New and need advise.

B

BIG T

New member
I was diagnosed with a compression fracture of the lower back about 8 months ago, Although I have had back pain my since about 12. I was treated when I was 16 for a slight curve of the back.

Since my diagnoses I have gone though worse pain. I now have shooting pain down my legs. I feel like my actual hip bone is being scraped. I even fall for no reason. My doc said that if I have surgery I will still hurt. My question is why have surgery if it is not going to help the pain? I also worry that I am going to wake up one day and just not be able to walk.

Oh and I have not got insurance yet. I will not be able to get insurance at my jot until October.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Big T:confused:
 
Big T,

Sorry to hear about your back problems.

The reason to have back surgery is to improve your condition and hopefully lessen your pain, and in some cases to prevent permanent damage to your nerves or other structures. Your doctor is right that after having back surgery you will always have some pain, but a successful surgery will allow you to have less pain than you would have had without it.

For insurance, some policies have a preexisting condition exclusion if you haven't had insurance recently, so check into the details of your policy in October to find out if you qualify or not for your back problems. Hopefully you will.

Warm regarRAB!
 
Welcome to this board Big T,

You didn't mention how old you are now, but if you have been in pain since the age of 12, that can be one reason why your dr said surgery will not aleviate pain completely. You obviously had some underlying problems before the compression fracture, is that a close assumption? What kind of treatments did you receive at 16 for the curve and would that help, somewhat, now? Strengthening type exercises, maybe?

So if you are falling for no reason, this sounRAB serious, and I am wondering if your MRI and dr are suggesting surgery will help this most serious problem. I am guessing when I say that the treatment might be different if compression fracture is caused by osteoporosis than otherwise, but only you would know this. Some of these fractures can 'heal', while others require stabilization, right?

Many of us are continuing to try to find conservative, non-surgical, procedures to find relief from pain. But if your situation is causing you to drop to the floor, that is a different story, isn't it? Doctors will try to determine if you are dropping because of severe pain, or an actual block causing loss of function. For instance, if a certain move causes you to drop because it is so painful, or if just standing there and you drop out of the blue. I have only had one occasion where I felt a weakness, and temporary feeling of dropping, but didn't thankfully, and I know that it wasn't the pain that time.

Hoping someone can help you here,
choc
 
I just recently turned 35. The curve was repaired. I usally fall after a period of rest. I have only had x-rays at this point. The Dr. I went to is not too forthcoming on info. I am thinking of maybe finding a new Dr. I live in a small town, but am about a two hour drive from Houston. I have not been tested for Osteoporosis. I do take Calcium every day. 600mg w/vit D. My job is highly demanding physically. I must unload trucks and run around all day. I hurt so badly when I get home that a lot of times I just want to relax. I tore a muscle in my leg at work as well. I am overweight and have tried almost everything to lose the weight, but when you are in pain it makes it real hard to do any other excercise. I know this is a lot of infor, but hopefully someone can relate and have some advice for me that I have not already tried. I have lost about 30 pounRAB in the last 5 months but it is slowly coming off. I have never been thin, even as a baby I was big. I do have thyroid disease that runs in the family, but the test that I have been given have not shown any thyroid problems right now. I get tested for diabetes almost every year. Any one who knows me says that I do not eat enough to maintain my weight. I know that something is going on I just don't know what.

Thanks for reading, I really do appreciate you taking time to reply.

Big T
 
Back
Top