Philip Guy
Good luck with the surgery,I will say a prayer for you. I have cervical spondylosis with myelopathy and spinal stenosis. Osteophytes are pressing on my spinal cord causing pain in my neck,and the foraminal stenosis is causing pain.Other symptoms include chest pain(referred pain?),back pain especially at the shoulder blades,nausea,body jerks, dizziness,poor balance,neck spasms,numbness in neck and head. I was informed by my neurologist that this condition would require surgery(perhaps in five or ten years from now).He also said that when the pain became unbearable have the surgery.Since I was in debilitating pain,and unable to work,I wanted a second opinion.I wanted the conservative neurosurgeon I saw to say that the surgery should be done now to stop the spinal stenosis and intractable pain.He did not see enough evidence on the MRI to justify going in. I lost my job benefits on April 5,2002,so I could not have the operation.My friendly neighbor drove me to my Primary Care Physician when the pain became excruciating:my PCP treated me with no insurance.He said that since I was in distress, there was no charge for the visit.He tried the oral opioids(Vicodin,Percoset),and Neurontin.He tried the Duragesic(fentanyl),a strong opioid,and Neurontin.This provided a little relief.He also sent me to physical therapy when a top neurosurgeon's office said that they could not help me.(They said the CT scan that my PCP sent them was totally negative).They needed a new evaluation from my neurologist,and better testing(MRI,myelogram). I returned to my neurologist for evaluation,and his examination revealed that I had muscle atrophy,one indication that surgery must be done.I am still having intractable pain,another indication for surgery. I had the MRI(open) done.My PCP said the MRI revealed mild to moderate narrowing,and the decision to do surgery depended on how the MRI was interpreted. I made an appointment with the same conservative neurosurgeon I saw a year ago.What will he say?The stenosis has not progressed enough to do the surgery. This interpretation would mean that I would continue to waste away from atrophy.I resemble a starving third world child with pencil legs and arms. Maybe I can convince my PCP to refer me to a more aggressive surgeon.(Ironically,my neighbor's wife also had Degenerative Disc Disease,and was referred to an aggressive orthopedic surgeon.Her surgery was successful).My PCP advised against seeing an orthopedic surgeon,this area is too sensitive he said. PG