Answer for the good Doctor

[CatsAreFine]

Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD,

You asked me a question on the MRI...

C2-C5 has arthritis - mild, and C5-C7 has arthrits - mild to moderate.  Minor disc bulging, also.
Lists a 'tiny root sleeve cyst in the region of the left neuroformen at the C7-T1 level'.
Brain MRI (recent) shows nothing abnormal.

Regards,

Cats Are Fine

[CatsAreFine]

The ENG was done to check for proper vestibular response to confirm or deny the problem being that my ears were infected at some point to cause a chronic problem.

As is the case, vestibular response was normal, indicating that any possible viral cause was acute and non-significant in the scheme of things - with the exception that it pushed an over-taxed balance system over the edge, and me with it!  The neck problem has been going on for years, simply dealing with the pain as best as I could.  I recall one episode years ago where I had an adjustment for my neck being kinked (in spasm).  I left the doctor, pulled into a convenience store parking lot for lunch, and my neck snapped right back to where it was before I got to the doctor (Chiropractor).  I sat there and cried for 30+ minutes, unable to move.

Back to the present...I have numbness in my face and hands for days at a time, now.  I have had my blood pressure and pulse bouncing off the walls while sitting watching T.V.  Normal is 118 / 77 P 68  and it hit 132 / 92 P 96.  PCP is concerned about that.  This occurs when my neck is in more than 'normal' spasm, and it starts spreading to the front neck muscles.  That is when I feel the tendons pulling just behind the jaw and into the ear.  Any movement causes extreme pain in this case.  Any attempt to try and stretch the area usually ends with no significant reduction in pain, and only a temporary reduction in the spasm.  There is sometimes the 'popcorn' effect in the cervical joints and sometimes just more and deeper 'snaps', followed naturally by stronger spasm.

My left had has started to go numb, now.  The neck is acting up.  I had better stop before the face goes numb, too.

Peace.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I hope you are in good health today.

Now, the MRI of the brain rules out any intracranial pathology. The neck problems actually seem to be the cause of all your symptoms of vertigo, dizziness, vomiting and tinnitus.

The bulging discs are creating the trouble. When you move your neck, the cord gets compressed against the vertebral bones. This leads to what is called as the neck vertigo or the cervical vertigo. I have not seen such a case in my own experience, but our great teachers from whom we learned, have described the condition.  I just wish I was born a little earlier.

The ENG is actually a good test, but to diagnose the cervical vertigo, the doctor must be alert and must be able to interpret the test properly. Can you confirm if the ENG has been ordered for the same purpose ? Your ENT surgeon may have this condition on his mind.

The root sleeve cyst is most probably insignificant.

Any new developments so far ?

Regards