Question 1

what is arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Inflammation: The brain and spinal cord is covered by a membrane that has a cobweb appearance.  This appearance caused pathologists to use a spider term to describe it.  When it is damaged and inflammed it will cause pain and compression of nerves.  This often occurs following surgery to the skull, neck or spine.  This can result in chronic pain that is very difficult to treat.

Question 2

any success treating arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Tough case: Sorry to hear you have this condition.  Since it is not correctable surgically you are really stuck with managing the symptoms.  There are some interventional pain management techniques that may help.  Spinal cord stimulation is an excellent option as an addition to medication management and psychological counseling for coping techniques.

Question 3

what have you heard of arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Inflammation : Arachnoiditis is inflammation of one of the layers of meninges that surround the spine and or brain.  Few patients develop this condition after procedures in the spine and it can feel like burning or tingling sensation radiating down the arm or legs.  It can cause sensory deficits as well.  There is no cure yet but it's symptoms can be treated depending on what they are.

Question 4

what are the tests for arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

MRI: The condition is diagnosed by seeing scar tissue and adhesions causing nerves within the spine to "stick" or clump together.  The condition is seen on MRI or a myelogram followed by a ct scan.

Question 5

what's the prognosis of arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

A chronic condition: The condition causes both pain and neurological dysfunction (numbness, tingling, bowel, bladder or sexual dysfunction).  The disease has no know cure at the present time but pain can be managed by one of several techniques (see my previous answer).

Question 6

what are the symptoms of arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Burning tingling: Arachnoiditis of lumbar spine can cause burning and sharp pain down one or both of the lower extremeties.  Some people get sensory dysfunction which may feel like ants crawling up and down the legs.  There may be urinary dysfunction and sexual dysfunction as well.

Question 7

is it complicated to diagnosis arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

No: Arachnoiditis can be easily demonstrated on MRI and myelography.  Your doctor can decide if you need either or any of these tests.  Hope this helps.

Question 8

what is best for pain when you have arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Depends: This can be a very tricky problem.  A spinal stimulator maybe a good option in these cases that have failed traditional pain management.

Question 9

what is the definition or description of: arachnoiditis?

Accepted Answer

Arachnoid mater infl: Arachnoiditis is inflammation of the middle layer of the three layers of membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord called the arachnoid mater.  The outermost is the dura mater and the innermost is the pia mater.  It can be infectious (eg. bacterial or viral or fungal), non-infectious inflammatory (eg. caused by a subarachnoid hemorrhage), or due to metastatic disease, among other reasons.

Question 10

why are some people more likely to develop arachnoiditis than others?

Accepted Answer

Not Sure: Arachnoiditis is a chronic inflammatory condition. I would suspect that if you have a diet or lifestyle that is high in inflammatory chemicals that one would be more susceptible than another. I find that so many chronic inflammatory conditions are helped by diet and lifestyle changes. If this is something you  have, also consult with a chinese medicine practitioner. It can help a lot!

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