New here, very upset (long)

I'm 28 years old and had a very active life that I love and excelled at. I had a very active job, was always skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, playing sports and loving everything. I had always had some aches and pains that I assumed came from being so active. I had a very awkward fall on telemark skis on off a rail with a little rolling and struggling to keep my skis together to save my knees. After that I felt kinda funny and hit the next jump, pain EXPLODED down my legs and I collapsed then got myself off the mountain and home. That was January 28th, something bad always happens to my around my birthday the 29th so I got a little worried but decided to get some rest, work was hell for the next week and I tried to snowboard which didn't go well at all. I went to a chiropractor who started me on spinal decompression and physical therapy, after about 15 sessions and adjustments. I regained a lot of my range of motion and I've always had a very high pain tolerance so getting acclimated to the pain over the past half dozen weeks hasn't been easy but I manage. Eating is difficult because I'm in so much pain that I feel nauseated all the time and I have to get myself really psyched up to do anything and convince myself that since even laying down hurts almost as bad I might as well try to stay productive. My doctor has tried flexeril, norco, neurontin, and xanax so far and nothing has even taken the edge off the pain so I can relax a little. At this point I just feel totally lost and terrified that this might be my life. I can get around but I'm just gritting my teeth through so much pain it's wearing me out so bad.

This is the MRI report that I finally got 3/17/14 (I have a phobia of doctors and medical settings so even going to see a doctor in the first place was very hard for me). I'm skipping the first couple normal parts.

L3-4: Broad-based disc bulges results in some bilateral foraminal crowding. The central canal is patent. Mild facet arthropathy.
L4-5: Broad-based disc bulge which results in bilateral foraminal crowding, right greater than left with some abutment of the non-exited L5 nerve roots. Central canal is patent. Mild facet arthropathy.
L5-S1: Right paracentral disc extrusion/posterior annular fissure which results in impingement on the non-exited right S1 nerve root with bilateral foraminal stenosis and abutement of the exiting right L5 nerve root. Mild facet arthropathy.

1. Right paracentral disc extrusion/annular fissure at L5-S1 which results in impingement on the non-exited right S1 nerve root as well as the exiting right L5 nerve root. Lumbar levovonvexity which may be due inpart to muscle spasm.
2. Mild multilevel facet arthropathy mist significant at L5-S1.
3. Decreased marrow signal throughout the visualized osseous structures which is felt to most likely represent red marrow reconversion often seen in smokers, athletes, and generalized anemic states.

That's the MRI report and I haven't heard back from my doctor yet. I'm kinda freaking out because I really like the life I had and don't want to have to change it. I'm terrified of surgery or injections. I'm hoping for the doctor to order an MRI of my thoracic spine because I have pain there as well. I've been dealing with an insane amount of pain and some leg weakness for so long I think I'm losing my mind!

The only good thing I can tell you is that after a while the pain will drive you to the point that you will be welcoming injections and contemplating surgery. :)

I am a newbie at this also, and am in the same situation, I have an injection scheduled for the 31st and I am welcoming it at this point. The constant pain and the amount of drag it puts on me during a day has totally changed my mind about it, I am counting the hours.

I truly feel for you, but as a fellow newbie all I can tell you is that pain management is the only answer at this point because there is no quick fix if there is one at all. The reality of all of it is the hardest pill to swallow, the rest go down quite easily and quickly.

Best of Luck

Lee

My GP is a spinal specialist and I'm still waiting to hear back. I'm taking no meds right now since nothing has been very much help. I'm trying to keep as close to a normal life as possible but when I'm not at work I'm usually laying down which still doesn't help much. I have to take a lot of breaks with everything I do because the pain gets nauseating and I get really unfocused. I would love to at least hear back from my doctor instead of only having the report and pictures.

Hi Wish, welcome to the forum. Sorry to read what is going on with you. I have to agree with no chiro adjustments with the spine problems you have going on. Your GP may be a spine specialist, but do yourself a huge favor & ask that you be referred to a board certified fellowship trained neurosurgeon. My son did this & after treating with him & having an injection he is doing very well. He was put to sleep for the injection and over the next week or so it took care of the horrible pain he was in. He too had a pinched nerve. He also put him in PT. Just because they are surgeons it does not mean everyone needs surgery so do not let that scare you off. Because you have nerve involvement I would not let an orthopedic be involved because they deal more with bones & the bony structure. Neurosurgeons are more trained to deal with nerves, after all they do brain surgery. Of course, its your decision whatever you decide.

I am short on time here but wanted to say hello & welcome aboard.

Hello, and welcome to HW. I am sorry to hear that you are under a lot of pain. Everyone thus so far, have given you wise advice.

I am happy to hear that you are looking into a board certified neurosurgeon/neurologist.

HW is wonderful place for comfort and questions. Please come back and
let us know how you are doing.

Take care,
Sandra

Hey Snowboard, I feel for you, I am in the middle of changing my ridiculous Dr as he is so incompetent and nonsense has been going on for over a year and I'm in worse pain, had to beg for a cervical MRI and low and behold herniated discs, one pushing on a nerve.

One day I saw the Dr he said no wonder you're in pain, your discs have been shifted in the accident, 2 weeks later he said MRI was normal, what is wrong? he has also sent in the wrong prescriptions, never sent them at all at times.......!! that did it, never seeing him again.

It is so frustrating, if I were you I would seek out another Dr, I kept giving mine another chance and just ended up in more pain and tests were delayed which I am absolutely sure contributed to my getting worse.

Oh, I also asked to see a specialist and he said no, my PT said yes I need to see one, ugh!!

look after yourself and hope you get in to see another Dr/specialist very soon.

Things are finally coming together, I apologize for my absence since posting. I was put on zoloft by my pcp(neither myself or the pain doctor could figure out why) and it made me completely complacent and very foggy. I spent a couple weeks accomplishing nothing and just hanging out in pain, occasionally just spacing out. I stopped the zoloft, felt like myself again over a few days and got back in charge of my care.

I told the pain doctor that THC would probably show up on the test so he can't prescribe anything until that's clean, shouldn't take long to clear but was much more helpful than any of the painkillers so far. My pain doctor said to stick with it if I felt that it was helping more than opiates. I told him it's helped the most so far but I'm just going to stop and come back in a couple weeks to pee clean for him, he was happy to hear it and thinks he can really help once his hands aren't tied by my test and the DEA.

He's going to do a few injections and says they'll help for a short time while I cleanse my system and then start "real drugs." I need to find a neurosurgeon that I like, he said that surguries and pain management are likely going to be a big part of my life because of what's currently happening and how the rest of my lumbar spine looks.

I'm going to get a thoracic MRI within the next few weeks because my upper back and shoulders are also giving me problems but nowhere near as bad or as important to me as my legs. I was blown away by how well this doctor read my MRI and explained everything like he was reading me a book while showing the pictures and pointing to where the nerves run through my body, I finally have a solid understanding of the why and how for my pain.

I have a horrible fear of needles, had a panic attack and almost vomited on the doctor when he described the procedure, so he promised that I'll fall asleep for a few minutes then wake up and get a ride home.

I really like this doctor because he didn't BS me at all, looked at my bp/heart rate compared to what they should be, look at my MRI, and said "Wow, that really hurts doesn't it?" He also suggested getting some kind of test from my pcp to make sure my stomach isn't bleeding because I've taken over 2000mg of ibuprofen almost every day I'm active (about 6 days a week) since 2003 when I hurt my knee and damaged some ligaments.

After my visit with the spine pain management doctor I finally feel like there is a solid plan for my recovery despite nothing but bad news, he was just so on top of everything and honest when he said "I can help but only a surgeon is going to get you close to back to 100% so here's a list of neurosurgeons who I would trust."

Injection should be the morning of 4/11/14 this coming friday. Hopefully this is the first of many doctors to give me hope and a plan instead of just seeing me for a couple minutes and throwing a few pills at me. It's funny when my pcp says it shouldn't be very bad and there's no way I'm in much pain and the specialist is asking how the hell I've been surviving my job.

I made some paragraphs to make your post easier to read. Some of us have tracking problems when reading & it makes it easier to read.

Post Edited By Moderator (straydog) : 4/9/2014 9:37:32 PM (GMT-6)

hi snowboard, welcome to healing well. sorry to hear your mri report. thinking we have had results we
really didn't want to see. i to use to be very active, at work and play. i had a job that i loved working
at and made some decent money. not to often those too go hand an hand. anyway had a active social
life. you name it i probilly did it. through my aches and pains over the years i've learned things that
i can and can't do. sucks but we all move on. well i wish you the best of luck and hopefully you can
find some relief....