Cervical Stenosis

Unlike you I had no specific diagnosis of CSS. I went in for the lumbar procedure, but pre-op the surgeon noticed something and decided I needed cervical attention first. So they woke me up and had me come back a week later to do the neck. No problems before during or after the procedure on C3-C5.

Make sure you dot your I's and cross your T's. Fusion made my life a lot more challenging. Not saying its not going to work but find a Dr who isn't just pumping out surgeries and cares somewhat about you and your recovery. I had ACDF C5-C6 and walked out of the hospital 3 hours after surgery with no brace no support no nothing and 4 yrs later its a mess. Wishing you the best and and fastest
recovery possible.

@bajjerfan I have a Arch Hypertrophy Laminectomy scheduled for June on L-5, S-1. I also have severe C-4,5,6 CSS. As my days are counting Down., my lower spine is mainly on left, but after 3rd injection, 1wk 1/2 ago, now the pain has come back severely on both sides and left is still worse than right, left leg numb, pins, needles, burning, sleepy/ charly horse pain in calf, and upper thigh, and A Large Sword in lower back. As all this has became worse, now my cervical spine is flared up, causing my arms, fingers, neck to be numb, stabbing, severe headache and cant stay awake throughout the day, " think my body is saying sleep from the Pain", which does Not help. I pray Laminectomy helps, and I hope you have relief from all you're C-SPINE, and L-spine surgeries. I talked prior to Neurosurgeon setting up L-spine surgery, about the C-spine, thinking this would be addressed b4 l-spine and guess they felt L- spine was more serious. Who knows?

Good evening, do you mind sharing what your MRI looked like in axial so I may compare? I have congenital spinal stenosis along with multilevel spondylosis and degenerative disc disease at the ripe young age of 28, which massive neurological symptoms if you see my post.

Would love to see what doctors consider needing surgery vs me who’s considered functionally deficient.

I hope you’re doing well and if you’re religious, I’ll be praying for a speedy recovery

Hello @jaydeeem32,

It is important to keep the community guidelines in mind when asking other members to potentially share private medical information. It is also important to remember that Mayo Clinic Connect is a public space so we encourage our members to protect their private data and healthcare information as much as possible.

A direct comparison can sometimes be difficult because the same diagnosis for two people does not always mean the same symptoms or treatment options based on many circumstances and personal health situations.

@jaydeeem32, when you say you are functionally deficient, does this mean you do not qualify for needing surgery?

@JustinMcClanahan

Understood, I meant no harm obviously, but I’ll keep that in mind, thank you for telling me.

And by functionally deficient, I mean, everybody is telling me there is nothing to operate on, but I have a compression ratio of .4, and in some axial slices of my cervical, there’s no CSF around half the cord.

It’s terrifying because I’m losing motor control in my body and nobody can tell me why, no matter how many doctors I’ve seen, so now I can only rely on other people’s experiences because I’m now at a loss.

I was diagnosed with severe cervical stenosis and I’m afraid to do anything. I’m waiting for my doctor to review the CD from my MRI but she told me that I will probably need spine surgery. My balance is pretty bad. Has anyone else dealt with this? Are there things that you stopped doing until surgery? Anything you can tell me about your experience would be appreciated.

Hi, @jasmine1949. I wanted to let you know I moved your post to an existing discussion where others are talking about topics similar to what you posted:

- Cervical Stenosis https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cervical-stenosis-6

I'm glad you have a diagnosis now, but I'm sorry to hear you are feeling afraid to do anything with the severe cervical stenosis. Hoping others in this discussion such as @livininthestix @wil24 @bajjerfan and others will have some thoughts for you on any similar fears they may have had after diagnosis. They also may identify with having balance challenges and may have some tips on what they did or did not do prior to surgery.

When do you expect to hear back from your doctor? Do you anticipate you will hear for sure from him or her about the need for surgery?

Hi, sorry you are going through all of this. Its scary and it hurts but you got this. I had and still have balance problems. Especially when bending over and standing back up. I also trip on doorways and little things i don't feel with my feet. I just tried to be aware of my surroundings and do the best i could. When I found out I needed surgery I was excited to maybe get fixed and didn't care about much else except getting my life back. I didn't do anything more or anything less while waiting. I work full time 60 hours a week and my job doesn't let me slow down when its go time. Had surgery in June and was back to work in August. I have had complications but everyone is unique. Do your due diligence. Research and ask questions if you have them. Glad to answer any questions if I can.

@livininthestix

Hi-
I have just received a probable diagnosis of myelopathy and am in the process of getting a second opinion. I do have gait and balance issues. Did your surgery ultimately correct your problems?