Lightning pain????

[beckieapp]

I posted this in the neurology community and thought id try asking you guys to see what your thoughts are.
i hit my head a few years ago at the base of my skull where the skull meets the spine. i hit it pretty hard but never went to hospital.
i didn't have any symptoms to begin with. then i got tingling in my right arm and started physiotherapy. the physiotherapist said i have a vertebra slightly twisted
after the first mobilisation on c1, that night i was laying down on the couch and my head felt like it was going to fall off, i literally grabbed my head. i thought this was strange but never questioned it.
after a few more mobilisations and ROM exercises, i had spinal pain, which was like an electric shock. at the time i thought this was part of the process of physio and continued the sessions.
i had spinal pain a few more times but again never questioned it.
i went to the docs to get meds and my doc wasn't there and Dr Siddique sent me for a neck xray and gave me amatrypsalin and he conducted neurological tests, i had right arm pain and weakness in right leg, when he pressed my pressure point(i think) on my right shoulder i got tingling in left arm right leg and right arm
the xray showed there was no fractures but mild scoliosis to the right
a while after that i had the worst spinal pain ever, it started in my neck and radiated through my body. it was like being struck by lightning. i rang an ambulance and was in sheer panic. after calming down i realised i was going to be ok.
since then ive been referred to a nuro and started taking pregablin instead of amatypsalin.
just a few days age i started getting nerve pain really bad in my left arm, which is strange as it has always been in the right, also getting nerve pain in my legs too. i cant even lift my elbow above shoulder height.
i had spinal pain down my left side last night and in scared that the damage is irreversible.
Dr Siddique suspects spinal cord compression and im a week away from my appointment with the neurologist.
I am scared I may be in pain for the rest of my life or maybe worse, im only 23 and very scared.
If you've got this far, thanks for reading any comments are appreciated

[LisaM46]

Prior to January, I chalked it up to........ oh, maybe I'm anemic, low blood sugar, ah, too busy & not eating right, too much sun, not enough protein, maybe too much wine that night, and a million other "reasons"... what else could it be?...

Yeah, hindsight is always 50/50 huh?

Lisa

[selmaS]

Stress can as well as a bumpy car ride...so, either or both combined could have triggered urs....one of us knew we had chiari, but I knew something was wrong.....weird.....but, nething could have triggered it....now or later...I know most would pick later...but the older we get the harder it is.....

Distance from something can sometimes give a clearer view : )

"selma"

[LisaM46]

That said, I guess I'm pretty lucky the symptoms over the years have been mostly minor.  Since it didn't hit me hard until this January, I'm wondering if my mother-in-laws death in October (crying always gives me headaches), and then snowboarding for four days over New Years set things off.  I really struggled to stay up on the board & focus this year - so I fell A LOT!  I wore a helmet, but, lets face it... I am forty-six!  I just didn't know I had CM, or I would've been smarter about it.  So much for being the cool auntie.

Speaking of people who know better... my bff who has MS, when I told her I learned how to snowboard two years ago... she reminded me how old I was and told me how stupid I was at least four times!  Well, I begged to differ at the time, but, ah, I guess she was right & I just didn't know!  Rats!

Lisa

[selmaS]

Hi Lisa...ur mom is right..a fall  or MVA we may have been involved could have triggered our chiari form asymptomatic to symptomatic......

I know a MVA in '75 made my symptoms worse....had some prior, but they got really bad then...and it only took until 2008 to get a dx......

[LisaM46]

Hi Beckie,

This probably only relates a tiny way to your description in a tiny way.  But, back in 1982, I had rhinoplasty, and the following morning, due to drop in blood pressure, I passed out and cracked the back of my head on the edge of the bathtub.  When I came to, I couldn't talk (gurgling only) and could move my arms but not my hands.  Mobility & speech were only gone for maybe half hour.

I was taken to the hospital & stiched up & released when my blood pressure was deemed normal.  I don't recall if they even took x-rays.  

Anyway, for about a year & a half afterward, every time I turned my head left or right, I would get an "electric current" that ran from my neck out to my arms and down the arms (through the funny-bone area) and out my pinkies.  Never had it re-checked.  Just disappeared on its own.  Yours sounds much more invasive, I would imagine it's in relation to the area you injured, but maybe there's hope they can fix it... or that it's only temporary.

Who knows what this accident contributed to my Chiari.  Funny thing - anytime I have health issues, my mom brings it up...  You know - moms are usually right!

Good luck with your dr. visit!

Lisa

[selmaS]

Thanks for the update...Good Luck !!

"selma"

[beckieapp]

I have an MRI booked for the 7th of august of Head and C spine. Not long to wait though I will let you all know when the results come back.

Beckie

[selmaS]

Hi...yes that is a common issue for those with chiari as well as a related condition known as POTS.

I posted a comment in ur thread in the neuro forum, so I did not repeat it here....but, it is highly possible u have a syrinx from ur injuries or triggered chiari symptoms.Until u have more testing done to be sure....it is a diff thing to say for sure.
Push for answers tho.

Good Luck
"selma"

[beckieapp]

Thanks for reading my extremely long post, prayers to you all
I havent had an MRI yet, but have had a lot of trouble with docs so i am trying to gather as much info as possible. I know my symptoms could be caused by a few things but need to know what im telling them, im sure many of you would have had the same issues(like crazy pills). I've experienced spinal pain what was much like a fit, and i have headaches everyday which are at the back and get worse as the day goes on. I cant control sleeping patterns and every time i stand up too quick i have to sit down or i would pass out. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Beckie

[*Stormy*]

Hmmm...

Funny thing is that you are describing a lot of the pain that I have after having the decompression surgery (for Chiari). The only think that I know right now is that I have some OA in my cervical spine, dessicated discs in my thoracic spine along with a cavernous hemangioma...which I am unsure could be causing problems or not. I too am on Lyrica and have found limited relief with it. Are the thinking that it is fibromyalgia?

If so, the problem with that is that they won't want to look any further...which they should b/c there is always a cause with these things. From what I can see, you haven't had any MRI's? That is something that you should get done, a brain one along with a full spinal one.

For me, my spinal issues go all the way to my tailbone and I feel is now an issue of instability. Does you spine crack and pop in and out of place? My hips do that constantly and I feel like I almost have to hold my hip joint in to keep walking sometimes.

I really hope this dr helps you...at least far enough to get the MRI's done, and then you may want to consider having a NS look at it.

Good luck
Carolyn

[rod44]

Have you had an MRI of your brain & C spine? This should show any changes, going for PT on your neck without a DX is not a good idea.
An MRI would be the first step in getting a DX. Work from there.

Ray

[bbisweary]

I don't know how easy it is in the UK to see a Neurosurgeon, rather than just a Neurologist, but a NS is far better with diagnosing unexplained problems like this than a NL.  I had seen 4 NLs who diagnosed me with "just migraines" and even stress disorders before I insisted I see a NS.  Actually I saw two and they both had the same diagnosis as Chiari causing the symptoms.  I hope you can find the right doctor, I know your problem is scary and stressful. Prayers for you.

[n40066]

have you ever been checked for a chiari malformation?