Posted 7/2/2013 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone,
First of all, thanks to all members who post. I have found a lot of useful information. As it seems, we are own best advocates for health. Doctors can be wonderful but they don't know our day to day lives.
Anyway my quick story: Last July a young man hit my car, T-boned as they say, while I was going 65 mph on the highway. My car got bumped into the next lane then bounced back to the lane I was in. My then 1 yr 9 mo daughter was in the car. When I was able to stop the car, I was of course concerned about her. She was in a 5 pt harness carseat, in back, in middle, sleeping. When EMS came they checked her out and she seemed fine. They asked about me, and I didn't think anything was wrong at the time, I was in shock about my daughter, just thanking G-d we were alive.
This was the first accident I had on this magnitude, just minor fender benders. Well coupld of days later, I was in tremendous pain. I couldn't understand why, I was fasting for religous reasons and I had incredible back pain. Usually I do ok fasting, no nausea or pain. The pain continued so I decided I better see doctor. When I told my internist the pain I was in and the recent events, he started the ball rolling right away on pain meds, therapy, and mri's. The pain meds made me loopy. I couldn't take them while caring for 3 children. I just tried to rest and take aleve and motrin. Luckily and not so lucky, I'm a teacher and on summer vacation. I spent that summer laying on the sofa, going to therapy, depending on my 2 older children for help with the youngest because my husband works out of town. It was a tough summer. I'm used to camping (the real kind), swimming, and lots of time in the park.
When I went back to work in the fall, I thought I would stay home a couple more months because I knew I wasn't completely well. But I got a new principal, and well. . . she isn't so nice, she was looking to fire as many people as possible to bring in her own teachers. So I stuck it out, we need my job, did the best I could, was barely able to do anything for my family when I got home. I tried to continue with PT 3 times a week, but I have a long commute and lots of carpool and no husband during the weekday to help. So well, I do what most overwhelmed, underpaid moms do, I stopped taking care of myself to manage everything. Well by December the pain in my arms, hand, back, and neck started coming back, by February it was so excruciating I went back to see Ortho. He recommended an MRI of shoulder and EMG. MRI showed impingement (MRI of neck and lumber right after accident showed herniated disck and pinched nerves in neck and back), EMG showed severe carpal tunnel. Pain was so bad in shoulder and hand that I got cortisone inj in March. They lasted for 3 weeks, then pain was back worse then ever. All the while I had to continue working and taking car of my family.
I finally decided to have carpal tunnel release in May. I decided to go to a pain specialist and back specialist in April. that was was when I realized the doctor you get first makes a huge difference. My first Ortho, while in a good practice, was really a very unexperienced shoulder specialist, he didn't know squat about the neck and back. I read his report later to the insurance company, he wrote my issues weren't significant after my inital visit with him in July. As I said before, he doesn't have my life, a mother of 3 kids and 2 stepchldren, and full time job, with husband away for the work, trying to get stuff done with a pinched nerve in neck and back is not insignificant.
The doctors I went to in April were great, but they said I should have been there months ago. We decided to try epidurals before surgery.
Well I had one, and then had a consult about 3 weeks later. I described what happened to him. I was in severe pain for about 7 days, and then I some coldness in my arms, then I had a lot of pain in my scapula. I still have some pain in my arm down to my fingers. I said maybe I got 10% relief. Maybe it was even psychosomatic the relief I thought I got.
By May I was so depressed over my quality of life and my prognosis, I started having crying spells over the smallest thing. I was gaining weight for the shots and lack of activity, and being stressed out. I asked my regular doctor for help with the weight and she prescribled an anti-depressant. I didn't know that this seems to be a common cycle with chronic pain.
Well welbutrin felt good for about 2 days, then I felt so foggy and hand insonima. I couldn't be like that with young children.
The psychiatrist now wants me to try cimbalta. I tried it once and it made me so nauseous all day, plus I was in about 100 deg humidity classrooms, I couldn't continue. He still wants me to try now, especially since I might have surgery.
So now It's been a year and I can't keep taking life like this. I desperately needed to clean up our front yard because neighbors are starting to complain. Well I did it with the help of my two older chldren, but now I'm paying for it. That's how things are now, anything tha I absolutely don't have to do, I just don't do. I leave it even though it gives me a lot of joy. I can only save my energy for the absolute necessary things. I've had to spend a lot of money on hiring help for cleaning, cooking, childcare. Thank G-d right now we can do this, but we can't do it forever.
So I spoke to the neurosurgeon today and he said it's been a year and I've done everything conservative possible. ACDF and microscopic back surgery will be my best option to getting my life back. The sooner the better. I can use another summer vacation to recover from the surgery, so maybe I will miss less days of work this year.
I'm just concrened if I should use the neurosurgeon or orthopedic surgeon, both have very good reputations. I've read some stories on here and I am very fortunate that I have regular insurance and the car insurance should pick up the rest.
I want to do the surgery, I know eventually I'll have to, and should just schedule it, but I'm still gripping with it psychologically.