Introduction
Hi everyone,
I'm new here and thought I'd introduce myself. I don't have any questions as of yet - mainly because I'm so overwhelmed with the process of finding the right surgeon and being certain of a proper diagnosis that I'm not sure what to ask. But anyway, here's my situation & I'd appreciate any advice you guys might have.
I am a 36 y.o. living in Los Angeles. I had a car accident when I was 17 that apparently did more damage than I was aware of. I walked away from it with a stiff neck (we were hit on my side of the car and my head hit the window and we spun around 9 times - yep I counted them - and ended up in a ditch). Shortly after the accident my migraines got a lot worse and over the years they were eventually happening every single day. Then about 2 years ago the nerve pain in my right arm started. Also a major muscle in my shoulder went into spasm. I went thru PT 3 times with no real results and have tried just about every treatment available but nothing has worked.
I have two bad discs, although I'm not sure if both are causing symptoms or not. I had my films looked at by Dr. Bertagnoli and Dr. Fenk-Meyer and they say that it's C5-C6 causing all of my troubles, but on the MRI report both C5-C6 and C6-C7 seem to be screwed up royally. Both have severe right neural foraminal stenosis and impingement of the exiting root & moderate spinal canal narrowing centrally. C5-C6 does have a right paramedian disc extrusion superimposed upon a diffuse disc bulge (whatever that means). Also flattening of the cord. Both discs have bilateral facet hypertrophy. There's more, but that's the majority of what's written on the report. C6-C7 also has a 4mm disc extrusion into the foramen.
I was just told by my GP yesterday that Dr. Pashman is in our network and he gave me a referral to see him. I have read here on the forum that he's involved with the Prestige disc (I think - my meds make it hard to remember stuff), but I don't like the looks of it. It looks a lot more complex and the large screws look scary and painful.
I have sent extra questions to Dr. Bertagnoli and his team since his initial review of my MRI, but it's been well over a week and I still haven't heard anything back from him. I have a close friend who had a very complex cervical case and he did wonders for her, but she did warn me that he was "quick to diagnose" and didn't completely fix her problem. She's now facing an additional surgery to fuse one of her discs. So I'm not sure what to think. Fortunately, I have a very loving fiance that will help me pay for the surgery should I need to go to Germany, but I'm really just not sure what to do.
The pain is bearable most of the time, so I don't have to rush to make a decision. I am only on 10mg OxyER every 12 hours and 5mg OxyIR for breakthru pain (which I need almost daily). I also take Relpax for the migraines, which were happening daily until I went thru the epidural steroid injections, but now they are marginally better. (They stopped for 2 full weeks after the first injection, but came back). I've already tried everything to fix the problem so surgery is definitely the way to go - especially since the nerve pain in my right arm is just getting worse by the month.
I also have nerve pain in my right leg and my GP is sending me back for another MRI to see what's happening there. The nerve pain isn't quite as bad as the pain in my arm tho and at least it isn't constant like my arm pain is.
Anyway, I just wanted to say hello to everyone. I will keep you all posted on my progress. BTW my insurance is Blue Shield, but it's thru the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan. I will keep you all posted on if they cover anything. If anyone has the same insurance and has already has a positive or negative experience with them, please let me know.
Ok, that's it for now! I welcome your replies and your advice.
Sincerely,
Sabrina
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