Hello, I have been told I have cervical spondylosis! Im in pain every day, and I cannot turn my head towards to right, unless i physically push my face with my hand to look that way! My jaw/lower face goes numb, and hurts, my chest feels tight (the skin), and my right fingers seem to swell! Not only that, i feel im walking like a crab - to one side only. Its very hard, as i have 3 young children to look after too! I feel my head jerking a lot, and spasms and jerks from within. Would love to speak with other suffers!
Hiya Lindaloo
Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with is awful condition
May I ask if yu have had an MRI scan?
What medication you are taking ?
I would avoid pushing your head for a while, just do gentle \"No\" exercises for now.
And I know it's going to be really hard for you to do any resting, eg, lying down, or lifting heavy loads when you have three small children. You must ask for help from your partner or family friends.
Try and stay positive and strong
take care
Em
[quote:88f1065e41=\"Aunty Em\"]Hiya Lindaloo
Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed with is awful condition
May I ask if yu have had an MRI scan?
What medication you are taking ?
I would avoid pushing your head for a while, just do gentle \"No\" exercises for now.
And I know it's going to be really hard for you to do any resting, eg, lying down, or lifting heavy loads when you have three small children. You must ask for help from your partner or family friends.
Try and stay positive and strong
take care
Em
Hello lindaloolt,
5 weeks ago I could'nt move my head to the right or back but now I can (just). Gentle neck exercises should loosen it up eventually. Time is the best healer. For nerve pain I can recommend getting a TENS machine. They are not expensive and certainly worth a try. Hope you get results :zen:
regards,
Paul
Thanks for replying! Thats good advice. You have brought me hope now! Do you get the pins & needles (like a sensation of ants) crawling over your shoulders too? Lots of love, Lindaloo!XX:-)
Hi lindaloolt,
Not my shoulders, but down my right arm, though been alot less this last week as I have gained much more movement in my neck
Paul
:lol: Thanks for replying again! im pleased that you can finally get more movement! It really does show that there is hope for me now!., as im feeling so crippled at this present time! Im dreading the injection in my neck on the 28th April! I just pray that it will work!., as my surgeon says he does not want to operate, as not only as im quite young, but its a 50/50 chance of being paralised! yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lots of love, LindaLoo!X:-)
Hi'
What you've described seems to me to be the initial onset of c/s....head crocked to one side, chest pains etc. In my experience, these symptoms relaxed after 3/4 weeks ( with the help of some painkillers) and the whole thing resolved itself into sporadic outbursts but without the head being stuck in such an awkward position. I don;t know if this is your situation with regard to when the problem first arose. It may well be that this only happens the first time! I'm not sure about the value of an operation, and certainly not at such an early stage, and I would even go so far as to say that any injections ought to be considered with caution. If you check through this site and others for information on the usefulness of injections before you opt for it...just google 'cervical spondylosis injections'...you might find there are differing opinions and my advice, for what it's worth, is to err on the side of caution. After all, you can have an injection later on if there's no improvement. Good Luck.
p.s. I've just seen your profile and realised that you've had c/s for seven years, so what I've posted above probably doesn't apply. Sorry. However, as a possible alternative to injections and operations, you might like to consider if your sleeping environment isn't a factor in worsening your symptoms. A simple draught on the neck at night can do this. I might be the only person in the country with a Draught Phobia, but I've got good reason through years of trial and error. It's worth looking into...any improvement is gold dust!
Gerry
Hi LindaLoo, I wish you luck for the injections on 28th April. But can you tell me exactly how these injections have been described to you? If you look through the past postings here, you will see that I had trigger spot injections in my neck last July and a cervical epidural in February. When you say there's a 50/50 chance of being paralysed, is that how the surgeon has described it to you? In the case of the cervical epidural, I was told there was a risk involved as there is with any invasive procedure and that it may work or not work. That sensation of crawling ants is something I experience too, mainly down my right arm and also from my neck into the back of my head and, on bad days, into my forehead. Stay in touch with us on this forum. There are some good people here. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.
Thanks for that advice! im so dreading my jab! Anyway, when I spoke to my consultant, he did offer me an op, but said i could end up paralised, so instead, have to have injection as a pain relief! its got to be every 3 months! im so worried!., but have been advised to have it done! Im so ridgid with pain, its unbearable! Even lifting up a hoover, kills me! I will let you know after the 28th april how it went! I also get wobbly legs! do you? Also vertigo, when standing! It makes me feel sick, but Im never actually sick! isnt it awful! So glad for this site. I love hearing from you all!XXXXXXXXXXXXX:-)
Best of luck with the injection Linda. Keep us posted on your progress. :cuddle:
Good Luck from me too Lindaloo, hope all goes well on the 28th 
.
Thank you for the welcome Aunty Em . Nope, no mattress topper, but I've heard good things about them.
Hope everyone has a nice weekend .
hello every one hope you dont mind mind me telling you some of my problems , i was told i have c/p 2 yrs ago i have a memory foam pillow and mattressthey are both lovely and comfy but it takes me ages to get to sleep because if im on my left side my head is pushing into the the pillow and making my neck really ache and stiffness , if im on my right its pushing to my left aching and stiff and the same if i lay on my back im so tiered and just wish i could lay and relax am i going to be like this for ever now :? :cry: does any one have any ideas of what will help me please thanks for reading
hello vanessa jane, i think it is my night to respond to postings. what have you tried yet apart from memory foam?. i mean have you tried any meds yet , some have found amytryptiline helpfull to aid a good nights sleep, myself i have had to resort to zopiclone which is a sleeping tablet. it got to the stage that i couldnt sleep(it took ten days without) when i turned to my gp, he prescribed zopiclone and it works wonders i have managed to reduce the dosage but not cut it out. i have been taking them for years now and cant sleep without them. ask your gp andsee what they say, good luck let us know how you get on. chris xx
hi chris, yes i do have amytriptoline i do get to sleep easier if i take them,but even though they are the lowest dose i find it really hard to get up in the morning to get my small son up for school ( well smallish he is 10) they make me so groggy and im wanting some thing to make me relax so i can also sit and read and watch telly , you know just to put my feet up and chill for an hour of an evening would be a treat . its strange when im on my feet doing things im fine , walking im fine apart from i cant walk like i used to my knees seem to ache now , i am 53 and i was as fit as a fiddle untill i got to 50 yrs old , i dont drive iv always walked and i just hate having this problem . thanks x :cry: :?
hello again, i believe that valium can help in this way i think aunty em, would most likely tell you more about it i think. some gp's give muscle relaxants to aid pain relief. i dont have to get up early now any more, it is usually about between 4-am when i get to sleep anyway. have you asked your gp for an alternative?. see what he says you never know. good luck in your quest........ chris x
Hi, i have had Cervical Spondylosis for nearly ten years. I have had an MRI scan which does not show alot of my discomfort.
I have been to a speacialist they cannot do surgery, however, my condition is chronic. I cannot do alot without my condition being aggravated, i get dizzy alot i cannot walk for too long excercise is to a minimum or nil.
PAIN KILLERS!!!!!! are NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! GOOOOOOOOD!!!!! GPS and Consultants do not understand, they just do not get to my discomfort.
I am frustrated and cannot work, i get depressed and no one understands that is worse than ever.
I need something to numb the problem but there is nothing on the market out there. I have tried other therapies and alternative medicine still does not work
Hi all, I agree pain killers don't help at all! I am not too bad most of the time, just neck and mild headache. But then with no apparent reason I will feel a bit sick, very tired and sometimes panicky. Does anyone else get that?
Vanessa Jane, I am the same as you with sleeping, I sleep for a couple of hours then wake up because I am uncomfortable and have to change position. The foam pillow is much better than ordinary ones. My cs worsened after a bike crash a year ago, it didn't bother me much until then. It seems we have good days and bad, and good hours and bad! Hope you all get a few good ones.
H
[quote:fd247c57d7=\"HC58\"]Hi all, I agree pain killers don't help at all! I am not too bad most of the time, just neck and mild headache. But then with no apparent reason I will feel a bit sick, very tired and sometimes panicky. Does anyone else get that?
Vanessa Jane, I am the same as you with sleeping, I sleep for a couple of hours then wake up because I am uncomfortable and have to change position. The foam pillow is much better than ordinary ones. My cs worsened after a bike crash a year ago, it didn't bother me much until then. It seems we have good days and bad, and good hours and bad! Hope you all get a few good ones.
H
Hi, I'm so sorry to hear of your problem with CS. I agree with you about the painkillers, all the painkillers have done for me so far is to completely upset my system. What the GP's fail to tell you at the time of prescribing these drugs is that they may cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal system, then they give you drugs to combat that, but it's too late by then, the damage is already done!! Personally iv'e stopped everything, my GP has tried several different painkillers over the last few months, co-codomol, ibuprofen, tramacet, tramadol, none of which have been very effective. I need to get my internal system well again, at the moment I struggle to eat, and then to keep it down when I do eat. All I use now is Volterol gel, which is a diclofenic, I also use Gaviscon at the moment for the acid my stomach is producing due to all of these different drugs, the last thing I need is an ulcer on top of everything else. I bought a TENS machine, which is helping. I'm currently waiting for the results of yet another MRI scan, once my GP has these results I intend to tell him that I want to be referred to a specialist. People shouldn't have to endure the pain that CS can cause, we live in the 21st century for gods sake, there must be something they can do without causing the horrific side effects i'm now suffering.