DISH (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis) or Forestier's

Is there anyway that a toxic/ chemical exposure could cause Dish Diease?

I have been disgnosed with DISH spinal disease and was told by my back/spine specialist that their are no cures. So what am I to do with this painful spinal disease? Has anyone had a success with treatments of any kind?

Hello @perky5 . Welcome to Connect.

Here is a discussion where members are discussing DISH or Foresters disease:

- Spine Health - "DISH (diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis) or Forestier's"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dish-disese-diffuse-ideopathic-skeletal-hypertrophy-or-foresters/

In this link on the Mayo website, it mentions steroid injections for DISH patients:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/in-depth/diabetes/art-20049314

Hi. I just want to let you know that I am a dish patient as well, and have found some relief with steroid spine block injections, and steroid epidural’s. I have also had the injections in my shoulders, because I have bone spurs in both shoulders, and I also have osteoarthritis as well as dish. I am able to work full-time. It is not perfect, but it keeps you going. I have also found that aqua therapy or exercises in the water are helpful to keep your body moving. Unfortunately lately I have not been able to get in the water but I will get back in the water as soon as I can. I wish you luck and make sure you read as much as you can about this disease. It’s important that you can educate physicians who really don’t know about this disease. I found that rheumatologist and spine specialist knew the most about it. Be well!

Thank you for the response regarding DISH and your treatment. I was told there is no cure for this disease by my spine Dr. I was disappointed he did not suggest any viable treatment as well. I'm 74 with heart related problems. I will continue to look into this disease for possible treatments to reduce the pain from DISH.

I too am heart patient & had open heart at 50yo. Dish is a connective tissue disorder & I had aneurysm & bad aortic heart valve. Was born with bicuspid heart valve. Luckily I did not have to have bypass as arteries were clear. So I have some understanding . There are correlations with Dish & heart issues.

I was just diagnosed yesterday, (5/2/2023) but have had issues for years. Had never heard of "DISH", and my attempts to research it to gain clarity on the syndrome have not been too successful. Apparently, my diagnosis is correct via radiology, but my "symptoms" do not match those of the limited, older material on line, my complaint IS pain. Significant, limiting and in various joints. I am happy to have found this resource and your post, (which I just NOW saw was from 2018!) in hopes of learning more actual info on this issue. (Note: this is my 1st time on this group, and I hope it is still functioning, as all comments etc. date back to 2018?)

Yes. I would go back and take a look at all the posts about this particular disease. I know I have commented several times since I was diagnosed back in 2019 I believe. I have learned off a lot about the disease and have read a lot of information found on the Internet, but I tend to stick to the medical sites with good reputation and I review them medical studies. I have a rheumatologist, which certainly knows about Dash but there is not anything he can do medication wise much for me, except for some Lidoderm patches and encouraging nonsteroidal medication use. I have been to a spine specialist, who also knew information about this disease. but pain management has been the discipline that I have used the most. As I have stated in some of my post, it’s not perfect but it does take the edge off and keeps me moving which is the name of the game. I am in health care, and it probably makes it easier for me to digest some of the articles. I hope you find yourself, a good doctor or two who will actually take the time with you. You will probably have a few specialists that can help you with this and I guarantee you will also after reading all the materials that you can, educate physicians about this disease, because they were told that it wasn’t anything to be that concerned about. And for some dish patients that may be the case. But, as I read with one surgeon who said dish isn’t a problem until it is . My thoughts and prayers are with you as you start your journey.

Thank you for the insightful and helpful response to DISH pain. And I agree with your thoughts on treatment.

Everyone is different so I'm told from my Dr. I had surgery to remove large bone spurs from my neck that prevented me from swallowing and eventually obstructing my airway. They grew back to the point of having issues again in 18 months. I have had vertebra fusing together also in this short amount of time. I have read about people who have had it for 25 years on this forum so i think there is a lot of difference in people's progression rates.