Trigeminal neuropathy

If the cause is spinal…..is the only option surgery?

If the cause is spinal…..is the only option surgery?

@celia16
My current symptoms tied to my cervical spine herniated disc at c6-c7 that is bulging into my central spinal canal and pressing on/flattening my spinal cord/blood vessels (similar to those tied to c5-c6 level before ACDF surgery), include neck stiffness, shoulder/arm/hand muscle/joint weakness, bladder control issues, balance issues and difficulty walking/weakness in hips/legs. I need to be careful not to fall and feel unstable quite a bit of the time.

This is not fun to deal with at 55 years old. Not what I expected to be dealing with at my age. Many days my body feels 75-85, not 55. I am a single parent of a teen son and his sole provider. I have no family and now disabled (needed to retire earlier than I had planned…I really liked working and being mentally challenged).

My spine issues and congenitally narrow spinal canal will most likely require a life of surgery in my future. I may be in a wheelchair sooner than I would like due to permanent spinal cord injury/degeneration/progression of myelopathy.

I take one day at a time, have hope for tomorrow, have my faith that keeps me strong, love my son and dogs/cats, and find joy in the small things. Despite all of my struggles, I feel blessed and loved by God.

Wow, that’s very powerful. Thanks for sharing. You are dealing with a lot. I have much to be grateful for too. I actually have no back pain. I do have intermittent hand issues numbness at night as well as some shoulder issues. I have seen 2 neurologists. The last one diagnosed B12 deficiency, which I’m treating and has helped, but he also said I might have carpal tunnel. But I had that ruled out last year. So…..I’m going to find spine specialist. I had slight issue on MRI years ago. No idea what’s progressed, but no back pain.

@celia16
I have had multiple EMGs/nerve conduction studies by different neurologists and had different results each time but the consistent result was carpal tunnel. I worked 30+ years on a computer and I’m sure this contributed. I just had carpal tunnel release surgery on my right dominant had mid-March. The numbness that woke me up at night is gone. I am doing physical therapy to strengthen my hand/wrist. I need to have my left hand done in the future after I have my cervical spine surgery.

You may have a pinched cervical nerve root/nerve that impacts your shoulder and arm/hand. Non-surgical treatments may help you manage your symptoms. If you haven’t tried a hand brace worn at night, you may want to try it. It helps me on my left hand to wear it when I sleep so numbness does not wake me up in the middle of the night. You may also want to try Voltaren gel on your neck/shoulder/wrist/hand to reduce inflammation or put a Salonpas lidocaine nerve pain patch at your neck/shoulder to see if it helps calm nerves from shoulder to hand.

@celia16
My current symptoms tied to my cervical spine herniated disc at c6-c7 that is bulging into my central spinal canal and pressing on/flattening my spinal cord/blood vessels (similar to those tied to c5-c6 level before ACDF surgery), include neck stiffness, shoulder/arm/hand muscle/joint weakness, bladder control issues, balance issues and difficulty walking/weakness in hips/legs. I need to be careful not to fall and feel unstable quite a bit of the time.

This is not fun to deal with at 55 years old. Not what I expected to be dealing with at my age. Many days my body feels 75-85, not 55. I am a single parent of a teen son and his sole provider. I have no family and now disabled (needed to retire earlier than I had planned…I really liked working and being mentally challenged).

My spine issues and congenitally narrow spinal canal will most likely require a life of surgery in my future. I may be in a wheelchair sooner than I would like due to permanent spinal cord injury/degeneration/progression of myelopathy.

I take one day at a time, have hope for tomorrow, have my faith that keeps me strong, love my son and dogs/cats, and find joy in the small things. Despite all of my struggles, I feel blessed and loved by God.

@celia16
I think it depends on what is going on in the spine.

Spine specialists and insurance companies always want non-surgical treatments to be tried first. If physical therapy/exercise, pain medications, spinal injections, massage, acupuncture, pain patches/creams, psychologists that specialize in chronic pain, home health aids, heat/ice, sleeping pillows/positions, etc. don’t help improve symptoms or quality of life after 6 months, surgery may be the only option to address the compressed spinal cord, nerve roots, nerves and the pain/weakness/numbness caused disrupted communications from brain to spinal cord to muscles/skin/organs.

To me, it comes down to mechanical stressors/pressure caused by degeneration of discs, overgrowth of bone, shifting of vertebrae, cysts/tumors, etc. that need to be addressed for longer term relief of symptoms. Many non-surgical treatments are offer only the possibility of temporary relief. As we age and our spines age with us, we need to choose if we want to continue with the non-surgical treatments that may/may not help or improve our quality of life or take a calculated risk of getting surgery with a good surgeon we trust after we do our due diligence finding a good and experienced surgeon with good reviews/ratings/experience.

For me, I am glad I had cervical and lumbar surgery. My spinal cord was being compressed and injured causing slow paralysis. I was born with a congenitally narrow spinal canal and no amount of non-surgical treatments would change that fact and how degeneration was affecting me. Symptoms improved after surgery (not all due to some permanent injury due to delayed diagnosis). I need a new cervical spine surgery at another level due to new degeneration and herniated disc at a different level. My lumbar surgery helped relieve a good amount of my symptoms (pain/weakness/numbness from back/hips/buttocks down to my feet).

If the cause is spinal…..is the only option surgery?