OT - my back - and emotional distress
So I saw the back specialist again today. He informed me my MRI looks "great" and "isn't that good news." Well, it DID show degenerative disc disease so I'm not sure what's great about having that, and no, it's not really good news since it means we don't really know why my back hurts all the time.
He told me he doesn't know why I have pain since my MRI looks so good. I tried to point out to him that I usually have a fairly high tolerance for pain. I'm sure he hears that all the time, but seriously... I had a natural childbirth, 17 hours of labor and did not feel the need for any kind of pain meds to cope with the pain. I do not take pain meds often. Or ask for them often. My back hurts. A lot.
He said he could try a medial branch nerve block if I wanted him to but he couldn't say if it would hel*****t. He said there is probably a 50% chance it would help and a 50% chance it wouldn't do anything.
He told me, twice, that NSAIDS would really help. I reminded him that I cannot take NSAIDS and he informed me that "that's a problem." Well, gee. What am i supposed to do? Try to find a bariatric surgeon to reverse my RNY so I can take NSAIDS for my back problem that the MRI says I don't have? And ask Medicare to pay for that?
I asked if he could prescribe something stronger than Vicodin, since it isn't doing the job, but he said he does not prescribe stronger stuff, I'd need to go to a pain management specialist for that, but he doesn't recommend that since all they would do is give me drugs.
He said maybe I just have weak back muscles (and I guess for some strange reason the physical therapy I did in the past didn't strengthen them) and that a back brace might help. So he had the medical assistant get a brace and put it on and she asked me if my back felt better. Apparently if it was weak muscles, the support from the brace should have made it instantly feel better. It did not, and the doc suggested I get the brace anyway and see if it helped after I wore it awhile, but since my insurance would only cover 80% of it and my portion would be over $80, I decided not to. I mean, if it had helped right away like they said it should have, I would have gotten it, but since it didn't, I thought it would likely just be a waste of money.
So then I got in my car and cried for a while because I just feel so discouraged, and also still really scared about how much trouble I am having with just basic daily activities because of the pain. I wanted to call my partner but couldn't because he is at work and can't get calls at work, so I called my mother and she did not help. She told me multiple times that accupuncture "might help" even though she knows I can't really afford to try it anyway, and then told me she does not think I should see a pain specialist or get anything stronger than Vicodin because then I will get addicted to it. So I guess she thinks I should just be in pain all day, every day, for the rest of my life. Which is what I am afraid is going to end up happening anyway.
I have been at my sister's for two weeks and planned to drive home after my doctor's appointment, which would be about a 3.5 hour drive except it was rush hour traffic so it was going to be at least four hours. I made it a little over two hours in the car and my back was hurting so much and I was so upset from everything that I could hardly stop crying. I finally got off the highway and found a cheap motel room for the night. Then I took Vicodin and Flexeril and my anxiety meds. And ate French fries. Well, I went to Wendy's to get a baked potato and they were out of potatoes. And that was the only thing right next to the motel and I was not getting back in the car.
Now I am going to lie on the bed and be dopey from my meds.
He told me he doesn't know why I have pain since my MRI looks so good. I tried to point out to him that I usually have a fairly high tolerance for pain. I'm sure he hears that all the time, but seriously... I had a natural childbirth, 17 hours of labor and did not feel the need for any kind of pain meds to cope with the pain. I do not take pain meds often. Or ask for them often. My back hurts. A lot.
He said he could try a medial branch nerve block if I wanted him to but he couldn't say if it would hel*****t. He said there is probably a 50% chance it would help and a 50% chance it wouldn't do anything.
He told me, twice, that NSAIDS would really help. I reminded him that I cannot take NSAIDS and he informed me that "that's a problem." Well, gee. What am i supposed to do? Try to find a bariatric surgeon to reverse my RNY so I can take NSAIDS for my back problem that the MRI says I don't have? And ask Medicare to pay for that?
I asked if he could prescribe something stronger than Vicodin, since it isn't doing the job, but he said he does not prescribe stronger stuff, I'd need to go to a pain management specialist for that, but he doesn't recommend that since all they would do is give me drugs.
He said maybe I just have weak back muscles (and I guess for some strange reason the physical therapy I did in the past didn't strengthen them) and that a back brace might help. So he had the medical assistant get a brace and put it on and she asked me if my back felt better. Apparently if it was weak muscles, the support from the brace should have made it instantly feel better. It did not, and the doc suggested I get the brace anyway and see if it helped after I wore it awhile, but since my insurance would only cover 80% of it and my portion would be over $80, I decided not to. I mean, if it had helped right away like they said it should have, I would have gotten it, but since it didn't, I thought it would likely just be a waste of money.
So then I got in my car and cried for a while because I just feel so discouraged, and also still really scared about how much trouble I am having with just basic daily activities because of the pain. I wanted to call my partner but couldn't because he is at work and can't get calls at work, so I called my mother and she did not help. She told me multiple times that accupuncture "might help" even though she knows I can't really afford to try it anyway, and then told me she does not think I should see a pain specialist or get anything stronger than Vicodin because then I will get addicted to it. So I guess she thinks I should just be in pain all day, every day, for the rest of my life. Which is what I am afraid is going to end up happening anyway.
I have been at my sister's for two weeks and planned to drive home after my doctor's appointment, which would be about a 3.5 hour drive except it was rush hour traffic so it was going to be at least four hours. I made it a little over two hours in the car and my back was hurting so much and I was so upset from everything that I could hardly stop crying. I finally got off the highway and found a cheap motel room for the night. Then I took Vicodin and Flexeril and my anxiety meds. And ate French fries. Well, I went to Wendy's to get a baked potato and they were out of potatoes. And that was the only thing right next to the motel and I was not getting back in the car.
Now I am going to lie on the bed and be dopey from my meds.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I've had epidrual steroid injections twice. Both times it helped for about a month, but apparently they usually last longer than that and they will not do them very often so that does not provide enough relief.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I am so sorry you are having to go through this. I have the spine of a woman 30-40 years my senior with quite a bit of degeneration and it is very painful. I am fortunate that my weight loss and an amazing chiorpractor have kept my pain in check. I hope you are able to find something that will help soon.
Tami
I am so sorry you are going through all this crap, and your cost of a back brace...hell no , if you have weak muscles a back brace would only make them more weak, if you need a brace your PCP might be able to perscribe one and a lesser cost.
While I agree accupuncture may help , if your insurance doesn't cover it , maybe your mom would want to pay for it
Maybe you need a second opinion close to home?
I have been using the liquid Lortab because it is fast acting and in between take Norco which is stronger than vicodin, and I can function fine during the day and I am NOT addicted. I see a physiatrist , which I think is a sports medicine guy ( he is 12 ) and he is wonderful uses ultra sound to guide the needles and does it in his office instead of a surgery center.
I wish we lived close so I could help you find the right doc, the one you have may not be it
While I agree accupuncture may help , if your insurance doesn't cover it , maybe your mom would want to pay for it
Maybe you need a second opinion close to home?
I have been using the liquid Lortab because it is fast acting and in between take Norco which is stronger than vicodin, and I can function fine during the day and I am NOT addicted. I see a physiatrist , which I think is a sports medicine guy ( he is 12 ) and he is wonderful uses ultra sound to guide the needles and does it in his office instead of a surgery center.
I wish we lived close so I could help you find the right doc, the one you have may not be it
Donna Q. --5'8" -60 years old
Band 2005
hw320 sw276 lw with band 195 gw 160-180?
Bypass 4/4/2012
pre sw 258 lw RNY 162 cw 203
I"m gonna get a second opinion. I think the Cleveland Clinic has a back pain center or something like that.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
I am so sorry that your appt with the back specialist was not more productive. Did he have ANYTHING to offer other than the brace, NSAIDs or a pain specialist?? Is there any possibility that it is nerve related (which would not show up on an MRI)?
Although I understand your mother's concern about addiction, I also know -- from last year's abdominal pain and my ongoing knee pain -- how miserable life can be when you have constant pain that makes it difficult to just get through the day. If it takes something stronger than Vicodin to help you, then that is what it takes... at least until they can find out what is going on.
I also know how frustrating and almost lonely it can be to be in pain and not know why, to have doctors that don't seem very concerned about the pain, and to not have much helpful support from family. You DO have us, though, for whatever that is worth.
I hope you feel better in the morning.
Lora
Although I understand your mother's concern about addiction, I also know -- from last year's abdominal pain and my ongoing knee pain -- how miserable life can be when you have constant pain that makes it difficult to just get through the day. If it takes something stronger than Vicodin to help you, then that is what it takes... at least until they can find out what is going on.
I also know how frustrating and almost lonely it can be to be in pain and not know why, to have doctors that don't seem very concerned about the pain, and to not have much helpful support from family. You DO have us, though, for whatever that is worth.
I hope you feel better in the morning.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Well, he offered to schedule the medial nerve branch block, which is an injection in the back that would interupt the pain signals from certain nerves if indeed those nerves are where the pain is coming from. But he said he thought there was only about a 50/50 chance that woule help, and it's difficult for me to arrange because I can't drive myself home from that appointment. Although I would find a way to work it out if I thought it would help.
I'm gonna get a second opinion.
I was thinking of you as I left his office and the pain you had in your stomach and how hard it was to get someone to actually do anything about it. That just drives me crazy. And it is hard to get through the day. And the night, for that matter, since the pain wakes me at least six times a night. It's been nearly six months since I have had a single night I was not woken many times by pain.
I'm gonna get a second opinion.
I was thinking of you as I left his office and the pain you had in your stomach and how hard it was to get someone to actually do anything about it. That just drives me crazy. And it is hard to get through the day. And the night, for that matter, since the pain wakes me at least six times a night. It's been nearly six months since I have had a single night I was not woken many times by pain.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
Somewhat ironically, I had my 5-year RNY follow up today (a couple of months early, because of the surgery I had last year AFTER my yearly appt) and the surgeon commented on how good I looked and asked if I had any more belly pain, and when I said that I had not had so much as a twinge since the muscle healed from the open surgery, she said "I'm so glad we decided to take care of that"! Huh?!? After everything I went through trying to get someone... ANYONE... to go in and FIND the problem that didn't show up on any CT scan... and after she only relented and offered to do it after my PCP put me on disability until I could keep the Cleveland Clinic appt (or get her mentor to agree to do surgery locally)! She made it sound like she jumped on the opportunity to help me out! All I could manage to say was "me, too".
Although now that I think about it, maybe that was her round about way of apologizing for not taking my pain seriously for so long...? She would NEVER just come out and admit that she was wrong. Not her style. Hmmm... something to ponder.
Hopefully you will find someone to help, too.
Lora
Although now that I think about it, maybe that was her round about way of apologizing for not taking my pain seriously for so long...? She would NEVER just come out and admit that she was wrong. Not her style. Hmmm... something to ponder.
Hopefully you will find someone to help, too.
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Kelly, I am an RN with 32 yrs of experience. IT IS TIME TO MOVVE ON!! There is no better place near you than Cleveland Clinic. Start researching GF and move on from your mother's BACK DOCTOR! You should not be in this amount of pain. and If you are without a known cause, it is time for a pain specialist. YOU WILL NOT GET ADDICTED!
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