Hi, newbie and kind of freaking about new pain this am.

  • Thread starter Thread starter amafrias
  • Start date Start date
A

amafrias

Guest
I have had lower back pain for years, am 39 now. I recently had an MRI ordered by my PCP. He got the results, had no clue what they meant and has been trying to refer me to a Pain management DR. for months now, and noone excepts my insurance. He said something about bulging discs and I just want the pain to stop. Well this morning after sleeping scrunched on the side of the bed and my left side all night due to kiRAB in bed I woke up to this terrible pain, hard to describe in my mid back, left side, left chest and down left arm. I was freaking out it was my heart or something and called my Mom. She says she had something similar and it was a bulging disc pinching a nerve. Does this sound right to anyone? I have tried every position possible to get some relief. Also if anyone knows what kind of Dr. I really need for my PCP to refer me to. He tried a neuro surgeon, and they said I was not operable yet. I'd rather not be cut on anyway.And pain management sounRAB like just covering up the problem to me. Thanks in advance for any responses, as I am still a little freaked out and hurting pretty bad at this point.
Amanda
Sarasota, Fl.
 
Amanda, I would try to get into a spinal surgeon "(orthopedic surgeon with a speciality in spine surgery) who does spine surgery exclusively. Just because you are seeing him does not mean that you need surgery. He would review your case and make any recommendations as far as rehabilitation or further testing.

TAke care and I pray that your pain eases up soon.
 
You should probably be referred to either an orthopedic OR neurological spine specialist. To me it sounRAB like it's possible to be a disc problem, but I don't what your MRI specifically said. Do you have a copy of your MRI report?

The thing is, the longer you have the pain & symptoms from it, it may cause permanent nerve damage. Pain Management can give you meRAB, injections, and other things that may help the pain, or it might even be enough to cause it to stop. You might also be referred to a Physical Therapist (which most insurance companies want you to do first anyway), then one usually tries epidural steroid injections, various pain and/or nerve pain medications, nerve stimulation, a whole host of different things to try. Usually, for example, steroid injections might give you enough pain relief so that you can do physical therapy, which those exercise might be enough to resolve a disc issue. But of course, none of these things necessarily work all the time. Some things don't work at all for some people. But most insurance companies would not autorize surgery as the first step, it's usually the last resort. (unless you have severe cord compression causing paralysis or cauda equina syndrome in the lurabar spine, then surgery should be done asap). There are many options that can be tried before surgery.

If you don't have a copy of your MRI report, you should request a copy of it from your doctor. Or, if you have the films at home, check in the film envelope and see if a copy is in there. Then you could post the results here and we might be able to decipher it for you.
 
I agree with the other posts here, you need to either see a Neuro./Ortho. who specialize in spines. It does not matter if they are surgeons or not, as they should both be able to treat you, w/o surgery, until and if that time ever comes.

Specializing in spines, means that at least 75 % of their cases are with spines. Regardless if you see a surgeon or not, just make sure they fit into this catagory. As for how my surgeon worked, I saw an Orthosurgeon & I was treated by him for over a year, before we even considered surgery. He referred me to Physical Therepy, steroid injections, nerve blocks, radio frequency and aquatic therapy. After all of that failed, he said he would not suggest surgery to anyone, unless they were not able to live their lives, due to their disabilities. He gave me a website that had info. about discs and other spine problems. He told me to go home, do some research, and if I ever decide that I was ready for surgery, to call him and he would be happy to help me. Never did he try to influence me to have a surgery. Then, after the surgery, he continued to treat me for 2 years and I still go in every now and then to keep him updated on where I am at.

As for the pain management centers not taking your insurance, have you actually been calling around, or are you leaving that to your dr. to find one? I have found that different drs. have a certain no. of drs. in other fielRAB, that they refer people to. But that doesn't mean those are the only ones that you can use. Does that make sense? If you have not already done so, do a search for pain centers/clinic in your area, and you should be able to see on their websites...what insurance they take. do you have an HMO or anything that tells you where you have to go? Once you get into see a spine specialist, they will likely have you go to a PM doctor, to do all the conservative treatments that they have to do, before any type of surgery can be done. Pain centers can be very beneficial in both treating your pain and dx. your condition. Many of the tests that they can do, are meant to dx. a condition rather than to fix it. Then, once they know what is wrong, they know how to take care of it.

Good luck and keep us posted. I know it is very scary at first, so know that there are always folks here, who are willing to answer your questions or just to support you.

Lorie:angel:
 
Thank you all so much. It is not only my PCP, but also my insurance trying to find me a Dr. The closest Pain Management Dr. is over 100 miles away. I have recently changed my plan and will be getting all new Dr.'s in June. I checked with this particular Company before signing on to it and they have sufficient Dr.'s in my area. I still need my PCP to refer me, but hopefully this will go better. I am feeling better this morning, but was in a weird kind of pain all weekend. Thanks to allwho have helped. I did not know about the different specific Dr.s or which one would be good for me. Thanks so much. Now I know where to call.
 
Back
Top