Spinal Stenosis? Talk to me, please?

General
1

What a crushing pain this can be, anyone know from experience?

Yes, I have been to the Pain Specialists, 5 in all, and had every shot in their portfolio! They could never get me numb, or take the time for me to get numb and let me tell you, I cleared out waiting rooms when those long needles hit the spinal nerve roots! Yep, blood curdling!

It was so evasive, that in the end, it made me worse! I could not be touched for a long time, and to this day the less they touch me at all, the better I am!

Can anyone relate to this pain, it's been RAMPED for days now! I'm not a nasty person, but this pain can put me there without much effort on anyone's part!

I have it cervical and lumbar, and neither is fun, but when my GP got the lumbar results, he called me at 9:30 at night! What does that tell you?

BTW, I will NOT go to a laser spine institute! EVER! If surgery happens it will be Hopkins or Univ of MD!

2

You know I just saw a news story about a woman who had crippling pain from a spinal injury. She did surgery but it made it worse and she could barely function. A doctor in New York implanted some kind of device that gave her pain relief. I am going to have to see if I can find that info for you.

I have chronic pain in my lower spine which makes it hard to handle sometimes but I notice that it is worse when my inflammation levels are at their highest. I can’t imagine living with pain like yours. I would probably never want to get out of bed.

I’ll look for that info and get back to you.

3

It's probably a spinal stimulator, Kaz! I've only heard ONE good thing about them in nearly 3 years I've been on BF! I cannot tolerate TENS, so it is doubtful this would do me any good! Even on low, it shoots me off the table, screaming!

Well, when it's this bad, going to bed is a BIG problem, sleeping on my back is murder, but my hips are getting much worse, and I can only stay on my side for a moment until that starts up, I see replacements there, especially in the right side!

So how do I do this? The only way I can sleep on my stomach is if I lay short ways across the bed, so my feet are not tucked under me, but that would never work, even in a king size bed with my husband in it!

I need one of those old time Chiropractor tables, that raise up, and are in adjustable segments, those I can sleep face down on! Those bones are cracking like someone playing a wood block! UGH! Has the SI joints kicked up too! Gonna be a morphine night, maybe weekend!

Tough thing is, I'm having my mom a dinner party Sunday, she turned 82 today! I ordered the cake, pick it up tomorrow at the grocery store, have about half of dinner already cooked, all of the S&P shakers filled, and working on setting the tables!

I know many are against using these drugs, but I'll tell you, it gets to the point that I am not fit to be around if it continues, I dread trying to sleep tonight, just dread it! I'm gonna have another hit of the Ethyl Chloride spray too, that may help for a little while!

See that's it, going through surgery only to get worse! I cannot imagine!

This is when I get those 'muscle attacks' as the Rheum calls them, they look like a seizure! Have already had 3 brain MRIs to rule out SLE or MS, or Epilepsy, but they are suspicious, have many symptoms!

Ah, here they come, I still have some 'juice' left in this body! Must be something in the reserve tank!

4

It could even be a pain pump, you know, I haven't heard anything good about them either!

5

Best thing I've ever taken for pain is Actiq, a Fentnyl lollipop. I was on these for pain when I saw a surgeon at Hopkins, he sent me to a pain management specialist there. When this Dr found about me taking that he hit the ceiling, screamed at me, screamed at my husband, called my Doctor up and screamed at him! Said they were for end of life patients ONLY! Boy they do the trick though, if you still have pain, you just don't even care about it!

6

Just finished looking it up. It was a spinal cord stimulator that I saw on the news report. So sorry that it is not a viable option for you.

I see that we are both up in the middle of the night so you must be in bad pain at the moment. I pray that you are able to get some sleep so you can finish preparations.

7

I'm sorry, Cassi, I was calling you Kaz! DUH!

8

I am new to this group and my question is! Is spinal stenosis part of SA? Or is it it a result of a fall? I fell a little over a week ago my third since December. I slid and fell flat on my back. I apparently have a whole bunch of back issues one being a a fracture, at T11,. I have a high pain tolerance but this is the pits. The only think that is helping me is going to the chiropractor. I thought I was a little better and did some light sweeping and boom nothing g but pain. At night the comfortable position is on my stomach but when I do that I can't get out of bed. I am going to read up on spinal stenosis.

9

My SS wife had severe pain in the back of her neck. The MRI revealed extreme stenosis of three vertebrae plus bone spurs approaching her spinal cord. She ended up with surgery to replace the three vertebrae with titanium cages. It took a couple of days to recover from the surgery, but now she is pain free; at least in the back of the neck. The rest of her body is another matter. The doctors said that one of the vertebrae was so bad that it was starting to crumble. Scary stuff.

10

Oh Anna,

I'm sure that is pain beyond words! Before I was diagnosed, there was the third rear end car accident, the one I could never get over, I kept telling them I had broken bones, but 7 years later I find it's Psoroatic Arthritis, Sjogren's, and Raynauds! Still feel that way! There are 4 types of PsA, I have the Spondyllitis type that targets the spine!

Yes, I think I'm going to need to go see my Chiro, he has kept me on my feet for years now! I keep telling him he needs to 'put his foot in me'! He uses the traditional way of adjusting referred to as 'hard chiropractics', the soft does me no good!

Besides riding in the car or bending, sweeping, mopping vacuuming are just the worst thing you can do for one with back problems. Problem solved about where to sleep, I slept right here on my desk chair!

11

Oh mazbeach,

Your poor wife, vertebrae starting to crumble is about as scary as it gets! She is so very fortunate to have you! Does my heart good that you are so caring and wonderful to her! I've read some very sad stories in my years of moderating when the victim of such debilitating illness had no support from their spouses! You rate very HIGH marks with me, you are surely a man to be admired, my friend!

Yes, I know about the bone spurs, I was talking to my Rheum about then and said I was glad they could be removed, and he said that really didn't solve any problems!

At 29 my son had to have 3 lower discs replaced with some kind of silicon, and then they had to do it again at 39, I keep begging him to go to a Rheum as he as the same pitted fingernails that I do! Breaks my heart he has this, and his paternal grandmother had juvenille RA, she was Dxed in the dark ages for that! All of my grand kids have psoriasis, and some were actually born with us! Strong genetic links, they need to get even busier with this genetic research!

Good to hear from you, my friend, best regards to your wife! I'm pulling for you!

SK

12

Mazbeach! You are wonderful! My husband is helping more since I fell and especially after seeing my ex-rays. I have FM and he has a hard time understanding the kind of pain that FM causes, and the SS and now this. Anna my chiropractor sometimes uses deeper but it often sends me into a flare. I know what you mean about needing it harder because it feels so out of line.I guess what I need to determine is how badly my bones have deteriorated. I am calling g my primary Monday to order a bone density. I put one of those support things on that smooth you out hoping it would keep me straight but I had to take it off after an hour be cause I couldn't stand the pressure. I ordered a back belt with magnets in the hopes that when I attempt to do something it will keep me from moving wrong.

13

I have Osteopenia, which is a mild case of Osteoperosis, the generic Fosamax gives me such terrible indigestion that it kicks my hiatial hernia up, so not sure what happens now, I go see my GP soon. If I listed EVERYTHING wrong with me it would take up pages!

Anna, I'm so glad to hear that your husband stepped up! Good for him! Tells me you got a good one too!

14

See, back to the bacterial/viral thing again! Thanks for those links, mirabel! As many antibiotics as we take for bronchitis/sinus/allergy, you would think we'd be pain free! Not the case!

I would imagine that there are just some 'bugs' that you never really get rid of!