THE NEUROLOGICAL CONNECTION TO FIBROMYALGIA

1. Do you have numbness and tingling in your hands and feet?
2. Are your hands and feet always cold?
3. Have you noticed muscle weakness, such as a decrease in your grip strength?
4. Do you feel dizzy when you stand up?
5. Do you have blurred vision that has not been helped by glasses or other optical adjustments?
6. Do you have irritable bowel syndrome?
7. Do you have bladder problems?
8. Do you have nausea and/or vomiting spells?
9. Do you have unexplained sweating episodes, which are not menopausal?
10. Are you clumsy, either in walking or handling objects?
11. Do you have headaches?
12. Do you have facial numbness?
13. Do you have sleep apnea?
14. Do you have hoarseness?
15. Do you have neurally mediated hypotension (low blood pressure)?
16. Do you faint for no apparent reason?

Please also check the Comparable Symptoms pages located on this site for other symptoms you might have.

Also answer the following questions. Prior to the onset of your fibromyalgia symptoms:

1. Were you injured in a motor vehicle accident?
2. Did you suffer from a sports injury?
3. Did you hit your head, hurt your neck or injure yourself in any other way (exercise, fall, etc.)?
4. Did you have surgery under anesthetic?
5. Did you have dental work done under anesthetic?

Other questions:

1. Do other family members, i.e. mother, father, siblings, aunts, uncles, children, grandparents, exhibit similar symptoms and/or been diagnosed with fibromyalgia?
2. Did you have a traumatic birth (forceps, other)?

Since 1997, hundreds of fibromyalgia patients have been evaluated for these conditions and have had surgeries.  80% to 85% of these patients have had remarkable improvement in their fibromyalgia symptoms. If you have one or both of these conditions, you can find help in alleviating your pain, fatigue and cognitive problems as well as other neurological symptoms including but not limited to: Cold hands and feet, numbness and tingling in the extremities, irritable bowel syndrome, bladder problems and more. If you want to be evaluated for either of these conditions by neurosurgeon, Dr. Dan Heffez, www.heffezneurosurgical.com then follow these simple instructions.

MRI

Have your doctor prescribe an MRI of the cervical neck and foreman magnum (see MRI Requirements for more detailed instructions to give to your physician). Once you have the MRI taken, request that a copy with your name and phone number attached, be sent to:

Dan Heffez, MD
ATTENTION: Robert Gottschalk, RN
St. Joseph Hospital - 12th Floor
2900 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60657
Phone:  (773) 281-4402 for more information

Dr. Heffez will read your MRI and if he suspects a problem in the cervical spine area or the foremen magnum (Chiari), then he will personally call you to discuss his interpretation.