What are my options? Impossible to get anything straight out of drs anymore
Back in 2010, after over a year of late nite ER visits and numerous appts one dr had the sense to order an MRI on my neck. I had a disc bulge in my C5/C6 that was jabbing into my spinal cord casuing excruciating pain and my hand to ball up when i sneezed or coughed. I recd a fusion a week later and all is well.... Until now. My lower back and hip (both right side) are in constant pain, Im bedridden and cant walk. Ive seen more drs than i can count and they all conclude that my mris and nct etc look fine! Moderate disc bulging in L4/L5, that is likely causing my pain but its not too serious (this is a paraphrase), the disc may have torn but nothing could be causing the level of pain i describe. Most drs have just stood up at that point and literally "wished me luck", ie " please dont come back, i cant do anything". One dr wants to do a steroid epidural on my L5/L6, but im not so sure thats the cause of the pain, i think its my hip. But he wont even consider it! Or do an MRI on the hip to be sure! He just insists on the SEI. The feeling Im starting to get is that these drs see a young 26 year old with no obvious sign of pain and think "guy wants pain meds". I want to get better, to be treated, to pick up my daughter. I dont even ask abt pain meds, just whats wrong and how do we fix it.
In so many words, what are my real options here? I think its sacroiliac joint syndrome, as most of the pain is there and i can namecheck the symptoms. No one seems to want to take a close look, im not crazy... Something is wrong. Any advice? Anyone in my area who know of any "open minded" orthos/pain specialists, i put that in quotes bc apparently spending 5 mins looking at another persons conclusions and not the mris or xrays themselves constitute openmindedness today. This is excruciating, im not going through life like this and my insurance (ups union benefits) is too good to not have a solution present itself, bcbs has been very helpful, ill give them that. All they said to me was to show up to the appt and they will do whatever it takes
__________________
2010 c6 - c7 spinal fusion
Recent bout with severe low back and hip pain
Drs are unsure whats causing this, had my whole body MRI'ed, nerve conduction studies, its mostly normal. I do have degen disk disease on my L 3, 4, 5 but they said the bulging in those discs shouldnt cause so much pain where i describe it and its not bad enough to do surgery. Ie "lets just see if it goes away". Out of options, cant take this crippling pain much longer. Im out of work til we fix this.
|