spine bone density diminishes and for some people the screws may get dislodged.

I am thinking of having my discs repaired with laser disc decompression which is keyhole surgery which is minimally invasive. We don't have this type of surgery here in AUS as yet therefore I would have to look at neurosurgeons in the US that perform this type of surgery.

Alfred

There are procedures that would help. Since I am new to the form I'm not allowed to post the links.
Nucleoplasty the easiest percutaneous procedure thereby the least expensive.
Laminoplasty they remove a section of the lamina more permanent than nucleoplasty
Artificial disc replacement the best most permanent solution with a 96% success rate.
Attempts to resolve the weak bone issue are pretty successful with the use of Forteo in advance of surgery. The loss of flexibility is only better than the pain and disability that can result from lack of treatment.
Central canal stenosis is the usual progress of increasing disc bulge. If the changes are dramatic since May, your physician should consider a repeat MRI with contrast or a CT. If the disc has herniated, you can have pain some distance from the disc. The nucleus pupolsus is caustic. Once released it will pain every nerve it touches.

Best wishes

Hi Alfred,
Have you tried the 'Facet injections'?
I have Facet disease, in the lower half of my back. I had some injections that didn't work, then the Ryzotomies, which did... thus avoiding surgery.
Each person is unique, having specialists that you know you can trust is a huge factor in plotting your course.
I do hope you are able to assemble your 'team' and get as much satisfaction that may be available to you.
All the best.

Hello @gently. You have a great deal of knowledge on this topic. Can you share where your experience comes from?

Amanda,
I wouldn't be disguised as knowledgable if I were to post links.
I have understanding of nucleoplasty and percutaneous discectomy having watched the procedures for my Mom. Laminectomy is from reading.
I accept all undeserved compliments. Thanks.
Terry

My pain management doctor tried the medial branch block to no avail. May be he didn't target the facet joint sensory nerves properly. Recently he told that my pain is in my head. He called it a somatic pain disorder and told me to see a psychiatrist. The pain is real, it is not in my head. Time to move forward and see someone else