f13.net

So, I've been suffering from a host of issues since I was a teenager, but mostly it's chronic headaches/pain all over and all the joyous mental health issues that spring from that.

This week I found out I have cervical stenosis. I was in such pain I didn't ask a lot of questions; I was just thinking "here's another doctor who thinks she knows what's wrong with me and is going to inject me with something that's going to have zero affect on my condition".  I do remember her saying it was in many places but mainly she talked about C-7.

Wednesday I did what no lay person should. I started googling.  :why_so_serious: From what the doctor said it sounded like only the nerves were compressed but from my symptoms it sounds like it's cervical spinal stenosis. I called the office today and one of her worker bees should call me today and clarify this.

When I first started writing this post I was freaking out, because stenosis is degenerative and  paralysis (I'm assuming quadriplegia since it's the neck area)  is a possibility.  Now I just feel relieved that it's not just in my head. I really do have medical issues and it's not psychosomatic.

Been there. I started googling because the doctors had no idea. It made things so much worse in one respect, because you focus on the 5% absolute worst possible outcome. If you already have anxiety it just gets worse.

The good news is that you have to remember these things don't move fast. You have time to get a good handle on what they are going to do. Doctors will not wait if things are dramatically serious. You have to trust that while they are looking and observing you, you are giving them good information. Here's what I recommend.

1 - Keep a symptoms journal with you at all times. Log your symptoms when you get them. Log what you were doing. Log what you were eating.
2 - Look for patterns. If you notice that certain things are casuing certain symptoms, report those causes.
3 - Realize that your condition is treatable, and making sure you are treating the right thing is paramount. I know all to well the wish for doctors to just do something, but just doing something can make things way worse if they are wrong.

Googling anything about a medical condition you may have or think you may have is perhaps the single worst use of Google ever. You are almost guaranteed to give yourself goddamn panic attacks from that shit regardless of how much or how little is affecting you.

Very true.  But I did actually find out what I was suffering from on WebMD.  But it was a minor medical issue taken care of by outpatient surgery and a few months of healing. 

I was thinking of making a 'medical' website and, no matter what symptoms you put in, some form of cancer was the cause.  :grin:

Hang in there Rag!  I hear gaming is therapeutic!

My best advice: Get a referral to a specialist before reacting.  Multiple opinions are always best if you can afford them.

The doctor I'm seeing works at a pain management center. I'm not sure what her specialty is (I'm assuming you meant neurologist).

I know better than to google stuff, but I did it anyway.   :oh_i_see: Some ear test tech told me I might have Meniere's (sp) and I was tripping for weeks.

Also there are tons of diseases that have the same symptoms I'm showing. AND I HAVE EVERY ONE OF THEM.

At the risk of having this thread moved: I have a chemistry degree I haven't used because I'm so clumsy (I break glassware and spill chemicals all over myself) and my anxiety goes through the roof just from applying to an opening, I lost my highest paying job ever due to dizziness/nausea/chronic headaches, I've spent all my savings and finally, now that I'm on Obamacare,  hopefully someone has figured out what's wrong with me.

So Fuck you U.S. health care system, Fuck you  Republicans, and thanks Obama.

This, I agree with. 

My guess is that you'll likely want to consult a neurologist, orthopedist, and possibly and orthopedic surgeon.  I do hope that you get both answers and a resolution.

Neurologist first. And I say that because after all was said and done with my problems it was the neurologist that found the root cause. But before that he ran MRI's on my head and neck to rule things out, did ALS tests, and did all sorts of strength tests.

The Neuro will be a big help if it's what you think it is.

Here's a key question I have, are you sleeping? How is your sleep? Do you wake up a lot? Do you ever wake up gasping for breath? Do you have dreams you remember?

I have sleep apnea if that's what you're getting to. I have wild dreams sometimes. I used to have nightmares every night before I got my cpap. I figure it was my brain's way of waking me up so I could breathe.


No phone call either today. I guess I'll call or walk in tomorrow.

It has ups and downs. On the one hand, there was my brother's cancer thing which had me depressed for weeks until the diagnosis was in. Because there are a LOT of cancers out there, and quite a number of them are "Welp, you're fucked".

On the other hand, I managed to figure out some weird medical issue my wife and her mom have simply because I got tired of wondering "Is that shit contagious?". (No).

Not really worth the weeks of "Oh shit, CANCER KILLS EVERYONE" followed by "Oh shit, I could have cancer RIGHT NOW. My stomach hurts. IS IT CANCER, WHICH KILLS PEOPLE.".

On the gripping hand, I'm pretty sure Doctor's use the shit out of WebMD.

My dad had a situation where he was feeling sharp pain all over and the doctor couldn't find anything wrong for months and said it was all in his head. Turns out he had cancer, whoops  :oh_i_see:.

Not saying you have cancer, get lots of opinions and be confident in how you feel, that those feelings are real and that it's not normal, you will find someone who will find the cause.

Also not to hippy shit up the thread but try a (good) naturopath as well. Throughout any of my family members treatment they will swear on some of their methods to ease pain, and while I don't know if it's placebo or not it's worth a try.

I've had at least the headaches and fatigue/burning in shoulders/arms for decades now so I don't think it's cancer but thanks for giving me something else to fear.  :awesome_for_real:


I've already tried acupuncture (on doctor's orders; what a waste of time. I think she was just running out of ideas. And OMG those needles hurt, don't let them lie to you.). Homeopathy just sounds too inane for be to bother with.

That site already exists, it's called every "medical" website ever. They're pretty much all about maximizing "user engagement" and "capturing eyeballs" these days (as it makes them more money). And what gets more attention, the "10 signs you might have gas" or "The Guatemalan Gutbuster parasite [now with video]! Click here to learn the ten signs of DOOM!"

IMO, researching symptoms without a diagnosis in hand is probably not helpful. For every anecdote about the neighbor's friend's cousin whose web-searching helped them catch cancer in time, there are probably thousands of people who had sleepless nights, demanded expensive and unnecessary tests, and who damaged what little doctor-patient rapport existed because their doctor wouldn't chase down every single disease they read about on some "medical" website.

It could even cause active harm when one becomes fixated on a specific condition one reads about, usually something very very serious and very rare. The more one "researches" it, the more one is prone to form false memories of symptoms that happen to match those of the condition, and to ignore or suppress memories of ones that don't match. That makes getting an accurate diagnosis even harder as it can send even a good doctor on a wild goose chase.

Medical websites can be helpful if you have at least some working knowledge of human physiology.  The problem I see with them is that many common chief complaints could be caused by any of a thousand things.  There's a reason that people are trained for years to be physicians.  It takes practice to turn indications and data into a proper differential diagnosis. 

Unfortunately, the primary thing that I learned in medical school was just how terrible most physicians are at their job. 

OK so you are on CPAP. That answers that. And did your symptoms get better or worse after doing that?

How's your weight and activity? Bloodwork show anything odd? Have you seen an endocrinologist yet about possible thyroid and/or hormonal concerns?

Also, do you take B-vitamins? Some of the stuff you're describing could be related to neuropathy which can be related to bad diet.

As far as sleep apnea is concerned I still get sleepy during the day. I wake up less during sleep but it's still bad. I'm in the process of getting a new machine (although it's taken over a year; thanks Obama  :why_so_serious:)

Morbidly obese and very little activity, mostly because of pain. I'm now diabetic but besides that I can't think of anything. There was some concern about my GI but it's just inflammation and diet related. I'm supposed to stay away from dairy and  eat more fruit, which does lessen but not eliminate the pain.

I'm on B complex.

Yeah when I went through my pain/numbness/scary twitching phase, we learned it was almost entirely sleep apnea and awful diet. That cascaded into overuse of caffeine and spiraled out of control.

A big key for me was getting my electrolytes in order, eating foods with more potassium, getting more calcium from non-dairy like almond milk, and decreasing my sugars. Oh and getting sunshine and walking did wonders for the anxiety and twitching. I found the healthier my lifestyle got, the better my symptoms got. Even with small steps.

But really the biggest key was the sleep. Getting 8 hours unbroken or mostly unbroken turned a ton of this around. Sleep is so key so if that's still not working I'd focus there the most if the MRIs are clean.

I'm pretty sure the doctor used the MRI to determine it was stenosis but like I said I was in so much pain I really wasn't paying attention.

My next appt. with my primary isn't until late June but Im going to call them and see if I can get a referral to a ortho

I forgot to mention that I'm also seeing an ENT who thinks my headaches may be sinus related. On his card it says he does neck surgery, so I was going to ask him about stenosis and cervical vertigo. It sounds like you think he's not the right guy to talk to.

<Costanza> Lupus? Is it lupus?  </Constanza>

Sorry.  That sucks. I've been in the "unknown medical condition that no one can figure out but is fucking incredibly painful" boat. It's not fun and I got put through the ringer on a bunch of bullshit uncomfortable tests but they ultimately figured it out once I got to the right doc.

It's always lupus.

You insensitive clod. My oompa-loompa had lupus.

Crazy question, have you had an xray or mri of the area? If you have a stenosed Vertebrae at the point it's causing those problems it should be pretty obvious. Like obvious to the point where a little kid could look at it and see something wrong.

Also, lose weight, do whatever you have to do to do it. That'll probably take care of your apnea too.

I know for sure I've had x ray of my cervical vertabrae and MRI of the brain but I don't remember for certain if there was an MRI for the neck. I haven't been keeping track because I just gave up hope.

I've been unsuccessful keeping the weight off (in the last year i've lost 50 lbs, gained them back, then lost 20 ) but I'm going to keep trying.

I'm guessing you overeat like me.  In working to lose and change my lifestyle I've started to realize that avoiding triggers and old enablers are biggies that often require a clean break in some ways.  I'm going to have to dump some things from my life, it's going to suck. Thing is, it will be worth it.  Try to find the strength to do so if your case is similar.

Last year i had a serious urine condition (basically i was urinating blood) and i overheard one of the doctors noting that i had a small prostate gland.

One google later i went around for 3 days almost convinced I had prostate cancer...

Never again.

I googled my doctor; she's a DO. That sounds like a chiropractor (osteopathy). That good feeling is fading fast.

None of her minions have called me back either.

eta: Fellowship Trained in Interventional Pain Management

DO is essentially a general practitioner in states that recognize a DO as an MD equivalent.  Get yourself a referral to a specialist. 

Will do. My next appt with my primary isn't until late June so I hope he won't make me wait until then to get new referrals.

One thing I will say about the stenosis diagnostic is that you shouldn't let the word stenosis scare you as much as it seems to be doing.  I have stenosis in several of my lumbar vertebrae.  It is actually fairly common and the word is overused.  They use stenosis as a generic term to describe any buildup of materials between the vertebrae, or any kind of pinching of the nerves due to compression.  In and of itself, it does not mean that your bones are about to fuse together or that it is directly causing you pain or discomfort.  In my case, the diagnosis is plain old "spinal stenosis", and the key difference here is that the spinal cord itself is not involved.  For cervical stenosis, the real question to ask is "is this compressing my actual fucking spinal cord?" because that is what is the cause of concern.  Just having stenosis in the cervical area means nothing at all if it isn't smashing your cord.  The difference is really about whether it is the soft tissues becoming inflamed and pinching nerves, or if it is your vertebrae directly causing the issue.  Do anti-inflammatory meds work on you?

Also, your weight is the cause of 90% of your issues.  Including and especially your neck/back pain.  And your diabetes.  And your sleep apnea.  You know this already, so why not focus more on the root of the problem rather than the resulting symptoms?  You will NEVER be rid of these issues when you are, as you describe yourself, morbidly obese.

Yeah I'm waiting on clarification with respect to the spinal cord. She only mentioned the nerves though so I'm hoping it's not the spinal cord.

I've never taken any medication that affect my headaches and chronic pain, including vicodin, norco, and whatever it was my dentist gave me after pulling my wisdom tooth out. And it's not just headaches, neck and back pain. I have chronic pain pretty much everywhere.

I don't deny that my weight is a problem, but the thing is with the exception of diabetes I've had most of these symptoms since I was a teenager, and I wasn't morbidly obese then.

In my other thread I talked about how my respiratory issues started (I still haven't gotten a proper referral for a lung function test, so I don't know if I have bronchitis to add to my asthma).

when I was a teenager I essentially got in a fight and someone hit me on the left side of my head with a two by four. Ever since then I've had chronic headaches and fatigue/burning in my arms.  (As a sidenote I didn't start the fight and to this day I have no idea what their beef was with me. One day we'd be friends playing football and the next they wanted to fight me).

So basically since I was a teenager (15? I don't remember) I've had chronic pain and chronic respiratory issues.

What about steroidal nsaids or cortisone?  Ever tried any of those , other than the over the counter stuff?

I remember being injected with either botox or cortisone; pretty sure it was botox though.

TBH I didn't keep track of all the meds I've been given for the headaches.

Well, I think botox is actually A) totally toxic and B) something you inject into your face so that you can appear on Real Housewives of Santa Barbara  :awesome_for_real:

Cortisone (and others of this ilk) is a powerful steroid that you inject because it has really good anti-inflammatory properties.  This, and many other types of nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and even steroid pills work specifically because they combat the inflammation that causes nerves to get squished, pushed or otherwise pinched.  A goodly portion of all back pain is caused by inflammation which impacts the nerves, so it is only logical to try some of this medication.  Muscle relaxers can have a similar effect, but will of course make you loopy and are less likely to be prescribed I imagine.

I do not know what your doctors have seen, but I would begin to look at this sort of thing were I you.  Even start with some over the counter stuff and see what that does, just make sure you are taking enough.

I've taken aspirin and ibuprofen before; neither they or acetaminophen have helped much. I don't remember the dosage on either tho so I might try again.

Yeah, I managed to self diagnose a medical condition a few years ago which I had when I was much younger.

*Mention of random acute chest pains always ends in an EKG.

Yeah, some things to bear in mind: The human body is really only capable of stimulating a limited number of responses. That means that potentially lethal and non-serious issues can have identical symptoms (in the most part, it's the fine details and other signs that a trained doctor is there for) so the fact that you googled what you're aware of and got 'paralysis' is defintely a cause for concern but far from any real panic.

Also never make the lupus joke in front of someone who's just said their mother's seriously ill... It can end poorly.

I forgot to include in my OP that the DO is going to give me some injections if it's approved by the insurance group. Like I said though I wasn't really paying attention.

My insurance covers weight reduction surgery (thanks Obama! :heart:) but first they want me to complete a weight management program that I can't afford (thanks Obama  :heartbreak:)

You would be amazed at what you can do by simply cutting soda out of your diet. i drink fizzy water now and I don't miss soda at all.

I rarely drink sodas these days; it's too acidic for me. Little Debbies is my kryptonite.  :sad_panda:

I've cut beer, coke and other carbonated beverages from my diet too.  Haven't lost much weight yet, but my belly doesn't swell out like it did.

instead of bumping both threads I'm gonna put all my weight/health stuff here:

After what felt like years of daily calling my insurance and GP I've finally gotten my lung test scheduled for next week. I'm scheduled for spinal(!) injections in June as well. Unfortunately it looks like I won't be able to get a referral for a neurologist/orthopedist until then at the earliest.  MY GP is not able to make referrals w/o an appt, so I'm hoping the DO will be able to do that for me.

Good luck, Raquel.  I hope it gets sorted out.  I know the frustration of having to get referrals and being denied certain meds and stuff.  In fact, it's the reason I got rid of my last insurance provider.

First off thank Signe.

Secondly it's been a nightmare trying to get the right facility that does the tests, and then to get the results to my doctor. I haven't seen the report yet but I just got off the phone with my GP's office and they say I have moderate restrictive lung disease; no sign of obstruction. Now I have to wait a month to see my pulmonologist  to tell me what's wrong. :P (joking but not really; I probably won't get the referral for another week or so at the earliest).


RE: Stenosis; I've had 2 epidurals out of 3; the third was is scheduled for next week. My DO has giving me a referral for a neurologist and in the meantime she suggested Botox injections for the pain.

I take back what I said earlier. Really hoping for just garden variety stenosis.

Are the epidurals working at all for the pain?  I am assuming this is the deep tissue variety, some epidurals are superficial (and maybe are no longer even technically called epidurals at that point).

Not really. I feel slightly better than before, but that may be because I'm in a better place emotionally speaking.

Have you tried L-Theanine? It can help with the anxiety without the traditional awful side effects of SSRIs

I've never heard of it tbh.

I'm frustrated that there appears to be lots of causes for restrictive lung disease. It looks like I have more tests to look forward to. :(

It's just a tea extract that helps with calming moods. I've found it helpful to keep a ceiling on my panic modes by taking it every morning.

Hey guys this is Raguel. My PC crashed and I don't remember my login information (I think I mentioned that I post as junassa on marvel heroes so I just made a new account).

Finally saw a neurologist. My MRI is apparently too old so he is ordering more for cervical  and lumbar. The good news is my upper body strength is good so if I do have cervical stenosis then it's probably not too bad. My balance is crap though lol (couldn't do that drunk walk test. I couldn't do one step) thus the lumbar tests.

My pulmonologist said with a straight face that I don't have copd but he thinks I have chronic bronchitis. The internet says bronchitis is a form of copd. I think I should get a second opinion.

Or go see a doctor of semantics...?  Or something.   Glad to hear that it might not be too worrisome.  Sorry about your balance.  My balance sucks too but, evidently, it's because I don't know where I am in space and time.  Whatever that means.  It might be an insult but I'm not sure.  I hope everything goes well with the neurology stuff.   :heart:

Or that you're a time lord.  Maybe not a good one if you don't know where and when, but one none-the-less.

I wanted to make the Dr. Who joke  :heartbreak:

Thanks for the well wishes.

Did you try the password recovery feature?

I had so many emails from the time I created my account that I didn't think it was worth the effort.

You are posting from a different IP and you have a different email account so it's hard for me to verify you are the same person.

Who would try and fake people out in a Cervical Stenosis thread? 

Having said that, some of you are kind of odd. 

Raguel??  That you???  Tell the truth.

Turns out that email hint was all I needed.  :why_so_serious:

gg

Turns out I have both obstruction and restriction of the lungs. Got a new doc and I'm on symbicort now.

The good news is I don't have spinal stenosis but I do have vertebrate  issues.

Ah, well, better than invertebrate issues.  :grin:

Do you know why you're having problems with your lungs?  It sounds so uncomfortable.  Besides the new meds, is there anything else you can do?  I kind of have a fear of losing my breath and not being able to catch it.

You should try a leash.

Pray you never get whooping cough. That shit is no fun when you feel like you can't inhale.

Always get a second opinion, but your pulmonologist is probably right. COPD can include chronic bronchitis, but not all chronic bronchitis will be COPD. Technically it is always a chronic, obstructive, pulmonary disease. But it's not the COPD. It can be present as well as precede COPD. But chronic bronchitis is swollen airways, usually because something is irritating them. If you stop whatever is doing that, it usually goes away. Many times though, having chronic bronchitis irritates your bronchi enough to keep you having chronic bronchitis. See another doctor and if he tells you the same thing as the first, do what they say.

People with chronic bronchitis should also be tested for cystic fibrosis if you haven't been already.

I don't know for sure. Basically I woke up from a nap and couldn't breathe right. I've been asked if I've been exposed to asbestos when the was younger. I know I was in contact with some form of insulation but I don't know if it was asbestos or fiberglass (this would have been in the early 80s but I don't know how old the building was.

Anyway I'm supposed to get a CT scan  of the chest and I'm waiting on a blood test to see if I can do the scan.