Jazzman

Thank you Dr Corenman, I really appreciate you taking your time to address my concerns. I have an appointment with a neurologist on April 4 which is very fast I know but I don’t know if I can hold out that long.

I’ve never had any bladder issues with past myelopathy episodes( that I was aware of) but something is going on with my bladder now. For the past 5 days or so I’ve had an uncomfortable kind of distended feeling in my lower abdomen. I have a slight pressure feeling all the time unlike a bladder infection ( I’ve had a few in my life) and sometimes when I go I don’t have much of a feeling like I need to but just do because of the weird sensation. It sometimes takes a while to start and I really feel like I’m not completely emptying my bladder. That buzzing feeling in my legs is now felt in my upper legs where I had just noticed it my feet and lower legs until yesterday.

I can’t do very much at all now as it takes an enormous toll on me and I feel fatigued to the point of feeling “ill” when I’m on my feet doing any little task. I’m trying not to be an alarmist, but given my history of waiting until the 11th hour to seek care for any health issue, I don’t know what to do.

I hope the medical professionals really listen to me and get aggressive in finding out why this is happening. Im sure they will go down the MS route but I know this is absolutely not that nor ALS.

My last question to you was; are there any tests that can be done for someone who may have a movement/ positional dependent cervical myelopathy/compression that doesn’t show up on static images? I hate to sound like a broken record but there seems to be a direct correlation between my head position when I’m sitting up or up on my feet and symptom severity. Noise in my ears is kind of loud right now( like a sea shell up to my ears). I’m just not well… Thanks Dr

This was a CT myelogram. They injected the dye and tilted the table and then took the pictures in CT. I am getting worse, I can barely walk today,legs are like lead. My bladder is now involved as well as bowels. This is progressing pretty quickly. I think they need to look at my whole spine and not just the neck.

My husband took me to a scheduled appointment with my GI dr on Thursday and she was so alarmed at my condition that she got on the phone to talk to a NS she knows with this hospital network , but he was in surgery. She then called the emergency department to tell them she was sending me right there. She thought this would get me into a neurologist a lot quicker. They did an MRI of my neck. The ER dr told me that I have mild to moderate stenosis at each level. He said they are sending a referral to a neurologist there. He also stated that there might not be anything that can be done to fix this. He said that they compared my MRI from 2015 and I had definitely worsened.

I asked him if he thought this could be coming from compression in the thoracic area and he said it wouldn’t affect my arms if it were. I don’t think that’s correct. Whatever is wrong is steadily getting worse. I am to the point now that I will have to use a walker, even in my home as I’ve almost fallen several times. I don’t know what to think now, I’m so worried that they are going to draw this thing out until I can no longer walk at all.

Well here are the findings, I don’t see anything illuminating but you are the doc. I don’t have access to a scanner so I’ll just type them in.
CT C Spine W Contrast. Myelogram Cervical

HISTORY: Myelopathy, previous anterior and posterior cervical spine surgeries.
Findings: Features of C5-T1 ACDF with partial left-sided corpectomy of C6 and C7 and mature osseous fusion at these levels. Additionally, laminectomy changes at C6 and C7. Hardware is intact. Artifact from hardware limits image detail somewhat. Posterior elements are solidly fused C5-T1 Bulky osteophytic ridging at right C6, otherwise canal is patent. Small disc osteophyte complexes at C4-5 from junctional disc degeneration, and C3-4. Minimal levocurvature. No spondylolisthesis.No abnormal fluid collection or obvious mass within the spinal canal. No evidence for myelomalacia. Soft tissues are unremarkable.

Axial levels:
C1-2: Normal
C2-3: Normal
C3-4: Left central disc ostophyte complex indents the ventral thecal sac, mild stenosis. Facet arthrosis with mild right foraminal narrowing. Patent left foramen.
C4-5: Disc osteophyte complex with bulky right facet arthrosis. Mild narrowing of the spinal canal. Mild to moderate right foraminal narrowing. Patent left foramen.
C5-6: Posteriorly decompressed. Bulky osteophytic ridging narrows the right lateral recess and approximates the ventral right hemicord. Mild right foraminal narrowing. Patent left foramen.
C6-7: Posteriorly decompressed. Canal and foraminal are patent.
C7-T1: Facet arthrosis. Patent canal and foramina.

I don’t know what to think now, I can’t be left like this. It’s like I’m getting used to this semi- functional state and avoiding being up on my feet much and that’s not healthy. It will be at least 2-3 months to get into a neurologist, and that’s with a referral from the NS. I don’t know if this has any bearing but this was done at a teaching hospital and was done by residents , which I don’t care for as I used to have to work with residents. I know they have to learn on the job but….
My sister-in-law is an RN and thinks I should go through an ER to be evaluated and fast-track the referral process to the neuro. It may not work that way I’m afraid. This is a living nightmare. Any thoughts? Still not having any horrible pain other than my neck from the severe muscle strain from trying to keep my head up, getting more difficult as time goes by. Staring to have a lot of discomfort in upper thoracic area between shoulder blades, that’s new in the last week. Arms still feel like they are burning here and there, mainly on the upper outer portion. Bowel issues getting noticeably worse. OMG I need someone to actually examine me and help me. Thanks for your insight.