I am so sorry that you are going through all of this moeck. I really hope JHH will help. I guess I have been hoping that the 40 percent bone loss in my spine from the osteoporosis and all the arthritis was causing all of my leg problems, but no nerves show up pinched on MRI and no spine stenosis, so the docs just keep saying it is "nerve pain" whatever that means. I will keep your spine docs in mind though if I get desperate about this back pain again.
In July, on a 97 degree day in Phila I went to a neurosurgeon at Jefferson who has seen me since February 2007. I asked him to please figure out if the leg weakness is coming from my back. he looked at me in an annoying way and said,"Get it through your head that the leg weakness is coming from your brain!!!!". Now if only the neuros would agree!! ...Craig
These answers may not be exactly in line with your questions but I'll try.
My neurosurgeon's practice is Maryland Brain and Spine in Annapolis.
I have sero-negative inflammatory arthritis plus newly diagnosed degenerative disc disease.
I had constant pain in my neck with limited range of motion. MRI showed two bulging discs. first nerve block helped a little, second nerve block was useless. Follow up mri showed one disc had ruptured. They did a two level cervical discectomy with fusion. My neck now has two pieces of cadaver bone where the discs were, a titaium plate and six screws.
I was walking as per therapy and had a bad fall (I had my leg give prior to the surgery but it was felt to be coincidental). After that fall things went from bad to worse. Hand symptoms came back by the bucketfull, leg spasms, falling, etc. As related prior I spent four days in the hosptial because after a particularly bad spasm I lost all voluntary motion in my right leg from the hip down.
Surgeon ordered brain, c-spine and t-spine mri's. C and t spine looked good, brain showed lesions and white matter signal abnormalties consitent with a demylenating disease or neuro-lymes.
sent to neuro-weanie who did ncvs, emgs and ordered lumbar mri.
Emgs were positive for CTS in both wrists but I also had cervical signal problems and no deep reflexes in either calf as well as decreased sensation in my right leg.
She was all for doing an LP, blood work etc but when my L-spine mri came back with my L4 lumbar vertebra 9mm out of position from the L5 and stretching the nerve roots she said basically, "All your problems are mechanical, ignore the brain mri and other symptoms, good bye" That's when I got myself set upwith JHH.
My surgeon will not do "elective" surgery unless nerve blocks are not effective. he said it takes up to three a month apart to be sure they are working but gave up on my neck after two.
The mylegram will be done if the two CTS surgies do not releive the symptoms, then they will see if a nerve somehow was "caught" in the fusion as it healed.
My surgeon does not think it is all mechanical, but since I do have mechanical issues we want to get them fixed as much as possible.
BTW I donot have osteoporosis so I don't know how that would affect a mylegram.
P.S.for SL, they are dowing my hand surgies three weeks apart
moeck
I have very bad spine arthritis and osteoporosis and can't get a doctor to do a nerve block. Do you have constant pain in your back? Do they think it is at all responsible for leg weakness etc? Good luck with all of your procedures. Also, why are they doing a myelogram? One neuro I went to suggested it , but because of all the osteoporosis there was not one doctor that would do it. Thanks for tolerating all my questions, but i am so sick of back pain! ....Craig...By the way, if you are relatively close to me in DE, could you let me know the name of your neurosurgeon?
MAN, guess you were Really bored! ha/ha. . .
All kidding aside, seems it will bide your time, but I'm thinking it's going to take a lot out of you....
Don't they know you have a forum to keep up on, what were they thinking to do the CTS in both hands at the same time! ha/ha
I wish you well w/it all,
SL