Regarding your diagnosis, try posting a question on Justin's new site...he's a med student and has posted TONS of helpful medical info on this site under the "Abstracts and Articles" forum. His new site is at Spine Patient Society.org. But he just had surgery in Germany yesterday, so he probably won't be on for a while...
Regarding your meds, who is prescribing them? Your regular doc or a pain management doc? You know, I had no idea that there was such a thing as a pain management doc until I found this forum, and I just went and saw one Wednesday and was shocked at how compassionate and knowledgeable he was about my specific type of pain. Prior to him, I was just seeing my regular doc and she was doing the best she could, but being very cautious about what she gave me. If you don't have a pain management doc, I highly recommend you find one and develop a good relationship with him/her. If the meds you're on make you feel crappy, a pain doc might be able to help you more effectively than your regular doc.
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36 year old mom of 7 in SC.
MRI 4/2008 shows bulging disc with annular tear @ 4/L5 and and complete herniation at L5/S1.
9/11/08 Laminectomy , successful to a point...relieved nerve pain, but after 4 months was still having severe disc pain.
Treatments tried: epidural shots, oral pain killers, NSAID's, TENS massage, chiropractic care, deep tissue massage. Oh, and plenty of our homemade wine! 
May 26 2009, 2 level ADR, L4-S1, Dr. Bertagnoli, Straubing, Germany
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