This is my first post and I am grateful for the opportunity to share the concerns I have about my symptoms as to whether they might be Parkinsons or neurological or whether they are because of cervical nerve compression from disc bulges. At the moment from MRI scan I have a diagnosis of narrowing of nerve exit roots in four places in my neck, two of which are described as severe at C4/5 and C5/6 affecting C5 and C6 nerve roots on the right side. There is also radiating pain, weakness and tremor from into my R arm, which I think is described as intentional tremor because it is mainly present when I lift anything - even as light as a spoon, fork or cup.
The additional thing which has developed, however, is a wobble of my head. When I had a nerve injection recently, a series of which are going to be used diagnostically for surgery, the radiologist noticed the fine head tremor and asked me how long it had been there.
The surgeon has discussed the tremor in my arm as being a consequence of the neck compression and when the C6 nerve is decompressed by discectomy and fusion all will settle down. I am not sure that there isn’t something neurological underlying the pain from my neck and the centralised tremor I feel, as well as the tremor in the R arm? It feels like it is in my brain and my eyes feel like they are struggling to focus and memory and connected thinking has really become challenged. At its worst last year when the disc bulges really presented I could hardly move and was psychotic with pain, lack of sleep and no appetite at all. I lost two and a half stone in weight which I have not regained.
My question is this an issue which is CNS pain from disc impingement and stenosis or does it sound like it is neurological and that there is nuerological degeneration - maybe happening because of the stress on my CNS and system generally while the nerves are tethered and the sooner they can be freed the better for things “settling down” as the surgeon says. If there is an underlying neurological cause I am not sure if it does indicate Parkinson’s Disease or whether it might be MS or another process?
Thank you and with apologies for this long message, I am very confused and searching for what I should importantly emphasise to my surgeon given as well as the pain there is a marked feeling of things not being right or well at all.
With best wishes,
Bernadette
Welcome to our community forum. We’re sorry to hear of your present challenges, and we hope you find some comfort here. Diagnosing Parkinson’s is a difficult subject to simplify because every individual’s experience of it is different. We would suggest having a look at our website, which is rich with relevant information including research, news, and archived forum discussions, covering a wide range of particulars. This would be a good place to start: How is Parkinson's diagnosed? | Parkinson's UK.
We also have a free and confidential helpline, on 0808 800 0303, staffed with advisors who can assist in various ways, and are happy to lend an ear if you need to connect with someone.
Good morning Bernadette … Sorry to hear you are having problems from your disc bulges. I am 70 years old. In June last year I had a Brain Mri scan, a spine Mri scan & a Datscan of my brain. I too had been having a lot of pain near my neck & near the base of my spine. As well as the pain in my spine I had been having shaking issues for around 5 years. Like you I knew things weren’t right, but didn’t know what it was.
The brain Datscan measures the amount of dopamine in the brain. My Datscan was positive for Parkinson’s disease. There are many different types of Parkinson’s. I saw a Neurologist who diagnosed “Atypical Parkinson’s”. The Datscan is the only method to diagnose Parkinson’s other than an examination by a Neurologist who is expert in the Parkinson’s field. But he / she is guessing to some extent. People with a negative Datscan can still have Parkinson’s.
With Parkinson’s they treat the symptoms with medication. The medication is usually a dopamine replacement drug like Madopar or Sinemet. If the drug eases the symptoms then you may have Parkinson’s if the drug doesn’t help then they try a different drug.
The Brain Mri scan I had was normal for a man of my age. They do the Brain scan to rule out things like a mild stroke.
The Mri spine scan showed I had weaknesses near my neck & the base of my spine.
I also had tests for my swollen feet, numb legs & a bad ulcer on my right heel. Which showed I had a form of Neuropathy,
So the symptoms I have are … My Atypical Parkinson;s symptoms, my Neuropathy symptoms, my spine damage symptoms AND the symptoms from all the medication
I take to treat the symptoms.
Bernadette, you have to take this one step at a time. First you need the surgeon to do his job & correct the issues you have. When this has been done & you have recovered from the operation things will be clearer.
Can worrying about other issues help you in anyway? Clearly not. Take one step at a time.
Hope I have helped. Any questions please ask. How old are you ? You don’t mention your age.
As shown in our more detailed report, for the UK in 2015, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s was 2.7%. This is equivalent to 1 in every 37 people being diagnosed with Parkinson’s at some point in their life.
