Neck/Shoulder Pain

[bigalsgirl]

I recently had an MRI which showed Multilevel cervical spondylosis with central canal stenosis, most pronounced at C4-5 and left sided foraminal stenosis at C3-4, C4-5, and C6-7.  I have extreme pain in my left shoulder and down my left arm with at times a burning (like someone actually is holding a match) in my lower bottom side of the left arm.  My Family Dr. has prescribed Vicoden (sp) but it lasts only about 45 minutes and I'm back to PAIN.  I get minimal relief when I sit in a recliner with an ice pack but can't see myself living in this way forever!!  Is there anything else I can do to relieve this pain?  I have been dealing with this for about 6 weeks now.  Got up one morning and thought I slept on my arm or something and it has progressed from there.  Is there a surgery for this or what?  I've seen a Chiropractor and the adjustments don't help anymore..he suggests seeing a neurosurgeon.
Thanks for any suggestions

[mike1105]

you should see a neurosurgeon who will probably send you for nerve conduction tests to see exactly which nerve root may be affected

[bigalsgirl]

Thanks , Mike.  I'm trying to get an appointment, however it seems that the earliest date is about 3 weeks away and this pain is unbearable.  Just looking for any suggestions that may help this in the meantime.  Thanks for your reply

[Greg Miller]

Hey, I feel for ya!  I am having some issues with my back related to degenerated T11 - T12 and L1 vertebra.  I got diagnosed and started to become VERY anxious and depressed.  Lots of pain pills, and lots of worrying.  It’s only been a couple months and it seems like I am battling every day to keep my sanity!  The worse part is sitting around waiting for doctors and hospitals to attend to your issues.  It makes you feel powerless and can cause anxiety and depression in addition to pain.  

My first trip to the back doctor, he was ready to send me right to the surgeon.  On my third consultation with a neuro surgeon she absolutely assured me that Physical therapy with a competent therapist would greatly improve my condition.  She was 100% right!  I am back to about 80% pain free after only a week of PT and I am getting stronger every day!  

For pain, believe it or not, I went to an acupuncturist.  Never had been to one before but I will be going back again!  When I walked in I was in terrible pain and when I left, I almost felt normal!  It was quite relaxing and calming and 100% pain free.  


Lately, I have been having some neck pain and also tingling and numbness in my right outer forearm and right outer calf.  I hear some clicking sounds when I move my neck side to side as well.  I am going to get an X ray this week but I know what they are going to tell me :0(  I am pretty sure I have some disc degeneration up there too.  My brother had neck and shoulder pain so bad he could not sit down or turn his head.  He was having numbness and pain in his arms and legs as well.  He had much the same diagnosis you have with severe stenosis and cervical disc degeneration.  6 months of PT and he is 100% pain free and no more nerve problems.

Keep a positive attitude bigalsgirl and don’t discount non surgical treatments.  Exhaust ALL options before allowing anyone to cut into you!  Spinal fusion is the popular repair for your condition in hospitals and can cause serious debilitation in your later years.  What you might want to do is take your MRI report and send it for an evaluation at the Laser Spine Institute in Tampa Florida.  They do minimally invasive repairs as opposed to massive, invasive spinal fusing.  

Take your time and get lots of opinions!  Physical Therapy by someone who knows what they are doing can be a miracle!  Once you get started, its painful and difficult but you will feel like your moving toward a solution. This was beneficial to me to feel like I was making headway and doing something other than sitting around waiting for doctors to do stuff to you.   If you can find a good acupuncturist in your area it might be worth the $$$ to get some pain relief.  It worked wonders for me!  For god’s sake, DONT LET YOURSELF GET ADDICTED TO PAIN MEDICATION!   Drugs like Naproxen and Motrin work great for these kinds of problems without causing dependence.  Just don’t get suckered into long term use of analgesics, and pain pills.  These can damage your liver and kidneys and drugs like vicodin can actually contribute to your condition.  When a disc degenerates it’s from loss of water in the disc.  Vicodin dehydrates you horribly contributing to the process of disc degeneration.  One other drug that you can ask your doctor about is Elevil.  Elevil is an anti depressant but when used in low doses it is a magnificent pain reliever particularly when it’s caused by damage to nerve tissue.  Elevil has been used successfully for treatment of Migraine headaches as well.  It wasn’t too bad once I had it in my system for a couple weeks but the PT worked so well, I stopped taking it and feel better and better every day.

Please don’t discount the toll this can take emotionally on you.  These boards and great sources of information and a good outlet.  Always discuss any ideas with your doctor and don’t be afraid to get second, third, and forth opinions.  Even if it’s just from friends who have gone through this.   I hope you have a full and complete recovery without surgery.  You will be very surprised at how effective PT can be if administered properly by a trained professional.

[Robinetta]

Hi ! Do NOT do any more chiropractor visits  -  you have a serious problem! Traction is also a temporary releif that feels good for a day or two. I was afraid of surgey and determinred to improve my life and eliminate the pain and tingiling in my hands. I DID get rid of the pain, but the tingiling remains, but is in a location I can deal with on another level.
The simple solution was to pay a local guy to orally get me off, fast and hard clitoris licking followed by slow slurppy sucking. Maybe sounds bad to you, but every two or three days he brings me to a frenzy & although now I can shamelessly pick up a dime with my 7 inch clit---
well I also got rid of Al too.  Good Luck!  
-Robinetta

[osu1buck]

Hi,

About 4 months ago I woke up one morning and  I had some pain in my neck on my right side. Like I slept on my neck wrong or something. Over the next few days the pain got progressively worse. A week or so went by and the pain went away. So, I thought I just slept on my neck wrong or something. Well, about 2 months ago, the same thing reacurred. This time after a few days went by, I was getting up from doing something, and something happened in my neck and shoulder area. I had the most excusiating pain in my neck, shoulder and arm. I began getting these sharp stabbing pains down my right arm and also the right side of my chest and shoulder area. The pain was like no pain