5 sessions of P.T isn’t really that much, when I was recovering from my back surgery I went P.T. 2-3 times a week for 4 months. You had injections for your back?
For your low back pain, yes surgery is a valid option. You need to meet the Surgeon and have him explain to you about how much of your pain he thinks the surgery will help. I’m sure it will help some, but it probably won’t take away all your pain. If possible try to see another surgeon as well, the more opinions the better. Yes the pain that goes down your hips, leg and foot are all a part of your back problem, the weakness in your leg is probably coming from this too.
The arthritis you have in neck is really not that bad for a person of your age.
For your ulnar nerve compression in your elbow, the operation is called an anterior sub muscular transposition of the ulnar nerve. They make an incision in your elbow and move the nerve so that it’s not compressed anymore. Your Doctor should be able to tell you if you are a good candidate for this procedure. This is probably causing some of your arm weakness too.
With Oxycontin and Valium, you probably have to take more and more because of tolerance. Panadeine Forte contains Paracetamol make sure you do not take more than 4000mg of Paracetamol a day that’s the maximum, if you could take half or none it would be better. Paracetamol can affect your liver. Can’t you get Codeine without Paracetamol? Do not stop these medications without speaking to your Doctor. You have been taking them so long that your body is used to them, if you want to stop taking them you need to slowly decrease the amount you’re taking over time. Your Doctor can help you with a taper plan or if not post here and I can put you in touch with some members on another forum that can help you. If you try to stop all the medications at once, it will make your pain worse, so don’t do it.
I had problems with both my back and neck, for both I had surgery. The back worked out good. The neck is still giving me problems; I need to another neck surgery. The next one might help, I don’t know. Sometimes these surgeries don’t help; and they can make you worse. You have to make the decision for yourself whether or not to have surgery. If your pain is unbearable and you’ve tried everything else, then maybe you should consider it. Talk to your Doctors and ask them if they think surgery will help you, and how much it will help you. And try to talk to as many Surgeons as possible.
Take Care
hi.
thank you very much for you reply,
i did have an injections , but it did not help at all.
and the C8 brachialgia with C6 , C7 weak is a MRI scan result.
I tried PT 5 times without any help.
will my pain increase by time.
is there any solution or i have to live with pain.
is surgery a valid option.
i saw a neurosurgeon and he said i need an operation on my back.
if i did will that help me.
and you suggested an operation on for my nerve pain, what kind of operation and will that help as well.
and the pain in my back goes down to my hips is that part of my back problem, or they not connected.
you also mentioned that i have arthritis , how bad is that is there is a treatment.
and i keep losing power in my left hand and leg is that preventable , some days is bad and some days it's less.
i take Oxycontin and panadeine forte and Valium for the last 10 years , am i used to the medication that they do me nothing, will these medication cause me any other problems in my body, kidney, liver or heart, if i stop them will my pain increase. and will i cause more damage to my neck and back.
it seems you had problems with your back and neck, how did you go about it, did you have treatment, and did it work.
i thank you for your time Kalvin.
i am awaiting your reply
thank you and god bless you.
calito
You have a lot of degenerative age related changes in your C-spine, but keep in mind most of this doesn’t cause symptoms or pain. Minor disc bulges typically don’t cause problems.
In addition to the ulnar nerve compression, the left sided foraminal narrowing you have at C5-6 could be partially responsible for your arm and hand pain. You’ve developed arthritis around some of the joints and the edges of the vertebra in the spine which in turn can narrow the foramina. The foramina are the holes where the nerve roots come through from the spinal canal, in some cases the arthritis can narrow these holes and press on the nerve roots. The type of pain you’re having in your arm and hand is typical of nerve root compression, it’s fairly common. The neck pain you’re having is probably being cause by arthritis as well.
I don’t understand: left C8 brachalgia with C6 and C7 weak, is this the result of an EMG test? Anyway brachalgia just means neck and arm pain due to nerve root irritation or compression, which is pretty what I said up above.
Lumbar spine
Schmorl's nodes are protrusions of spinal disc tissue into the adjacent vertebra and don’t generally cause symptoms, they are a sign of wear and tear of the spine.At L4-5 you have a disc protrusion that’s displacing the L5 nerve root and you have a similar situation at L5-S1 with the S1 nerve root. L5 and SI nerve root compression both can cause the thigh, leg and foot pain you’re having.
Have you had any injections for your low back and leg pain, they might help. Also, have you considered surgery for the ulnar nerve entrapment; it’s a relatively simple procedure? It would be interesting to see how much arm and hand pain you had after you recovered, it might be minimal.
Take Care
MRI results for my neck
by dognameduke, 10 hours ago
1. there is mild reversal of the normal lordosis, centered at C3 to C6. centered at C4-C5.
2. at C3-C4 the is moderate to severe right foraminal narrowing due to a right paracentral disc osteophyte complex.
3. at C4-C5 there is also a posterior disc osteophyte complex, with moderate narrowing of the left neural foramina due to spurring and disc.
4. at C5-C6 there is also loss of disc height and a posterior disc osteophte complex, with mild bilateral foraminal narrowing. no spinal canal stenosis.
5. at C6-C7 there is also diffuse posterior disc osteophyte complex with mild to moderate bilateral forminal narrowing