[ajspine]

Hi Terry,
Thank you for your reply and if you are also a Vet, I sincerely thank you for your service also. I have been service connected for my heart and my mental anxiety and agoraphobia(anything to not call it PTSD) for 6 years now. I have been a Vet for 10 years for the first 4 years I was too sick to fight with them and my ex husband was still active duty so I still had access to complete health care coverage. I am in contact with my VSO and meet with them again on Thursday.
I woke up one day 3 years ago this summer and could not move my neck and was so ill from a head ache I landed in the VA ER, they were of no help, just Xrays that showed I had DDD in my neck. Went and cried for another week and finally went to see my PCP, he ordered an Emergency MRI for that day. 3 herniated disks, 2 bone spurs compressing my spinal cord and nerve roots. For the exact diagnosis I would have to dig out my med records which I am later today and sending a copy to Mark.
My Dr. got me in with Neurosurgery within the week and he started me on the Hydrocodone, which worked just fine in combo with Motrin. The Neurosurgeon blew me off(he know longer works there, have no idea why) and i was sent home on pain meds, PT and ice and heat.
Another year went by and the pain grew worse, then I couldn't feel my thumb and my left arm just falls asleep for no reason. Another MRI and thing are much worse and surgery is recommended, ADR at the C5/C6 level. They said we will deal with your Neck(which they only partially did because I need another ADR and have two more herniated discs). The wait for this surgery was almost another year and rescheduled once due to Surgeon availability. During this time my headache was constant, no feeling in my left thumb and waking up 2/3 times a night with arm pain that made me vomit.
Finally, Surgery-7 months ago. Only relief is from the debilitating headaches, they only come on once or twice a week now. Arm pain and now neck pain are bad unless kept under control by meds.
Neurosurgery pushed me back to my PCP for med management and we both agreed to go back to the Hydros, Neuro put me on the Oxycodone 6 months before surgery. Then he went on Vaca, but he is back today, while he was out I had to go to the Chief of Staff(his boss) at the VMAC so he could my previous meds that worked, this med change is what caused my incompletes and aggravated my anxiety to the point I can barely leave my house. He has been my doc for 5 years and I trust him but I do not want him to have fill meds he isnot comfortable with so I requested a referral to a Civilian PM Clinic. I see them for my consultation tomorrow. I am allergic to the additives in most injections they have tried for my shoulder and they sent me for a full allergy work up at the Allergy Clinic to prove that I couldn't take the injections and would need medication management, Aquatic PT and I am hoping for Acupuncture to be approved also.
I thank you so much for your advice and listening to my story. I posted it on the iSpine Board also. I love the support here. Thank you for the compliments on my Pic, but guess what? I am the red head in the middle and the two girls are my 17 and 11 year old daughters. They love me so much and I them. But you are so correct, this pain is ruining my life. My partner and I are going for therapy next week. She is so supportive and my care giver but this tough on all of us. I do not want the rest of my life to be like this. I will post on the iSpine board following all the new PM appointments this week.
AJ