3 years and no real answers, I need help neck pain etc.

I was injured about 3 years ago.  First, I believed it was a shoulder injury, but now believe it is a neck injury.  Initially I had a lot of burning pain around my shoulder with some sharp pains as well.  I also had tightness in the muscle from the top of my shoulder up the side of my neck.  Shortly after that I got a pain, like muscles straining going across my chest with sharp or stabbing pains in my armpit.  Eventually I also had pains from my armpit down my ribcage and pain along my back by the shoulder blade in the same direction as the pain in my chest, but the pain had more of a tingle to it.  Occasionally I would have similar pain on my right side.  Medication, injection, and Physical therapy were ineffective.  X-Rays and an MRI showed no damage to my shoulder.  After my condition worsened, particularly the area affecting my neck (it also started to crack/pop severely) a Dr. said it was probably my neck and had an MRI done which showed:

"right eccentric disc bulges at C4-5 and C5-6.  At C6-7, a diffuse disc bulge."  

I got a cervical epidural and more physical therapy, both helped not at all.  I was given more medication, which also didn't help.  Since the MRI (almost 6 months) my pain has increased a ton.  Pressure now builds up at the base of my neck and I get very sharp pains there at times.  Muscles on both sides of the neck are very tight and I have pain going to both shoulders and armpits now.  I get aches that go up the back of my neck and into my head, usually causing a lot of pressure in my head and face, and sometimes some tingling or numbness around the outside of my head.  I have had several instances of waves of numbness going down the middle of my back from my neck, or from the base of my neck out towards both shoulders.  There is also a feeling like an electric current that radiates between my shoulders when the pain/pressure is severe.  The last Dr. I saw just said I had some arthritis and to be more active, which makes it worse.

[Prem Pillay, MD]

I do believe that your symptoms are mostly from your degenerative spinal disc disease. You may also have what is termed a T2 syndrome.
I would suggest that you try a spine decompression system and more advanced physio like aquaphysio.
If all of this does not work you may be a candidate for percutaneous procedures like a laser or plasma energy discoplasty (a day procedure).
If this fails you may be a candidate for artificial disc replacement.

Dr Prem Pillay
Neuro Spine and Pain Center
Singapore
www.spine-neuro.org

[klivesay]

hi,
I was wondering if you have been checked out for fibromyalgia.  Alot of what you posted in your journal sound pretty familiar.  sometimes it take a traumatic event for fibro to rear its ugly head.  

[ChldsPlay]

No, I have not been checked, but what I have read about fibromyalgia did not sound really that close to what I've been experiencing.  A lot of the symptoms for it I don't have, and the ones I do aren't quite like described.  I would have gone into a lot more detail in my first post, but their was a limit on what I could put on there.

[VLK1982]

Have you had a fusion in your neck?  If not, check out a therapy called Vax-D.  It's non-surgical, and FDA approved.  YOu should like an otherwise healthy person, so you should be a good candidate.

[ChldsPlay]

A related discussion, Cause of lack of lordosis (kyphosis). was started.

[markmalentev]

A related discussion, a new method for the removal of back pain and neck was started.