Hi
I was recently diagnosed with moderate to severe L3-L4 and L4-L5 stenosis. The MRI report also indicated moderate foraminal narrowing at 3 or 4 disc levels, and the report mentioned desiccation at all but one of the disc levels. The L4-L5 also indicated ligamentum flavum hypertrophy and facet athrosis. What does this mean?
34 years - 6 foot 4 inches, 230 lbs. I have episodic numbness and pain in legs, but also have this problem in arms and hands too (numbness and slight tremor). I also have abdominal pains (mostly ULQ) and fluctuation in stool. I don't smoke or drink. I'm on paxil (mood), lisinopril and small dose of atenolol (hypertension). I have taken paxil and lisinopril for years. I had two ablations for SVT in 2006 - second one caused a PE which I took warfarin for 6 months. No clotting factors. The numbness started in my legs and affects my hands and forearms as well. Sometimes I feel this squeezing feeling either in my hands or in my lower back. When I sit for long periods and then stand up and walk I sometimes get episodes of numbness and weakness that make me have to walk slow and/or sit down and rest. Also I get some strange sensations in my hands and forearms...like holding a phone my hand gets tense and heavy and I have to switch hands. Also, both arms fall "asleep" at night, and I am not laying on them. I have a stiff/aching neck for over a year that waxes and wanes, but stays sore all the time. I have had several workups before the MRI. I have normal cbc, liver blood tests, mri of head, abdominal ct, no lyme, b12, no hepatitis, no cmv, blood smear neg pathogens, etc. Normal ncv/emg
Could the arm involvement indicate some cervical stenosis?
Can lumbar stenosis to affect the arms?
Also, the digestive issues - testing (colonoscopy, endoscopy, etc) is normal. Could this stenosis cause this?
Are there any diseases that cause the stenosis or cause a more rapid degeneration of my discs?
Thank you