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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / July 2006neck problems
Dear Friends, You might remember that I had neck problems for some time now. I had a MRI about 2 1/2 weeks ago. It was upright - nothing was directly in front of me. So I didn't have claustrophobia problems. Today I received the report. I have three discs bulging in my neck - 5,6 & 7. I have been referred to a neurologist and will make the appointment tomorrow. I will go and read as many of your stories as I can find but please share with me! So many of you have already done this! Yes, keep me in your prayers, I'm nervous of having anything done to my neck! Thanks! Vickie B. Hi Vickie, If that is all the report stated was bulging discs that is fairly good news compared to what it could have been. If the discs are pressing on the spinal cord, it is a bit more of a problem but if they have not ruptured you are much better off. Bulging discs can "heal" themselves. C4,5,6,7 are very common areas for this problem. GaryZ > Dear Friends, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Vickie B. Hate to say this but GARY is right. Yep I agree with him LOL. Fall over now Gary. I had a rupture in that area and it depends on the wording of the radiologist who read the report. PLEASE PLEASE bring them films with YOU when you see the neurologist. THEY look at them a lot closer and see if there might be a pinched nerve somewhere in that location as well. Are you having numbness or tingling in the arms or neck or face? these he will need to know. So call the place where the MRI was done and get them films for that doc. Don't honestly, depend on the place to send them to the doc, around here they don't do that. If you want to know more, email me privately. IF all is well and just buldge then he might order PT to stretch the neck out and see if the disks can be replaced right way and lessen your pain. Are you in a collar at all? SOFT one? might consider asking about that. PLUS the area you are talking about 5 6 7 is better than HIGHER up. Please let me know vicki If I can be of some help good luck janers > Hate to say this but GARY is right. Yep I agree with him LOL. Fall over > now > Gary. > > good luck > janers CRASH!!! thump. GaryZ My hubby has some bulging discs (not sure which ones) & insurance bought us the home traction machine after he was successful with the out-patient PT. He says the traction hurts a little, but the relief is worth it. Shannon Hi- I had to have surgery for a bulging disc that was pressing right on my spinal cord. It really wasn't a bad surgery, though having the right doctor certainly helps. I had a really good neurosurgeon. The recovery wasn't bad. The worst part was having muscle spasms, but a muscle relaxant took care of that. Oh, yes. My chest hurt, but the surgeon said it was because he had the habit of leaning on the patient's chest while doing the operation. I had some simple exercises to do at home afterwards instead of PT, which I hate, so that was a good thing. The nero told me that I didn't need to use the neck brace, so I just used it for the longish ride home. I spent one night in the hospital and was driving in 2 or 3 days. It's something I wouldn't hesitate to have done again if needed. That being said, 22 other bulging discs have been reabsorbed. I think you have to rely on the advice of a surgeon whom you trust and not worry too much about it. It's not a particularly dangerous operation. Janet Sorry, everyone. My finger slipped or skipped. I meant 2 discs, not 22! Yikes! Good thing it was only two! Janet This is an interesting take on the topic. Unfortunately for me, the disc problems (bulges, bars, etc) have NOT ever resolved themselves over the years. Sal > Hate to say this but GARY is right. Yep I agree with him LOL. Fall over > now [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > good luck > janers > Hi Vickie, > If that is all the report stated was bulging discs that is fairly good news [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > problem. > GaryZ yeah, I've been there several times and counting........ Physical therapy with traction has been really helpful for me. I highly recommend it. Now when it starts to act up a bit, I'm able to stop the downhill slide with the tricks they taught me after that got me in better shape, including some home traction tricks.  SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Nann Bell said: > yeah, I've been there several times and counting........ Physical therapy > with traction has been really helpful for me. I highly recommend it. > Now when it starts to act up a bit, I'm able to stop the downhill slide > with the tricks they taught me after that got me in better shape, including > some home traction tricks. Details please! My neck is just awful and I hate going to the chiropractor. What are you able to do at home? ~Lindy~ > Nann Bell said: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > ~Lindy~ well, I have a home traction unit that I use periodically. (It lives on the door to my sewing room which unfortunately makes it hard to close the door to keep the cat out when I'm sewing! LOL) I do the tennis balls in an old sock trick to relax and massage the neck. (the cat has adopted that device as a toy though, so I sometiems have to get it away from him to treat my neck!) and at PT they showed us a couple of ways that my DH can apply gentle traction to my neck - the one I really liked involves me lying down with his wrist/forearm lying flat beneath my neck and he rotates his arm 90 degrees and it applies a nice gentle stretch. In fact, I may need him to do it again soon! Also, I made a rice bag in the U-shape of those neck cushions you see. IIRC, it took 4 lbs of rice to fill it. We wear it around our necks when we're at the computer for long periods to keep us from tensing up those muscles. I haven't spent that many long periods at the computer for awhile, but my DH has been using it lately when playing games for hours. If you want to hear a nutty one - we were out of town overnight last weekend. My neck was really bothering me after the ride in the car and really needed to relax. For some reason, I didn't think of the rolled up towel trick which would have made sense in a motel. Instead, I pulled out my wrist/thumb braces and used them to make a nice roll to rest my neck on. LOL - it worked and eased my constant annoyance at having to pack all these braces even for overnight trips! SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Nann said: > well, I have a home traction unit that I use periodically. (It lives on the > door to my sewing room which unfortunately makes it hard to close the [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > (the cat has adopted that device as a toy though, so I sometiems have >to get it away from him to treat my neck!) They're such little buggers! Always looking for something to play with! > and at PT they showed us a couple of ways that my DH can apply > gentle traction to my neck - the one I really liked involves me lying >down with his wrist/forearm lying flat beneath my neck and he rotates >his arm 90 degrees and it applies a nice gentle stretch. In fact, I may > need him to do it again soon! That sounds like a nice one. > Also, I made a rice bag in the U-shape of those neck cushions you see. > IIRC, it took 4 lbs of rice to fill it. We wear it around our necks when > we're at the computer for long periods to keep us from tensing up >those muscles. Really? And that helps? I have one of those microwavable things (I think they call them a Bed Buddy) that feels like it's filled with sand and you wrap it around your neck. I mainly just use it in the winter when I get so stiff but I'll have to pull it out and keep it next to the computer and see if that helps me. > If you want to hear a nutty one - we were out of town overnight last > weekend. My neck was really bothering me after the ride in the car >and really needed to relax. For some reason, I didn't think of the rolled > up towel trick which would have made sense in a motel. Oh yes, I know the rolled up towel trick well. My chiropractor suggested it. I use rubber bands on each end to keep it rolled up and held together. >Instead, I pulled out my wrist/thumb braces and used them to make a > nice roll to rest my neck on. LOL - it worked and eased my constant > annoyance at having to pack all these braces even for overnight trips! Absolutely! Whatever works. Bad necks seem to run in my family. I remember my grandmother used to get so bad that she would beg my uncle to "crack her neck". She'd relax as much as she could and he'd give it a quick jerk and then she was fine again. Gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. ~Lindy~ >> and at PT they showed us a couple of ways that my DH can apply >> gentle traction to my neck - the one I really liked involves me lying [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > That sounds like a nice one. oooh, it is. they showed us another way he could do gentle traction on me while traveling, but I liked this one so much better from the beginning that we don't even remember how to do the other! I've been thinking about how he does it (as I can't see) - he lays his arm under my neck palm-up, then rotates it up towards my head, stopping when I tell him it's a good point to pause. It's a gentle pull on the neck and it's surprising how much it helps. And Mike likes having something concrete he can do to help when my neck is really acting up. >> Also, I made a rice bag in the U-shape of those neck cushions you see. >> IIRC, it took 4 lbs of rice to fill it. We wear it around our necks when [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > stiff but I'll have to pull it out and keep it next to the computer and see > if that helps me. I think it's the weight of it that keeps us from hunching our shoulders up. Or maybe it's enough that it actually stretches the neck some, I dunno. It does help both of us when we're on the computer for long times though. My DH has no history of neck issues, but playing games for hours left it aching and that has been eliminated by wearing the weighty "U". SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Nann Bell wrote: > > yeah, I've been there several times and counting........ Physical therapy > > with traction has been really helpful for me. I highly recommend it. > > Now when it starts to act up a bit, I'm able to stop the downhill slide > > with the tricks they taught me after that got me in better shape, > including some home traction tricks. And Lindy asked: > Details please! My neck is just awful and I hate going to the chiropractor. > What are you able to do at home? ca. 1994 while in PT and OT, I receive an over-the-door traction kit for the neck. I've been tempted to install a ceiling hook over the chair at the computer so I don't have to use the traction away from my work. It is a water-filled "bag" that the user can adjust to the amount of weight/traction they deem necessary. My insurance paid for it. I've seen them in medical supply stores for under $25. ... Chocolate is in the vegatable group - it comes from a bean. Fire Chief said: > ca. 1994 while in PT and OT, I receive an over-the-door traction kit >for the neck. I've been tempted to install a ceiling hook over the chair [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > My insurance paid for it. I've seen them in medical supply stores > for under $25. I'll have to check this out. It gets really bad if I'm sitting at the computer for any length of time. I normally only go the chiropractor once or twice a year but before he adjusts my neck he always pulls my head up off my shoulders for a minute and it feels absolutely wonderful to have all that pressure taken off. ~Lindy~ This year on vacation, I purchased a u-shaped neck pillow for professional truck drivers. It has a comfy micro fiber cover. It does help with the neck. Vickie B. That's the same style as I have - this is my second one in fact as I went so long without needing the first that I sold it when we moved! 4 years later I was buying another............... Anyway, my last PT folks told me they aren't as fond of that style traction. There is another on where you lie down on your bed and hang the weight over the edge of the bed. She said that one kept your neck in a better position. She was going to tell me about it before I was discharged, but somehow it got lost in the shuffle of some big winter storms around that time. I really ought to google it. If you buy the over the door traction thingy, start with about 10 lbs for about 5 minutes and work up from there. My max was 20 minutes at 15 lbs, but that was with acutely bulging discs. Now I only do 10-15 minutes when I need it and I really think I should reduce the water weight to 10 lbs, but I haven't dealt with that yet. I really loved the traction table at PT - it would cycle on and off pulling the neck out. It was just plain heaven. Damn shame they cost a fortune! SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare > Fire Chief said: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > my shoulders for a minute and it feels absolutely wonderful to have all that > pressure taken off. speaking of which, I've looked at this thing in catalogs http://www.footsmart.com/Product.aspx?ProductId=199. It looks to me that it *might* feel really good on my back, but I'm nt sure. I was born with a major swayback, corrected through years of dance instruction, but I still have to stretch out my back constantly. Has anyone had any experience with one of these? I can't bring myself to spring for it without more idea of how well it works. It seems like a lot of money, but then I remind myself that even in our small market a 30 min. massage to treat the back well costs $25 so.......... SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Oh Vickie, I am so sorry to hear this. I hope all goes well for you and that you get the treatment you need to fix this. I hope it helps you out with the pain. Keep us posted to how it is going and what they will decide to do about it. You are in my thoughts and prayers. SignatureLove and hugs Jo (\__/) .~ ~. )) /O O ./ .' {O__, \ { / . . ) \ |-| '-' \ } )) Warning: squirrels. .( _( )_.' '---.~_ _ _& > Dear Friends, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > > Vickie B. Hi Vickie, Like Gary said bulging disks aren't a big deal. Have your doctor send you to see a physical therapist who may prescribe a home neck traction device to help you heal. Sending Good Thoughts, {{{{Vickie}}}} GramPaHugs, Alex, > Dear Friends, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Vickie B. SignatureAny information is included for informational or entertainment purposes only, is based on my personal experiences & is an expression of my opinion. **************************************************** * Love radiating from 45.10n x 93.30w M/SP Mn * http://home.mn.rr.com/apbiii * http://grampahugs.is-a-geek.org/ * http://www.goldenmist.org ****************************************************
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