Could the Cervical spine causing ALL these symptoms?

[walkinbyfaith]

My question is whether you think that a C4/5 narrowed spinal canal can cause the symptoms I am experiencing or would they only cause some of the symptoms?  I am unsure whether to take care of the C spine first or the lumbar tears.

PAIN in low back and legs that has grown worse since Sept 05
leg pain increasing week by week, I can barely walk now every morning and end of day : (
Pain:  shooting pains, nagging pains, burning pain, some pins and needles back in April
weak legs!
weak arms and hands
foot pain
numbness that comes and goes in top of feet and calves
hard to open things
hard to sign (my child is deaf)
handwriting becoming difficult
sciatica  travels buttocks to thighs
most recently:
tremors when i lay down as I fade off to sleep or they wake me
chronic fatigue and depression
headaches
blurry vision

I am a 40 year old female.  I have been told I have DD Disease.  I have bad buldging discs at C4 C5, herniated at T6 and torn L4, L5/S1  (I also have a C6/7 congenital fusion)

I have had neck pain for years and headaches, about 20 months ago back pain began.  I have been to numerous doctors and surgeons, and they all say something different.  (I recently had a discogram and that showed the tears/leaks in lumbar spine)

Yesterday, I saw a Neurologist that thinks ALL my symptoms are from the neck and not the low back tears.  Is that possible?
If so, what do I do about the tears???  I was told they were leaking and causing the leg pain.... UGH!

She also saw three lesions/plaques on my brain MRI...

Can anyone help?  What is going on and what is most important that I deal with???

[Quixotic1]

If there is pressure on the spinal cord in the neck, not just a bulging disc, but evidence that the spinal cord is being compressed - I would think that is by far the most critical area to take care of.  All the nerves to the arms,trunk and legs run through the upper spine.  The neurologist will have some idea if the damage seen in your legs is from higher in the spinal cord or if it is lower, from where the nerves come out to your legs.

For instance, if your reflexes at your knees and ankles are diminished or not there at all, it is evidence that the problem is from the nerves outside the spinal cord.  (The nerves in the lower back are outside the spinal cord.  The spinal cord ends at about L2 and below that there are individual nerves that go down and exit from between all the vetebrae)  If your reflexes are hyperactive or really brisk the damage is coming from higher in the back up in the cord.  Of course, if there is damage from both areas it might become very hard to tease out exactly which numbness and pain is from where.

That said, the nerves to your arms and hands leave the spinal cord in the cervical region.  If there is any hope of improvement in what you are losing in your arms and hands, then I would think they would want to repair that region as soon as possible,  Even after repair you can't know how much improvement you will get.

About the dural tears, you would need to talk with a back surgeon about this.  If your neurologist seems to do a thorough exam, I would tend to believe her assessment.  

If the spinal stenosis is very severe, it is rather urgent I would think to repair this.  A minor auto accident which snaps your neck back and forth - whiplash - could be devastating.

I can't address the three lesions in your brain.  People do acquire these, though you are not old.  You have enough going on in your spine for now.  Please find someone you have confidence in and I hope you can find improvement and relief.

Good luck, Quix

[walkinbyfaith]

Thank you for your response, I will keep you posted so that others may benefit.

Leslie

[walkinbyfaith]

I have ACDF surgery set for August 3rd.  It can't come soon enough.  I am so weak!  My arms go back and forth between burning and weakness and my legs are like cement!   Thank you again for all your wisdom and I will let you know post surgery how I am doing.  God Bless you!