Anyone have bulging disc at L5-S1 and would it cause tingling of feet AND hands?

Should I also get an MRI of my neck? Because my upper body is effected too. My weird thing is that I have a lot of symptoms of MS so wondering if I should also get a brain scan. Or do bulging discs mimic a lot of the same symptoms of MS?

Here is a list of my symptoms:

tingling hands and feet
electric shock feelings
sore and crampy feet and hands every so often
sore spots on my body that move around- but mostly in my upper arms, shoulders, neck, upper back, elbow area, side of knee and ankle area
get light headed easily-- especially when exercising, hot or stressed
my arms bump into things a lot
a weird crawling sensation in my head
my left cheek feels partially numb and somtimes my cheeks feel flushed
also my right hip constantly feels sore so that would make sense from my bulging disc, altough my lower back doesn't hurt all the time
get tired easily

For those with back problems, are these typical symptoms or should I get further testing? I know my Aunt has MS and my mom has Fibromyalgia, so maybe I shouldn't rule that out yet

Hi bridget10 and welcome! Nice to meet you. I am pretty new here but I will share my experiences with you! To start, so sorry for your pain, it sounds like you have a lot going on. I have chronic lower back pain in the same spot. Unfortunately, my only MRI was handled by a workers comp doc and I have never felt like he was in it to help ME! The report indicated that I had a "non-specific" problem at L5-S1. That was 3 years ago and things have just gotten worse. Due to pretty lousy health insurance when I had it and now no insurance, I have not had the resources to get more stuff done. They released me back to work after 3 months with no follow-up and then shortly after I was fired from the job! That whole situation stunk but there is not much I can do about it now. I have a very good GP who understands and helps to treat my pain but currently....that is all we are doing! Anyway, let me tell you, back problems with nerve impingement can do crazy things to your body! I will list some of the things I have had...keep in mind, this is over 3 years and other then my lower back, none of these are constant and pretty much come and go randomly. I will try to tell you if it is real random or things that seem to come together and so on.....well enough ranting and here goes..

Constant lower back Pain-ache, stabbing, throbbing (on a good day, still rates about a 3)
Left hip pain-ache (approx 2 days a week)
Right hip pain-ache (seems more like a bruise here most the time because I sleep on that side and don't move all night long, however, occasionally hurts like the left one)
Left knee pain-ache when bending, straightening and walking (occasionally)
Right knee pain-same as left (not real often)
Pain in left thigh really high with a lump (1-2 times a week the front of my thigh just throbs)
Feet-OMG....I get terrible cramps in my feet for no reason. Happens when I sleep, sit, walk...just whatever. Sometimes the cramp feelings last for days and I can hardly walk. Also, other times my feet just feel bruised on the bottom or they just ache.
Shoulders, neck and head-tightness, ache, stabbing (used to be more random and it seemed to relate to when I was have a bad back day. I used to think it was just because I was tense from the other pain and that may still be the problem, but I feel pretty tight and achy in this area most the time now!

I do not have a lot of symptoms in my arms well before a couple weeks ago but that is something new, however, my hands do fall asleep easy.

Now my legs are a completely different story as far as the nerve things go. I have electric shock feelings, muscle spasms and what feels like spiders crawling on my legs constantly! Well not everything all at once, all the time.....random but all day! Sometimes they drive me crazy but getting more used to that. Also seems to relate to when my back is bad! I also have this weird vibrating feeling like a phone on vibrate that I get in my upper thigh, buttocks and groin area.

Back seems to always be worse with low or falling barometer, but I think many will tell you that! Sometimes I feel like I can tell you the weather better then the news can!

Now 2 weeks ago, I started something new.....but we think it is actually something completely new....possibly RA. Still working on a diagnosis on this one and that was a whole lot of different pain then I get with my back.

Anyway, please do not take this as a diagnosis and assume that your stuff is just back related and not pursue it with a doctor. All of this is scary stuff and you need to let your doc know. We share a lot of symptoms, but I do not have much in my arms, cheeks elbows....well at least I didn't before 2 weeks ago!!

If you are concerned, make your doc aware of it....never assume it is ok!!! Anyway, I don't have a lot of room to talk in that area....my sis and hubby will attest to that!

So, welcome....hang in there, keep coming here and Take care of you!!!!!

Beckey

Hi again, yes I do get upper body aches and stuff, but I do honestly believe that those are more related to me being tensed up from the lower pain. Not positive though! Glad you are going to follow up on this! I have not had a cervical spine MRI...at least not yet. I am hoping to get some insurance stuff straightened out soon so that we can go forward and not just continue treating symptoms! I am always fatigued....pain takes a lot out of you and, for me, goes hand in hand with my depression. I think many people can relate to that. I am actually involved in a 3 week study looking into the link with pain and depression. Really glad you do not have a lot of back pain and praying it stays that way, at least for a long while!! I really hate the tingling and spider crawling feelings! You get kind of used to them, or maybe my pain just consumes me sometimes and I can't think of anything else!! I don't know....chronic pain is certainly a journey...and we all travel our own paths, but it is nice to know there are others on their own pain journey that truly understand!! Keep coming here....I only joined so I could post a few days ago.....but I have spent many hours of many days reading here!! Take care of you!

Have a good weekend!
Beckey

finallyreallycrazy


Even though you have more problems with your leg maybe the reason they want to start off with the cervical disk, is that maybe they found more serious damage up there??? It is possible, depending on the person and where and what the damage is, it is possible to have really severe damage to your disk and not know it, and the high up in the spine you go the more critical it it is. If your spinal cord is damaged down low in your lumbar area you migtht lose the use of your legs, but if it is damaged in your upper cervical area, you might lose everything including the abiltiy to breath I think breathing is C3/3 area, but all those nerves that come out of the cervical all break off and combine and innervate all the upper portion of the body but if the disk is pressing on the spinal cord its self then it can affect everything. When I had my herniated diskl at C6/7 the disk was ruptured so bad that it broke up into pieces and they were all pressing directly on my spinal cord, it actually bent my spinal cord, and was flattening it. all I had was severe arm pain but the the doctors said they could not understand why I wasn't a quadriplegic with all the damage I had in my spine. My surgeon said somebody was watching over me, because there just wasn't any other explanation for not being a quad! He said with the way the damage was, if I would have ever fallen it could of severed into the spinal cord and killed me. So you never really know finallyreallycrazy, but it is good that they found out waht was wrong with your spine and they are going to take care of you now!.



White Beard

thanks "finallyreally crazy"... (it's strange calling you that!LOL)

WOW-- sorry to hear you only have 3 good vertebrae. that's just nuts. I hope and pray you get treated well for that.

My other question is: is lightheadedness common with a bulging disc? I get light headed easily, but I've noticed it is worse when I am hot, which is more a symptom of MS. However, I also get like that if I am squatting or bending down and then stand up, or if I"ve been sitting still for a long time and then stand up.

Hi Canadiancutiepie, welcome to the forum. Yes, this is a very old thread, I haven't seen the original poster around since I've been here. I'd recommend starting your own thread, where more people will see it, and possibly offer you some more insight/personal experience, ect.

Hi bridget welcome to the group. Sorry you are having this experience...you sound like me, actually....i have had chronic pain for several years...since 2004 and was intermittent before that. I have been treated for the several disc issues in my low back and sciatica for years. i have had intermittent neck pain during those times but always during a major flare of my low back which can leave me laid out for weeks unable to move when i have a bad flare...so i and my doctors always associated the upper back poisson with my low back as just a side effect due to muscle spasms and what not. And let me correct myself...it was not my neck but upper back kinda between my shoulders that would hurt. Over the past several months i kept feeling like i had a kink in my neck....but it was happening all the time. I get these crazy headaches all the time, and tingling down to my pinky on one side and then the other side started feeling like i hurt my shoulder and bad pain to my elbow....i had a neck mri and found out i have 3 broad bulges invaded my nerves and a bad protrusion, and a bunch of other fun stuff. Get an mri of your neck...this will help answer some of your questions. I am so sorry you are experiencing this, when you talk to your doctor tell them everything...even write down a list so you dont forget anything. This way they can narrow down the cause. Wishing you the best...