Hi. :) Thank you so much for replying. I hope that you're well.
I haven't had any obvious trauma to my neck. I've been in situations where my neck could have been hurt, but I always felt okay soon afterward and assumed that I wasn't injured. I saw a neuro surgeon about the herniated discs in my neck that are pressing into my spinal cord, but he told me he doesn't think that's what's causing my pain or visual symptoms.
A lot of my pain does seem like nerve pain, but I recently had upper and lower EMGs and the doctor says everything looked fine.
I've also considered Lyme disease because it's one of the mimics that's supposed to be tested for when you've been evaluated for MS, but the doctors won't test me for Lyme because they say it doesn't happen in Michigan.
Have you had a car accident, chiropractic manipulation or other trauma to the neck?
Some of what you describe sounds like you may have a radiculopathy which may be affecting the nerve bundles in the upper cervical spine. Alternatively, if not all of your vertebral artery is being visualized, perhaps trauma to the neck and/or chiropractic manipulation has caused tearing to the vertebral artery. This can result in clotting which can block the vertebral artery, interfering with blood flow and/or the clots may have broken off and travelled to various parts of the brain. The blood distribution of the vertebral arteries is to the back of the brain, including the occipital lobe which controls eyesight. If you are continuing to get chiropractic care, then your neck muscles may be hyperextended (since a manipulation moves your neck past the normal physiological range of motion), and may cause your neck to be extra "loose". This may be the reason you are getting popping or cracking sounds in the neck.
I also wonder if anyone had considered inflamed meninges which may be caused by a number of things like certain medications, and certain infections (like Lyme Disease, West Nile and whole lot of other infections).
The strange popping sensations and pain haven't subsided. I wish that I could tell someone about this, but I know the doctors will just think I'm insane. Maybe the biggest clues are the visual symptoms and swollen optic nerves, but I don't know what the cause could be if it's not IIH.
Hi. Thank you for your reply. I've had an EMG, but I don't know the results yet. I go for another one in a week. A lot of the things I'm experiencing seem like nerve pain to me, but a lot of other things don't. That's why I was so confused when the neurosurgeon told me he didn't think my herniated discs that are pressing on my spinal cord is causing my pain.
The tingling I use to get between my shoulder blades if I was sweeping and mopping, it would start all of a sudden and the first time it did it I thought I was being severely stung by something. It was really painful. And them that spot would just go numb. Honestly that part sounds to me like it's a nerve somewhere. Maybe ur disk is pushing or pinching a nerve. Have u had a emg done?
Hi. Thank you for replying. Yes, I've had a CAT scan as well as an MRI of my brain. I also had an MRA and there was some narrowing of some vessels, but the doctor said that it wasn't anything to worry about. I'm still in a lot of pain and having a lot of symptoms, but I don't know what to do. The only thing I've found that is close to explaining what's happening to me is GCA, but that seems to only be something considered for someone much older than me.
Did you have a brain cat scan?
I also went to the ER more than a few times due to the visual symptoms and pain. When I told the ER doctors that I was being evaluated for MS, they gave me intravenous steroids and I forgot to say my vision improved a little right after having that.
My neurologist also told me from looking at the MRIs of my spine that he would only expect to see what he was seeing in someone who was in their sixties or someone who had been working construction for thirty years. I'm confused how that could not be causing at least some of my problems. I'm only 27. I'm also not overweight, which made the IIH diagnosis seem less likely to me.