degererative disk disease

Hello, Please help..
My mom has ddd, she has had it for about 10years now, she is 46 and it is the lower part of her spine where it has a curve like right near her butt , but any way   she says the dr said her bone there was like jelly, and she takes all kind of pills, i know shes in pain but i hate that she has been on pain meds for soo long and i know shes addictied. i know she needs her pills because i know theres a lot of pain, but she is not willing to try anything, .. she did do back excersises for a while then her back went out and she was on her back for about 2mths in very bad pain, so she will not try that, she will not do surgery she says the dr says it no use, and i have read up and she says no no no, nothing will work, and she has to just take her pills..
it there not anything she can do so she doesnt have to take so many pills everyday?
i dont want her to start doing something else (drugs) because she has been taken the pills so long they dont work as good.  and she says none of the drugs thats not narcodics work.

please help, i dont want her to do something that will worsen the pain just help so she doesnt have to take so many pills everyday

[djbds]

Check out her options for a spinal cord stimulator...I have one that works well.

My girlfriend has bad DDD...she had it for 6 years up until she decided to have the damaged disc replaced in surgery. She got a new type of metal disc that lasts much much longer than the traditional plastic style disc that needs replacing every 20-30 years.

Your mom's doc is full of **** if he thinks disc replacement won't work. Maybe a fusion wouldn't work because of her age and other situations. Fusions tend to make your life a living hell...major loss of mobility. A replacement disc surgery does the job!!! You have to tell your mom that her use of narcotics for pain relief will only get much worse...

Ten pills a week will become 20, then 40, then 200...no kidding. Narcotics should be cycled on and off for maximum potential. If she takes them constantly, she is only encouraging her body to become less tolerance to pain. You might have noticed over the years how her pain tolerance has become real low because of the pain meds. The little bumps and bruises that used to be bearable are probably painful to her now...that is to blame on the pain meds!!! They take pain away but they also make pain sensation much higher.

TELL HER TO GET SURGERY...IT IS THE ONLY AND BEST OPTION. My girlfriend had an immediate relief of the 6 years of pain no more than 5 days after her disc replacement. Your mom is NOT too old for surgery...trust me, the next 50 years of her life can get progressively better through surgery, lowering of narcotic meds, and usage of modern/stronger/safer medications for pain....OR...she can suffer progressively more EVERY day.

Sorry to make it sound that bad, but, you know that it is. You obviously love your mom...show her just how much by INSISTING that she look into surgery in a confident manner. Research it, make your doctor know that surgery is WHAT YOU NEED and not something you want. The doctor is upheld by law and medical standards to provide surgery options to those who need it and qualify...your mom does. Don't let a couple of rejections by the doctor and your mom get you down.

TAKE CONTROL...this is your mom, your blood, you should show her that her fear of surgery should only be shadowed by the actual problems that could happen in her future without taking control NOW!!

10 years is too long to go without taking aggressive action. I have had 8 major operations for a chronic pain situation in the past 3 years alone!!! Not to say that surgery is the only option, because it isn't. But, your mom's doctor needs to pave the road for other options!!!

Best wishes...please let me know if you have questions, ok?

[carikr]

thank  you very much for your help, that will be something that i look into and talk to her about, and yes it was the fusion that they said wouldnt work, i think the reason she didnt want to have the surgery is because they told her that she may have a high chance of not making it out of surgery or that the risks were very high.

but thank you and i will diff. check this out, i was not aware of this or that there was a difference.

thanks again
cari

[carikr]

ok, ive talked to my mom, she says that she the L part is all jelly, and 2 disks are gone.
she has ddd with osteophyte formation and some herniated disks and they said that the actual bone- not disks were getting soft so they couldnt do disk replacement because they wouldnt have anything to attach it to.

and suggestions?