[Guest]

I have a 5mm schwannoma at the L-3-4 level on the left side of my spine.My symptoms over the last year are gatting worse. They are pain in the left lower back, electrical feelings down my legs, pain in the legs in calves and front thigh as well as pain in right groin area. Within the last 7 months I have also been getting severe arm pain in the lower part of my arm, wrist, and hand. I get both the arm and lower spine and leg pain every day and it is worse at night. I have had 2 MRIs of my lumbar spine done, Nerve testing in my arms, and every blood test you could think of. The neurolist that did the nerve testing said there was some abnormalities but not enough to produce these kind of symptoms. The other night I had such excruitiating pain in my lower left back, hip and leg. I tried everything to get rid of it, did not work. I am scheduled for an MRI of the cervical spine and head but there is a waiting list of ten more months. I dont know if I can handle this pain for 10 more months. My question is that none of my doctors think that a leision this size would produce these symptons, but my phisiotherapist who is awesome and has always been right so far says that he thinks it could. He is the one that told me that I have a spinal tumor, the doctors did not think it was.
I am getting worried and so is my physiotherapist as the symptoms are getting worse. Any information you could offer me would be very helpful. I was on amytriptiline 25 mg. at bedtime and they have now changed me to 25 mg of nortriptiline. Not working. I also had lidocane IV treatment, just made me quite sick, did nothing for my pain. Sorry for the length of this, I am just really scared.

[Guest]

It sounds like more aggressive pain management is needed. Without seeing the films and examing you it is hard to say, but a 5mm lesion is very small, and I think it would be unlikely to cause all of the different symptoms you are having, although pain in the distribution of the nerve root involved could certainly be present. The MRI studies will hopefully be helpful but the wait seems extensive.
[quote] I have a 5mm schwannoma at the L-3-4 level on the left side of my spine. My symptoms over the last year are gatting worse... [/quote]