How do i determine if my doctor is doing the right thing?

[ROD62585]

I got hurt in December of 2008, I had about 200 pounds of steel drive me down like a hammer does to a nail, i was dazed and scared when this happened i didn't know if i was hurt my body was really warm and i was confused of what had happened, friends of mine were there and seen the whole thing thought i was really hurt because of what had happened, even after all of this i kept working for about half hour more, it was a rainy day so we decided to call it a early day as i started to walk back to the trailer to punch out i realized a sharp driving pain right in the center of my lower back on the right side it really hurt like a pin feeling right in deep, i told the supervisor in charge and he said well see a doc, i went home since this was the first time i have ever gotten hurt i didn't know what to do, the next day i went to doc and got a cat scan and a X-ray of my spine nothing showed up, so he recommended me to a doc in a occupational health center there i seen my doc well she said it was soft tissue i should be better in about six weeks, i kept telling her no i can feel this pain and its deep and i can't sleep cause of this well she said i can't do nothing about the pain and your going to have to wait and see what happens three months later sharp lower pains still there one day she says ok lets do an MRI sure enough results show a moderate size hernia on my L4-L5 DISC  she showed me a list of things that my spine had but she said that many people live with these types of hernias that it is normal now in days she sent me to physical therapy for about four weeks then L&I didn't give me any more, she then sent me to a neurologist and he said that i do not need surgery yet that its to small and I asked so this should go away soon and he said i dont know i can not predict the future I said well then what can i do for my pain that i live with all day long he said your going to have to talk to your doctor about that i was in and out of his office in less than 20 minutes so i go back to my doc and she looks happy and then she says well we will keep u on light duty until u feel better and i kept telling her to fix me and she says theres nothing else i can do for u, then later on she sends me  to a IME place the IME says you need about 4 to 6 more months you should be better.   she is sending me to another doctor for another doctor to see what i got i guess hes a pain specialist and she says that this is my last month that there is not more she can do for me now i got pain on both sides of my lower back now i got high pain levels on the left side and i have to go back to work i don't know i am not making this up my back hurts really bad and I feel like my doctor just isn't that good and she is working on L&I side and not mine, she keeps telling me that my employer has called her many times asking her so until when is he going to be on light duty? and she tells me this and im just like well until when until when will i get what i need to feel better what is wrong with my back y do i keep getting pain from my lower back all the way to my feet so please help me to decide if my doctor is doing the right thing.

[ROD62585]

I just got my epidural shots in on my left side of my L4-L5 and i am in so much pain sitting  walking every movement that i do i can feel it stabbing me right where he put the needle and all he gave me is vicodin, I was wondering if someone can help me out I was told by the primary doctor that i am not getting better and that i will not be returning to construction ever and that L&I will have to retrain me to do something else now what am I supposed to do? should i get an attorney should i do what L&I says to do? the other day i spoke to my employer and sure enough i get a really bad attitude from them, and one thing that made me really mad, my employer said to me that there is nothing wrong with me and that anything that I got right now is somthing that I have done to my self and that i should of been off of L&I a long time ago that even my primary doctor is irritated with me after everything that has happened to me this has dropped me to a serious depression I can no longer think of happy thoughts everything that happens to me is making me feel so mad and scared and I want it to end I want it to change and to think that they say that with todays advance technology and medicine and doctors of today everything is possible but why has my whole life been turned up side down over some little herniated discs, my doc found a arachnoid cyst in my brain and she said that these is the reason why i got so much pain, but the thing i dont understand is before this not a headache not a pinch never i had pain I was in great shape i never even got a serious cold or flu i was great but then this, and now i got a doc who is irritated with me and a bad back that wont even let me sleep, trouble in the light duty classroom that my employer offered because i yawn too much everyone thinks i was doing this because of the pills but now I have proved them wrong I will be messed up for the rest of my life, and to top it off i dont got insurance to cover for the cyst and if i got some they wouldn't even treat it since it was discovered before i got insurance so please help me out I am lost and I need someone to talk to.

[LLWB]

You do have the right on a worker's comp claim for a second opinion from another dr. At least in Oregon you do. I don't know if each state has it's own rules. WC tried the same thing on me years ago, PT, rest,, pain meds, etc, Then they ended up paying for my operation anyway. All in all I was out of work for a year, and then they had to re-train me as I could not do any above shoulder work any longer. You may need to spend a few dollars and get the advice of an attorney. In my experience they stop trying to tell you what they will do, and listen more to what you need with an attorneys guidance. Good luck, I hope you are able to get things under control soon.

[ROD62585]

i got some horrible news from the orthopedic he said he looked over my last mri and cat scan and old x rays and he found two more herias in my l4  l5 and one in my neck he wants to try epidurals, im so mad that my doc was tryn to close my casE knowing this or what if she didnt know or didnt care

[kimpton]

i negotiated my MRI and paid $500.00 cash.   i didn't shop around so you might be able to get a better deal.  i paid more when the co. billed my insurance & i paid the 40%.  what joke.  might be money well spent at this point.  

[chadry]

you can check with your insurance but they probably will not pay for anything that was a job related injury. Sometimes after you are declared MMI they will cover you but that is something you need to check before hand otherwise you will be stuck paying the bill for an MRI.
I know when I started out a few years ago I had pain but I have a lot more now. It is a different kind of pain now. It hurts to stand for any period of time. It is hard to do the grocery shopping or any kind of shopping for that matter. Now I have DDD in my neck and low back. I would not be surprised if they start to label your pain as DDD.
IT may be very difficult for you to get another MRI.
Did you check out the website for injured workers? There may be someone there that can lead in the directions you need to go to get the attention that you need.
Good luck.
Chadry

[kimpton]

Hi.  Post your last MRI report on the forum.  Your fear is justified, but being scared and climbing the wall of worry can make your pain worse.  Just focus on Wed app.  A steroid epidural can really help.  I'm surprised that you haven't had one already.  I would request another MRI so your dealing with the facts.  I don't have any idea what that will do in terms of insurance claims and L&I issues if anything.  

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1431.html  This website explains the stages of a disc herniation.    

Hang in there.

Kimpton

[ROD62585]

I believe they point out toward the spine because when i laydown and twist to either grab somthing i get horrible pain and also gettin up from laying down,pickn up my boy or moweing the lawn being a man doing simple things around the house i walk, do my excercises and nothing things just feel worse  i worked in concrete and yes i was on ibuprofen, but at first it was just my right side that really hurt now its both sides and i can feel them in the center of my back and the MRI showed a lot of damage in my spine I am really scared that they dont want to operate i hear that an operation isnt the answer, I just want them to do somthing i need some answers i got personal insurance i wonder if i pay for an MRI to show them that things have changed in my spine since the last MRI that L&I did one me then they would reconsider the operation because it has been getting worse.I will be seeing a orthopedic doc on wed and hopefully he can give me some more answers i just dont want to be realeased to full duty and can't get another construction job again or what will i do for the rest of my life.

[kimpton]

Hi.

You should have been on anti-inflammatories of some kind.  Whether it be steroids or non steroidal.  Start Alieve.  The pain specialist is the one that does the steroid epidurals.  Sounds to me like you have soft tissue damage or a pinched nerve.  My friend had random stomach pain and she received steroids around the location of the pain and it went away.  No-one could figure out what it was.  Talk to the dr. about how to take the pain meds if they give them to you.  It's important to take them before the pain starts; otherwise, they throw of your pain threshold & you need higher & higher doses.

Can you tell me what kind of herniation you have?  Basically is it out the front towards your stomach or is it towards your spinal cord?  Small herniations out the front don't generally hurt.  It's when they press up against the cord & the nerves that things really hurt.  I have two out the front, & I can't feel a thing.  Do you have pain that is shooting down the legs or numbness in your big toe or calf?  

I don't know what kind of work you do, but moving around a bit is best.  l4/l5 was my injury so it will help @ night if you sleep with a cushion under your knees.  Try to turn your pelvis under to take the arch out of your back.  When you're at home watching TV or whatever lie on the floor with your feet on the sofa & take the arch out of your back.  this will give your discs a break.  

Hang in there.  
Kimpton

[chadry]

I can feel what you are going through because I have also been injured on the job. I am sorry to tell you but you probably are not going to get much more out of this. You will be sent back to work on full duty at some point and you probably will not feel like you can do it. It happens all the time. I know. I lost my job because I could not do what I had to because of pain. People who get hurt lose their jobs all the time.
The doctors are on your employers side. Plain and simple. They will only do the minimum. Have they offered you an injection yet? They will not go out of their way to help with the pain. They will treat what they can and then you will be on your own.
You may need to contact a lawyer. Find one that works on W.C. cases and has lots of experience. Do your homework on your lawyer. This is for a future settlement on your injury. You will probably need it. It will take a long time and you will not get anything for pain but only for your injury.
When they declare you MMI (maximum medical improvement ) they will send you back to work. This means that they have done all they could for you and you are now on your own and told basically to live with it.
I have a good website to share with you. It is for injured workers and there are many people there who can help you through his process for the state that you live in. All states are different with their workmen's comp laws but basically you will find that it is mainly on the side of the employer.
www.workerscompensationinsurance.com
If the link is not shown it is workerscompensationinsurance.
I wish you all the best and hope that you find relief.
Chadry