Back pain still need more advice!

[monkey5]

Hey there spineys hope all is well. I am still struggling and getting nowhere and feel like I am getting the runaround. Okay when i started going to a pm dr. he said he would try to figure things out but at least give em until spring or something to that and kept saying dont give up on me yet. Meanwhile he said there were other tests he could do and he could refer me to a surgeon if needed. Okay now i have been referred to one but only to get a consult for a SCS. And that dr. said that there aren't any other tests that could be done, and i do know better than that. I know they say one can sometimes not find out the cause but i guess it would help if they even tried the tiniest little bit. I have a foot surgeon on one hand telling me that i have foot pain and deformity because of my back problem, and Neurosurgeon saying theres no relation to my leg/back pain as the tests show nothing. it has been about almost two years since my EMG. I feel like these dr.s just want to shut me up. Things just dont make sense. And to add to all this all my issues are on the left side I dont have one complaint of the the other side. And i have an appt. scheduled for the end of this month for a Neurologist but hes one i have seen in the begginging and although at the time i was better but only after going to months of PT and then not being able to lift my left leg more than 40 degrees and when i saw him by then i was somehwat better emotionally and physicallly and mentally and stated he did not see any weakness in my left leg. Dah I have been examined and that was months before seeing him. So i dont even know what to say to this dr. other than i was referred again due to the pressure in my upper front of my head and my md saying i had possible symptoms of a stroke. Now how do i prepare to not have this dr. just brush me aside? The Neurosurgoen for my back didnt even examine me himself. I dont know if this was due to it being a consult? And you know I dont understand, do they not think bulging disks hurt?As my last MRI showed this. And or does a radiologist not know how to read and MRI? I trully feel the reason the MRI showed this because i was in the worst of pain that day. Okay let me know what to think of this as i am also preparing for my next appt. with pm dr. as i am ver discouraged here!
Thanks, monkey

 

[mcarr36]

Hi,
I am so sorry you are not being heard. You need help. Yes, bulging discs can hurt! I had that problem at C5-6. The pain was bad. I was required to do PT for 7 months and by the time I got to surgery I had permanent nerve damage in my hand. The surgery was not successful and I did end up with an SCS. The SCS was a last resort. It is not perfect but it helps a lot. It does not fix problems. I am really praying that you can find a doctor to fix you!

Take care,
Melissa

 

[redsmom]

Monkey, Don't give up! Is there any way you can get a second opinion? Did your doctor at least offer to do a Disco Gram? Heck those are very painful but most accurate in diagnosing a bulge even if its the worse way to discover it. My doctor also tried to put off my surgery telling me that I was too young for it and that I didn't warrant it yet because my back wasn't that bad. Surprise, I was getting worse by the month and I was emphatic about getting the surgery and he really tried to discourage me but I didn't back down until the dreaded Disco Gram! Once we started it I just couldn't finish it it was just too painful and it took me about four to five month to get the courage to go back and do it again but this time I had a better staff and my surgeon knew then that I was in a lot of pain because by then I was walking with a cane. I had a laminectomy and was fused with cadaver bone at the s1 and have roRAB and screws from the S2-S3 and when he opened my back he said my nerves were swollen like spaghetti and yes I do have some permanent nerve damage to my toes and on the bottom of one foot but that's better than not walking so don't give up and fight for yourself! Ask for a second opinion get another doctor this one is not helping you one bit.