Hi there. I feel your pain, literally. But your life is not over. It’s not a good diagnosis, but it is something you can live with and live well. I have C5-7 herniations with a bone spur on nerve bundle at C7 diagnosed in my 40’s, many of the same symptoms, including the neuropathy. I did not have surgery due to the number of discs involved and the degenerative nature of my arthritis. The prognosis was if surgery were done to correct 5-7, the problem would reoccur higher or lower in the neck. Instead we opted for the spinal steroid injections, physical therapy and a radical change to my posture and lifestyle.
Do you spend a lot of time on the computer without stretching? Do you have poor posture while sitting or standing? Those you can work on right now to help alleviate the pressure on the spine. Strengthening the core muscles in the neck and back is a slow process but helps in the long term. Self traction with a rolled up towel lying on your back can ease the compression and give some relief. Gentle range of motion exercises, heat therapy and stim treatments can help as well. The things I bought myself that I have used consistently over the years are a battery operated stim unit I use at home like they did at PT, some exercise bands and a half roll for laying on for a few of my exercises.
I have lived with this for decades now and the pain comes and goes and an impingement or spasm can set me back a day or two, but I baby my neck when it happens, take a flexeril or baclofen to relax the muscles and do my stretches until things improve. So far it always has.
The injections are a short term fix, and in the first few days hurt a little more, but eased the pain for a few weeks after. It was not a cure for me.
I did not try Gabapentin for nerve pain, but have family who did and hated the side effects, one of which was sleepwalking!
Degenerative disc disease is just something I live with but it is not debilitating. I assume this is because I have worked so hard on my PT and posture and avoid aggravating situations like prolonged computer time or overhead lifting. My follow up MRI’s have shown some improvements in the initial damage and desorption of that spur that was causing so much pain. As predicted, the joints above, C3-4 are showing desiccation now, which means I just have to keep going with the pt exercises and working my range of motion. A good physical therapist can teach you so much about the connections in the body and how to help heal.
I think the best thing you can do right now is not panic. Next, get into physical therapy, and educate yourself about neck and back posture. Don’t sit immobile in front of a computer for more than 15 minutes. Set a timer. My neurologist said computer geeks were some of his best clients due to the prolonged stress on the neck.
Best to you, hang in there, take care, and welcome to another shitty club.
Edited to add I do not recommend chiropractic adjustments for this condition and my neurosurgeon absolutely did not want anyone cracking my neck in any way. The potential for damage is too great. The body is amazing in how it can heal if you help it.
[This message edited by whatisloveanyway at 12:12 PM, Thursday, March 7th]
BW: 64 WH: 64 Both 57 on Dday, M 37 years, 2 grown kids. WH had 9 year A with MOW, 7 month false R, multiple DDays from 2017 - 2022, with five years of trickle truth and lies. I got rid of her with one email. Reconciling, or trying to.