!@#$!@# Back Problems (OT)

W

Will Leavitt

Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Messages
3,953
Well I had back surgery in January to repair a ruptured L5-S1, back to work in March, symptoms return by late April and now I'm waiting around out of work to see the Neurosurgeon again. My family doctor says that I have a few bulging disks in my lower back but the big concern is that arthiritis in my lower back is impinging on the nerves and causing my new problems. If I sit for more than 10 minutes my right thigh and toes go numb, 30 minutes and I get nauseous. I only went to get a neuro consult because the incontinence is back. I haven't been able to swing a freaking hammer or do much because of general weakness for 2 months now. WTF am I going to do? what is the doc going to do to fix freaking arthiritis?? hell I'm only 39. :grumpy:

Had to vent.
 
I get back spasms from time to time and had a bout with sciatica once. I sorta understand how the nagging pain and weird nerve problems feel. My sciatica would not let me stand for more than about 3 minutes until it was excruciating. Sitting was okay, but I would get numbness and shooting pains in the right leg. I don't have as extensive problems as you, but I do understand back pain and just how intense it can be. Hydrocodone knocked the pain down to the point that it just hurt 'real bad'. I feel for ya!

Maybe you could get another opinion from a different doctor...

Just an idea.
 
Sorry to hear that Will,
I've been there too. The pain seems like a dull memory now but I remember it bringing tears to my eyes then. I had 3 surgeries from 84 to 86 and a fourth in 87 which resulted in a full fusion from s-1 to L-5. Never felt better after that one. At 53 it feels like it almost never happened.

My advise for what it's worth is to talk to as many doctors as it takes to get the right answer. From the first, if I listened to the first couple doctors I'd be a cripple in a wheel chair. Also when you find the right one, follow what he tells you to the letter. It took the last two ops to figure that out for me. I didn't think they knew what they were talking about...go figure. I already know that there isn't much that can be done for the arthritis. It helps me to keep moving.
I know it doesn't help much, and nobody else can walk in your shoes but try to keep a positive outlook. I know how depressing it can get but I never would have believed at that time that I could feel this good.
Getting the right help is key. I hope all turns out well.
 
I just saw something in a (traditional) medical online journal stating that tests confirmed that patients with arthritis (OA) saw improvements in as few as 7 days after taking Frankincense:

Frankincense Extract Safe, Effective in OA

August 05, 2008
by Denise Mann Kleinman
DAVIS, California—An enriched extract of the Indian Frankincense herb Boswellia serrata marketed as 5-Loxin® may reduce the pain and improve physical functioning in people with osteoarthritis (OA) in just 7 days, finds new research published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.1
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There is a site where I buy vitamin D3 called the
Life Extension Foundation. They carry very high quality supplements, meaning in the case of vitD3, that if you take the supplement, the doctor will see the appropriate change in your blood levels. www.lef.com is the website.

The lef.com site also linked Boswellia serrata to prostate health. I'm going to look into it.

I wish you the best.

Ps I can email you the article if you like.
 
Sorry to hear that Will: Hope you get better. It just may need time. Will remember you in my prayers. Let us all know how its going from time to time. ----:)
 
Will,

Had my surgery in 96 L4-L5 L5-S1 Microdiscectomy. Pain returned 3 months later. Went to see another NS and he wanted to cut again, with less than a 50% chance of success. Told him when I cant walk I will call him back. I wish they had fused them but don not know if I want to go thru it again right now. Left thigh is always numb and right leg hurts with varying toes involved. Fortunately I do not have the incontinence problem if I did I would be back to the NS. Also if I was unable to swing a hammer I would hit the table in a heartbeat. I can forge but it takes about 2-3 days to recover. I was 36 when I had mine done, really sucks... Good luck hope it all comes out well.
 
Will, I wish you all the best. I can peripherally understand your chronic pain, but you have a lot going on besides pain that I can only imagine poorly. Dealing with chronic issues like this is very depressing, and the only thing you can do is try to find a way to live around your condition until it gets resolved. If depression really becomes an issue, please consider taking anti-depression medication to help alleviate it. "Toughing it out" isn't generally helpful long term, it only adds to your burden.

My wife had two botched cervical fusions about 20 years ago and she's been in horrible pain ever since. Finally she got lucky and found a pain doctor who doesn't treat her like a junky. She had an intrathecal pump installed three months ago that delivers the pain medication directly to her spinal fluid. She requires much less actual medication now and it does a pretty good job of controlling her pain. Once they get the dosage set right they'll fill the pump with a concentration of the medication that will last up to six months. They can include anti-inflammatory, etc in the mix too, so she gets all her meds in the intrathecal space. This means her compromised liver (she has Hep C) doesn't have to process the meds.

I think Rujoco is right, that you will find a solution when you find the right doc. Unfortunately I think that's a very hit-or-miss proposition. You can keep asking for referrals until you find someone that you sense will be able to help you, and I recommend doing that too.

Meanwhile, we're sending all of our empathy your way. Take care, and hang in there. You will find a solution eventually.
 
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