Pretty crappy injury I'm trying to recover from :(

[parttimer]

Back at the end of February I was feeling a little kink in my neck/shoulder area. I already had a chiro appointment since my shoulder was bugging me. I got adjusted and felt great, next day not so much. Come Friday, they day I am leaving for a Florida vacation I'm in unbearable pain at work, my left arm just isn't working and its a strain to raise it. Emergency call to the chiro on my way home. They ice me and massage me. As I'm getting rubbed in my back/lat area my hand goes numb. Well isn't this great, I'm about to go on flight in a little tube my left arm is a POS. Well, we dig through the drugs my mom left us to have disposed, find some percs and vics and take them with me. Yep, they don't even dull the pain. Spend three days in pain on vacation, the last day I went to the ER, 20+ people waiting over 3.5 hours already, F it I'll wait. Call my local doc Monday before we fly out, gets me in Tuesday. Doc sends me straight to the ER to have blood work and CT/Xray since he is worried about a clot. 8.5 hours in the ER, no diagnosis, sent home with percs and nuerotin. Neither of which are helping. Made an appt with a neuro and get an MRI. Found out I have 3 disks taking a crap in my cervical spine with major degeneration on the left side putting pressure on the nerves coming out to my left arm. Finally after 2 dose packs my arm feels somewhat ok and ventured back to the gym yesterday for the first time in 6 weeks. Normal warmup on dumbbell press is 90, I barely got 70. My right arm powered the weight right up like it was nothing. I pushed and and pushed and was telling my left side to work and basically it gave me the finger. Figured I'd do a circuit full body. Up next lat pull downs... Ok. I'll try 120, nope, how about 70, yep, down from 210 to 70lbs for pull downs. I was so depressed. My left arm is useless. I am going to give it a few weeks and if things don't change try for some PT. If nothing else happens I might see about getting some artificial disks. Anyone else have their neck take a crap on them?

 

[GLISSMAN]

Neck/back problems can be a lifechanging event. Dont get discouraged... keep positive. Western medicine and the technology we have is incredible. Educate yourself on the subject and look... talk...seek out others who have had the same problem/procedure and what they did and there results. Weigh the risk/reward before you make your choice. good luck brother- gliss

 

[dr jim]

PT I assume this is the SAME symptoms you mentioned in another post BUT have recently obtained an MRI of? Obviously the shoulder is referred pain from cervical spine disease but where are you now in your evaluation? I will tell you artificial disks have a generally POOR track record for a variety or reasons. Consequently rather than an artificial disk insertion the standard has become a "spinal fusion". (Understand these comments are based on the limited info provided thus far)

jim