[Travelinglady]

I have had back pain for several years now, and then lately I've started having pain down both my arms sometimes, numb feet, pain in my ankle and toward the bottom of my right foot, and pain down my right leg. The MRI shows some bone spurs, degenerated discs, a bit of stenosis, a herniated disc, etc. I was hoping to get PT to see if that helps, but of all things, the doc said my pain is not really explained by my MRI results. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia years ago, and I also have atypical trigiminal neuralgia (face pain on my left cheek). A foot doc said my foot pain followed the pattern of my nerves there. Today I had some numbness around the left side of my mouth. I've also had some trembling and a funny nerve sensation occasionally in my left hand.

At any rate, the PT doc said I might have RA. He sent me for bloodwork today. He also mentioned the possibility of lupus.

Anybody have some thoughts on my situation? Does this list of symptoms suggest any of these things? Could it be multiple schlerosis (sp?)? It sounds like I might be in for bunch of tests to try to rule things out. And I was hoping it was just my spine problems. Help!

[eskielover]

I'm sorry you are having such serious struggles now. It's frustrating when things are wrong, but no one really knows until they to millions of dollars of tests & even then sometimes it's still a best guess.

keeping you in my prayers.....for God to guide the Dr's wisdom into figuring out what is causing your problems & for there to be a way for it to be taken care of......& sending you lots of gentle 's & Know the unknown is difficult to deal with & a struggle to keep our faith strong.

[Leed]

I DON'T understand your doctor saying your pain is not explained by the MRI. You have bone spurs, herniated disc, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease ALL of which CAN CAUSE the pain you describe!! Believe me, I've done YEARS of research on this because I'm a 26 year sufferer of chronic spinal pain and I've had 3 spinal surgeries -- so I'm no stranger when it comes to MRI's and symptoms. I just don't understand WHY he said that. It certainly WOULD account for your pain. It would explain the back, leg, and foot pain, that's for sure.

As for the upper pain, they MIGHT want to run an MRI on your neck! You could have some degeneration in the cervical spine too, which could account for the pain & numbness in the arms, as well as the trembling, etc. Just a thought. It can't hurt to look. As we age, our discs tend to "dry out" which is what degenerative disc disease" is. it's just a drying out of the discs and then they flatten and tend to bulge out, which makes them come in contact with nerves.

I hope it's nothing more serious. I wish he'd send you to a Neurosurgeon for a look. I think you need another opinion. You might ask him to. Best of luck and keep us posted, ok? God bless. Hugs, Lee

[lizardlady]

Payne, I've gotta agree with Leed. What the heck did the doc mean that the MRI didn't explain your pain? Everything they found sure sounds like it would cause the pain you describe.

For what it's worth when I'm having a fibro flare I sometimes tremble. Don't know what causes it, but it happens.

[Travelinglady]

After trying to study my MRI results myself, the only thing I can figure out is that I have been complaining about pain in the back of my right leg. Any right leg pain seems to be most likely in the front of my leg, with where the impingement is. The worst disc problem seems to be in the lumbar spinal area that would affect my left leg. But my left leg doesn't seem to realize that, since it's not painful.

I had a full back MRI and it did show spinal degeneration of four discs in my cervical area. I personally think that explains most of my arm pain.

I was told by the spine surgeon that I don't have enough problems to justify surgery.

I called my neurologist and he is going to talk to the spine doc, and the spine doc is going to get my neurologist's notes--so maybe they can put their heads together and see what might be happening. At least I don't hurt all the time, since taking Tramadol and extra strength Tylenol helps most of the time. My foot doc is prescribing a TENS unit for my foot, and I can also use that on my back, he said. So, there's hope for the pain, whatever is causing it, thank goodness.

[missbelle]

You sound like me....I have the stenosis too plus other things like you but the stenosis pinches nerves..hense why I had back surgery three years ago. I have stenosis in my neck as well. Hense pain 4 days out of seven and numb arms when I sleep. I think its the angle my neck is on the pillow sometimes. I have gone from two pillows to one which helps a little. Also with back pain you can lie down. I wish sometimes I could remove my head and set it on the dresser for a couple hours...LOL
Back pain definately affects the legs big time and the MRI does show why!!! Stupid Doctor. Let him have the back pain!!

[Leed]

Payne - One thing you have to remember is that SURGERY is not to relieve pain. Surgery is to fix mechanical problems. If you HAPPEN to get pain relief, that's a bonus, but usually you're left with the SAME pain or worse, after surgery. Your doctor SHOULD tell you that. I have NEVER gotten pain relief from surgery. Some people have, and that's great -- but usually after a length of time, the back WILL fail even after successful surgery, and the pain will return and more surgery will be needed or else you'll just have to suffer. It's called "the domino effect." The discs above and below the surgery site bulge/herniate because they've had to take on more of the load. So it ends up a never-ending cycle.

The latest studies have shown that people who have had spinal surgery get NO BETTER RESULTS than those who have had physical therapy!!! Now that's depressing!! I wish I had known that 26 years ago! LOL I never would have started having surgery.

So try everything you can that's conservative before even thinking about surgery. See a pain management doctor too -- they can give you options that are non-invasive (or close to it). I wish you the very best, and hope your pain is relieved! God bless. Hugs, Lee

[Travelinglady]

Oh, yeah, Leed, I didn't jump up and down with joy (as if I could--ha!) when the doc said he didn't see anything he could operate on. I had heard a few years ago from another spine doc that operating on a disc would make the ones around it weaken. But I did think surgery would help my pain! Gee ....Thanks for warning me.

I have had cortisone shots in my cervical area and they helped some. But I can't get any more for awhile. I do hope this TENS unit will help.

[wisewoman]

I have back and leg pain always. My MRI etc show the same sorts of things, degenerative disks, a few compression fractures, some stenosos. I have been told that everyone is different and that people who are not complaining of pain have the same MRIs etc. so, I am under the impression that everyone is different and our nerves are all different. The only thing that matters is your pain and quality of life. Good luck.

[Travelinglady]

Well, no RA, praise the Lord! I do believe part of my pain is the fibro. People with that are also more prone to feel any kind of pain, anyway, I've been told. I have read, too, that some people with really bad-looking MRI's don't report any pain, while others with less evil-looking ones are in misery.....I do think the spine doc could have been a bit more sensitive to my pain! After all, he can't really know how bad it hurts!

[Leed]

I've found that "spine docs" aren't very sensitive at ALL. All they do is operate, and don't seem to really care about the pain aspect at all. I've been to several spine docs, and NONE of them were really compassionate. If they couldn't SEE anything, then you weren't really "in pain.'

It's SO FRUSTRATING!!! I wish to God that pain could be seen! But I guess if you don't fall on the floor, and burst out in fits of crying & hysterics, no one will believe you. Trouble is, I'm not prone to dramatics.

Oh well. Unless I take a class in drama, I guess I'm doomed. LOL

Take care Payne -- I know where you're coming from. Hugs, Lee

[lorider]

Hi Payne- I have fibromyalgia too and I have found that physical therapy has helped to take the edge off greatly. some techniques they use are myofascial release, craneo-sacral, etc - it's more like massage, not exercises. Actually, I had the work done on me by massage therapists when I could afford it, until one mentioned that PT people who specialize in chronic pain use the same techniques (and my insurance covers it!). Have you tried anything like that?

Best of luck, it sounds like you are climbing a mountain <3

[Travelinglady]

I don't seem to be having any luck with the PT people where I just went. Of course, I went with the question: What can you do for my spine? I didn't ask about fibro things, and I don't think they do that there anyway. Maybe I should ask another doctor to refer me to another PT place that can share things to help my fibro. I am inclined to believe, as I did tell the spine people, that my pain is a combo of spine problems AND fibro. I don't know where one ends and the other begins! Thanks for your suggestion.