how bad will I get??

hello, i wonder if the reason no-one tells us how it will affect us as we get older, is because as we know it affects us all so differently. i have had it for almost 19yrs now and i find new symptoms all the time. the headaches i have heard about the dreaded headaches, which i have only recently experienced. what i am experiencing you might not so it is a matter of wait and see unless you know of somone with a crystal ball,,lol. i am waiting for results of my latest mri's so i dont know how things are but i know within myself things are getting worse. so all any of us can do is make the best of good days and rest on the bad... i hope you have plenty of good days... all the best chris x

Hi Michelle,

How bad it will get is a question I too have not been able to get an answer to.

The gerneral opinion in all the advice on the web is that CS eases off for a period but then returns. I am still waiting for this to happen. I too am 50 and I am concerned about future care as I also live alone. How I will cope later on God only knows. I was diagnosed as having CS earlier this year, it was first thought that I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome as the first symptoms were in my hands. Gradually I began getting severe pains elsewhere and a Nerve Induction Test and MRI scan revealed CS. I also had the Babinski test where the Neurologist stroked the soles of my feet with what looked like a 6 inch nail. My toes turned upwards and spread out which is a clear indication of damage to the central nervous system.

We have to look at what CS is and does. Herniated discs, putting pressure on the root nerves coming from the spinal cord, can be operated on. Likewise the Stenosis, or bony spurs, but this sort of op can be risky I understand. So without a successful operation we can only asume that things will get worse not better. Medication may ease the pain for a while but, gradually, people find they need more and more.

It is true that CS effects people differently. Many people can have the herniated discs and bony growths without any pain or discomfort, yet for some of us it is sheer hell on earth.

We all get good days and bad days, I suppose this is due to how we move our head and neck which would effect the pressure on the nerves. For example, some days I get terrible headaches other days I feel as though my neck is being crushed in a vice. Everyday I have severe pain in my right arm, sometimes I am nearly in tears with it. My hands are painful and I cannot grip anything, my feet and legs hurt which make walking rather painful and I have the dreaded Vertigo. No doubt you will be experiencing many or all of the same. I find it particularly bad when I lay down in bed, my whole body aches from head to toe.

However, we must be careful in not blaming everything pain on CS. It is wise to get each symptom checked out as there may well be another cause. I was suffering from chest pains and had various tests to see if I had a heart problem. I was given the all clear and then learnt that CS can cause chest pains as well.

So like you, and many others, I wait to see what the future brings. We must live each day as best we can and try to occupy ourselves to take our minds off the pain. It is a great worry not knowing what lies ahead for us and how we will cope.

Janner

Its the million dollar question, isn't it!!!???? Everyone is so different....but we all seem to have connecting symptoms of course....I have had surgery on my C4/5 and C5/6 last year september...(OMG..almost a year!!!! :o ) and I am STILL having lots of my post Op symptoms and some more as well!!! I had am MRI to see if there is anything not right with the fusion and a look at my C3/4 and all seems to look fine....So why do i have pain ABOVE my fusion..????? Why is the right arm pain getting worse?????? Why havent the headaches gone away...???? Why have i got a new pain in my collar bone???? AAARRRGGHHHH...I could go on, but that wont help any of us!!!!!

All of you just take gentle care of yourselves....*HUGS*...Jassy..xx.. :fairy:

I've just been diagnosed. Well, I say diagnosed but according to my GP I have a 'bit of wear and tear' in my neck and shoulders. It took a self referral, through work, to see a physio to find out that I actually have CS. My GP's advice was to take ibuprofen or paracetamol if the pain gets too much (the only thing that touches it (ish) is Cocodamol) I also have a disabled son and have 'wear and tear' at the base of my spine too. I think the reason they don't want us to know how things will develop is that, according to a friend who works for citizens advice, once it gets really bad we are eligible for Disability Living Allowance - and they can't have people getting the help they need can they?!

Does anyone else have problems with their legs and feet too? My physio told me that the symptoms I have there are also part of the CS.

Hi

Yes I too am getting a lot of pains in my feet and legs which may or may not be related to my CS, I am waiting to be refered to a joint specialist.

CS can have an effect on various parts of the body and a good GP will send you to various specialists if only to eliminate other possible causes.

One of the reasons that the Docs play down CS, and refer to it as being \"wear and tear\", is because some of the ops are rather major and carry an element of risk. The hardest people to convince are the DWP and the docs from planet Atos who are employed by the DWP to declare all disabled people fit for work.

Our government, and the bunch before this lot, are determined to get as many people off of DLA and ESA and onto JSA. This is not because there are plenty of jobs for everyone it is just to save money. What employer is going to take on a disabled person when there are so many fit people unemployed to choose from. It is usually only the larger employers who take on a token number of disabled workers but these people are often only given menial jobs to do like cleaning.

Janner

Hello nothing to worry about:

Your friend at the CAB is wrong about the eligibilty for DLA for people suffering from CS - Please read my page \"Questions about Disability Benefit\" You'll have a bit of a shock with the way the DWP treat people with this condition.

Alan D

Hi all, well just waiting for results of c spine xray my gp said she thinks i have spondylosis. My symptoms are pain in neck and shoulders stiff neck numbness in chest and arms pins and needles in arms and left leg also my neck clicks like mad and i suffer headaches which it never used to. Latly i get tired and sleep a lot do these sound like symptoms of spondylosis,i would welcome your comments.

Many thanks.

yup, all sound very familiar. especially the pain in arms and legs. major headaches also floor me. :cry: