pain management

As much as you don't want to hear this, as I and others mentioned before, a chiropractor is not a radiologist. Therefore just telling your doctor that you were diagnosed with xyz by a chiropractor and then asking for meds isn't likely to get you very far, particularly if you just call and leave a message asking for medication without actually speaking to the doctor and discussing the situation. Likewise, you will need a MD referral to get into pain management (usually regardless of whether or not specialist referral is required by your insurance, as PM's commonly prescreen records prior to accepting a new patient) and a PM doc is not likely to do anything for you (or even accept you as a patient) unless you have had documented testing and examinations performed by a physician, and typically have been in pain for at least several months, with or without already having tried and failed treatment by your PCP. And even then, many if not most PM docs will want to start with injections (if appropriate) before prescribing any medication.

I would start with your PCP -- make an appointment, discuss your symptoms, what the chiropractor said/the treatments you have been doing, your concerns, etc, and then ask the doctor his/her thoughts, and if medication might help in the mean time -- but don't necessarily expect to walk out of the office with anything, particularly until your doc confirms your claims. I have no doubt that you are in pain, and that it is of particular concern with your diabetes, but with things the way that they are today with the opioid crisis and all, doctors (PCP's and PM's alike) are becoming reluctant to treat pain and are certainly not willing to treat anything that is not well documented. And even then, pain management (regardless of who is orchestrating it) is generally a process, not a quick fix, and much of it will be trial and error, starting off with non-pharmacologic treatments and/or the lowest doses of the most benign medications.

Post Edited (skeye) : 1/5/2018 4:40:41 AM (GMT-7)

ok I understand that but he could at least see me. I mean the 10 mg he gave me isn't strong enough to help my kid. I have been prescribed a stronger muscle relaxer. I would gladly take my xrays in to be shown to him. I only need it for 3 weeks maybe less. I guess I'll just suffer alone. I don't want to pay for more expensive tests when I already have enough to see exactly what is wrong. I am not a dr and I can clearly see in the xray what is wrong. maybe if one of these so called doctors would have listened to me in the first place I would have been exactly where I needed to be. I went for tests because I knew something was wrong. I know my body and no one listens to me. if they would have then this could have been done and not cost me as much money as they already have.

I went to them almost a month ago and asked them for tests because I knew something was up and I was right and now I am paying the price for their lack of caring so now I have to go on their timelines. maybe I should just forget my sugars and just let them go to I mean its like it wont matter because they are going up anyways. I am not asking for opiates or anything just a stronger than 10 mg of a muscle relaxer. I am 200 pounds and that is not strong at all. It doesn't even make me tired or touch the pain.

im sorry I am in pain and im tired and I am tired of no one not caring! my chiropractor is medically trained he took more courses than most doctors do and he at least cares about me and ran what the drs refused to do. now I am suffering and I am feeling like I just want to disappear.

He would but I asked for something to be done a month ago. No one listened. He tried what he thought, the er doc did crap but I dont want to waste money on tests to be told the same thing also. The chiropractor is the only one who took the time to run the tests. He is not out for the money because he treats my husband and doesnt charge him full price. He cut almost 400 off my treatment because he has treated my household. I may have to go to the specialist but i dont see why i couldn't go in to see him, show him my xrays and just get a little stronger. Im not asking for pain pills just a relaxer to help long enough for the treatments to work. I have been told i will see some results in 3 weeks. If at halfway point and not better then i will get referred to a specialist for extra help

i understand it is just frustrating because a month can cause a whole lot of damage especially to a persons life. I know my body better than any doctor and I knew a month ago that something was wrong. I should have forced the er doctor to run tests but no telling if they would have caught it. now I am suffering but I have no room to complain because so is others. I am just a big crybaby and I am not used to pain. now I have to adjust to having back issues the rest of my life and pain and I am trying to process it and being a big baby. I don't like pain and I just want my normal life back. I was in so much pain today I could barely sleep. I am hoping my treatments work or I will have to see a specialist. I may end up breaking down and going to one anyways. I just like to see how the cheapest way works first as I already have a ton of dr bills already. I swear if its not one thing its another. I just want to give up.

Don't give up-That's not allowed

Other than waiting for a tax refund to deposit into your account, few things are slower than waiting for your body to heal. Add the stress of not knowing the degree of healing that will occur, and life is miserable.

Also,remember that this site is made up of people in the minority-those that did not get better. Whether surgery, illness, injury, or just bad luck is the reason for pain, for most that pain is acute and it will improve.

If your pain persists, you will need to have Drs dig deeper to find out the problem. I know you are worried about $, but instead of spending smaller amounts of money on tests and your current treatment(chiro), a more expensive test/scan might yield results that would save you time, money, and hopefully shape a treatment plan.

And PUHLEEZE don't minimize your pain, call yourself a baby, or downplay your situation. Pain is mean and scary regardless of what and why.

Let us know how you are doing.

Worriedgirl,
We ALL get being frustrated and being in pain. We ALSO all get wanting answers and a fix right away.
I just want to caution you about a couple of things. You seem to be giving tremendous weight to what your chiropractor said about your Xrays and spine.
From many years of experience dealing with chiropractors, spine surgeons, MRIs and CT scans, please don't put all your faith into just xrays and what your chiropractor said.
Xrays can look at the alignment of the spine, the height of the spaces between the discs, but they can not see nerve or spinal cord impingement. They also can not determine disc degeneration or how minimal, moderate or severe it might be.
Some disc degeneration is perfectly normal, especially as we get older. Almost everyone over the age of 21 or so will show signs of disc degeneration if we were to do MRIs on the population. It is when the normal wear and tear of being upright, walking, working cause MORE degeneration than is normal for our age that it might be a concern. That can only be seen by MRI since the discs are gelataneous/water to see how badly discs are drying out.
Normally, the discs do dry out some, very, very slowly over decades.
In order to see whether or not there are nerves pinched or the spinal cord is being effected, there would need to be an MRI done. Those things can't be seen on Xray, no matter how good a chiropractor is.
Skye is right, typically, when it comes to back pain, doctors first recommend, some rest, anti inflammatory meds, and possibly a muscle relaxer. All muscle relaxers work, milligram strength has nothing to do with weight, or effectiveness. Some muscle relaxers may be more helpful than others to each of us, but don't get stuck thinking that milligram dosage means one is better than another. Higher milligrams don't necessarily mean more EFFECTIVE.
Don't be surprised if you are sent for physical therapy before any referrals to see a spine surgeon.
Normally, they go with the least invasive, graduated treatment steps first, as most sudden back pain disappears as quickly as it appeared, even sciatica typically resolves on its own, given time.
I wish you the best. We all understand how hard this can be.

Post Edited (mrsm123) : 1/8/2018 9:36:09 AM (GMT-7)

Worriedgirl:
I am going to comment on your use of chiropractic care, aware that you see your chiropractor as the only person who is helping you.

I offer a correlary and differing view. Chiropractic care may be further harming your back.

Chiropractic “adjustments” work on the principle of applied manual forces that disrupt the integrity of the lamina interface. Adjustments disrupt the natural sealed vacuum of the joint space. With every spinal manipulation (i.e. “adjustment”) harm is done to the vertebral joint space. The joint vacuum is broken. The alignment of the lamina are challenged. The result: Micro-trauma, cumulative, that accelerated the normal wear and tear of the vertebrae. Osteoarthritis is accelerated.

Your osteoarthritis and pain are not going to benefit from continued chiropractic manipulation.

Seek a qualified orthopedist or neurosurgeon. Try a round of physical therapy for abdominal core strengthening and flexibility. A large percentage of back issues are due to poor muscular tone and deconditionong due to a largely sedentary life style. An uptick in targeted physical
Conditioning and flexibility can go a long way toward improving quality of life for individuals with lumbar back pain.

Be cautious of an overly zealous reliance of chiropractic care.
Karen

Worriedgirl, just a little food for thought with your situation. You have been overwhelmed by this entire situation, stressed to the max. This is normal, however, take things one day at a time. Don't go down the path of the "what ifs", you will drive yourself batty doing that & it certainly will not help your situation at all. Do a google search for mindfullness, it helps people a lot. Very easy to learn.

Every person is different with pain, how they react to it, how much they can tolerate & that sort of thing. No two people are alike in that arena. You have seen some improvement which is a plus. So knowing you have improved some that should tell you something. Has the chiro told you how long he thinks he will need to treat you? Usually they will treat 6 weeks & then see where the person is at after that. You want all of this gone like now, boy didn't we all, lol. It just does not happen that way.

Something I learned years ago is the mind is very much connected with the body. Last fall I was going through a bad rough patch. I was having a very difficult time getting out of bed & trying to walk. It was bad enough all I could do was groan to myself. In my mind I was thinking great another lousy day ahead of me. Usually I do have some trouble moving around when I first get up, but once I am up moving around it gets a little better. With that thought of oh great another lousy day, I was setting myself up to have a bad day before it even started. I had to remember to change my thinking because I was setting myself up to not have a good day. Our thoughts & attitude are everything. Distraction is also a great tool to help with pain.

Take care.