Nf1 , and Chronic back pain .

  I was born with Nf1 . I am 41 years old.  I have had Chronic back pain for 10 to 15 years.
  I have had a Ct-Scan of my spine and No tumors can be seen.
  The doctor is at a loss what could be causing this back pain.
  The Ct-Scan showed No Artheritus in my spine either.   He feels it just has to
  be sore achey (achy) muscles.   But this has lingered on too long in years for it just to be sore
  muscles .   I have tried "Flexaril " and "Soma" and "Naprosyn "
  None of these helped to rid me from the pain.
  Can you offer any advice or suggestions please ??
  Could I have Fibromyalga (fibromyalgia) ?

[CCF Neuro[P] MD RPS]

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Dear Glenda:
The CT is very good for boney stuff, such as vertebral compression (which is common in NF-1).  However, if the problem is nerve root, then the CT scan would miss it.  We, at the Cleveland Clinic often get spinal MRI to look for this problem in our NF-1 patients.  I would ask your neurologist if he/she would consider a possible nerve root problem and investigate that possibility.  I would stay away from SOMA as it can be habit forming.  The pain is trying to tell you something, and I would investigate the other possibilities that might give you back pain before I would treat the symptom.  If you do not have any luck, try a second opinion from another neurologist.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro[P] MD