Extreme back pain

[Kinipeli]

I was just diagnosed with a protruding disc. My dr. told me I could return to physical therapy (even though my physical therapist is the one who recommended an MRI because she didn't know what else to do for me). I am in extreme pain every day and am on pain killers which don't seem to work. I am in jeopardy of losing my job due to calling out alot. I have been dealing with this for almost 4 months. Can someone please tell where I should turn? Who do I talk to? I can't live with this pain anymore!

[idesofmarch]

Turn it in as a job injury no matter what your boss' says.  Yes it is related. One- because it felt the same as when you got punched in June Two- If that feeling came back while you were at work- Three- You could have easily reinjured that spot because it was already weakened from the June incident.  Take notes about the incident from that day forward.  Include what people say about it,witness'to what is said or how you feel, dates,times,medicines,effects of meds,effects of doing your job, effects on sleep  and daily life. Work comp. doctors work for the company not for the paitient.  You may have to protect yourself with a second opinion that you privately pay for. It may or may not be used in a court case if it goes that far, but your health is very important.  Don't let people mess it up.  Good luck with getting better.

[Kinipeli]

I guess I should start at the beginning. I work in psychiatric hospital. Last June I was walking out of a patients room when he punched me with both fists in the back. I had so much pain that I couldn't work for a couple days. I filled out the appropriate paper work and was seen by an employee health dr. who put me on light duty. It took a couple weeks before I felt like myself again. I had no problems until last Nov. when I was just simply walking down the hall and felt just like that patient had punched me again.The dr. ( employee health dr.)that I talked to in Nov. (when my pain started, pre MRI) told me that I was having muscle spasms and gave me Flexeril(sp) which did nothing but make me tired. She said that it was not work related because it had been so long since my injury. However, MY dr. and physical therapist both said that it definately could be work related.  I have an appt. with my physical therapist on thurs. and I am hoping that she can help me. I am not sure if they deal with disc protrusion or not. It seems like noone is able to give me any kind of encouragement or hope that I will get better. Does anyone know about this kind of condition and the pain that I am feeling? Can I get fired for repeated call outs? How can I tell if this is work related?

[cj1313]

BUT they'll never admit to it. So many people have Bulges or worse on MRI's that ( although still not the norm ) they'll pin it on anything but that. I'm waiting, w/ question above on 3 bulges in my neck causing a lot of pain. I know that my injury in same area in 1999 probably caused surronding damage which caused disc's to not get nutrition ( their alive ) and they degenerated and then bulged when I exerted area again. Thats why it's so important to get diagnostic tests and not just POP the PILLS and feel better. The body will heal but it will always be a weak, bad spot. I know we all know that a bad knee is always a bad knee so why isn't a bad back always a bad back? Interesting medical FLIP FLOP...

[idesofmarch]

Ask your doctor for a referral to a pain management center.  If the disk is just protruding but not herniated then shots may work to alleviate some of your pain if not all.  If the MRI shows herniation into the nerves then ask for a referral to a neurosurgeon or an orthopedic surgeon. Have you tried a chiropractor or accupunturist(SP?)? Sometimes they help too.  Good luck