Sharp as a Marble - Second verse, same as the first

<< See?? See?? | Home | New website for selling firearms >>

TMI

Saw another neurosurgeon yesterday regarding my neck. Surgery is absolutely out of the question, but she did a better job of explaining why. While my disc is protruding into the epidural space, there's still room for the spinal cord to move so there isn't any real pressure on it from the herniated disc.

My neck has experienced some straightening which is normal especially in people who sit in front of monitors all day long. Because of this, my muscles have 'compensated' and at some point, became inflamed and thus pinching any nerves that run through them. I've basically got a crick in my neck that simply hasn't gone away.

She suggested more physical therapy and lots and lots of NSAIDs.

So, no instant relief for me, but at least no surgery either. She was confident that surgery would not benefit me in the slightest, and being the 2nd neurosurgeon to say that, I'm comfortable with that diagnosis. However, it's still something I'm going to have to figure out how to fix. PT has helped tremendously, but my insurance only covers PT at a place that is too far away for me to get to, so it's been coming directly out of my pocket.

Oh well…

posted @ 8/27/2010 9:21:50 AM

Comments

LissaKay says:

on 8/27/2010 10:56:39 AM

Does your insurance cover chiropractic? I had a similar issue, my cervical spine is seriously out of line and I have a pinched nerve. I went to see a chiropractor and between the adjustments and other therapies - TENS, ultrasound, DMSO, traction, ice packs, deep tissue massage, ibuprofen, corticosteroid/lidocaine shots over the affected nerve, exercise and prayer, it is mostly resolved. Shooting my husband's AR-15 made it act up a bit though *grin* ... but it was a huge improvement.

I know a lot of folks think chiro is kin to witch-doctoring and/or fear the notion of "spinal adjustment" but it really is beneficial and doesn't hurt - at least not in a bad way, if you know what I mean. My insurance limits me to 15 visits per year, and I used all those up, but I can hardly wait until January when I can go back.

If it's a possibility, it's worth checking into.

Robb Allen says:

on 8/27/2010 11:09:39 AM

I was going to the chiro when I had the MRI. The treatments were ending up making it worse, so that's no longer an option. The neuro was convinced that the issue is muscular in nature and not the neck bones / disc.

I'm going to talk to the PT guy and see about a TENS system. The trick will be to get the inflammation under control without killing my kidneys with NSAIDs.

LissaKay says:

on 8/27/2010 11:20:26 AM

I did find that the TENS/ultrasound/DMSO/traction/ice packs helped more than anything, with Rx ibuprofen only when it was really hurting. The lido/steroid shot also made a huge difference when I got that. Make sure your computer desk ergonomics aren't making things worse or contributing to the problem. Your company should be more than willing to help you out with that.

Good luck! I literally feel your pain ...

Robb Allen says:

on 8/27/2010 11:26:10 AM

Oh, my monitors are both raise up to eye level. It's always difficult to maintain perfect posture all day long, but I'm doing my damnedest to sit right and hold my arms at the correct level.

Standard Mischief says:

on 8/27/2010 12:34:11 PM

If you are looking for some strengthening exercises to do near your computer, I highly recommend shovel glove.

You'll spend at the most about $14 for a sledge which - worst case - ends up being a useful tool in the shed. No single use, TV infomercial, plastic and foam and plastic-person - three easy payments - ShamWow sell here.

Whatever you do, take it easy with this. The full 14 minute workout is intense. I would not spend more than 5 minutes for the first two weeks and slowly ramp up.

This does not directly exercise your neck, but it will get it mildly moving a bit after a few hours staring at the LCD

Standard Mischief says:

on 8/27/2010 12:40:08 PM

here's a short video intro to see what all the non-hype is about:

youtube.com/watch?v=0bQ3IWc0xPA

Joe Huffman says:

on 8/27/2010 1:45:29 PM

While it isn't all it is cracked up to be being married to a physical therapist does have it's advantages.

Kevin says:

on 8/28/2010 12:22:17 AM

Any time a surgeon suggests something that doesn't involve a knife you should seriously try it. It's a lot like a car dealer who suggests that you get a tune up and a new set of tires instead of a new car. It's in their financial interest to cut you open, so it's also wise to be suspicious of anyone whose plan A is surgery.

TJP says:

on 8/28/2010 2:27:29 PM

I should've been watching the TMI category a little more closely. It's not exactly what happened to me, but as I struggled solo through a huge project, my level of stress was so high that I shattered a molar grinding my teeth at night. Then I started getting neck pain, which I covered up with ibuprofen. That turned out to be a bad idea, because it became so severe that I couldn't hold up my head straight, and had terrible pain from the back of my neck all they way around to my brow. It lasted days on end, and was accompanied by (additional) hearing loss/tinnitus in the right ear.

I figured it must be the greater occipital nerve and the muscles thereabouts. Unfortunately, I had to just re-learn how to rest, because taking a day off to go to a dentist and a neurologist would mean a day of work lost and failure of the project.

Hope it works out for you, Robb.

Joe says:

on 8/30/2010 8:00:03 AM

For what it's worth, my wife had similar pain and accupuncture has done wonders for her. If I hadn't seen the results myself I wouldn't have believed it, but it's worth a shot.

Lysander says:

on 8/30/2010 10:36:35 AM

When I went to a Neurosurgeon for lower back problems (post-car accident), he clued me in on some thing that was in the "interesting category" (albeit has conflicting results):

Studies SUGGEST (nothing proven) that back surgery brings you to the point in pain management you would be had had (1) you not had the surgery) and the incidence/severity of the pain was on a reducing/more infrequent trajectory. That is, if you're improving, even slightly, but consistently, surgery would jump you to the same point as if you waited two years. That's one of the reasons the docs say "sooner, not later" for surgery - but only IF YOU NEED IT (i.e. the present pain is more than an annoyance).

At least that's what the doc told me, YMMV.

LissaKay says:

on 8/30/2010 11:01:26 AM