I don't get it!

[Vanessa]

Last night and today have been the worst pain days I have had in a long time. The pain is upwards of 10 and I'm chewing up Lortabs like they are skittles. I have had my heating pad on my leg since last night and nothing is helping. I'm also sick, so everytime I cough or sneeze I feel a jolting pain all the way down my leg to my toes! I don't understand how the doctor is saying that nothing is pressing on my nerves when everytime I cough, sneeze or make a sudden neck movement, I get stabbing pain all the way down my leg What am I missing?!

[KBear]

I would seek a second opinion and maybe more. It's always good to get multiple opinions, even if you use your current doctor, you will have the peace of mind knowing that you made the right decision.

[Katie]

This time of year is tough on our bodies. My pain levels are up for no good reason. Every time a storm system comes through, I feel like curling up in bed for the day...my whole body aches, and the rain and cold of November is a bit mind-numbing at times. I'm actually hoping for snow

Would icing instead of heat help at all, or a rotation of the two? When my neck was throbbing at times, it was ice that helped, but often heat in my lower back...go figure. Also, has anyone recommended a TENS machine? They worked wonders on me pre-op. Enough to make the pain more bearable at least...certainly not a cure, but an aid.

Hugs...I hope things improve for you.

[Vanessa]

KBear - I have an appointment this week with the pain specialist. I am going to discuss everything that is going on and if I am not satisfied, I am going to make an appointment with The Shepard Center here in Georgia. It's a specialized spine and brain injury trauma center here. It's wonderful and it also has it's own pain center. I've heard alot of good things about it, so if this doesn't work, I'm calling.

Katie - I've tried the ice, but it seems to make my muscles alot tighter and then it's even harder for my range of motion. As it is, I have a hard time extending my leg out, which the doctor still can't explain?? I used a TENS unit years ago when my back was really bad, but I'm wondering if it would help now because the pain is in my leg vs. my back? I also wouldn't even know where to put the leads to help with the leg pain.

[Katie]

Hi Vanessa,

I had a PT show me where to put the leads for the TENS. Do you have one nearby that might be able to help you with that? I have no idea if it will work in this case, but I always tried everything when I was in so much pain

I just saw that you are/were a vet assistant. That's a tough job! And dealing with the two legged clients is almost worse at time, no? My best friend is a vet and when she can find a good tech/assistant, she is a very happy person.

I wish I had more to offer, other than hugs.

[Vanessa]

Katie,

I am meeting with the pain doctor on Friday and when I go, I am going to ask them to show me how to properly place the leads for the TENS unit. I really am hoping to get some answers to what is going on, otherwise I will do the treatment for the pain but I will also be setting up an appointment for a third opinion.

Yes, I LOVED my career as a vet assistant I have had a passion for working with all sorts of animals since I was in highschools. I've worked with anything from fish to jaguars It's very rewarding but very tough too. It's been difficult for me to just stop doing what I loved to do, but the physical demands would undo my surgery within a few months. If I could find a job just pulling labs or running x-ray, then life would be great...but those are really uncommon and I still have to get my pain under control. Your friend sounds like she appreciates a good tech, not many vet's do that now days. Oh, and yes, I also chose this field because you work with animals Four legs can be so much easier than two legs...except sometimes they bite (although two leggers can do that too!)

I'll keep you posted on how things progress

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Vanessa,

The second, and maybe even a third opinion as I see it is good advice. I think I would get someone unaffiliated with your current surgeon, probably one in another town or at least that doesn't do surgery in the same hospital. Did your current surgeon offer you ADR or fusion instead of discectomy or lamenectomy? Again, this is just a lame internet poster but I would get with a spine specialist, preferably one who can do minimally invasive surgery and ask them to try and fix it. You best bet at this stage is probably fusion as disc replacement probably won't be an option. Don't beat yourself up over this. It happens sometimes. Just get it fixed ASAP so you don't suffer any longer than you have to or at least develop a plan "B". It may still get better if you are only 2 months out from surgery but the likely hood gets less and less as time goes by, especially if you follow up studies show radiological changes (collapsed disc).

I think you are right in that a nerve somewhere is being irritated to cause your leg symptoms.

[Vanessa]

Jack,

Originally when my surgeon and I discussed surgery, it was laminotomy/discectomy vs. fusion. He wanted to do the less invasive procedure because he felt that A) laminotomy/discectomy would relieve if not eleviate all of my nerve pain B) due to my age (32) he was worried that if we fuse now, that in a few years the discs above the fusion would also have to be removed and have additional surgery. I agreed to this because I really didn't want a fusion at that point and I felt that as long as the nerve pain would be minimized, it would be worth it.

After this last MRI, he noted that the two discs that he had partially removed, have now collapsed down quite a bit. He said there is a small amount of narrowing around the nerve root, but not enough to be causing me to have this much leg pain. Which leads me to believe that there may either be permanent damage or something is just NOT right. In a sitting position, I can't lift my leg any farther than 1- 1 1/2 feet off the floor. It's now gotten to the point that if I make any sudden turning movements with my neck, cough or sneeze, I am having to brace myself for searing pain down my leg. He has now referred me to a pain specialist, but what bothers me is that all this guy is going to do is give me something to help control the pain. While I appreciate and want that, I also want to know what the heck is going on and what we can do to fix it. I don't want to live the rest of my life on patches or pumps, just to mask a situation. Get rid of it and be done with this issue!

Come Friday, I will have made a decision on what further treatments I am going to do. There is a very well known spine trauma center here in Georgia that i am going to make an appointment at. I am also going to get in contact with another doctor that Bob on the board told me about. At this point, the more opinions I get, the better. My doctor has told me that come January, if this pain in my leg is still persistant, he will consider doing a fusion. All that he told me (since we really weren't looking at surgery again) is that they will remove what is left of the dying discs at L4/L5 and L5-S1. He said something about an artificial disc, but also told me that he would then fuse both levels. Said it would be a 4 hour procedure and that I would be looking at a 5 month recovery. My concern is this: when he originally told me about doing the laminotomy/discectomy, he told me that it would relieve leg pain but probably increase back pain. It has instead, done the oposite. I have ZERO back pain at all now, but the leg pain is unbearable. If my prior procedure did not help with the nerve pain, how will fusing my back help? What if it does help the leg pain but then I start suffering back pain again? It's like a two-sided sword. I have no clue what to do.

What I do know, is that I can't keep living like this. As the days go by, I am noticing that I am having to take more and more pain meds to help me manage the leg/nerve pain. It's not fair to feel like this and I just don't know what anyone can honestly expect from me at this point.

I'm sorry that was alot....

[Jack-of-all-trades]

Just a couple things I concluded after nearly 5 years dealing with spine pain:
Our spines are literally the backbones of our body, if it isn't happy nothing is happy.
Fusion doesn't necessarily make the other levels worse. Some are going to get worse regardless over time. In order to maximize a fusion repair, we can't continue to do the same things we did before that put strain on our spins. Lifting heavy loads, lifting and twisting, bending over to the ground like vegetable pickers, platform diving and the like. We have to pamper our spines to get the best results.
Some pain docs are better than others. Listen and make informed decisions before submitting to a lot of procedures. The money is in procedures and surgeries. 95% of docs don't make decisions based on money but you don't want to end up with the 5%. I had to fire my first PM doc as he was one of the 5%.
My L spine pain went entirely too long. After years of fear and trying this that and the other I ended up on massive doses of opiates making it harder to get off of them. Don't drag treatment out.
Be an active participant of your care.
If possible, get references on surgeons from people, (nurses, scrub techs, anesthesis, anesthesiologist etc.) and ask them if they would let Dr xxx operate on them. Check them out online. do a Google search of their name. Check for complaints with the State Board of Medical Examiners. There are a few good older docs but some don't retire early enough. If they are older, in my opinion over 70, check them out thoroughly. They tend to not keep up with the latest techniques. Especially if there isn't a teaching hospital close by.
ADR at this stage is probably not in the cards as they leave the outside of the disc in place when replacing the disc. I'm not sure about this though.
If the discs have collapsed to the point where the end plates are contacting each other they will deteriorate rapidly and will probably try to autofuse. Bones themselves have sensory nerves.
Start a list of what potential cures/fixes. It will make you feel better as you will be more proactive in your care knowing what the possibilities are. You could even put them in order of preference, changing or scratching off as needed.
Enough for now.

[KBear]

I agree with everything Jack said. I also will add that you can have an MRI that looks perfect with no obvious spine problems and be in horrendous pain. You can also have a person with an MRI showing tons of degeneration, herniations, nerve impingement, etc. and that person may have zero pain. There is still so much unknown in spine technology. I had the different doctors look at the exact same MRI and some concluded nothing was wrong, while others said surgery was the only fix. I called my old doctor after hearing about ADR and asked why they didn't tell me about it. I literally begged this dr. for a fusion on my last visit to them when they referred me for chronic pain management and possible spinal cord stimulator. The reason they wouldn't do fusion? I was too young. The reason they wouldn't do ADR? They didn't believe in the technology. So in their opinion is was better for me to be in pain and on opiates than take a chance on surgery. They are entitled to their opinion, but that is not my idea of a life. This is a prime example of why multiple opinions are important too.