ravdeb
10-11-2006, 06:57 AM
Hi,
This is my first time on this forum.
I was diagnosed with a left dissected carotid artery over 3 years ago. It was found after I was diagnosed with Horner's Syndrome. They have no idea why I have this so they are calling it a spontaneous dissection. Along with this I have 40 - 50% narowing if the right carotid artery.
I have a Duplex for this every 4 - 6 months and am watched over carefully by a neuro-opthalmalogist. She's concerned and I'll be going for a CT angio in the next few weeks.
I take 100 mg. of aspirin daily. Was on coumadin but they took me off of that.
That's the background. I've never had any symptoms of this besides the Horners Syndrome, which is not dangerous.
I have recently finished breast cancer treatments (chemo and radiation) and I have a herniated disk so I have some sciatica pains. I have dull pains in my neck, shoulders and arms and up until today thought it was due to the chemo.
I was wondering if anyone on the boards here has this dissected artery and experiences dull aches in arms.
This is my first time on this forum.
I was diagnosed with a left dissected carotid artery over 3 years ago. It was found after I was diagnosed with Horner's Syndrome. They have no idea why I have this so they are calling it a spontaneous dissection. Along with this I have 40 - 50% narowing if the right carotid artery.
I have a Duplex for this every 4 - 6 months and am watched over carefully by a neuro-opthalmalogist. She's concerned and I'll be going for a CT angio in the next few weeks.
I take 100 mg. of aspirin daily. Was on coumadin but they took me off of that.
That's the background. I've never had any symptoms of this besides the Horners Syndrome, which is not dangerous.
I have recently finished breast cancer treatments (chemo and radiation) and I have a herniated disk so I have some sciatica pains. I have dull pains in my neck, shoulders and arms and up until today thought it was due to the chemo.
I was wondering if anyone on the boards here has this dissected artery and experiences dull aches in arms.
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feelbad
10-13-2006, 10:33 AM
you should really find out what caused the horners.horners syndrome is actually caused by something that has affected or even damaged the sympathetic nervous system.this could have been from the chemo or any radiation you may have had.i have a left eye horners and mine was caused by direct damage to my spinal cord,which also damaged my sympathetic nerve.your SNS IS most definitely affected in some way,some how,horners IS the main symptom of SNS affectation.what exactly IS a dissected carotid entail?i have heard the dissected term before but not exactly sure just what that means?Just an FYI here,but the sympathetic ganglion sits very close to the carotid artery in the neck,but the actual SNS chain runs from there on down on both sides of the outer vertebral column.
you mentioned having a herniated lower disc,have they ever done an MRI on your c spine at all?have you ever tried looking up horners-radiation?or even chemo.i think it happens much more frequently tho wth the radiation.the radiation can also cause certain types of pain when it somehow damages areas in the c spine too.try looking up c spine pain-radiation.or radiation related pain.i hope this helped and didn't cause more confusion for you.let me know how things go.marcia
you mentioned having a herniated lower disc,have they ever done an MRI on your c spine at all?have you ever tried looking up horners-radiation?or even chemo.i think it happens much more frequently tho wth the radiation.the radiation can also cause certain types of pain when it somehow damages areas in the c spine too.try looking up c spine pain-radiation.or radiation related pain.i hope this helped and didn't cause more confusion for you.let me know how things go.marcia
ravdeb
10-13-2006, 10:48 AM
Thanks for the response.
I have Horners because it's a symptom of the dissected carotid artery. There are three things that will cause Horners and one of them is the dissection of the carotid artery. It means that there is a tear in the artery and it's not allowing blood flow to the brain.
I've had MRI on spine, hip, femur...was concerned about bone mets from my breast cancer.
I am well covered and all my many doctors know all these things...
I'm going in for a CT angio of my neck and that might clear up any questions I have. Both my onc and breast surgeon say that my pains are chemo-related. They just told me this yesterday.
I guess that I've just been kinda worried lately...
Thanks again.
I have Horners because it's a symptom of the dissected carotid artery. There are three things that will cause Horners and one of them is the dissection of the carotid artery. It means that there is a tear in the artery and it's not allowing blood flow to the brain.
I've had MRI on spine, hip, femur...was concerned about bone mets from my breast cancer.
I am well covered and all my many doctors know all these things...
I'm going in for a CT angio of my neck and that might clear up any questions I have. Both my onc and breast surgeon say that my pains are chemo-related. They just told me this yesterday.
I guess that I've just been kinda worried lately...
Thanks again.
feelbad
10-14-2006, 10:59 AM
your right,the horners is a symptom of your condition.there are actually many many causes of horners.anytime anything affects the sympathetic fibers,it can cause horners.i just did some quick searching and was amazed at the number of articles on horners and dissected carotid arterys.if you haven't looked up these two things together yet,you really should.very enlightening.the horners developed in your case(this is the most common theory)because of the sudden enlargement of the internal carotid that stretches,or compresses the sympathetic fibers in some way.there is always a sympathetic component to the actual development of horners.horners syndrome is just one symptom of some sort of sympathetic affectation.
it does sound tho like your docs are all good ones and on top of things,and thats huge when being treated for anything these days.at least it's one less thing to have to worry about anyway.
the angio will really help to make things a bit clearer.is there a reason they are doing this with CT and not the usual way that would entail going in thru the femoral artery in the groin?just wondering.
I wish you lots of luck with this and hope they can find a good way to treat your pain.if things get to overwhelming,there is always going to a good pain management doc for the best ways to try and control even the worst types of pain.they have helped me to at least gain some quality of life back again after my spinal cord injuries caused a host of chronic pain syndromes.pain caused by radiation can be pretty intense in some patients,hopefully yours will remain at the lower end.good luck ravdeb,marcia
it does sound tho like your docs are all good ones and on top of things,and thats huge when being treated for anything these days.at least it's one less thing to have to worry about anyway.
the angio will really help to make things a bit clearer.is there a reason they are doing this with CT and not the usual way that would entail going in thru the femoral artery in the groin?just wondering.
I wish you lots of luck with this and hope they can find a good way to treat your pain.if things get to overwhelming,there is always going to a good pain management doc for the best ways to try and control even the worst types of pain.they have helped me to at least gain some quality of life back again after my spinal cord injuries caused a host of chronic pain syndromes.pain caused by radiation can be pretty intense in some patients,hopefully yours will remain at the lower end.good luck ravdeb,marcia
ravdeb
10-14-2006, 12:41 PM
Thanks.
I have had a couple of ct angios. She wants to take a look at it again as it's more precise and can see more than the duplex. She wants to take a look at both sides from the heart to the brain. So, that's what the ct angio does.
This doctor is a neuro-ophthalmologist and is probably the best doctor I've ever had! She is thorough and caring. She looks at the whole person and is not just looking at her area of specialty . She's great!
Yes, I know there are many reasons for Horners. I know one woman who has it because of a tumor on her clavicle.
Thanks again! :)
I have had a couple of ct angios. She wants to take a look at it again as it's more precise and can see more than the duplex. She wants to take a look at both sides from the heart to the brain. So, that's what the ct angio does.
This doctor is a neuro-ophthalmologist and is probably the best doctor I've ever had! She is thorough and caring. She looks at the whole person and is not just looking at her area of specialty . She's great!
Yes, I know there are many reasons for Horners. I know one woman who has it because of a tumor on her clavicle.
Thanks again! :)