Anyone a "pain management" patient? Back surgery anyone?

[hrsp]

Long story but i will try to make it short...Fucked my back up a few years ago...went to aurora and explained what happened and gave them my symptoms...after a few months of them telling me its just a strained lumbar muscle and it should be healing by now they scheduled an Xray...even though they knew it wasnt a "violent" incident like a car crash or falling down stairs..that came back and looked good so they again said you should be feeling better now..i wasnt at all...so i just said fuck it and took it easy the best i could at work and home...but it just wasnt getting better..ive never had any medical issues or back issues in 25years...so i go to a new doctor and tell them the entire story and the first thing he asks is " did you have an MRI" i said no i had xrays done but thats it...So he sent me for an MRI and my next visit explains to me why ive been hurting for this long and why it hasnt "healed" up yet...I have a herniated disc at L5-S1 and i have a bulging disc at L4-L5 and degenerative disc disease..ive been doing physical therapy and been on a medication for pain and for inflamation and for spasms...my doctor has recommended that i go to a "pain management clinic" for long term care and basically said my only option is keep doing what im doing now which is trying to keep it under control with meds and p.t and injections or let them cut me open and shave some bone off my spine and some shit..

has anyone hear had back surgery for something similar? how did it go? or anyone that is currently a long term pain management patient and how is it working for you? any other input or advice is welcome! if you dont wanna post it up please pm me and it will stay private... Thanks Everyone!

[BR3W CITY]

hey drop me a pm and we can talk... I've got 3 herniated discs, bone cancer, and have had 3 bones removed. I am and will always be a pain management patient.

[Prince Valiant]

Long story but i will try to make it short...Fucked my back up a few years ago...went to aurora and explained what happened and gave them my symptoms...after a few months of them telling me its just a strained lumbar muscle and it should be healing by now they scheduled an Xray...even though they knew it wasnt a "violent" incident like a car crash or falling down stairs..that came back and looked good so they again said you should be feeling better now..i wasnt at all...so i just said fuck it and took it easy the best i could at work and home...but it just wasnt getting better..ive never had any medical issues or back issues in 25years...so i go to a new doctor and tell them the entire story and the first thing he asks is " did you have an MRI" i said no i had xrays done but thats it...So he sent me for an MRI and my next visit explains to me why ive been hurting for this long and why it hasnt "healed" up yet...I have a herniated disc at L5-S1 and i have a bulging disc at L4-L5 and degenerative disc disease..ive been doing physical therapy and been on a medication for pain and for inflamation and for spasms...my doctor has recommended that i go to a "pain management clinic" for long term care and basically said my only option is keep doing what im doing now which is trying to keep it under control with meds and p.t and injections or let them cut me open and shave some bone off my spine and some shit..

has anyone hear had back surgery for something similar? how did it go? or anyone that is currently a long term pain management patient and how is it working for you? any other input or advice is welcome! if you dont wanna post it up please pm me and it will stay private... Thanks Everyone!
What kind of doc are you seeing in the first place?

I mean, there are a ton of avenues to explore...it's hard to make any recommendation w/o knowing who you've seen, what options you've exhausted, etc...

[STANMAN]

The wife has back issues and is on a pain management system similar to what you are going through. It's rough, she has good days and bad. Just get comfortable with your doctors, as they are going to "make or break you". You will more than likely go through several before you find one you are comfortable with, so don't get discouraged. Good luck, and hope you feel as good as you can as often as you can!

[Irish]

This is damn near what happened to me, to the letter, when I had my "pulled hamstring" that wasn't healing, checked out.

I had the same thing happen to my L-1 S-5. The good news, with treatment, you can get it to go away or at least feel like it did. They wanted me to have surgery and I said fuck that.

I did have three epidurals over the course of 6 months. The doctor's name was Doniparthy (sp?) ( I spelled it phonetically). She was awesome!

Between those, not being a gorilla lifting heavy shit, and taking Advil on a daily basis, after 1 1/2 years I felt completely back to normal.

It may hurt every once in a while but if you take it easy and don't forget what that pain feels like right now, you'll keep yourself from over doing it.

[easytoremember]

C5/c6 herniated here. Steroid shots ever 3 to 4 months for life. 1600mg of ibuprofin a day, and constant pain. Sorry to hear man it sucks... theres more pain to talk about but dont need to. Just want to say i feel your pain.

[Holeshot]

My Mrs has de genitive arthritis of the spine with bulges in L3 L4 L5. Has had many injections and been on more pain meds then I care to list including methadone. The withdraw was way worse then the actual back pain. She was seeing Dr Jamie Edwards for a long time at Aurora . Sports Medicine Dr. She doesn't take anything but over the counter pain relievers now and morning stretches . Her sciatic nerve is pinched and her right foot sometime drags while walking. With less then a 40% success rate for that kind of surgery we are not doing that option unless she has bowl or bladder control issues from it getting worse. She cant work her profession anymore and its getting tough as no one will touch her with a disability.

[Irish]

its getting tough as no one will touch her with a disability.

If that is the case, she is being discriminated against.

[spooln30]

I have 4 bad discs. T6/7 and L4/5, when the pain gets real bad my left leg gets numb as well as my chest and both hands. Doc said I need surgery but as of now I'm fighting my old employers insurance. It's a work comp case. I've been living with a pretty bad back since Jan 2010 and its hell almost everyday. I also went to PT, which only fixed my foot drop, and did the series of shots. They didn't do anything for the pain at all. I'm still VERY hesitant to get surgery, for one I know for a fact it will be 3 or more surgeries. I did the Discogram to see which type of surgery I need and they basically inject you with a stimulant to induce pain and holy crap it hurt. I've heard of many horror stories about getting diseases from surgeries. Also sometimes they have to cut you open in the front and remove your guts to fix the back. No thanks.

[venm4u97]

both my mom and brother have had back fusions.....don't opt for surgery...my mom regrets it and Im sure my brother will to....just try to manage

[Slow5oh]

Ive done physical therapy twice now, I actually just finished trying out a work conditioning program 5 hours a day 5 days a week. I've had 3 epidural injections, have had 3 or 4 MRIs and chiropractic treatment, all with zero results. My problem is also l5, s1.

After dealing with it for 2 years, sick of the sciatica going down my legs, and not being able to do much of anything at 22, aug 1 I'm going to talk to the surgeon again for surgery. They've been pushing it off due to age.

Just make your you do your research and be careful about getting talked into all these magical fixes because all its left me, is an assload of debt

I will say a TENS unit can be a huge relief but it only really last while it's on you.


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[Russ Jerome]

I go to Advanced Pain Managment for non repairable things that are now coming back to haunt me as well as wear items that would keep me from working and making a living. Without pain meds I will simply lay in bed and feel worse being imobile, then shit REALY locks up.

Left ankle/foot shatterd in 20's, right elbow tore off same wreck, right broken leg never set, walked thru healing in teens, 30+ foot fall may be source of chronic back pain, both elbows shot and wrist from tractor trailer/tire work for 30 yrs, wrenching realy tears up your forearms and lifting tires at 48 is realy getting old even with back brace.

Im not perscribed anything other than low dose Perc's but it beats aspirin. You have to stab most pain managment people in the back with a sharp knife for them to understand what you are going thru as they are soft skinned and only work limited hrs as doctors, never realy "worked" for a living. Im not ashamed to say I work/barter for better meds just to keep up with my 6 day a week job many 20 yr olds could not do....now with Obama on board I can look forward to higher tax bills and worse medical coverage, woohoo.

[spooln30]

I def hear you Russ. It sucks having to rely on meds just to be able to work. I too with out them would be bed ridden, some days I am even with them. I got my shots at Advance Pain Management from Dr Sani. It sucks these days with all of the people abusing pain meds, it really makes it hard for people who actually need them.

[BR3W CITY]

^ saw the same guy but just about punched him and his pa earl in the dick for what they did. He never looked at my films and put a shot right through my tumor with a shot.....

angry.

[hrsp]

thanks for all the replies...i feel for every single person in daily pain...shit gets old fast...

yes with all the "junky" people shooting them and snorting them it makes it VERY hard to get meds..even with an mri showing that your fucked up..they are still so hesitant and some flat out wont prescribe anything.

Pharmacy Issues!?
what really irks me is when you go to get your script filled and some 18yr old kid gives you dirty looks and has the nerve to question how much your script is for...its not the pharmacist that questioned it but just a "tech" maybe? i didnt know that pharmacy techs had the power to change your script if they thought it was "to much". i thought that was between you and your doctor? they have to call in and verify the script anyways so if they had concerns they should tell my doctor not me right?? and it wasnt anything that looked like an error...it said take 1-2 every 4-6 hours as needed for pain... not take 20-30 every 4-6hours which looks like an error...needles to say i wont ever go to any walgreens again...not just cuz of my little incident but ive heard from alot of family and friends about walgreens pharmacy and how they treat people...

[venm4u97]

yea...I hate walgreens...they charge to much anyways...go to target or k mart....even Sams club

[BR3W CITY]

They have no right to change any of your perscriptions, all they can do is call the doctor to verify. I had one guy think he was fucking a dea golden boy because he called in saying I had "doubled up" on oxycodone rx, despite one being with tylenol the other without.
I even showed him my hospital release bracelet from a few hours before and he wanted to cause an issue. Probably the only time I've ever tried to come across the counter at someone. The pharmacist ended up giving them to me but I was ready to cause a shitstorm at the time.

[spooln30]

I go to Walgreens and haven't had any problems yet. As far as PA Earl at APM, yeah he's a asshole. He gave me straight attitude a few times I was there. They see a guy in he 30's and assume he is making up his pain. It's funny cuz anybody could look at my MRI's and see 4 discs that are in very bad shape. Fucked up story with APM, when I went to get my first shots I asked for twilight. So they injected me then walked me into another room for my shots. Gave me the shots and then asked me to stand up, when I did the twilight kicked in and I hit the floor. Dumbasses.

[73MACH]

My mom has had 5 back surgeries for pretty much the same stuff, fusions, cages, etc......still has legs and arms go numb, still in a shit ton of pain, has never really taken the pain meds. She sticks to the tylenol and Ibueprofin. A buddy of mine and my father in law have also had a few back surgeries with somewhat better results but took 3 or 4 surgeries for both to feel any better.

I wish you the best, but hope I'm never in this position...