Soldier w/ cervical issues (Upcoming Fusion?)

[Katie]

Ah, I wondered if you were seeing Skinner. Good luck with him...I had no luck at all. You know he is ex-military, right? But his specialty is with the sleep clinic. He seemed like he would help at first, but then turned in the other direction. We can chat more privately if you like.

I hope you are able to get a few out of country assessments...they were the only way I got ahead. Good luck.

Edited to add: The mantra of every Canadian doctor but one that I have met is this: "We do not operate simply for pain". How can we possibly fight that logic? When pain is dismissed so easily, so quickly, we have no chance of proper treatment.

[Kokanee]

Thankfully I am entitled to treatment outside the country on the army's dime - just a lot of paperwork and burned bridges standing between that and me!

[Kokanee]

Figured it was time for an update here;

Referred to a clinic that deals with chronic pain, "KOPI" here in Kingston (Kingston Orthopaedic and Pain Institute). Saw Dr. Murphy and had a really good experience. Both the nurse taking my particulars during the incredibly lengthy and detailed history and Dr. Murray were both very knowledgeable and were able to even anticipate many of my answers; it was nice to deal with professionals who are obviously "on the ball" in this field.

I'm going in for a superficial nerve block next week. If that doesn't work, onto the facet nerve block, and if that fails then finally the epidural. I like the stepped approach they are taking, and finding which parts of the nervous system is the problem will help quite a bit.

My MO is leaning towards the reduction in disc height (C4-5, C5-6) causing compression and irritation of the facet joints, but remains adamant that there is no surgical option to fix that. I'm going to see how things go next week and hopefully get some improvement in quality of life from the injections. My MO has however, agreed to send me to a second neurologist as Dr. Skinner in Ottawa is a 5 month wait to get his "final diagnoses".

I've developed a tolerance for T3's and Flexeril, so I've been switched (at the recommendation of Dr. Murphy) to Percocet and Oxycotin to replace the T3's, and another muscle relaxant instead of the Flexeril. Fingers crossed I see an improvement with that.

In the Canadian military, an injured member can be given a "TCAT" or "Temporary Category" (medical). I've just signed my 2nd TCAT, which means an automatic administrative review in 6 months to determine if I can stay in the forces. Because of this I'm going to have to start getting more aggressive wrt pursuing treatment

[Kokanee]

I've had two superficial nerve blocks now with no relief, so in late May I will be having a facet joint block done. If I see relief from the block then it will confirm the current working theory that I have facet joint syndrome due to reduced disc space resulting from my herniated discs C4-5 and C5-6.

Finally some progress!

[Kokanee]

Wow I completely forgot about this thread; have made a complete recovery so I just wanted to post up the details;

- Had the facet joint block done, no effect;
- Two months off work; then back to work on 4/5 days a week (wednesdays off);
- Developed tolerance to Percocet and Oxy, so had to detox from them (2nd detox) and switched to Fentanyl patches, dose 150mcg/h;
- Attended "pain management" course in Toronto; what a joke. This course was just a way for the hospital to rip off workman's comp I'm convinced, absolutely no help and the staff were horrible and looked the other way while dealers distributed illegal narcotics on site;
- "Diagnosed" with "Non-specific chronic neuropathic pain syndrome" by the top military Physiatrist in the province (nice guy, took a lot of time to meet with me but he had "blinders" on);
- Severe stomach issues (later diagnosed as nerve issues in spine), put on gravol (being on 4 gravols a day + 150mcg Fentanyl is super safe to drive, go ahead try it....not);
- Numerous secondary health problems due to Fentanyl, GP took me off Fentanyl, detoxed off that over 2x two week periods (3rd detox);
- Off pain meds, on bed rest for a month and being processed for release from the military...

That last point was two months ago. Thankfully (!!!!), my GP referred me to a chiropractor who runs a clinic (Spinal Decompression Therapy/Surgery, Back Treatment, Spinal Back Pain Treatment Centers Canada - CDPC) here in town as a last ditch "hail mary" effort;

- After first session no more numbness/tingling in extremities;
- Stomach issues (GP thought ulcer, but no) cleared up after six sessions, pain free when not active, reduced pain when/after activity; and
- Now have had 23 sessions (8 weeks) and I am 95% pain free! Back to running and working out, signing the paperwork to stay in the military next month.

I cannot overstate how ecstatic I am at my good fortune to finally find a specialist who was able to properly diagnose me. It turns out that the only thing that was wrong with me was that my skull was not sitting on my C1 atlas vertebra (15 degree tilt left). My chiropractor has been able to fix this easily, as well as restore mobility through my entire cervical spine and thoracic spine (the segments were stiff and immobile from two years of inflamed musculature and inactivity). Treatment consisted of computerized chiropractic adjustment of individual vertebra, manual chiropractic adjustment and computerized traction.

My hope that perhaps there are a few people here on this board who have similar symptoms as I did, maybe if you are out of options try and find a chiropractor who uses computerized systems and is knowledgeable WRT chiropracty in general. My guys has 20+ years experience and he was able to diagnose my problem 5 minutes into the initial exam.

[trkdoc714]

That is tremendous news! What a wild trip though, and a non-surgical fix. How cool is that?

I thought of you last weekend and was hoping you'd post again soon.

Thanks again for all you've done.

Bob

[Katie]

I have often wondered how you made out Kokanee, and am thrilled to learn of your recovery. My chiropractor here has been a god-send as well, but you really have to find the right one. I think mine is the head of the provincial association, but I'll have to check again. I will forward your link/this thread to him...he will be equally thrilled at your results. Unfortunately my condition was far beyond what 'my guy' could do to fix, but his follow-up care has been wonderful.

So good to hear from you again.