Cervical Issues

I have had neck issues dating back to my Marine Corps days 26 years worth. Within the last 3 months I developed a cramp in my neck that took a while to go away but led to radiating pain and numbness down the right arm. Finally the VA did an MRI which showed plenty of narrowing stenosis down the spinal column.

MRI results:


Axial slices were obtained from C2-T1. Segmental analysis is as
follows:

C2-3: Uncovertebral joint hypertrophy and generalized disc
bulging are observed. Neural foramen narrowing is present
bilaterally greater on the right than on the left..

C3-4: Right subarticular disc protrusion is noted deforming the
ventral thecal sac. Bilateral uncovertebral joint hypertrophy is
seen with narrowing of the neural foramina greater on the right
than on the left. The right lateral recess is obliterated.

C4-5: Uncovertebral joint hypertrophy is noted bilaterally. The
neural foramina are narrowed bilaterally. No focal disc
protrusion or extrusion is seen. No central canal stenosis is
noted.

C5-6: Bilateral neural foramen narrowing is seen with
uncovertebral joint hypertrophy and facet hypertrophy.
Circumferential thecal sac narrowing is seen consistent with
spinal stenosis. There is broad-based central and left-sided disc
protrusion seen at the level of the superior endplate of C6.

C6-7: Broad-based disc protrusion extends from subarticular
region to subarticular region. Bilateral neural foramen narrowing
is seen. At the level of the superior endplate of C7,
circumferential narrowing of the thecal sac

The neurosurgeon at the VA talked about a Anterior Disketomy.

He said he needed to note he offered surgery but I offered spinal injections first.
The concern is the spinal fluid around the spine is completely closed of a certain levels.

A spinal injection could help alleviate some radiating pain but it looks as though surgery could be in the horizon.

I have been through therapy from about July up till about 2 weeks ago and it definitely helped. Has anyone had any success with the injections??

Hi Bebbles & welcome to Healing Well. Glad you found us but sorry you need to be here. I am assuming you are talking about Epidural Steroid Injections. These are generally done in a series of 3 spaced apart. Doing 3 injections is a mixed bag, some folks will not do a 2nd one if they did not get any relief, some will do a 2nd & not opt for the 3rd for the same reason. There is no guarantee that this will bring you relief, some of our members have had them with success & some not. The goal is to calm down the inflammation of the nerves.

You mentioned your care being at the VA. By chance do you have the option of the "Choice" program through the VA? The reason I am asking this question is; if you end up going the surgery route I urge you to get 2nd opinion with the best neurosurgeon in your area. Personally, I would get the 2nd opinion if I had to pay out of pocket for a consult. It would be money well spent.


And thank you for your service.

Daria,

If I could ask, how long were you in your condition before you went the surgery route? how long was the surgery? Any complications? And how long is the recovery period? Did you try injections first? Thank you much!

Bebbles, how many levels did the surgeon discuss doing? Please keep in mind every spine surgery is different, degree of damage, level of nerve compression & skill of the surgeon, plus many other factors. Age & overall health plays a roll.

Obviously, you have nerve issues going on. A person never wants to wait too long as the nerve damage can become permanent. Nerves have to heal on their own & there is no time limit on how long it will take. It truly takes a good 12 months to completely heal from surgery. By this we are talking about how you feel physically & if you have any residual symptoms. Everything has to heal on the inside, patience becomes your new friend. Often drs do not give patients the complete picture before & after surgery. This is why it is important for the patient to be knowledgeable about the surgery.


You are wise to try other options before jumping into surgery. These other options may give you some relief, you don't know until you try. If things do not work out, then you will know you tried other options. You need to be able to make a decision & feel good about the decision. Your head needs to be in the right place if it comes down to surgery. You will know when it is time to go that route.


Having the best surgeon available & following all post op instructions to the letter is imperative. With spine surgery a person must learn to be patient & listen to their body. The body has a way of letting us know when we are doing too much. Some people fall into the trap of thinking if they push their self it will speed up the recovery. It does not work that way, they end up in trouble.


If you decide on surgery we have a lengthy thread in CP101 with tips from various members that has had surgery. There is a lot of info there that can be of some help to you.

Hi bebbles! I actually had 2 small surgeries to the nerve in the elbow (ulnar) and carpal release (again) and still had awful nerve pain and some numbness down one arm along with a lot of scapular pain and awful neck achiness. I was 'cracking' my neck all the time after a while. The surgeon who did the arm surgeries finally said lets get an MRI of your neck and it was bad...a long list of nerve impingement and bone spurs and the discs were quite bad on c3-7. I have arthritis/auto-immune issues so even though I am 58 almost 59 my wear and tear is older. I did not get injections for this and only did the one PT visit because after the MRI and Neurosurgeon consult (he said it was up to me if I wanted the surgery but I still had a lot of years ahead so why have this situation) I decided to have the surgery and not do any other treatments. If it is that bad might as well.

i was very frightened of a neck/spine surgery but this was really not bad at all. One night in the hospital with a drain that came out the next day and home...not even a brace! I have healed well but I think the surgery inflamed my auto-immune problems. The neck is SO much better!! No regrets. Not a bad surgery/recovery and well worth it. I am now about 2 months out and unfortunately I am having some bad nerve pain in that same troublesome arm...hopefully it is just still healing...but the neck is so much better.

Everybody is different and surgeries always have some baggage. I am not 100% at all. I am better and glad I did it. I wish you the best and glad to help any time.

Thanks StrayDog! I have found another neurosurgeon in my area and I am setting up to get a second opinion. I have found thus far with the cervical region of the body, it's not a matter of just getting a referral and calling and setting up an appointment with the provider. I have found with the neck, they want records first for the specialist to evaluate then they will set an appointment if necessary. I was actually rejected by a pain management specialist because my issue was too extensive for him to treat I guess. What a heart breaker, I was really in pain this summer badly in the neck, bicep, and tricep and they wouldn't treat me.

Thanks whiteboard for the words of encouragement and yes I am absolutely terrified at this point. I am just waiting for the VA to make me a copy of the MRI disk to take to the 2nd NS. I do still do at home therapy at home and try to watch my posture especially and take note of what you have said, not to put undo stress on the cervical region.

Thanks for sharing your story. That's what I needed to know about the injections, temp relief as you say is probably what I will expect. Wow so surgery in about a 1 1/2 weeks! Please keep us posted when your well enough to post after the surgery. I always go on youtube and look at any surgery I may potentially have. I rush the mail box every day as the VA 8 miles away is taking its sweet time sending me my MRI disk and report. Can't set up the 2nd opinion till I have records in hand. The therapy absolutely helped my ROM but the radiating pain continues down the right arm to the index and thumb consistency. I do my flexion exercises for the neck at home everyday and awaiting the VA to schedule injections. I realize nothing besides surgery will fix what I have going on at certain restricting levels. Good Luck to you!!

Bebbles, can you contact the radiology dept there at the VA & request a copy of the MRI? If so, it may be much quicker than more waiting for them to send it in the mail. My husband uses the VA some, I am very familiar with how slow they move on things.

Have you found another neurosurgeon yet? If so, I would schedule the appt since it usually takes several weeks to get an appt. How long has it been since they said it would be mailed? Waiting is awful, at least for me, lol.

I understand the part that the neurosurgeons want to see records at the time of the appt, otherwise it is a waste of time for both the patient & the dr.. Have you decided on a particular neuro yet, if so what is the time line on getting an appt?

BTW, I can feel that awful pain in the bicep I had this summer just laying dormant waiting to rise up again!

Hello,
I went over to the VA early last week and they said it was sent that day but when I called a week before they said it was sent then. Obviously nothing has been sent as of yet. I am monitoring the mail box closely and will keep you updated. Meanwhile my neck is hanging in there as long as I am doing my neck exercises at home and not too much stress.