posted
My husband has Lyme in addition to a herniated disc in his C-spine.
Both came on at the same time. I have no idea if they are related.
It is hard to know sometimes if his headaches and pain are from Lyme or the disc.
I would love to hear about this too.
-------------------- Lyme, Babesia Microti, possible Bart. Posts: 173 | From A little south of sanity - PA | Registered: Jan 2009
| IP: Logged |
randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
i, too, would be especially interested in hearing from those with cervical issues.
since my fall mine is getting much worse. how much is lyme i don't know.
they won't do an mri until at least a couple of months. i think that's stupid but the insurance says you have to do conservative treatment first.
when you're in pain, i think they should do one immediately. guess you have to go to the er for that.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
| IP: Logged |
tdtid
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 10276
posted
This is always a tough call. I know my daughter was a cheerleader in high school when they were a full tumbling squad.
During her gymnastics training for cheering, she was doing the backward flips across the mat and during one of them, took a spill.
She was out for the season since they said she had a herniated disc, but this made sense. She had a major tumble and KNOWS when she hurt it.
It did get better with time, but then years later, when she was cheering in college, she noticed the pain coming back but she hadn't injured it this time.
Eventually, other things started going on and since I had been diagnosed with lyme after it left me unable to walk, many of her symptoms looked similar.
In my case, I was told I had degenerative disc disease.
So whether a herniated disc is related at all, it's hard to say, but I do know if you have had an injury, a surgery or whatever, that lyme does love to travel to that area and cause havoc.
Good luck and hopefully you will find something that will settle down the pain since it's not fun no matter what it's caused from.
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I know that I have 3 herniated disks. Two in cervical and one lumbar. I'm not sure if there is any connection to lyme but would love hearing others opinions.
Posts: 90 | From Knoxville, TN | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
I have posted before on this. For me, IMO, it is completely related.
After infection I only had mild symptoms, didn't seek a doctor (night sweats, itchy skin etc.). Several months later the nagging neck pain started, got worse over about 4 months, then BAM, huge, dibilitating cervical herniation.
I was told 90% of people recover from such a herniation on their own, without surgery, fine. 6 months after my C6-7 herniation, the multiple, terrible neuro symptoms started, was in the ER twice. After a year of the neuro stuff, I had surgery on my C6-7 as I was in the unlucky 10% where it didn't improve and got worse.
Of course, the surgery did little to nothing to relieve me of the neck pain and all my neuro symptoms remained. It took another year to finally get figured out - Lyme, Babs, Bart, Ehrlichia and Mycoplasma.
I know people can have spontaneous disc ruptures. However, for me, the timing was all there - when Lyme infection was there, cervical issues began. In my heart of hearts I know Lyme and company caused the deterioration of my disc, though I guess I'll never be able to know for sure or "prove it" to any doc. By the way, I have also read several times that cervical issues among Lyme patients is much higher than the general "non-Lyme" population.
That's my story. TS
Posts: 566 | From West Coast | Registered: May 2008
| IP: Logged |
WeRAll1
Unregistered
posted
Eric I have read in many places and seen people talking about this connection.
Not seen proof.. But I have had these issues and it is interesting because I had the issues for the year leading up to getting fully ill and was not sure why.. Just kept having degeneration and herniation and was always treating the back.
To this day.. I get epiderals.. Every year... I am so trying to skip this year... I do not want to depend on them.
Amanda
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14107
posted
A few weeks ago I saw where someone on this site was asking for people with spinal issues to contact them. They were working with some doctors to make this connection.
I remember one person saying that they had MRIs over a 2 or 3 years period, and that the doctors were astonished at the amount of degeneration, given that the person did not have a degenerative disease or an accident.
My worst symptom is neck pain, I have not been able to sit for more than 15 minutes at a time for almost three years because it makes my neck pain worse. I had an MRI, and they only found a small bone spur, not enough to account for all this pain. OFten times, I will get a burning sensation at the base of my skull
-------------------- "few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" - Mark Twain Posts: 1008 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
TS I am with you. It has to be Lyme related.
I'm not outdorsey so there is no logic in my being bit by a tic,
and I am not athletic so there is no logic in my having 2 bulging discs, a cyst on my lower right back that rests on a joint and can hurt like a @4#%, lower back pain all the way across, and I can't lift my legs to put my pants on!
It's damage from the bacteria or from auto-immune.
I had high ANA in 1999.
-------------------- 3 Strains Mycoplasma and Chlymedia 2001. After treatment fine for all 2004. Major symptoms since 2005. Diag Aug 2008 Lyme. 400 mg/d doxy 500 2/d Ceftin Posts: 164 | From Texas | Registered: Jun 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
My brother has herniated disks in C2 and C3. Our LLMD said that is was caused by lyme because he has never been in any car accidents or dont anything that could have caused it. He also said with treatment it should get better.
-------------------- "One day at a time"
Current: -1.2 IM bicillin three times a week -1.25 IV Vancomycin every day -IV glutathione and IM B12 -Byron White since Jan. 2011 -ALA, Yasko protocal, Adapten-All, thyrosol, Pekano, phosphalipid exchange, probiotics, oregano... Posts: 390 | From FLORIDA | Registered: Jun 2007
| IP: Logged |
lpkayak
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5230
posted
from tdtid:
"but I do know if you have had an injury, a surgery or whatever, that lyme does love to travel to that area and cause havoc."
i agree-from yrs of experience-what i have seen and gone thru myself
-------------------- Lyme? Its complicated. Educate yourself. Posts: 13712 | From new england | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
i had 3 spinal cord injuries my former llmd's said were absolutely linked to lyme, though my neurosurgeon and other drs refused to believe that
i have degenerative disc disease...age 37 and i have recurrent cervical myelopathy, which means that the discs keep moving and compressing my spinal cord so i was temporarily paralyzed 3 times and i never know when it is going to happen again
I know too it is caused by the lyme.
Most of my pain now is in my neck, back and legs...the areas that were most affected by my spinal cord injury so lyme does travel to that area alot.
-------------------- Sick for 20 yrs+,dx'd 10 yrs ago fibro/cfs & hashimotos.dx 4 yrs ago w/neurolyme,recent adrenal failure, recurrent spinal cord injury,probable ankylosing spondylitis. Unable to get treatment & severe Cognitive, psych & physical symptoms progressing. Posts: 82 | From az but moving to ft lauderdale, florida= plantation. fl | Registered: Aug 2009
| IP: Logged |
Amanda
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 14107
posted
I never participated in sports that would hurt my neck, I never had a fall. I have no autoimmune disease, low ANA, in fact low immune cell counts. In fact, I was in a car accident a while ago before Iw as sick and they did an MRI and everything looked great.
Then I get sick with lyme and Babs. I was in bed most of the time. Then one day I woke up with neck pain and not being able to sit more than 15 minutes, out of nowwhere, lying in bed..
HAd another MRI done, and there is deterioration at c-5, c-6. Its gotta be lyme.
Made big mistake and had a steriod shot doen in the area. 30 minutes after that shot, I started having hearing problems, facial twitches, other muscle twitches... The doctor that gave me the shot said he had never seen or heard of a reaction like mine. So, its gotta be that the shot suppressed my immune system, and sent the lyme into overdrive. IT also made my neck pain worse.
-------------------- "few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example" - Mark Twain Posts: 1008 | From US | Registered: Dec 2007
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/
UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!
![[confused]](graemlins/confused.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic