hi all, new here and been reading the posts. I myself was told I had syringomyelia over 12yrs ago but beleive I had it for alot longer. Got 40 yrs of hard labor jobs on this body and I dont think I got anything left to give at 52.Having lots of pain throughout my body and they never claim any of its from sm. I do have disc problems in neck and lower back with servere arthritis. My cyst runs from t6 to t10 so I really couldnt say what pain is from what. I just know its all getting worst.Also got pinched nerves in both elbows that make hands hurt and very numb. Had 2 knee surgeries anx right foot crushed on railroad.Sorry about all that but I do know the syringomyelia is causing a lot of my pain.I just dont know what to do with my back problems. Surgen wont do surgery because he said he didnt want to make me worst then i already am.I guess in some sense Im screwed.Sorry to throw that at all you who read this but i needed people who understand the pain we are all in.

Hi 2muchpain I hope things have gotten a little easier. I have not logged in in a while but did want to see how everyone is doing. It is really really difficult to find any doctors that know what they are doing with a syrinx. Actually I find it is difficult to find any doctor that gives a shit overall, but that has been my personal experience. It may not be yours. My symptoms from the syrinx are getting worse. I read about the 'cape like' feelings from your neck into shoulders. It's getting very bad at night and my arms are numb all the time. My neck hurts all the time. The simplest of things will cause great pain for a long time. I seen another neurologist a few months ago, he said doing the shunt would be a last option. And I fully agree. I don't think it will ever be an option for me. It sounds like the consequences are not worth the action. So I just have to deal with the pain. I'm not on any pain meds because I work and those meds really mess me up. I just deal with the pain. It sucks at night because I don't get much sleep anymore. It's also effecting my legs, they don't like to climb anymore. A flight of stairs is a lot. And to give you an idea, I am a very petite person at 5'3 and about 110lbs. So it is not due to weight that they don't want to move. It's all so frustrating. It makes me angry. I don't have any advice unfortunately, I just wanted to let you know you are not alone in this. Although I'm sure it seems so.