Requesting Advice and Opinions

Hi Army Mom and welcome to Healing Well. I am so glad that you decided to post. I read your post and it just made me so mad that the medical community has taken the position they have with you, its not right, but there is help out there. If you have been lurking awhile then you know in many cases we have to advocate to get good health care. It just pretty much goes without saying that our medical drs seem to be getting more less caring each day, sad but true.

I personally feel its a plus that you have insurance and can pick your own drs. Being in the military you were stuck with getting care from them. I do not know what kind of ins you have and the coverage. The very first thing I would do is find myself a good PCP, perhaps an internist that is on your plan and accepts your insurance. If you can get online with your insurance company and plug in a PCP in your area I would look at the list and then find an internist if possible. Its always hard making a cold call on a dr never knowing what to expect. But, if you can find one that you like this dr can make referrals for specialist including a pain mgt dr. If you get in to see a PCP and do not like him, no problem look for another one. You must keep looking till you find one thats fits. A good PCP can send you out for MRI's and CT Scans to get an idea as to what is going on with you. Remember these drs work for you. Surgeons only want to see people if they are surgical candidates, orthopedics are good for bone problems. Personally, I prefer a neurosurgeon simply because he is more schooled with the nerves than an orthopedic.

There are two types of pain mgt drs. One does procedures and injections only, he will not script pain meds. The other one will do the same as far as injections and such, but he will also give scripts for pain meds. People that have CP truly need to be under the care of a good pain mgt dr. These guys are specialty drs in in treating pain issues. Alot of other types of drs take a different attitude towards a patient if they say they are in pain. Sad but true we are looked at as if we are drug seekers when all we want is help. This is why I say pain mgt. Most pain drs will not accept you as a patient unless you are referred by another dr. A PCP can make a referral to a pain mgt dr.

Most of all is you are not alone and deserve to have medical help to get you back on your feet and functioning as a person again. It is possible but it can take some hard work finding the right drs. No one should live how you are living in pain with no help, no one should be forced to feel bad about themselves because they have medical issues. You have taken a big step by reaching out to this forum and please come back and stay with us. You can learn alot from the many people here.

What your dr said about the fusion in your neck is true, many times as the years pass the fusion does put stress on the levels above and below the fusion resulting in other disc problems developing. An MRI can be done to rule this out.

Take care and get to looking for you a good primary care physician to get you back on the road to living. When asked why you need to see the dr. I would simply say now that you have private insurance you are needing to establish yourself with a new dr. on your plan. Once you get the appt and go in and see the dr tell him/her whats going on and aske them to make all the necessary refferals they feel necessary.  Oh, by the way, this group of people we have here, we don't let people give up on themselves because we know there is help out there. Hugs coming your way.

 

AF Lady-Army mom

First off I want to Welcome you to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum, Second thing I want to reassure you that we will not abandoned you here on this forum! As you know from your "lurking around" we are not Doctors and we can not fix people, but we are a extremely caring and compassionate bunch of folks that know well what you are going through and we do care and will give you advice if  you want it and all the support you could ever dream of wanting. Now to clarify some things are you Retired from the Air Force? But you husband is still active Army? If that is the case, do you have VA disability? Are your spine problems in any way service connected? Sorry for all the questions, but they are important! Many of the things you have mentioned, I have heard myself about my condition, I had a C6/7 diskectomy and fusion in 1985 while I was in the Air Force. I am also retired AF. I did not get disability from the AF on retirement, I took all my medical records to the VA office right after I retired and they went through them with a fine tooth comb and I received disability for my disk fusion and had a host of other things listed down as service connected problems! Anyway  The only thing I will tell you is that I found the AF had excellent Dental care while I was active duty, but I can not say that about the AF or Army with their medical care,  I will not go into details but if you can see a Nave Doctor I would highly recommend you try that! You seem to have allot of the same problems that I have had. Pain is unrealisticly high  for what the injuries show on the MRI and Xrays and other test!  Note here I DO NOT Think you are a Crybaby! !!!! I know all to well how Doctors especially AF and Army Doctors make you feel!  An Army orthopedic surgeon told me I was malingering and sent me to a shrink, for my pain! 6 weeks later it was discovered that I had a massive herniated disk at C6/7 with free floating fragments in spinal canal!  So I can empathize with what you have and are currently experiencing!   Your post has stirred up some very deep seated emotions and feelings in me!  So please know I will do anything and everything I can to help you on this! Anyway you really need to look into finding a good civilian Pain Management Doctor, I would also suggest checking in with the VA on entitlements, and  are you able to work? if not I would also be looking at applying for Social Security Disability SSD.  The last two things will take time, that is why it is important to start applying now.  But the main thing now is getting good medical treatment and care for your pain!  I would not rely on AF or Army Docs for that! 

Anyway AF Lady I again Welcome you to our family,  I do wish you well and if I can be of any help to you, just let me know, through the post here or E-mail.

Good Luck to You!

White Beard

P.S.  I also want to extend a warm Welcome to you Becky 83  I am  also glad you have found us, I hope that you will become an active member of our family here on the Chronic Pain Forum.  I also wish you only the best !  Just because they haven't found the source of your pain does not mean that there isn't any reason for it! So don't give up, we are here to help and support you!

Thanks to everyone for all the replies!

WhiteBeard, I'm so glad you can understand how military docs can be - plus how whining too much or going to the docs too much while you're active duty can hurt your career. My last PCM wouldn't even prescribe me 800 mg Motrin, and then recommended a book called "Mind over Back Pain" - and that was just a few months before I had the cervical fusion surgery. I retired in 2006 after exactly 20 yrs. My body couldn't take another deployment to the mid-east carrying huge duffel bags. My husband just retired last month. That's why I can finally change my insurance! My oldest son is in the Army. I haven't filed for VA disability yet (I know - I know). My medical records are huge and I have a bazillion things to include, so I just get overwhelmed everytime I start. I am working full time and am going to use tricare standard with a tricare supplement, so I can go to any tricare doc. I think I've gotten so used to just doing whatever I had to do in the military, that I am able to force myself to come to work everyday. But - I know I am not nearly as effective or productive as I should be since I'm distracted by "ice-picks" in my head or back - or my arm or hand being on fire - during the day. I also forgot to add that I also have sciatic pain, so if I sit for too long I can't walk without sharp pain in my butt! (and I have a desk job)

I just made an appt with a primary care doc near my work but my appt isn't until mid Dec. Hopefully it's worth the wait. I'm going to try to get in to see the PM doc in the meantime and keep trying yoga.

I feel a lot better after typing my entry today. I don't talk about my pain much to anyone so it's really good to let some out... Thanks again everyone!

AFLady-Army Mom...Welcome to the board. I've been a member here for a long time, although it's been awhile since I've posted due my health issues. Anyway, it's a very supportive board and, although I'm sorry you have chronic pain, I'm glad to have you join us.

Others gave you some great advice; I really don't have anything to add in that department; other than I completely agree that finding a good pain management doc is absolutely the way to go. Please don't let anyone, doctors included, make you think that you are whining, or that your injuries don't measure up to your pain levels, or whatever. If I could have learned anything sooner, it would have been this.

I understand how frustrating and discouraging things can get - especially when you don't have a doctor that is supporting you w/ your pain issues. I went through years of searching for the right doctor. Now, to have a doctor that listens; empathizes; knows the pain I'm in - it has made all of the difference in my own attitude about things. I really hope you can find the same. I think all chronic pain patients deserve a doctor who is like this.

This board is a great place to share things that not everyone would understand. I look forward to getting to know you better. I'm glad you posted!
--Tina

Welcome AFLady I'm new to these forums but not to chronic pain. I've found this to be the right place for me to ask question and to vent I learn something new everyday.
Cathy

AF Lady

All I can say is Please call your local VA Rep, and talk to him about your situation. Maybe he can take your military medical records and go through them and get the information they need ( they did that for me) Anyway the sooner you get that done the better off you will be, they will then want you to come in and get a VA physical and check up. I would definitely make that a priority item!

Your arm pain sounds all to familiar, and that concerns me,  You definitely need to see a GOOD neurosurgeon!  That is the type of pain I had and it was caused by nerve root impingement! Do you have any other bad cervical disks? or Bone spurs? When is the last MRI that you have had on your cervical disk? Have you had any EMG studies on your arm? This is something that definitely needs to be looked into! Please becareful especially with any lifting or doing stuff bending over and straining your neck. Anyway do not over do it and even with a desk job, that can be hard on a back! So Please be good to your self! and call that VA Rep!

 Take care of yourself AF Lady

White Beard