Thoracic Discs

Sorry I lurk more than I post.

Anyway I've got a million things wrong with me. lol However just wondering if anyone was dealing with a herniated thoracic disc?

My T11 -T12 is herniated and pressing on the thecal sac. Feels like someone is driving a jagged red hot poker into my back and twisting.

My PM will inject everything in my neck and lower back but won't touch this one. And the neurosurgeon has said surgery is not an option.

HI Just, Ijust had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrom,seems your problem is alot different but Iknow the pain your going thur ,as for myself it took more than 2yrs to get surgery and they tryed everything else before ,like injections and tons of tests.Finally the neurosurgeon removed the rib.Alot of the pain is gone ,mainly sore still from recovery from surgery ,infact its been almost 1month and I'm still on pain meds,I was told it could take up to 3months to recover and Ididn't belive it ,Ithought Icould heal faster ,not the case!Its possible your problem is a risky surgery ,as mine had a70%chance of working .Maybe ask your dr.why or if surgery can be done? Maybe another DR.might do it!Also if you have many other illnesses surgery may be too much for you!I wish Icould help more all Ican say is ask the dr more ? besides the injects a longacting pain med.Keep looking into options that could help your problem,take care From Michele

My world kinda fell in due to a car accident as well....Don't know of many doctor that will touch
the T disc as those are very hard more complex area of the spine....Can you try getting to the
Cleveland Clinic maybe they could give you better or other options to try...I liked the PT with
the ultra sound treatments the best....sometimes the tens unit helps...I tried a lower lumbar
back brace but insurance wouldn't pay for it so I couldn't keep it...The headaches can come from the neck area,
Others will come by with better advice and I just wanted to send well wishes to you and say Hello...
Maybe try Accupuncture or look into that...(sorry my spelling is not great)
Many Prayers and well wishes to you...

Justanotherday

Welcome to Healing Well Chronic Pain Forum, I hope you stay around and post and become an active member of our family here! We might not be able to cure you, but we can definitely share in your frustrations and pain, and give you some advice and allot of compassion and support! At least you will know you are not alone in your suffering. As they say misery loves company, well when your here you will have all the company you would want! But this company will not only sympathize with you but also empathize, which is a whole lot better, because we know first hand what it is like to live and deal with chronic pain!

You doctor is right! Most if not all doctors and surgeons do not, and will not deal with surgery on the thoracic disk! and not to many Pain Management doctors will do the epidural injections in the thoracic area either! I know first hand what you are going through. I have a herniated and torn disk at T-12. It ended my nursiing career back in the late ninties and early 2000! I was told that they will not touch these disk, unless it was a life threatening situation, or severe paralysis. I was put on disability and started on pain management, they said as long as they could keep me realitively comfortable and I could function,( that is a very broad term! isn't it?) that is how things would be! So I take long acting pain meds to control my pain! In the years since allot of the other disk in my neck and back have went to pot, and I have had several fusions done on my cervical disk in my neck. I also have a very bad deteriation of the disk in my lumbar area, but I have refused to have the recommended surgery. In fact the last surgeon I seen about my lower back said the recommended I avoid surgery for as long as I could, even though the damage in the MRI is extreme! But they do want me to get my right hip replaced to ease the strain on my lower back, but I am not ready to do that quite yet either! So like you I "continue to continue!"

If you can find a spinal pain management doctor that is trained to give the Epidural Spinal Injections in the Thoracic area, you might be able to get some relief, if only temporary! I a have had them and I found them very very painful in the thoracic area, and the relief was only short lived and not worth the pain on having them! But every one is different, some I have talked to get several month of relief from having them, mine was never longer than three weeks and usually much much less!

Again I Welcome you to our Chronic Pain Family!

White Beard

 

Hello everyone,

A few days ago I had my 3-month Post-Op checkup for my Cervical Fusion Surgery. The X-rays showed I'm healing on schedule. Unfortunately, despite what the X-rays show I continue to suffer from pain and numbness in my arms and fingers. The surgery has definitely improved my pain and the frequency of occurrence, but I still have the same symptoms. After the surgery, at first the numbness in my fingers happened only n the mornings when I slept on my back instead of my normal right side. However, within the past month it doesn't matter how or whether or not I sleep. I can be sitting down watching TV or walking and all of a sudden I have pain in my arms (mostly left side) and then numbness in my fingers. I was doing a progress evaluation for my Physical Therapy and when I did the grip test using my left hand I couldn't grip with the same strength as I had a few weeks after my surgery. When I went home I experienced pain and numbness in my left arm/hand for the remainder of the day. My doctor and Physical Therapist are puzzled by this, as well as me. I still feel a lot better after the surgery, because before I had the operation I was almost constantly in pain and the numbness in my fingers were driving me crazy!

During my visit I also complained of increasing pain in my middle back (Thoracic). I have three herniated discs in my thoracic, which are in my T4-T5, T5-T6 and T6-T7 and my diagnosis is Thoracic Myofascial/ Thoracic Facet Syndrome. Again, where I was hurting the most didn't correspond with where my herniated discs were.

I can't control or explain it, but it sure does make me seem crazy! I say, crazy, because I don't care where the pain is, but just that it is out of control and at least a 10 on the pain scale. In fact, as I sit here typing this I am experiencing pain that is creeping towards the ten mark. As you can see I tend to write a lot when I write...just trying to get the info. off my mind and share my experiences in the hope that I can help others and they can help me too. Anyways, my doctor prescribed me Diclofenac (Voltaren), which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory. I've only been on it for the past two days, but it seems to be working! My doctor has also ordered a Thoracic Epidural Injection, which I'm not looking forward to, but will endure if it helps.

I hope the Voltaren continues to work, because the next step is to try Lyrica, which will cost me $120.00 after insurance pays their portion! *My pharmacy friend told me that the company that makes Lyrica offers coupons to doctors as an incentive for prescribing it to their patients. They give a total of 10 coupons to each doctor to give to their patients and it costs the patients (after insurance) only $25.00 per prescription for 12 months. This is a heck of a lot cheaper than paying $120.00 per refill. So, if you are taking Lyrica ask your doctor about this coupon program and I hope it saves you money!

** Justanotherday, I asked my doctor about Thoracic surgery. He told me that first, injures to the Thoracic region like my herniated discs are rare and typically due to trauma like my work injury. They don't tend to operate on these discs, because the rib cage acts as a reinforcement to that portion of the spine. As a result, most people with thoracic injuries don't suffer much pain. The rib cage also makes it much more difficult to operate around, so thoracic surgery is done, but on rare occasions. I hope this info. Is helpful, but naturally you should consult your doctor and get a 2nd and/or 3rd opinion.

My doctor won't release me back to work until I've had my 4-level Lumbar Fusion surgery. He believes this surgery may help with some of my thoracic pain. Despite my herniated discs and the incredible pain in my Thoracic region I won't even consider surgery. That's why I am looking into the Intrathecal Drug Pump implant. I figure the Lumbar Fusion will fix my lower back pain and the Drug Pump will help me deal with my Thoracic pain. I'm currently waiting for approval from my insurance for the Drug Pump Test Phase.

By next Monday I will have one device already implanted in my body and that's the Interstim Therapy device that helps me with my bladder issues (Chronic Urinary Retention, OAB, Urinary Frequency). The Drug Pump will be the second device implanted in me, should the test phase be successful. As far as I know, no one has ever had 3 implanted devices in the, but if I have the Lumbar Fusion and it fails, I wouldn't hesitate to be the first...and try the Neurostimulator. The way I see it, I'd rather try to combat my pain with whatever technology is available a the time than just sit back and suffer from debilitating Chronic Pain! As I told my doctor who described the large incisions he'll have to make for the Lumbar surgery...my modeling days are far behind me. Also, I can't see myself existing all doped up or accepting a long life full of needless pain. Without worrying or upsetting my CP friends I'll just end by saying, I am a strong believer in the Quality of Life vs. the Quantity of Life.

As usual, I've said too much and nothing at all...

May you all wake up to a pain free, happy life!

Charles

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Sorry it took so long for me to get back. A little crazy around here with kids. Seems like I'm running in 40 different directions.

Well I ended up having botox injected into the occipital are, neck and traps. I haven't felt anything different yet. However he did tell me that it would be upwards of 4 weeks for it to work.

Right now he wants to work on the headaches before we do anymore to the neck and back. I'm trying to put off having an scs installed in my lower back and one in my neck for occipital neuromodulation.

Just thought I'd pop in for a few minutes before I had to get the last of 4 children ready for school.

Hope everyone has a great day.