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Chronic Pain
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Posted 11/24/2014 8:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone. I have read a lot of old post but really need some up to date advice. I'm 31 years old. At the age of 24 I woke up and was in severe pain. I couldn't stand up straight. I went to the dr tried steriod injection and dose pack with no relief. They then did a MRI which showed a ruptured disc at L4-L5. Only option was surgery. I had a laminectomy with microdiscectomy. Surgery was perfect! Woke up with zero pain! Fast forward 2 years. I fell on the ice and knew immediately I had ruptured again. Had the same procedure went perfect. Needless to say a little over 1 year later playing kickball with our children church and fell. Ruptured again. He offered to do a spinal fusion but bc I've had such success we decided to opt to do the less invasive microdiscectomy. That was 1 1/2 ago. The recovery was nothing like the first 2. I've had pain since. This past May I had a stimulator put in. The trial worked well and the first 2 month went well. It decreased a lot of my pain. However 2 weeks ago I started having severe pain. The same pain as a rupture. I'm stuck cause I can't have an MRI. I don't know what to do. I've had 3 epidural injections this past Monday one in L3, L4, and L5 because my PM dr don't know where the pain is originating from. The shot helped none. It's been 7 days. I'm wondering should I opt to go ahead with the fusion surgery and get this disc out since I'm rupturing so easy? I don't know what I should do. I hate the pain meds but it is so bad. I'm taking neurotin, tramadol, diclofenac, soma, and oxycodone. I just don't know what to do!
Posted 11/24/2014 11:21 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, I'm so sorry to hear you're suffering.

What are the dosages of the med you're on?

And, what do your docs say about physical therapy? Too late? Too risky?

For me, I'd try lots of other stuff before the surgery. You've really been through the ringer :( I'm sure you could use a break from surgery. I'm not sure what (if any) those options are but I hope you find help in whatever way works for you. Gentle (((( hugs ))))
Posted 11/24/2014 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Proudmom,

Did an injury initiate this pain? If not, it might have a different cause. Perhaps you have a compressed nerve root? Where the pain is might help determine this. It seems you should see a neurologist and/or an ortho.
Posted 11/25/2014 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
A lot of docs can read a simple x-ray to see generally what the spine is doing. Not like an MRI, but they should be able to see an area of bone not where it belongs and even a hint of the disc.

What about a CT scan? It's not an MRI either, but wouldn't it show something?

You sure don't want to rush into surgery not knowing what it's for.
Posted 11/26/2014 5:37 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks everyone. As far as I know there has been no known injury. They don't want to do any physical therapy due to the status of my stimulator and my fragile disc. I went back to the doctor and he has order a CT Myelogram. I'm pretty nervous about that. I've never had a epidural injection without sedation. I've read up that the pain is pretty intense. I just pray they can find out where my pain is caused by. If u have had a Myelogram let me know your experience. I would appreciate it.
Posted 11/26/2014 7:20 AM (GMT 0)
Hello Proudmom, wow to surgeries under your belt & now having problems again. I am really sorry to read what you have going on.

I am very glad that the dr is going to do a myelogram & most likely a Ct Scan while the dye is still in, that is what they normally do. One of our members named Alcie had a myelogram a few months ago & she did just fine & had no problems at all. There is a post about that floating around somewhere. Yes, the test does sound scary as all get out & sometimes when you talk to people that have had one they tell a horror story which makes it even worse. To be completely honest, some people no matter what they have had done their story is always the most horrific thing that has ever happened to them, whether its getting a tooth pulled or having a stomach ache. So, in other words please don't believe every thing that you hear.

Something I would do if this were me is after having the myelogram is I would get a second opinion. I would consult with a board certified, fellowship trained neurosurgeon for his/her opinion. If surgery is indeed an option that would be my choice of a dr to do it too. The neurosurgeons are far more trained to deal with the nerves in the spine than an orthopedic. The orthos specialty is geared more for the bony structure. You know in a lot of ways it really sounds like you have some mechanical problems going on in the spine for you to keep herniating like this. A fusion may very well give the stability that you are needing.

And once again if you start asking a lot of people about back surgery the horror stories start all over. Lets be honest, if these spine surgeries are all such a failure the drs would not be doing them. If you have an excellent surgeon & you have your head on right about surgery you should do just fine as long as you follow the post op instructions to the letter. That determines the outcome on any surgery. Keep us posted on what you decide.
Posted 11/26/2014 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
Proudmom - do a forum search (upper right hand corner) on Myelogram. There's been a lot of discussion about it on a lot of threads and it's not as awful these days as you might think.

I've done nerve blocks without sedation. It's not the most pleasant thing in the world but when you're used to pain like we are, it isn't terrible, either.

((hugs))
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