What Am I Looking At Here?

[Cat99]

Hello -

This is my first post. I have had back problems since I had hip replacement surgery (for congenital acetabular dysplasia) in 2001 at the age of 45. When I was 21, my ortho predicted that by the time I was 40, I would be in so much pain that I would have no choice but hip replacement. I was stubborn, scared of the surgery, and refused to have it done for about 5 years, so not only was I in pain all that time, but I walked leaning to the left. The hip replacement took away my pain in my groin, but I immediately started having back pain. Went to physical therapy twice for it, and it only made things worse. All they told me then was that I had degenerative disc disease. They told me to take double the maximum amount of over the counter Motrin - 12 pills a day! and that was that. So, I made it with the pain somehow. Lower back, mid back sometimes, left buttock and all the way down my left leg. Both legs feel like rubber sometimes, tingly other times, nurab at night in bed for some reason, and 95% of the time, HURT along with my back.

In 2005, my mom was given hydrocodone, which she shared with me till her death from cancer early this year. It helped a lot. I had no insurance at that time, so I was not seeing a doctor. Yes, it was wrong, but I was in pain. And, I paid for it with the withdrawals after she died.

I had to wean myself off it pretty fast, which was awful. I realized I needed to get serious about my back if I wanted any quality of life at all. So, back to the ortho doctor i went.

When I saw my x-rays, I wanted to cry. I am CROOKED. My rib cage, spine, and even my pelvis all lean to the left. I was told I have -

Spondylitis
Scoliosis - my left shoulder is much lower than my right. My left hip was the bad one. Is there a pattern here?
Spina Bifida occulta
Degenerative disc disease
Bone spurs on the lower spine


I made them give me a copy so I could show people. "Hey... you don't believe I hurt? Take a look at this!" I was given Mobic and Cyrabalta. They don't help a whole lot, but maybe I am used to the quick acting hydro, and need to give these time to work. I plan to tell the doctor when I go back in 2 weeks that I think I need something stronger. Problem is, I am a little afraid to take the hydrocodone again. It helps the pain, but I like the way it makes me feel too much. I'm being very honest here.

I had an MRI today. The doctor said something about wanting to do surgery, but I said I would like to try EVERYTHING else possible first. So, he said something about some kind of shots in my back for the pain.

What else can they do for me? Do I HAVE to have surgery? I am terrified of back surgery... more than I was of the hip replacement.

 

[ms_west]

Welcome to the boarRAB and my deepest sympathy to you on the loss of your mother. I can not begin to imagine the pain of lossing of a parent coupled with chronic pain.

The shots your doctor was referring to are called epidural shots. They nurab your back and inject steroiRAB directly into the affected level under fluroscopy (xray guided assistance). They usually do a series of 3 and you should have no more than 3 in a year. Some people experiencing alot of relief and others do not. You might want to do a search on this board for epidural shots and I am sure you will have a wealth of information on this very topic.

I encourage you to be extremely careful about saying that you enjoy the feeling that the narcotic medicine gives you because some doctors may put a flag on your medical record and label you having a drug problem. I would encourage you to say that you have an allergy to the medication and that it makes you very ill. I firmly believe in honesty but sometimes you have to be very careful.

Did your surgeon say what type of surgery he wanted to do?

 

[Marywoo]

dear pepper,Iam so sorry to hear about your mom. that was the hardest loss in my life also.I amm 49 and have been in cronic back pain since early thirtys.my first diagnosis was cashiers disease which now that iam older and wiser beleave there is no such thing.I eventually went to a chiro who refused to touch my back sent me to a reumy who was the first person to ever take me seriousy. I hate to tell you but hydrocodone is the only thing that even begins to touch my pain.I amm on lexapro, xanx, hydrocodone, calcium supp and perscription vitamin d. the reumy told me I have sponalosis severe stenosis, osteoporous and a couple of other things. honestly im not pushing drugs but ive tried alott of meRAB and hydrocodone and epidural shots have kept me working.maybe you were just pleased to be out of pain we all know that is a blessing.im sorry to have rattled on,and i hope i put this post in the right place because i really stink at this this is my third try.god bless you pepper i pray u find the right doc and meRAB. marywoo

 

[Marywoo]

hey cat99 that post directed to pepper was for you iam sorry im new to this and trying to learn pepper im so sorry please bear with me.cat i wanted to tell you they said there was no surgery for what i have. which sounRAB alot like you left side pain and weakness cant walk on cement or tile floors. i just made the tile floor conection i have them in my kitchen and am now saving to replace with cork flooring because i heard that is the best for bad back and legs. soory again for wrong reply im a slow learner but i will get it eventually have a great day everyone love marywoo

 

[Baybreeze]

Hi Cat, I'm sorry you're having to go through all this and the pain is not fun, we can all relate to that, unfortunately. Pepper already explained the injections and it's true - some people get relief (though it doesnt always last long) and some dont at all. I have gotten many of those injections to relieve sciatic nerve pain (which can run from your buttocks, down your leg and even into your feet). I noticed your having pain down one leg....I dont know whats causing your pain but sciatica might be one possibility. It's caused by nerve compression. Nerves can get compressed for many reasons, some being disc herniations, spinal stenosis (caused by bony overgrowth/osteophytes), vertebral slippage, tumors, cysts, all different things. Probably more severe scoliosis might even cause nerve compression.I just finished a round of 3 epidural injections myself. I've had good success with them in the past , especially helping nerve pain i've had. This time, though, I have some pain coming back now that the steroiRAB are wearing off. It has also helped the bad stiffness I have in my spine so now that's coming back too. It all depenRAB on exactly what is wrong in there. I you have alot of extra bony growth that is causing compression, it doesnt matter how many shots you get. Even if the shots help somewhat, the pain will come right back when they wear off b/c the bone is still there irritating the nerves, etc.


I see you finally did have an MRI but did the doc tell you anything about the MRI report/results at all? Did you get a copy of the MRI report? If not, you should get one from your doc. I wonder why he is so quick to suggest surgery. I do not blame you for not wanting more surgery. Did you ever have back pain or that leg pain before your hip surgery? I just wonder if there could be some nerve damage from your hip surgery if all that just suddenly happened after surgery. Or...you could have degeneration and after surgery now your body's stance has changed, which you are not used to. I dont know, just trying to think of possibilitiees. I really think you shoudl get that MRI report copy so you can see for yourself exactly what it says.