So, I had a nerve test this morning. Some hypersensitivity in the nerves of my right leg, not a huge issue, but a small one and it might explain why my pain is so intense.
The final conclusion after all of this is:
- One bulging disc, but it’s minor.
- One degenerating disc, not as minor
- Strain of the lumbar ligaments
- Tearing of the lumbar fascia
- Strain of the right lumbosacral spine
- Nerve hypersensitivity in back, SI Joints, and right leg – most likely a neurological problem (also explains why my brain interprets cold as pain)
Some of this needs to be treated with physical therapy and some of it needs to be treated with injections of cortisone. Okay. I can live with that…
What I can’t live with is the interim. I sleep less than 5 hours a night due to pain. Most nights, it’s less than 4 hours. I feel nauseated half the time possibly because I have a constant headache that is always bordering on a migraine.
I’m having a really hard time focusing to work. I have trouble driving. I have trouble doing household chores. Most days, I just want to cry because of the pain.
Then I’m depressed because I can’t do much. However, he doesn’t want to treat the pain that is making me miserable because over the next 6 weeks, it will get better thanks to physical therapy.
What the fuck kind of decision is that?! If a patient is in your office, crying because they can’t hardly function due to pain, and your decision is to not treat the immediate problem to improve quality of life… Should you really be a doctor?
This is kinda like the Tramadol argument we had. He prescribed 50mg Tramadol. I told him it didn’t help and I take 100mg of Sumatriptan when I have a migraine, which I can’t take if I’m on Tramadol. Yet, he refused to prescribe anything but 50mg Tramadol. I also informed him that Tramadol was one of the few drugs that gave me rebound migraines… Still wouldn’t prescribe anything but 50mg Tramadol.
I have a few Ketorolac tablets (Toradol in pill form). They tear my stomach up, even with food, but they do relieve some of the pain (from a 10 to about a 9), which is more than Tramadol or Tylenol does… So, I’m guessing I will take one of those after lunch today and see if I can finish my goddamn laundry.
I know people that get hundreds of oxycodone tablets a month for things like migraines and fucking TMJ (which I have a severe case of), yet I can’t get a prescription to last me a week for back pain that is so bad, I can’t work or ride in a car and driving is a special form of torture…
Hadena James 
It seriously sounds like time for a new doctor – can you take your medical records to another doctor to get a different treatment plan? No doctor should leave you in pain for that long – it’s a well known fact that nerve damage can result from non-treatment and your brain receptors could get messed up because of this. I hate to say it but he sounds like a major ass!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He’s supposed to be the best spinal specialist in the state… However, I start physical therapy tomorrow and I will go from there. If it turns out I can’t make it through therapy, I will at least have more professional support and no, my insurance will not pay for this a second time, so I’m just sorta fucked. My doctor actually sent me to a different doctor and my insurance changed it to this one.
LikeLike
Shit. and time for a new doctor
LikeLiked by 1 person
Don’t you have a right to a second opinion, try Illinois
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m sorry to hear about your pain. Have you tried Topimirimate (Tomopax) I take it for nerve issues and also migraines. It has helped tremendously. Also lyrica and
Gabapentin. It’s worth a shot. Good luck
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be careful if you try Gabapentin, I tried it and kept getting ‘starbursts’ of pain through my chest, was convinced I was having a heart attack, they stopped when i stopped the medication. No easy answers when you suffer nerve damage/pain, just a living nightmare
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gabapentin, like Tramadol, does not help my pain. I think it’s because both work through dopamine and serotonin. I can’t take antidepressants because when they start messing with my dopamine and serotonin, I get wonky. I have talked to a few others now that have zero relief from Tramadol and they have the same issues with antidepressants. I think if I looked hard enough, I’d find the same group has problems with gabapentin. The problem is no one seems interested in studying it.
LikeLike