Hello,
I have had RA for 12 years and have recently developed neck problems. A spinal surgeon told me that there is a certain amount of instability between the first 2 vertebrae which might require surgery.
Last week I developed a number of very distressing neurological symptoms after bending down to pick up a bar of soap in the shower. It started with a swirling vertigo, followed immediately by a screeching noise in my left ear. About twenty minutes later I lost my vision. This was caused by paralysis of the muscles controlling lateral eye movement. Simultaneously I experienced numbness in the fingers of my left hand. I was rushed to hospital and given a CT brain scan which proved normal.
I recovered my vision gradually over the next few hours. Those treating me observed a pronounced outward deviating squint in my left eye, which has since gone.
I am now waiting to see my spinal surgeon as I am convinced that my problems are a consequence of my disease. But in the meantime I would be very interested in hearing from anyone else with neck arthritis who has had a similar experience.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry that i can't help, but i just had to reply OH MY GOD, that is awful. I am so sorry that happened to you , you must have been terrified. - hopefully someone here might have some info for you.That is very scary Cara.
I have pain in my neck from RA; but nothing like you've experienced. I pray this was an isolated case and you will not have continued problems like this.
Please keep us updated on your progress.
Lovie
AND:
Welcome to AI.
Hope you'll stick around.
Cara
I have had arthritis in my neck and shoulders for 6years now- prior to that I have a birth defect- commonly known as torticolis- I was born with my head to one side, so the neck muscle is one inch shorter on the left side- this has caused me all kinds of problems. I have frequently experienced numerous pinched nerves which cause all kinds of strange body reactions- numbness, tingling, aching, eye headaches, stabbing pains......etc.etc etc. When I was younger I was treated for migraines....(which i did not have) then I found a chiropractor who helped me tremendously- but since the arthritis I DO NOT GO anymore because it aggrevates the arthritis - I am very interested to know what your doctor decides- It is pretty scary when you can't see or parts of your body go numb. I have not lost my vision but have experienced vertigo several times. But I am also deaf in my left ear from birth- so the vertigo for me could be associated with that as well- I do at times turn my neck and get a screeching pain in my neck and noise in my ear on the right side which is enough to scare the living daylights out of you- at that point I know FOR ME- not YOU-that my neck is out of alignment and I need to do some neck exercises and stretching that has been assigned to me by the doctors and PT- Sorry that you are having a tough go of it- and please keep us posted- Oh yes where are my manners--- Welcome to the AI- hope to see you posting here often.
I've had neck arthritis for at least 25 years. It is lower down than your and I finally had to have surgery because it got so bad. Those symptoms have stopped since the surgery - all except for severe pains in my right shoulder. I had another surgery for that which didn't seem to work but lately after taking provigil thase pains have gone. Provigil isn't a treatment for neck pain but maybe the stress of the fatigue I have went to my neck. For whatever reason I'm grateful for the relief.
My advice if you want it is to go to the very best neurosurgeon you can find. Operating on the neck especially up where your problem is can be very tricky. I'm sorry you are going through that and I hope you get some answers soon.
I have quite bad arthritis in the neck which first started to show itself more than 20 years ago. One thing you might try is using traction to stretch the neck and joints in the neck. I sometimes hang a 25 kilogram weight off my neck for up to 30 seconds at a time and get instant relief of stiffness and pain. I know it sounds a bit extreme but it forces the vertebrae apart a little which can bring instant relief from pain, stiffness etc.
Dragon, I love all of your posts. PLEASE PLEASE MAKE FONT BIGGER. You have such great input.O My Goodness, is the first thing that came to my mind...what a horrible thing to have to go through. I feel so terribly bad for you!
I am so glad that you joined our family, please keep us up to date as to how you are progressing.
I am definitely going to keep you in my prayers.
Toni
dragon,
your fonts look fine to me, size 11 pt. It may be the way the other people have their PC's set up. And some browsers interpret things differently, plus the style of fonts that is being used, could be the problem too.
I don't know Dragon but THIS time, you font is GREAT. I hope it keeps coming out like this because I like reading your posts.As for the neck thing - my neck and shoulders always hurt - sometimes they're stiff.... but I've never had anything like that.
I really hope you can get some answers soon. Losing my vision would FREAK me out -
I can see why you would think it's RA related......and it may be - but it sounds more nerve damage/neurological... or maybe a problem stemming from medications............
Let us know what happens........ that IS definately a scarey situation.... and I hope it gets resolved and that everything turns out OK.
Get better! For what it is worth, I had a similar experience about 18 months ago and then again six months ago. I had the swirling vertigo and noise in my ear. I also had excruciating neck pain. I don't remember any loss of eye sight (and I am sure that I would have remembered that!). Both times, I was sent to a neuro surgeon who ordered an MRI of my neck. He showed me on the films where I have a herniated disc. He said that I didn't need surgery at this time because there is still enough room for the spinal cord. One thing that he did say, however, is that the pain will decrease and the vertigo and noise will stop, but then it will come again when I move the wrong way or sneeze. And that it may continue to happen off and on for some time, but that the herniated part will to some extent shrink back into the disc, unless I injure my neck. If that happens, or if it gets worse and I loose strength or movement in one side, he will do surgery. Each time after the flair-ups, he sent me to PT. It helped. Same with cool packs. But mostly, time helps. I asked him if all of this was RA related. He said, "Maybe, but remember that even people without RA get herniated discs." He said that mine is at C4-C5. Well, I hope that your neck gets better. Just don't be alarmed if it takes some time. (My doc said "a year or more". Ask for PT if it doesn't get better on it's own and if you don't need surgery. Please keep us posted and take care. Pam
woobie
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