Pain Management at Teaching Hospital

[Jim M2]

After giving up on further improvement (4 years post ADR) my family doctor got me scheduled at the Univ of Washington Pain Center. My doctor was a resident just starting his fellowship to specialize in Pain Management. He couldn't figure me out to save his life. It only took a minute for the attending physician to straighten him out. They can only help manage the pain (which I knew). Here's what they recommended to my family doctor:
PT
Neurontin
Tramadol
and others not yet revealed to me

Good things about it:
They are not insisting on injections
They are not ignoring me because there's no injections on the horizon
They jumped past the silly recommendations (accupuncture, yoga, ....)
They made several meaningful recommendations to my family doctor
There is a follow-up appointment to monitor progress

So far I'm happy about the outcome.
Jim

[dshobbies]

Jim,

I'm glad you're finding relief in pain management. It matter little where you find relief as long as you find it but I am sorry to hear that after four years your problems have not relieved themselves.

As for those silly recommendations and/or other remedies, others have found relief utilizing them and should not catagorically be dismissed. I have just recently found some benefit to acupuncture and no one is more surprised than I. Others have discovered benefits to yoga and pilates and so on. We're all individuals and what works for one may or may not work for another. The important thing is to keep searching until you do find that 'thing' that works to better your life.

I wish you continued relief, Dale

[Jim M2]

Hi Dale,
Thank you for correcting me. I agree 100% with what you've written. I made a hasty generalization about these kinds of treatments. There is a reason they are prescribed, not only do they sometimes work, they're very conservative.

Jim

[mmglobal]

Jim... I'm so sorry that things have not improved in the 4 years since your surgery. I remember when you had it done and know what a tough road you've had... that difficult time transitioning from being hopeful for a quick recovery... hopeful for a slow recovery... hopeful for any recovery... then understanding that this is what you get.

Pain Management can be helpful, but I'm not sure I understand why you have to give up. You did the original surgery because you were in bad enough shape to justify taking the risks. You are still there and after a failed ADR at 1 level, you still have many options. I understand that it would be easy to pursue options if the indications were clear, but they are not.

Call me some time... I'd like to catch up. You still up in Seattle?

All the best.

Mark

[Maria]

Good luck! Maria

[Jim M2]

Mark,
Yes, I'm still in Seattle. I'm doing okay. Could be better, could be worse. When I say "give up" I mean I've given up expecting to manage this by my own devices such as exercise, restrictions, over-the-counter remedies (glucosime) and the like. The PM is just to get me through another year or two. I'll re-evaluate then.

Maria,
This is excellent news to see how you've been improving! Do you think your painful discs have given up the ghost? Are you naturally fusing at the painful levels? Most of the doctors I saw pre-ADR told me I would probably get better in a decade or more without surgery.

***
Mark and Maria,

Regarding options, I know there's many innovations such as the Coflex that Dr. Bertagnoli showed me last September. At the moment I'm too timid about surgery, even if it's fairly conservative and mostly reversible (like Coflex). I'm doing okay. I just want to do better and wait a little longer.

Thanks so much,
Jim