Have my appointment with Hackman in two days. But my centeral sleep apnea is through the roof. 70 AHI! I am a tech savvy person, so I decided to throw my images into Gemini Pro and ChatGPT. Bothi told me I have features that indicate CCI like a highlight on my spine near C1. I feel like I’m dying. I want to know where to go for CCI. I don’t have any money, and my sleep apnea keeps getting worse. Save my soul. Does anyone know a doctor that diagnoses and treats CCI with Medicaid? I’m running out of time. I’m so tired. I feel like if there’s nothing more I can do, I need to get my affairs in order. Maybe call my exes and old friends and say goodbye.
“Basilar invagination - The dens (C2) is definitely sitting too high, approaching or entering the foramen magnum (skull opening). This is a serious finding.”
“Craniocervical settling - Your skull appears to have ‘settled’ down onto your spine, reducing the space for critical structures."
“The bright white area you’ve highlighted in the center of the spinal cord is highly suggestive of a syrinx (syringomyelia/hydromyelia). This is a serious finding that needs to be formally identified and reported by a neuroradiologist reviewing your entire MRI study.”
@KyleNeedsHelp - I’m sorry your symptoms have continued to worsen. You can certainly discuss your situation w/ Dr. Hackman as he may have contacts to whom he can refer you. Just getting your styloids out, may help reduce some of your symptoms which would help you cope better as you look for solutions to the other things that may be going on. Exhaustion makes everything more difficult to deal with. Have you tried sleeping w/ your head elevated at night to see if that helps? Icing your neck for 15-20 min at bedtime might also reduce some of the inflammation that is causing the sleep apnea. It’s worth a try anyway.
Dr. Henderson in Washington, DC, is one of the most noted cervical instability doctors in the US, but I don’t know if he takes Medicaid. It may also be a long wait to see him.
An orthopedic doctor may be helpful. I went to an orthopedic doctor and she ended up being more helpful than the ENT I was seeing for my throat issues/difficulty swallowing before my diagnosis. She got me a cervical spine MRI and the CT scan with contrast that ended up showing ES, and prescribed the meds that have helped me somewhat function. Dr. Hackman’s office is wonderful and I’m sure they’d be happy to help with referrals or recommendations of who to see.
Please don’t lose hope. I know this is an exhausting and draining process but you really aren’t alone in this.
