Need as much help as you are willing to offer

Desperately seeking help, your advice, your suggestions and your experiences.

I'm 5 years out of L4 to L5 fusion with instrumentation. Everything went well.

Neurosurgeon said it would a 2 to 4 year healing process, so after 2 months of him prescribing pain meds he handed me off to pain management.

I have been with a great Pain Management Doctor ever since. I also am terrified of becoming dependent on narcotic pain relievers so have been on such a minimal dose (10 mg Oxycodone) I don't know why I even took them, they offered no relief from a constant pain level of 7 to 8.

Over the next 3 years my PMD prescribed physical therapy, every Nerve pain med and mussel relaxer on the market with no relief for my condition. He also did epidural therapy twice to no avail. So I lay on the couch 15 hrs. a day watching TV and waiting to feel better as three years pass by and putting 60 lbs. on..

Going into my 4th year I finally came to 3 conclusions:

ONE I am not getting any better with this plan of action.

Two If my Neurosurgeon did as fine a job that I believe he did,
then the problem creating all this pain lies elsewhere.

Three My PMD had tunnel vision, any mention of other possible
pain generators and treatments were dismissed.

On my last visit to my PMD I told him I wouldn't be coming back, that he was fixated on the idea that the pain was here simply because you could see it on the MRI, CT Scan, the X-Ray and my Neurosurgeons post op report stating the damage was even more severe than he had thought pre op.

Finally he, my PMD relented and consented to do a sacroiliac (SI) joint injection (sacroiliac joint pain block) to see if those areas could be creating all this pain.

Procedure done Friday morning. OMG, woke up Saturday morning PAIN FREE for the first time in 6 years, except for a little bitty discomfort at my fusion area, which I could actually feel my implants for the first time. That feeling lasted a glorious 2 a weeks.

Next plan, RFA's procedures (Radiofrequency Ablation) every 6 months only to achieve 2 months of relieve. Done 3 times, not getting the 6 months to 2 year relief that's possible.

Next plan of action, I need your help people, therapy on the SI Joint area if so what type, fusion on the SI Joint, or are there any other options out there?

God bless and hoping that you may feel better soon.

I forgot to mention I am neither a Dr. nor medical professional of any kind, no medical training whatsoever, just a run of the mill CPer with lots of personal experience. My suggestions are just my opinions & best guess, not telling you what to do, just what I'd do.

Hope his helps,

Cary

Hello Shoebooty.Welcome to HW.

I think of my Pain meds the same as I do my blood pressure meds.

They're necessary for me to maintain a certain level of comfort.

If I quit taking my bp meds or my anti-depressant I'm going to suffer.Same as my Pain meds.

If I stop taking them I'll suffer in several ways.Mainly my legs and back will give in and I'll be bedridden.

Please don't suffer and spend all your time in the recliner because you don't want to take a stronger dose of Oxycodone,etc..

I think we all have people in our lives that think there's something wrong with taking Pain meds,because of the stigma created by the media.

We're the ones that have legitimate reasons for taking them.

Please don't suffer when you don't have to.Don't get me wrong,we're always going to hurt.But your Doctor can get you on a safe,theraputic level than will give you a better quality of life.

Take care and God Bless.

Rick

Welcome to Healing Well!

This is a great supportive group of people who care about each other. You will fit right in!

Our Moderators ask each new person to start a new thread so it will be seen by our members and they can welcome you. Just click on Post New Topic, name it, and copy what you wrote here.

Is a pain pump a possibility for you? Several of our members have experience with that. We can discuss that in your new thread.

Thanks for joining us.

Hey there, I have a suggestion for you. I have a herniated disc at L5-S1 but never did the surgery....however if you are willing to try something that worked for me without doing more surgery right away, here is what I did.
*My friend went through this and told me to do this as it worked for him...and it worked for me.

Get another injection in your back (the one that lasted 2 weeks) and during that two weeks have a physical therapist who understands back issues work with you while you feel decent. I won't lie, after my first session I was scared to even go back for a second meeting but I did anyways. I did a total of 5 pretty intense physical therapy's and I am past two years of being in decent shape. Not pain free by any means but a thousand times better than I was.

I don't think it was just the shot that worked for me because to this day if I slack off on my exercises the pain starts to creep back. But if I start doing the exercises again I can make it back off.

Just a place/idea i was referred to years ago. Was found that my pain was not right for the procedure, but thought you may want to at least check it out.

si-bone.com

Implant system. I never really looked into it, so I can't give you any more info than that! Sorry!! Not even sure what is all involved or anything.

Whatever you do, I agree you have found your pain source and it's time to get well again! Hope you find the right treatment for you soon and get some pain relief that lasts!!

Keep us in the loop!


Sunny.