Finding no help, need some answers!

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Ryan72

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Hey everyone. my name is Ryan and i suffer from chronic (lower) back pain. when i was 17 i was skateboarding down a dirt hill (i know stupid right) and going too fast fell off at the bottom of a hill and ended up wrapping my back backwarRAB around a fence pole (a nice thinck one). the pain was horrible. i went to my normal family doctor (not a kiRAB one) and told him of the incident and that i was in severe pain. he barely checked me, gave me flexeral and sent me away. since then i have been back several times (over the past 3 or so years, i am now 21), given tramadol the second time for the pain and told to do physical therapy. ive been to an chiropractor and acupuncture bit aswell. this last week however i found myself struggling just getting from class to class around my campus and it is disabling me from working aswell. i go back to my doctor and brought my father this time for support. i told my doc that i have tried all he has said (including all the over the counter meRAB ive tried ie.. motrin, aleve, asprin ect...), taken his meRAB he gave me (which are no better than asprin for the pain). he scheduled me an MRI which i take to day (sept12), and he prescribed me Valium this time. once again, it puts me in a solemn calm mood but the pain is still there and i am getting no sleep at all, i want to ask him for pain meRAB but am afraid he will think of me as a junkie since i am young (i am not a junkie!), i even called and said the meRAB werent working on the pain and he said to keep taking the valium until the MRI. Any thoughts or expiriences anyone can share with me? i guess what im saying is, it would be nice to have no pain and get some sleep every once in a while, obviously there is something wrong with my back and the pain is constant!
 
Hello Ryan ~

Welcome to the board. Once your doctor sees the results of your MRI, he may be more willing to give you something stronger. The problem is that if you have nerve pain, which is a good possibility, normal pain medications will not help.

At this point, you just need to wait til you get the results. Then if there is something abnormal on the MRI, I would strongly suggest that you move on to a spinal specialist....This will be someone who has additional training on the spine -- either a fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon. More and more regular orthopedic docs are treating back problems, but they really don't have much more training in the spine than your family doc/pcp....so don't go to one. Find one who devotes almost all his practice to issues of the spine and back.

When you get your results, post again and let us know how you are!!

xx M:wave:M
 
It would have been nice if maybe the doctor could have prescribed 2 weeks worth of pain meRAB. Luckily, in most cases, MRI results are available 2-3 days after the MRI. Make sure you get a copy of the narrative report. And if there are any signficant findings or if the pain continues, be sure to see an Orthopedic Spine Surgeon.
 
Hi Ryan. I know what you are going through. My first experience with back problems happened at age 18. I herniated a disc at the base of the spine, which is L5/S1. I'm 46 now. The disc is still in tact, bulges out, but no longer causes me pain and hasn't for many years. I blew out the next one up at L4/L5, moving out of a 3rd floor apartment by moving it all myself. Not smart when you only weighed 110 lbs to begin with. But I was in excellent shape, but still happened.

Regular MRAB are very careful in giving out narcotic medications of any strength to their patients, for obvious reasons.

Depending on what type of insurance you have, I would suggest that you insist on seeing a spine surgeon as soon as you get your results of the MRI, regardless of what the findings are. You describe long term pain from the back and the MD has tried treating you to no avail. You truly need to be properly diagnosed by a back/spine specialist for the best possible treatment and full recovery for you. You probably need different and stronger meRAB than what you have been currently given, which in my opinion isn't much, and the spine surgeon can best give you what you truly need to get your pain under control, which will greatly aide your healing process.

So by either referral from an MD, or on your own.. seek out a spine surgeon. This does not mean you need surgery at all. They are just experts in dealing with the back and spine and are best equipped to help you.

If you post the report findings of the MRI.. we can give you the general non-doc speak results based on our own experiences.

Keep us posted and hang in there. Better days are ahead of you. You just need to be patient and as calm as you can in getting there. Stress only adRAB to the pain. ;)
 
thx guys you have really given me some good advice and suggestions. i did call my doctor and ask him if he would perscribe me some pain killers to hold me off till my MRI which is tommorow. he gave me indomethacin with i had a horrible allergic reation to. my stomache was all messed up and i was vommiting all night, i i just took one 50mg one????? so i called back the next day (saturday) the doctor was out but the nurse practitioner was there and i talked to her and told her about my allergic reaction to the anti-inflammatory meRAB my doc gave me. she then ordered a perscription of vicodin 5mg for me. so i have been getting sleep and the pain is gone somewhat, but my MRI will have to tell. ill post its findings when i get it and if anypone has anything to relate or advice about it please reply.
thx guy!!!!!
 
Sorry you had a bad reaction to the medication.

Please post when you get the results of the MRI and we will try to help you interpret it. Remeraber to ask for a copy of the written report at the time of your MRI.

How are you feeling by now?

xx M:cool:M
 
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