Cervical Issues

[rpowell01]

I have a question for people who has Cervical Radiculopathy. For the past few months I have been having severe pain going down the base of my neck into my shoulder into the back of my left arm into my forearm. The pain is a shooting pain, severe pain and burning pain. I also have been having muscle spasms next to my shoulder blade. I notice that whenever I tilt my head backwards I can really feel the shooting pain. For the past week I've been getting the pain in my right arm, not as bad as my left arm, but the symptoms are pretty much the same. Whenever I sit down, it does not matter where I sit, the pain gets worse in my left arm so I have to lay down for a bit before I can get back up. I also been dropping a lot of items I hold in my left hand even though I don't have any tingling in my hands like I did back in 2010 whenever all the DJD changes began. Even whenever I stand it gets worse. I'm thinking gravity is pulling down on my spine causing the pain to get worse.

Does it appear I may have herniated a disc or the foramina might have some bone spurs?  To be honest the pain was so bad I thought it was my shoulder because I would hear this popping sound but realized that is coming from all the muscle spasms pulling down on my shoulder causing it to pop. Does this make any sense?

I go see my private PCP on Nov 3 and I'm going to request a new XRay and MRI on my neck, upper back and shoulder to see what in the world is going on.

Edited October 16, 2015 by rpowell01

[rpowell01]

pwrslm,

I have had all the ESIs, facet blocks and many PT sessions and no matter what the pain will always come back within a month after having it. Now I am dealing with a high pitch ringing in my left ear more pain now in my feet and toes. It feels like somebody has a tattoo gun on my feet and toes. I read earlier that people with Cervical Spondylosis can get the ringing in their ears. Also I've been having tingling from my neck wrapping around my left of my neck into my left cheek. Dr. Bash told me a few years ago to keep watch out for the severity as my neck issues are the more worse than anything in my spine and he said that cervical spondylosis can cause lower extremity pain.

I can barely walk as if I walk a lot whenever my feet in in severe pain it makes it worse. To be honest I really feel the spine issues are killing me because I cannot be active whatsoever whenever my feet hurt like this. If its not my feet in my left arm, if not my left arm then its my right arm and shoulders.

None of the mental health meds are helping me to cope with this because they make my Obstructed Sleep Apnea worse. I asked my mental health about the Abilify but VA Pharmacy denied it even after he submitted the evidence. Neither the Gabapentin 3600mg NOR the Lyrica 300 mg (both per day) does not even help whatsoever with the pain in my feet.

Tuesday I go see my private PCP about the OSA and I am going to ask for an XRay and MRI and for use to try the Topamax. The VA tried it on me but my feet was hurting so badly whenever I was coming off the Gabapentin that he stopped it. But now what the heck they are hurting severely as it is so we might as well try it. It will also help me lose much needed weight as compared to the Gabapentin and Lyrica which caused me to gain 20+lbs and I'm stuck at 260 now.

 

I asked my MH Doctor if I should file a complaint with Patient Advocate's Office about the VA Pharmacy Denying me Abilify because I showed them proof and case studies that it helped 4 different types of people with chronic pain. Again read: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3184588/

Maybe PA can get it approved for me just to test it because if it can work and I can come off the Oxycodone I think it would be good for other veterans to try it.

Edited November 2, 2015 by rpowell01

[pwrslm]

Have you  tried traction yet?  Sometimes that can give some relief. 

G'luck w/ MRI.  If your spondylosis is this bad, you might be a prime candidate for decompression (more likely it is stenosis of the spinal canal because it affects your lower peripheral nerves).  Like Talon said, fusion should be the last choice, but if you can find someone that can do the minimally invasive surgery, your recovery might be much faster.  Decompression in the cervical spine is a very dangerous surgery so find the best neurosurgeon in your region if you go that route.

 

I don't think that the Pharmacy could deny you Abilify (generic-"aripiprazole" is listed in VA Formulary)  if it has access to it.  Your provider would have to prescribe it to you.  The primary concern I think is if it is registered for chronic pain.  If it is, then your provider should be ok with it, the addictive issue with oxycodone alone is justification.  (While there might be some evidence that it contributes to pain relief, I didn't see anything in the registry for this application for anything but mental conditions.)  It would probably be off label use, and that is up to the provider.

 

http://www.otsuka-us.com/Documents/Abilify.PI.pdf

 

[recdir]

I too have cervical radiculopathy, my question is can the Cervical condition also cause the additional pain I'm having in my lower back?