Cervical Instability and FMS, an interesting correlation?

i suppose I should update this thread, even if the real update wont come for a couple of weeks yet..

will be going in on Dec 8 to get a transforaminal epidural injection - will be focused primarily on the left side, but should spread and help the right side as well..

@djhsix - have you had your MRI yet? any news?
 
i suppose I should update this thread, even if the real update wont come for a couple of weeks yet..

will be going in on Dec 8 to get a transforaminal epidural injection - will be focused primarily on the left side, but should spread and help the right side as well..

@djhsix - have you had your MRI yet? any news?
I have the MRI scheduled for 12/05.
 
Cervical instability is a myth. As is FMS.
 
ok, so no news yet.. hopefully you can get some answers from it.
I haven't met with the doctor yet, but I did receive the results. Here's the highlight: "C6-C7: There is mild to moderate disc height loss and desiccation. There is mild to moderate bilateral facet arthropathy. This bulge and small right paracentral disc extrusion are noted which results moderate central canal stenosis. Uncovertebral and facet arthropathy are present with moderate right and mild to moderate left neuroforaminal narrowing."
 
whelp, the injection appt that was scheduled for the 8th got rescheduled for today.. just got home a short bit ago... they tell me everything went fine, so that is good...
doc did have to drop down one level in order to do the injection (a translaminal epidural) because of a lack of space, but otherwise everything went according to plan.
Now to wait and see if things improve, and by how much.

Thinking it is about nap time, LOL
 
I haven't met with the doctor yet, but I did receive the results. Here's the highlight: "C6-C7: There is mild to moderate disc height loss and desiccation. There is mild to moderate bilateral facet arthropathy. This bulge and small right paracentral disc extrusion are noted which results moderate central canal stenosis. Uncovertebral and facet arthropathy are present with moderate right and mild to moderate left neuroforaminal narrowing."
I saw a spine specialist today. Got lucky with a cancellation due to sickness. He did xrays of my whole spine and reviewed the MRI. He thinks my neck and right shoulder/arm pain and tightness could be caused by the pinched nerve. I'll likely go back in a month or two for an injection if the PT doesn't help. But he doesn't think the spinal cord compression is significant enough to cause the fibro systems. I was so hopeful. :( My follow up with the neurologist is January 5.
 
Don't lose hope. A spinal compression is something that can be made better with one or another treatment. Hang in there, and see what they offer you in the way of treating it. I don't know why you were hopeful it was fibro, since fibro cannot be cured at this time. A pinched nerve can be.
 
yes, a pinched nerve is something that can definitely be fixed with the right treatment(s), so having that as a diagnoses for your shoulder/arm pain is actually a good thing..

It is possible the neck issue has absolutely nothing to do with your fibro. there are so many different things that can set fibro off that it is hard to say what specifically it is in every case.. even just stress can do it. I would not be too concerned about that aspect, to be honest.. focus on getting the pinched nerve fixed as that can have a large impact on your quality of life.
 
I was hoping I had cervical myelopathy, which can mimic fibro, but can be treated more effectively. I'd rather risk spine surgery than deal with fibro.
 
I was hoping I had cervical myelopathy, which can mimic fibro, but can be treated more effectively. I'd rather risk spine surgery than deal with fibro.
yeah, i think a lot of us would, but it is what it is.
Sounds a little like you are still in denial with the fibro - and in some ways, so am i.

But, the sooner we accept it for what it is, the sooner we can set about doing our best to manage it.
Fibro can only "control" our lives if we let it.. and we do not have to let it. Yes, it is a part of it, but it is not the only thing.
I take a lot of heart from fibro warriors like @sunkacola, and others, who have managed to get to and mostly maintain reasonably normal lives. It gives me hope that someday I will be at that point as well, if I keep trying and working toward that.

for me, getting my neck and low back issues sorted out (which are arthritis related - not fibro) would go a long ways towards that. If I can get the pain from these problems under control, and I am working toward that end, then the fibro will be much easier to cope with.
The changes I have made in my diet have already helped quite a bit. It does take a bit of effort to maintain those changes, because they are still relatively new to me, but I am trying very hard.
I have a very hard time with exercise right now, due to the other problems, but I do try to stretch every day.. keep the muscles loosened up and supple. My biggest "exercise" is going up and down the stairs in the house, LOL.. the bathroom is upstairs, everything else down.. so yeah, i go up & down the stairs several times a day.. it keeps me moving and that is a good thing.
 
@cookiebaker
Just curious if and whether the cervical epidural helped you

I have neck and upper back pain with left upper arm pain. I have MRI scheduled for next week. Pain doctor thinks most probably the reason could be a pinched nerve at C5/C6 level
 
@cookiebaker
Just curious if and whether the cervical epidural helped you

I have neck and upper back pain with left upper arm pain. I have MRI scheduled for next week. Pain doctor thinks most probably the reason could be a pinched nerve at C5/C6 level
did not help me all that much, but everyone is different, and with different causes as well. it is worth trying it.

i had great results with the lumbar injections, but the neck, not so much.
 
did not help me all that much, but everyone is different, and with different causes as well. it is worth trying it.

i had great results with the lumbar injections, but the neck, not so much.
Thanks . What are the things that really helped with your cervical issues ?
 
Thanks . What are the things that really helped with your cervical issues ?
so far, not much of anything really helps mine.. I have severe, to very severe arthritis in a couple of places, not much that is going to help that.

I had a consult a couple of weeks ago with a spine surgeon... and I am looking at having fusion surgery... where they go in, clean up the arthritic bony changes, and fuse the vertebra together... thankfully, my biggest problem area is down pretty low (C6-7) so it wont make a lot of difference in how i move (over how things are now)

Curious - have you tried any physical therapy yet? sometimes that can help... things like stretches, exercises, maybe some ultrasound or even traction...
A lot of it boils down to the specific reason you have a pinched nerve... even something as simple as overly tight muscles can impinge on the nerves and cause pain.
 
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