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L5-SI back pain - sciatic nerve
I have an L5-SI protruding annulus - with sciatic nerve damage on the left side (numbness in left leg). I am being seen at a pain management center and am in the middle of havng shots in my back. I have had a total of 4 so far - each one being in different areas. After each injection they tell me it will take a few days for the shots to take affect, however I hurt worse and the pain intensifies. The last shots I had were the worst - I know have numbness in the right side - the shot must have hit the sciatic nerve. Now I have numbness in both legs. I am taking tramado hcl 50mg and tizanidine hcl 4mg for the pain and muscle spasms. I have an ulcer and am limited on what I take. Trying to sleep at night is stressful, I wake up every 2 - 3 hours in extreme pain. I went through PT and that did not help - i was in more pain after wards.
I would like to hear from someone who has similar problems and what they have done.
I would like to hear from someone who has similar problems and what they have done.
I may have found THE REASON why my life has been nothing more than constant pain and aching along with new painful symptoms every few months for the past year and a half.
Test after test after test after shot after x-ray after MRI...everything came up negative. After each test result coming back negative it would break me down more and more to the point where I thought I would just have to live with this for the rest of my life. After a while some people would tell me that either I'm faking it to get attention or that it's all in my head, that the pain isn't real. Further on I even had to take anti-depressants because I went from being all "outdoorsy" to having to stay in bed or on the couch for the better part of the day to keep on top of the pain.
A few weeks ago I changed to another family doctor . The one that I had before was a total ***** and pretty much told me there was nothing else to test for and that I'd have to deal with this pain for the rest of my life and also that I had to go to rehab right away to get off the pain pills. That didn't really go over well with me and I fired her ***. Anyway, the first time I saw the new doctor..Dr Gayid (i know i know) said he wanted to do a whole bunch of blood tests. I told him that I have been doing some research and that I wanted him to test for a disease I thought was the reason for all of this.
Today when I came back for my results he sat me down and said that I was right. That I tested positive for LYME DISEASE. I was so over joyed that I was running all around the doc's office screaming. I know what you're thinking...that this isn't something to be happy about and it's not. I was just happy that finally after a year and a half of pain, depression, neurological problems and insomnia FINALLY something came up positive. SOMEONE actually found something! I was also diagnosed with Vitamin B-12 deficiency along with folic acid deficiency also. Lyme Disease is caused by a transfer of a bacteria when a tick bites you. There isn't a lot of research done on Lyme Disease and it causes an array of life long pain in many different ways.
For a cure the doctor told me that I would have to come in to his office for the next 28 days and get 2 shots of antibiotics in each butt cheek. Today were my first 2 shots and believe me, that **** STINGS! The doctor said since i have had Lyme Disease for a year and a half there may be some neurological, arthritis and other problems that may not be fixed when the Lyme Disease is treated. Also, Dr Gayid warned me that since we would be attacking the Lyme Disease it would be trying to fight back to survive. This pretty much means that my pain may go through the roof at any time and that my medication that i'm taking probably won't be able to stop it with out more pain treatment.
Now, I'm taking this very seriously and in a pessimistic fashion. I am not going to relax or believe this is the end until ALL of my pain and pills are out of my life. Knowing my luck the Lyme Disease is just a coincidence and there is a totally different reason for my pain. I am still going to get injections into my hip and spine from the pain management doctor. I am also going to see the Neurologist and Rheumatologist for more research and tests. Like I said, I won't consider this done until ALL of the pain and pills are out of my life.
Test after test after test after shot after x-ray after MRI...everything came up negative. After each test result coming back negative it would break me down more and more to the point where I thought I would just have to live with this for the rest of my life. After a while some people would tell me that either I'm faking it to get attention or that it's all in my head, that the pain isn't real. Further on I even had to take anti-depressants because I went from being all "outdoorsy" to having to stay in bed or on the couch for the better part of the day to keep on top of the pain.
A few weeks ago I changed to another family doctor . The one that I had before was a total ***** and pretty much told me there was nothing else to test for and that I'd have to deal with this pain for the rest of my life and also that I had to go to rehab right away to get off the pain pills. That didn't really go over well with me and I fired her ***. Anyway, the first time I saw the new doctor..Dr Gayid (i know i know) said he wanted to do a whole bunch of blood tests. I told him that I have been doing some research and that I wanted him to test for a disease I thought was the reason for all of this.
Today when I came back for my results he sat me down and said that I was right. That I tested positive for LYME DISEASE. I was so over joyed that I was running all around the doc's office screaming. I know what you're thinking...that this isn't something to be happy about and it's not. I was just happy that finally after a year and a half of pain, depression, neurological problems and insomnia FINALLY something came up positive. SOMEONE actually found something! I was also diagnosed with Vitamin B-12 deficiency along with folic acid deficiency also. Lyme Disease is caused by a transfer of a bacteria when a tick bites you. There isn't a lot of research done on Lyme Disease and it causes an array of life long pain in many different ways.
For a cure the doctor told me that I would have to come in to his office for the next 28 days and get 2 shots of antibiotics in each butt cheek. Today were my first 2 shots and believe me, that **** STINGS! The doctor said since i have had Lyme Disease for a year and a half there may be some neurological, arthritis and other problems that may not be fixed when the Lyme Disease is treated. Also, Dr Gayid warned me that since we would be attacking the Lyme Disease it would be trying to fight back to survive. This pretty much means that my pain may go through the roof at any time and that my medication that i'm taking probably won't be able to stop it with out more pain treatment.
Now, I'm taking this very seriously and in a pessimistic fashion. I am not going to relax or believe this is the end until ALL of my pain and pills are out of my life. Knowing my luck the Lyme Disease is just a coincidence and there is a totally different reason for my pain. I am still going to get injections into my hip and spine from the pain management doctor. I am also going to see the Neurologist and Rheumatologist for more research and tests. Like I said, I won't consider this done until ALL of the pain and pills are out of my life.
i think now most physicians feel they can not write for anything stronger then tynenol,otherwise you need to be sent to a pain mgmt dr. god forbid you go to a pain mgmt dr and tells u that u need an epidural,however in the mean time when u r in acute pain they are hesitate to give you any narcotics.if they prescribe it then u must go thru drug testing for compliance and illicit substances.you really start feeling like your a criminal.no one in severe pain needs to go thru this and to feel like your a drug addict. then do not forget you must see a shrink. then they will schedule you for whatever makes them money such as epidural or more.that to me makes us uncomfortable to say the least.it makes me upset that this is happenning.we r paying them for medical care, then why can we not be taking care of? i wish no pain on anyone.it affects your life in so many ways.
Hi Rocco,
Are we living the same life? My Grandfather passed away 9 days ago from Stage 4 Mantle cell Lymphoma and I have been out of touch due to funeral and family. Weird...
I too have the protrusion in my cervical spine as well as 2 lower back protrusions. I now believe even more strongly that you can get better! You have to "chill" for a while and let your body do some healing but if I can do it so can you. Keep in touch......
Are we living the same life? My Grandfather passed away 9 days ago from Stage 4 Mantle cell Lymphoma and I have been out of touch due to funeral and family. Weird...
I too have the protrusion in my cervical spine as well as 2 lower back protrusions. I now believe even more strongly that you can get better! You have to "chill" for a while and let your body do some healing but if I can do it so can you. Keep in touch......
I am so sorry to hear about your Godfather's passing. It is always difficult to lose someone we love. My mother's husband died 38 days after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It's tough but I am glad he (step-father) did not suffer any longer than he had to, there was no cure.
I would only be guessing about the protrusion that ws seen on your MRI but usually it refers to a disc. And a disc protrusion could be a herniation or again any number of things.
I am glad that your pain meds are easing your pain. Please take care, hang in there till your physician returns from vacation and keep us posted. Tuck
I would only be guessing about the protrusion that ws seen on your MRI but usually it refers to a disc. And a disc protrusion could be a herniation or again any number of things.
I am glad that your pain meds are easing your pain. Please take care, hang in there till your physician returns from vacation and keep us posted. Tuck
Hi Tuck and Sharon,
Sorry I have not written in a while. My Godfather died of a stage 4 cancer 2 months after he was diagnosed so I had to travel to Kentucky for 2 weeks for the funeral and to help out my family.
The nurse of my Primary just called and said that they got my MRI test results of my neck back. The nurse said the results stated that I have a protrusion in my neck. I asked her what that meant and she said she was only a nurse and that she did not know. So I have to wait 2 weeks for my doctor to come back from vacation to tell me what my MRI results mean and all of that. My Oxycotin of 40 mg and dilodid of 8mg is working just fine. There is still pain but it takes most of the edge off. I filed for unemployment since I am unable to work. I feel bad about taking money from the government but I guess that's what it's there for. Hopefully they can find out what's really wrong with me and get me to the road to recovery. I just can't believe that I graduated with a degree and now I can't start my career.
If anyone has any comments about what you think I should do or just words of support that would be great. According to the online dictionary a protrusion is a bulge...so I guess there's a bulge in my neck? I'm going to try to do some research online and figure out what I might have. I hate waiting for the doctors to take their sweet time in order for me to get my life back together.
Thanks for your support!
-Rocco B.
Sorry I have not written in a while. My Godfather died of a stage 4 cancer 2 months after he was diagnosed so I had to travel to Kentucky for 2 weeks for the funeral and to help out my family.
The nurse of my Primary just called and said that they got my MRI test results of my neck back. The nurse said the results stated that I have a protrusion in my neck. I asked her what that meant and she said she was only a nurse and that she did not know. So I have to wait 2 weeks for my doctor to come back from vacation to tell me what my MRI results mean and all of that. My Oxycotin of 40 mg and dilodid of 8mg is working just fine. There is still pain but it takes most of the edge off. I filed for unemployment since I am unable to work. I feel bad about taking money from the government but I guess that's what it's there for. Hopefully they can find out what's really wrong with me and get me to the road to recovery. I just can't believe that I graduated with a degree and now I can't start my career.
If anyone has any comments about what you think I should do or just words of support that would be great. According to the online dictionary a protrusion is a bulge...so I guess there's a bulge in my neck? I'm going to try to do some research online and figure out what I might have. I hate waiting for the doctors to take their sweet time in order for me to get my life back together.
Thanks for your support!
-Rocco B.
Tuck and Rocco,
As far as the meds go, taking yoru family to the PMP sounds like a great idea. Those meds are there for a reason.... and if you have a "cocktail" that is working for you then by all means stick with it. I felt VERY guilty over the meds and my spine doctor is the one who explained the PURPOSE to me and my husband who is now very supportive of whatever I do to control my pain and my condition. Because there are so many people that abuse the meds the ones who really need them sometimes still get a bad rap! Try not to let it get to you. Your heart, mind and body knows what is best for you.
Please keep us posted! I hope yoru road to recovery is a speedy one! Sharon
As far as the meds go, taking yoru family to the PMP sounds like a great idea. Those meds are there for a reason.... and if you have a "cocktail" that is working for you then by all means stick with it. I felt VERY guilty over the meds and my spine doctor is the one who explained the PURPOSE to me and my husband who is now very supportive of whatever I do to control my pain and my condition. Because there are so many people that abuse the meds the ones who really need them sometimes still get a bad rap! Try not to let it get to you. Your heart, mind and body knows what is best for you.
Please keep us posted! I hope yoru road to recovery is a speedy one! Sharon
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