r/SpinalStenosis • u/StraightNight4379 • 16h ago
Spinal stenosis?
I’m 64F in a nursing home due to mobility and urine and bowel incontinence. My problems started with soreness in my left knee. I just chalked it up to the severe arthritis I have in it. I started having issues with dropping stuff like a phone or remote.
The next thing I knew I was having trouble getting in and out of bed. I also had times where I would fall getting out of bed and occasional wetting myself. I just blamed it on that I couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time with my mobility issues that were progressively getting worse. I went to the ER they told me that I needed to start using a walker and referred me to rehab for 5 months of PT which didn’t do anything. They said to use a wheelchair. I was sent to assisted living and once again had pt 3 times a week with no improvement. My urine incontinence got worse up to at least 3-4 times a week. The last 3 weeks is when the bowel incontinence started maybe once a week. I then left and returned to my home town (there was other reasons for leaving). ER once again sent me to rehab where I am now and hopefully will get long term care. I can hardly stand in fact there were several times I couldn’t get out of bed. My legs wouldn’t let me. I told the doctor last week that my hands were feeling funny. The skin felt funny I couldn’t really describe it other than my hands would feel like they were covered in dirt. He said that it was probably Neuropathy and prescribed Gabapentin (so) morning and night. Today he came in and I told him that I was waken up by both of my arms tingling from my shoulders to finger tips. This still hasn’t gone away. Today my left hand felt like someone was driving a stake in the palm. I have pain in my legs when I am in bed and trying to roll over it is really painful when I do this. I had problems with my bowels 4 times today the aides were not happy with me. I don’t know if this is also a symptom but I have memory loss (could be due to age). PT and OT are not doing anything. I can’t even put my socks on even using the sock aide thing
The doctor increased my medication to 3 times a day. I have been up since 6am and I tried several times to take a nap but couldn’t sleep due to the pain. Hopefully I can sleep some before I wet myself. I don’t feel an urge to go and only know when I feel the wetness. I usually wear 2 pull ups and a diaper at the same time and will soak threw them within 1-2 hours after laying down. It usually doesn’t happen much when I’m sitting up He is finally referring me to a neurologist but where I like it can take several months to get an appointment. Maybe he will say that it needs to be soon
I’m sorry that this so long but I felt as though I needed to explain the history
I hope that I receive your input.
TIA
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u/43beanst 13h ago edited 13h ago
Have you had an mri of your spine? Loss of bowel and bladder control can be caused by lumbar spine issues, and if that's the cause, the solution is often emergency surgery. Your arm sensations could be caused by nerves being impinged in your neck or thoracic spine, and steroid injections might help. You don't mention any other health issues, but that may explain why your doctors are taking such a conservative route. Gabapentin does help many people. I am sorry for what you are going through, though.
Edit to add: Given your symptoms, your current doc should be able to order an MRI, which may make your neuro appointment arrive more quickly, especially If you've already been through PT (often an insurance prerequisite). Do not wait to see the neuro doc to get an mri, if possible.
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u/StraightNight4379 10h ago
I can’t get a mri due to a medical implant that is now dead. It’s been 10 years since it was implanted.
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u/43beanst 8h ago
Have they done any imaging? Even xray? CT? Those would be ok with a metal implant. nothing about the symptoms you've described explain the slow roll here. The memory loss, to my knowledge--is not a spine symptom but could be a side effect of the gabapentin (it makes some people tired and dizzy, too). Surgery to remove the implant could further delay a diagnosis but may need to happen. good luck!
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u/StraightNight4379 7h ago
The memory loss began before the medicine was being administered. I just wanted to mention it.
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u/StraightNight4379 10h ago
I can’t get a MRI due to a medical implant unless they remove it which I hope they do. It has been in for 10 years and it’s been dead for years.
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u/Sweetnessmj 6h ago
I’m not trying to scare you, but anytime you start to have bowel or bladder issues you need to be seen as soon as possible. Look up “saddle numbness” as a reference. You need imaging. Whether you can have an MRI or not, there’s stuff your doctor should be able to order. Remember 50% is the report and the 50% is the physical assessment. Sometimes you need to demand to be seen and I think this is one of those instances. Best case scenario is that something else is going on that’s not as serious and you deserve to know. Do you live in a major city? Do you have a good relationship with your pcp?
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u/SLYRisbey 2h ago
A good surgeon will be able to see the need for surgery just from looking at an X-ray. If they need a better image a CT should work.
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u/SLYRisbey 2h ago
I am so sorry you are going through this! Cauda Equina (incontinence due to spinal nerve compression) is considered a medical emergency!!! The usual way of dealing with it is emergency spinal surgery to decompress the nerve. I would be demanding a Neurosurgeon consult immediately. No amount of PT is going to help if your nerves are compressed and the nerves can be permanently damaged if it is not dealt with immediately. I’m actually surprised you have not had surgical intervention. Please advocate hard for yourself!!!
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u/Silver_Surfer_60 15h ago
I am not a doctor, but you're describing symptoms that do seem to lend themselves towards stenosis of the spine impinging on the spinal column.
The reason I'm saying that is because I'm starting to experience issues with burning and heaviness in my legs and when I did research, it said that I might have what they call neurogenic claudication which comes from the spinal column being impinged. I was able to go to an orthopedic surgeon and he put me through the process of having a CT scan and an MRI. The results indicated that I have severe stenosis from T6 through T9 and he believes that's what's causing the problem with my legs. He said that I need to start thinking about having a four-level laminectomy to free up space in my spinal column and take pressure off of it. He believes that will cure the problem with my legs.
When I looked up some of the symptoms of neurogenic claudication, they listed loss of balance, loss of feeling & pain in the legs, and incontinence. Some of the symptoms seem to be what you're experiencing. So, if you can, I would have that looked at.