Medical practitioners are taught to look out for these red flag signals...NHS helpline use them to alert them of this emergency and yet still they are overlooked when someone presents with the signals. I visited 3 seperate doctors...who all ignored my symptoms..and finally by the end of the week.i had all the signals and they still ignored me.....I wish to God i had seen this somewhere/anywhere because my life would be just as it was before.....this need circulating for people to read everywhere because Cauda Equina Syndrome is preventable with a high return to normal function rate if detected and operated on within 48 hours.....
My advice is only give your GP one chance...then if they don't send you as an emergency for an MRI scan then take yourself to A and E.....at that very moment...dont wait another day.....
My advice is only give your GP one chance...then if they don't send you as an emergency for an MRI scan then take yourself to A and E.....at that very moment...dont wait another day.....
I had an MRI that showed a moderate to large central/ para central protrusion extrusion. I was sent to physical therapy and back to work. Developed numbness in the perineal area with bowel and bladder problems. Told my Dr and he said, you can't have CES. It's rare! He gave me steroids instead and said it was swelling. I took myself to ED 2 days later because I could not straighten my legs out when lying down, my sciatic nerves were excruciating bilaterally. Had surgery 36 hours later. My retention was not causing incontinence only a dribbley weak stream. They missed the retention and now I have hydronephrosis and self cath. My opinion is Dr's are scared of CES. It's difficult to diagnose and there is so much at stake. They are afraid of litigation. Had such a bad experience. As if being devastated by CES is not enough;(
I had an MRI that showed a moderate to large central/ para central protrusion extrusion. I was sent to physical therapy and back to work. Developed numbness in the perineal area with bowel and bladder problems. Told my Dr and he said, you can't have CES. It's rare! He gave me steroids instead and said it was swelling. I took myself to ED 2 days later because I could not straighten my legs out when lying down, my sciatic nerves were excruciating bilaterally. Had surgery 36 hours later. My retention was not causing incontinence only a dribbley weak stream. They missed the retention and now I have hydronephrosis and self cath. My opinion is Dr's are scared of CES. It's difficult to diagnose and there is so much at stake. They are afraid of litigation. Had such a bad experience. As if being devastated by CES is not enough;(
Sadly, Cauda Equine Syndrome, for a spinal injury that is so rare, its surprising ,so commonly mis-diagnosed. I think these doctors are worried about keeping within their budget and many are plain and simply incompetent chrioli,.
I never even knew what Cauda Equina Syndrome was until I joined a SCI forum! The neurosurgeon & rehab facility that did my surgery and handled my care & therapies told me that I had an L1 Spinal Cord Injury because of an L1 burst fracture & chipped L2. It wasn't until I started reading forum threads, information on websites, and the book that the rehab doctors gave me, that I started asking questions about my own body!
(By the way... Nobody really sat down and explained the mechanics of why I couldn't feel below my navel or move my legs until a week after my surgery! I had to ask my physical therapist at the time, and she explained it in a way I could understand.)
2 years later, my original injury was rediagnosed as Conus Medullaris Syndrome with Cauda Equina Syndrome. I suffered more damage and have been diagnosed as a T10 Paraparetic with CMS & CES.