Appt with surgeon

 

       ...morning! I believe they are looking for nerve damage, resulting in neuropathy. If surgery is not an option at this time...then there are few choices left....maybe PT...and injections. If those do not work, then meds may be the next step. I understand that you dont want to take pain meds...and I would say all of us don't like taking them either. However,...there are meds made to treat nerve damage...that are not narcotic...like Lyrica..gabapentin...and cymbalta.

   If your pain gets bad enough, and surgery is still not an option, then you may very well change your mind about taking pain meds. I'm sorry but...it is the truth! Lets hope that there is a good outcome for you and something can be done to bring you relief.

   Take care,

 SE

       ...I'm with you on that!...I too hate taking them. However, it seems to be the path I have to take if I want any sort of quality of life. It takes discipline...and we need to be realistic...that it will not remove all of our pain.

  I do think that we need to try a combination of several types of treatment, and not rely solely on meds for pain relief. I myself have tried several things for relief...and the last thing I have tried seems to have helped a bit...and that is losing some weight. I was at 215lbs a few monthsa ago...and have lost 32lbs so far...and believe it or not, it has made a difference...especially on my lumbar pain. My goal is to get to 165lbs or 170lbs...and see if that will put me in a better place.

    Take care, and enjoy the forum,

   SE

  

Hi Bigecase, I do hope you can get something done when you see the dr on Friday. Usually if there is nerve involvment a person experiences a burning type of sensation in their hip, leg or foot, but not always. Many times the pain you described can be from a pinched nerve. I have seen people experience that type of pain but no burning pain. I would think about asking the dr to put you on one of the nerve meds to see if you can get some relief, but it can take a couple of months to get you on the right dosage with some of those meds.

It just stinks having to rely on medication no doubt. Are you seeing a pain mgt dr? If not that may be something to consider is surgery is not in the picture. Let us know how your appt goes. Take care...Susie

Hi, I think a big misconception about pain meds, by newer patients, doctors, and the general public, is that people are getting stoned on them. Truth is, if you are in pain, sometimes, the meds don't touch it. I've been in the ER and been given doses of painkillers that did not affect me. I seriously asked them if they put saline in the IV, because I felt nothing, and the doctor looked at me like I had suddenly grown two heads. My now ex-wife would turn red, and I could see her about to go off on someone, and I was the one calming her down. Pretty soon, someone would trot in with another dose of something that would not knock me out, but it would turn down the volume.

Give the injections at least one more round. I went 3 rounds before my PM said "I can keep doing these and charging your insurance for them, but you're not getting anything out of it". But some swear by them.

And I started PM at age 30 15 years ago. So how many more years do I have?

I got answers! I have a pinched nerve at L5. I will be scheduling surgery as soon as I get my husband home from the storm work. Today was so bad I think I would have had the surgery today.

To further amplify what Matt said, at a minimum, make sure you get a letter from your PM doc on his letterhead with all of his contact info for your medical records describing in detail what pain meds you are on, and have him request a consultation. That way they are both on the same page regarding your pain levels and dosages. Your surgeon may want to walk down some of the meds to see what you are actually feeling post surgery, so expect that, even with a consultation. And as a former physical therapy assistant, be prepared to move, maybe not walk, but at least transfer to a sitting position into a chair on the first day post-op. Heads up.

And the numbers for SOME back surgeries have improved, but remember this is a chronic pain forum, and people who are not in chronic pain generally do not seek them out. So you may not hear about the good outcomes here.

Hi bigcase, it's probably good that you are getting a head start on the PT, I've heard from more than one doctor that the stronger you are beforehand, the quicker you'll recover, and the less pain you'll be in for less time. Just make sure to check with your surgeon about it. Mine told me to minimize my movements as much as possible, I was pretty much on semi bedrest anyways, but he told me to really watch it the couple weeks before surgery, and said that it would make his job, and my hospital stay a lot easier, if we could get some of the swelling to go down before the surgery. I know each case and each surgeon is different, just wanted to caution you on that too.

Oh yeah, while it's still in my head lol, I had extreme muscle spasms around both incision sites for several days, some of the medical assistants working in these hospitals aren't as well trained as they should be, don't let them put a hotpack on a fresh incision. I didn't know it was an issue and just wanted the spasms to stop, the attending physician and my surgeon walked in and saw the hotpack on the incision on my side and flipped out. It was my 3rd hotpack in something like 6 hours is what the doc said was on the chart. He said I was lucky it didn't turn gangrenous, and they tripled my antibiotics.

Numb hands? Or numb hand? Numb left hand can be cardiac symptom OR anxiety attack. Both hands means too much time at the computer usually. Or since you've had shoulder surgery, if it's on the arm you've had done, there may be something pinched. Range of motion. Use it.

Chill. All the wheels are in motion. You are along for the ride at this point. We're here, sending all the good thoughts we can, and I know your loved ones are as well.

Hi Bigecase, yeahaw, so glad they found the problem. From what you had described it really did sound like nerve involvement. All too often the drs forget the pain is not always that burning type of pain. I do hope they can get the pressure of of the nerve and get you to feeling better.

Also, many times when the patient wakes up from surgery they expect the pain to be gone. Do not be surprised if the pain is still there. Depending on how bad the nerve was being pinched tells some times how long it will take for the nerve to heal. The drs do not do surgery on the nerves, the offended nerve will have to heal on its own. If you like to read and research things, a very good spine website is called www.SpineUniverse.com.. It is a wonderful site with accurate information.

Keep us posted. Take care....Susie

Hi big case, I think the swelling is normal to an extent, mine was also swollen on the back, and remained that way up until a few weeks ago. But if the swelling just started, or if it is extremely hot to the touch, and especially if it starts oozing anything out of the incision, then you need to get emergency care. They should have given you a prescription for an antibiotic when you left the hospital, make sure you take the whole bottle as prescribed, until your doctor says different.

Regarding the pain medicine, not taking it can make you sick, I know that sounds weird, but here's what happened to me. I had an open gastric bypass back in '03. I was in the hospital for 13 days, then they sent me home with a prescription for liquid lortab. I hated that stuff, and stopped taking it the second day home. The morning of the third day, I woke up dizzy and sick, almost like a hang-over, and was throwing up violently, and then had horrible pain going the whole length of the 14" incision. Went to the ER, and after some IV morphine, and some muscle relaxers, and a number of blood tests, they figured out that my dopamine levels were so high, that's what was making me sick, and the throwing up had caused the muscles around the incision to seize. So they gave me some more pleasant tasting pain medication and sent me on my way. Not taking care of the pain can be dangerous so if your in pain, do yourself and your dr a favor and keep it controlled. If the meds make you sick, call your dr and get some nausea medication, compazine works very well.

Good luck, and I hope you see improvement from your surgery. Take care. And keep us posted when you can.

Bigcase yes you are doing too much, no bending, no laundry, this is your time to baby yourself. Walking in the house is great, it will help get your strength back. You must really allow yourself to rest and heal. By all means call the nurse about the drainage.

Take care....Susie

Oh, get yourself a grabber, I like the one made by Medi-line, it was 17 at Walgreens. Use it for at least the next two weeks or more, and I'd call tomorrow to get any restrictions clarified, you really don't want to have to go through a more extensive revision surgery.