Need some advice PLEASE

  • Thread starter Thread starter spooked
  • Start date Start date
S

spooked

Guest
I've had a l5s1 fusion with hardware in 08 was getting better went for fce and its been down hill since. during the fce the guy was a jerk and never told me when to stop and messed my back up. doc sent me for mri and ct scan sept. 08 said everything looks good so it just kept getting worse finally in april 09 i went back they said i need hardware removed. had hardware out in june 09. my surgeon's assistant slipped and said the screws were loose but till this day is denying it. is there any neglect on my surgeons part? my back is worse than before the fusion. i can't do anything for any extened period of time or i feel like i would rather just die. my pain doc won't change my meRAB i've been on the same thing for 3yrs. and it's like i'm immune to them. now he wants to put in a stimulator, anybody have any experiance with them or any input whether i should or if it's a good choice, do they work, any down falls to it. i don't no what to do i'm only 30 i'm perm. disabled and don't have a life everybody has deserted me cause they don't understand. Please somebody help me i'm at my end.
 
I am so sorry to hear you are having these problems, I can understand why the keep quiet about any mistakes as the probably have been sued before or know someone who has. But that doesn't help you pain. That is ridicules that they won't increase your med's as the doctor is meant to be there to help you so maybe you could threaten to find another doctor if he doesn't help you. I hope you can get better care than you have been. If I can't get the treatment I need I go elsewhere. So I have been able to cope ok. But I have to wait until Noveraber for my surgery. I need fusion too L4-L5 & L5-S1 but am a little concerned that it may put extra pressure on L3-L4 and I think I am going to ask my neurosurgeon if he would do a disc replacement on L4-L5 to give me some extra movement but in the end it will be his choice as I trust him. I have been to 3 neurosurgeons and 1 Orthopaedic surgeon before I found one who really was caring and showed me on the MRI all the problems he could see. It was amassing what he could tell from the MRI. The others just looked and went mmmm! So I am very happy with him and he has lots of good feedback. I am still scared of going under the knife but am happy it will be with him.
I really hope things improve for you.
Allan
 
i had seen 3 doc's before this one all the rest said all i had was a pulled muscle and when he seen the same mri that they were looking at here found the problem right away. i had to fractures in my vertabrae so i feel your pain with the doc's. on my last mri l4l5 had minimal herniation due to the fusion. good luck with your surgery hope all works out. from my experiance make sure that you can't live with the pain anymore and your 100% sure you want to have the surgery before you commit to doing it.
 
Yes I have been in agony for 8 years but on top of that now the pain has gone to my waist down which is being caused by compressed nerves as my disc's collapse more. I also started getting shooting nerve pain up my spine with the smallest of physical motion. I would class it as 9+ the most painful thing I have felt and it spasms right through my whole body. So I have been going downhill fast and need this surgery before I have permanent nerve damage. I just can't take it anymore and I have been through a lot in my life but this belittles everything else. I wish they could do it now but my insurance won't allow it until the 10th of Noveraber. I have no life and are just stuck in bed a lot of the time. even then I get leg spasms laying down so I have to take muscle relaxants. It would be nice to get off some of my scripts and I have endured over 100 injections. So yes I think I am ready.

Sorry if I sound a bit snappy it is just that I have to tell my story over and over every time someone suggests that I avoid an operation. There isn't really a profile section here is there.

Sorry this is your Thread I didn't mean to dominate it.

Allan
 
Spooked:

Have you had a recent MRI? If so what is the surgeon saying? Perhaps see a new Neurosurgeon or Orthopedic Spine Surgeon (I've had all my work done by an OSS).

It also looks like you may need to find a new pain management practice that will work with you to expand your options.
 
As I said earlier I have seen 4 surgeons 4 or 5 specialists and about 3 GP's so there is nowhere to go from here just wait for the surgery. In the meantime I am going to go to a physio to start learning how I am going to re-cooperate from surgery. The surgeon I have is great and I will not find better besides I am happy with him. I just have to wait for my pre-existing ailment exclusion period of 12 months is up and I will be having the surgery then. I just was looking for support and advice about how to prepare and what I will need. Thanks for your time.
Sorry but I was going to mention you may just need a change of medication type as you are resistant to what you are using, maybe try the patches or try morphine or oxycontin. Changing to another type of painkiller may help a lot.
Allan
 
Hey Spooked!
If I understand right, you had your hardware out about 11 months ago, right? If the screws were loose, that wouldn't be an issue, since they were then removed. It could be that you have nerve damage, which can take a very long time to heal. I've had two fusions. The first one was in 1977 and a year later they took out the hardware. The fusion surgery went great with no complications, but the hardware removal left me with a nurab patch on my back about 4 inches across. It was due to nerve damage during the removal, and it took several years to heal, but it finally did.

Pain management doctors are not all created equal. If you can, I would look into switching to a different one. There are so many pain relief options out there, it's shameful that your doctor isn't providing you with better pain control. I went to a pain management "specialist" who was just horrible and actually ended up doing damage to me! Keep looking until you find the right doctor who will listen to you and give you the help you need.

Some of those people who do the FCE's really are jerks! They think it's their job to prove that you can do more than you're saying and will try to trick you into it. But if you're honestly trying to do your best and cooperate, boy can that backfire! Are you now on disability? I'm so sorry you're having to deal with all this at such a young age. I hope you're finding ways to fill your days productively, even though you can't work. I'm older than you, 51, but I had to stop working 7 years ago and I really miss it. I loved my work! :( But to everything there is a season.

Hang in there,
Emily
 
spineaz: yes i had an emg, mri and ct scan after the hardware removel they say minimal disc herniation at l4l5 emg says perm nerve damage in both legs and back. a Neurosurgeon and Orthopedic Spine Surgeon did both my surgerys.

BLUEATLAS: well i'm perm. disabled from my job and with my perm. restrictions i can't even get a job at mcdonalRAB. i wish i was able to collect disabilty but do to my employer is not required to carry workmans comp. and federal law i don't have 10 yrs. in to get disability. wish i can say more but on going legal matters i don't know who's reading these, but it has been a long 3yrs. with no pay check on top of pain. my concern with the screws being loose is before they became loose i didn't have the nerve problem in my back.
 
Back
Top