Sleep Apnea "Cervical Spinal Stenosis"

[biffnoble]

My sleep is very poor and unrestorative. I've had one truly good sleep in the last 6 years w/very occassional ok nights.

I have both central canal & foraminal cervical spine stenosis with minimal neurological deficit and significant mechanical pain. The pain level was status quo when I had the good sleep, so I don't think it's pain per se.

I�ve looked hard and found tantalizing cord compression sleep disturbance relationships but nothing direct.

My intuition tells me there�s a spine disease, sleep disturbance relationship, and that something more than pain mechanical discomfort are causal. Something that interferes with the CNS and sleep breathing/function.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[Alastair]

This could be "Meds" related what are you on?
Best
Alastair

[biffnoble]

Hi Alastair:

Armour thyroid.

Cheers

[Alastair]

Nothing in the Pain meds line or sleep line? Thats VERY strange. I cannot explain it at all.
Best
Alastair

[Carolina]

Biff-

I will assume that since you are on Armour Thyroid, you have regular TSH/T4 levels drawn and you are appropriately replaced. So...have you had a sleep study done in the last six years? Any question of sleep apnea that can be treated with CPAP?

Just curious-
Carolina

[biffnoble]

Tried CPAP w/out success. (I suspect a CNS component related to: myelomalacia @ C3).

Thyroid Medication levels are titrated properly.

I wonder what effect mechnical instability, congenitally narrow/irritated C-Spine anatomy might have on overall sleep quality?

Carolina:
Thanks so kindly for the close scrutiny of my post, and the care of your response!

[Carolina]

So Biff...

I remain totally curious!

You have the central and foraminal stenosis, but minimal neurologic deficit. Mechanical pain but no pain meds? No NSAIDs?
Did sleep study point to transient altered CO2 levels?
Do you think the apneic symptoms are purely positional and related to the narrowing?

Carolina

[biffnoble]

Hi Carolina:

Use pain relevers as needed, mostly for headache, neck pain. NSAD's, Tyenol, Neurontin.

Sleep study people = Nazis, ecept for a very nice cpap coordinator. Don't know what CO2 levels were, but I suspect they were normal.

I don't know if I'm apneic. Could be pain and pain origin based. Could be neuropathic. Just know that my sleep is very inefficient and it doesn't appear to be OSA. Sleep quality is definitely related to using my arms and sitting for long periods at the computer for example.

Working: computer, instrument playing, really sets off a cascade that goes from disturbed sleep/affect to full blown headache/dysfunction. Something is happening w/c-spine foramen on the right side which is irritated by the use of my right arm. It's very subtle but ends in serious pain and dysfunction. Maybe nerve irritation that produces delayed symptoms caused by inflamation. I don't know but I'm getting angry because I suspect a lot more effort could have been put into diagnosis but docs do the minimum, leaving me doing what many of us do, look on the internet for clues/solutions. It's odd because there's an underlying sense of being discomfited, non-welling being that is concurrent with pain.

This cycle is killing me. I desparately need to get a diagnosis of source of neck/upper posterior trunk pain (pathologic effect on all the neck and shoulder girdle muscles) which has been chronic, personallity altering, and life destroying for years. For some reason not a single bloody Dr. has been able to nail down the cause. I wonder what role my congeniatlly narrow c-spine canal plays. Whether somehow the cord itself is being irritated and "expressing" via inflamation. I'm begining to see that there are lot's of tests which might have been useful, but not a peep from the Drs. "healers". Next track: European top docs. They are hungry and have superior intellectual fire-power!

More to pique your curiosity: 2 EMG's negative, tests of from neck surface to diaphragm negative.

Thanks for your interest.

P.S. I love trees and envy your work. Do you and your husband do soil remineralization?

[Harrison]

Biff, I stumbled across your post and had to comment! I've had many chiropractic adjustment recently, and now use a cervical pillow. I am sleeping deeply now, and having REM / stage 4 sleep like I've not had for years. I think you instincts are right-on...I hope your cervical discomfort can be relieved somehow...good luck with all.

[Fortitudine]

Okay, I'm back with my solution - aquacize, keeps everything gently moving.Works for me. Plus regular NSAIDS.

Then, as we age, we don't all sleep as well as we used to.

As for diagnosis, I think we all know that the spine is really one of the new frontiers. Not that much known about it. Docs can't always tell what the pain generators are. If you go onto BrainTalk you'll see the truth of that. Look at Eyeguy's story. Not that it's any consolation.

But it's well known that you can get into a vicious circle/downward spiral of pain/frustration/depression/loss of sleep/increased sense of pain/increased depression...

You have really been looking hard for solutions Biff; I sure hope you find some help soon.