27yrF 6yrs back butt leg feet pain Mri results

[WannaBePainFree420]

27Yr old Female 6 years of back pain, feel down flight if stairs 10/2013 wince pain has increased dramatically. ..mri 10/15/2014 almost a year after the fall results are as followed.  
L1-2 Minimal Facet Arthritis
L2-3 Small Scmorl's node
L3-4 Minimal diffused annular disc bulge & facet arthritis.  Minimal bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.
L4-5 Minimal diffused annular disc bulge & facet arthritis.  Mild bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.
L5-S1 Mild diffused annular disc bulge with a small central disc extrusion with minimal caudal migration.  Posterior annular fissure. Mild facet arthritis. Mild spinal canal stenosis. Mild to moderate bilateral foraminal narrowing. Minimal retrolisthesis.

[philnoir]

I can sympathize. Some maladies are difficult to diagnose and treatment without a proper diagnosis is like shooting in the dark.

Tell your doctor that you are experiencing intractable pain and you would like a pain medication to carry you through until they figure out what's wrong with you.

[WannaBePainFree420]

Well my orthopedic doctor thinks I may also have fibromyalgia now. I'm so confused and lost. I hate that they keep sending me to different doctors and no one will help me. I have been in horrible pain all day and nothing is helping

[philnoir]

I can't find fault in that -- we all want pain to stop. Often we have to insist on pain care, whether the doctor feels comfortable or not with treatment.

No one is too young for surgery, but surgery is not always efficacious and can exacerbate pain. Surgery is no answer for pain.

Tramadol, Codeine, Vicodin, Percocet area ll appropriate medications. You're doctors reluctance to treat may be a prejudice called opioiphobia, Demand treatment or move on.

[WannaBePainFree420]

It has been a very crazy couple of years for me. I've done physical therapy for 3 years without any relief. I know you said that doctors will consider me "not so bad" but I can tell you the pain I am in daily is pure hell!! I was told by the orthopedic surgeon's nurse that she doesn't think he will recommend surgery until I am in my late 40's! I can't go another 13 years with pain like this...I had a rotator cuff injury a while ago and was put on percodone pain killer not something I want to talk every day but it was the only lyrics thing that seemed to help with my pain. I've tried lyrica witch cause crazy weight gain, gabapention worked for a little then started making me feel like a zombie, lortab, vicodin, ultram, tramadol you name it I've most likely tried it. The tramadol actually did help some too but no doctor will prescribe it for me. The one doctor did say he hasn't seen someone my age with a spine like mine normally these kind of findings are on a spine of an older individual.  Right now I am laying on my floor with the heating pad against my back I am in terrible pain and just want it to stop!

[WannaBePainFree420]

Hi thanks  for  your reply. The pass 6 years I have tried everything from epidural injections, facet blocks, nerve blocks, cortisone injections, radiopathgy (not sure I spelled that right at all) they went in and burnt my nerve endings. The pain has gotten worse to the point I can't sleep and when I actually do get some sleep I wake up every night like clock work between 2am & 3am with servere Back and leg pain.

[philnoir]

The MRI shows early degenerative changes that are abnormal for a 27 year old. The retrolysthesis is a potential problem because it causes foramenal stenosis, and can cause spinal (cord) stenosis. These conditions pinch nerve roots and the cord itself.

Right now your conditions are listed as "mild". Often a doc sees this on an MRI and thinks "it's not so bad."

However, pain is an important sign and must be treated. Pain does not appear on an MRI, and doctors should not treat based on the MRI report, but instead on the patient's report of symptoms.

Often we have to press for treatments we need.

Physical therapy can be helpful, as can interventional pain medicine. Ask for a referral to an interventional pain specialist, and ask for effective pain treatment.

Best wishes.