Actually, more than $40, for all the times I’ve been to my personal doc, alleged pain specialists, acupuncturists, chiropractors and the like. I even tried hypnosis.
The original injury was under the unfortunate purview of the California Department of Industrial Relations, better known as Workers’ Comp. The state-assigned doctor knew two words: vicodin and percocet. Viciodin makes me ill and percocet does nothing. As the state-supplied meds were ineffective, it was decided that the state could do nothing for me, so I was booted out as permanent and stationary and left to fend for myself.
If you actually read my now-locked post, you’d see that I have indeed taken this to my personal MD - he’s the one that suggested cannabis. That didn’t work, so he referred me to a “pain specialist” who was a crochety old goat that was in the wrong profession. He basically told me that his back also hurt and that I should just live with it.
I will probably wind up needing a laminectomy sooner, rather than later. Until then, I have limited resources for handling the pain. I’m never at “zero” - on good days, it’s at 2 or so. Bad days, like now, are nudging up to 7 or 8.
I’ve exhausted the medical resources available to me. The state is done with me and my HMO will only offer just so much. Everything I do now is out of pocket, and my pockets are getting smaller.
I just want to be able to wake up and feel good. Too much to ask? Apparently, every doctor I’ve seen seems to think so. :mad:
My sister has arthritis and some sort of degenerative back disease. She’s in pain all the time. Unfortunately she’s on state disability. All people on state disability are low-lifes and drug addicts :rolleyes: , so she finds it very difficult to get adequate pain medication.
It may be financially impossible but … have you tried alternative things like naturopaths, massage, acupuncture?
Sometimes those people have very useful perspectives on chronic things that conventional health providers missed. Frinstance, neither my doctor, dentist nor oral surgeon was able to tell me that a nutritional supplement would resolve my jaw pain.
I’ve tried acupuncture. During the sessions felt OK, but that may have been only because I had a chance to nap during the day.
Massage / chirporactic helps, but… The efects of either wear off pretty quickly, and at 45 -75 per treatment, it gets expensive in a hurry. There also seems to be a bit of a self-perpetuating aspect to chiro, so now I only go when I’m in dire shape, rather than maintain a schedule of treatments.
Uncommon - the injury was a fall due to a broken stair railing and diagnosed as cervical radiculopathy from C3-C4 to C7-L1. The worst damage was at C6-C7. It was not severe enough to warrant immediate surgery as I was apparently right at a 50-50 spot where surgery was as likely to harm me as help me.
The ironic and irritating part of this is that it happened when I was working at a store. If I had been a customer of that store, I’d probably have wound up owning the place. Instead, workers’ comp is “no-fault” in this state, so I have no legal recourse against the store.
Johnny - Yep. Been there, done that, got the sideways looks.
Have you tried meditation? I know it sounds touchy-feely and new agey, but there is a real link between mind and body. It might not alleviate all your pain, but it might give you new ways of dealing with it. And as a bonus, meditation is absolutely fabulous for insomnia, and I’m guessing you have that as well, if you have chronic pain.
This isn’t the forum for going into what I think about reiki, but it will suffice to say that I really really don’t think it would be of any help at all.
I was in a very similar situation. I slipped on the stairs in our house while carrying my daughter down the steps and fell on my tail bone. I didn’t get the sciatica right away, it took about 2 months for it to fully set in.
I was in extreme discomfort and was probably in the 6-8 range on a 1-10 scale for about seven months (on and off). The doc was ready to admit me for a full workup and possible surgery. The final straw was when I couldn’t get out of bed one morning to take a leak. Four hours later I was kneeling by the toilet, finally.
I had a softball size muscle knot in my ass and my toes (especially my pinky toe) were killing me. I had a general feeling of a stabbing type pain in my ass, leg, and foot (left), that I could not get rid of. I couldn’t sit in a chair, I couldn’t put my own socks on in the morning, Heck, I could hardly reach over in the car to adjust the volume on the radio!!
The night of the toilet kneeling incident I went and had an MRI done. Bulged disks between C4, C5 and S1. It was shortly after this that the doc wanted to perform surgery. I thought I’ll give a new chiro a try first (this after two doctors, a physical therapist and two other chiros). My neighbor had a very similar back problem couple of years before mine and he referred me to this chiro about a mile from the house. His treatments involved ‘stretching’ my spine at the hips which opened up the spacing and relieved the pressure on the bulged disks.
Two weeks later I was enjoying a pain free existence.
I now hang from the rafters in the garage to simulate the experience of the chiro stretching my back out. I haven’t been to the chiro or any other back specialist in two+ years. I feel that if I keep the spacing between the disks open I won’t let the pain return. I’d rather give birth than experience that pain again. I swear it is the worst, and there is no getting used to it.
I feel for you.
Have you had anyone try to manipulate the spacing between the disks yet? It’s kind of like a mild form of traction. Not the cracking that most chiros do, but actually pulling your hips away from the rest of your body…that’s what fixed me.
speaking as someone who has dealt with chronic pain for years (arthritis and so on), i’m glad to report that your opinion has had no influence on the positive results i personally have experienced.
Did you tell your doctor this and ask for a referral to a different specialist? (Just because one doctor is shitty is no reason to give up on the specialty entirely, of course.)
Perhaps you should consult with your Dr. and find out if you’re ok to do things like pilates or yoga.
both have made a world of difference to my back pain - I suppose you’re strenghening and relaxing the muscles, which will at least ease pain in that department.
Have you tried Biofeedback? An Ex-boyfriend of mine, who had chronic and debilitating migraines, gave it a shot on the advice of his neurologist at the University of Michigan medical Center (I think he went to the biofeedback clinic there too). He was dubious but actually found the techniques to be of some merit in controlling his pain. Obviously, it was a very different kind of pain. Worh a shot if your insurance will spring for it.
Get a referral to a physical therapist. They won’t keep you on an eternal schedule of treatment (you’ll likely be asked to come in a couple times a week for a set period). You’ll probably be given home exercises that will allow you to maintain your healthy back after your sessions are over.
gotpasswords, a decent pain specialist could try all kinds of things with you, so many different things it’d be pointless to list them all. There are other painkillers, you could try some dual-acting antidepressants, some anticonvulsives, biofeedback, etc. There are myriad efficacious means of treating chronic pain, and a dilligent specialist can help you, I’m quite confident. “Deal with it” is an answer you shouldn’t be taking. Don’t give up. Go back to your primary care doc and ask for more help. Demand to see another pain specialist. You could go to one with a good reputation in your area and ask if you can defer payments, or be put on a sliding pay scale. Some specialists will take you on even if you can’t pay full price, so long as you can demonstrate a need for some special financial consideration. Severe chronic pain is a terrible thing to have to put up with, and it’s worth it to keep fighting for some relief. I know you’re probably exhausted, but your story isn’t an uncommon one. Getting proper treatment for pain can be very difficult, even for the wealthy. It may be your only option to suffering is some hard work battling the medical system. It’s still a battle worth fighting, and your chances of winning are good.
[Moderator Underoos on]Sigh. I tried to be nice about this, but…
Official Warning: Do not ask for medical advice on this message board, period.
Do not open yet another thread on this subject in IMHO, period.
Understood?[/Moderator Underoos on]