Hello all - I'm new and looking for some advice. I have had neck and shoulder pain for many years, but it has only been recently that I have gone to an orthopedic doctor to get treatment. I have cervical spondylosis (pretty advanced for my age) and radiculopathy. Otherwise I'm in good health.
C4, C5. I have been through physical therapy, steroid injections, nsaids (several different ones), all of this helps a little bit, and my range of motion stays fairly good as long as I exercise EVERY DAY. The doctor talked about surgery, but I am not willing to go that direction at this point. I work 50 - 60 hour weeks, and although I may be able to cut back on that some, I am far from retirement and I can't, nor do I want to stop working.
My last trip to the doctor he prescribed a anti-seizure med. i took it for a week and had a severe headache the entire time. I called the office to report the side effect and said I was stopping it and what should I do next. The nurse said I would get a call back, but never did. I called a week later, and again, no return call. I recently had a real flare up (extreme pain, spasms, twisted like a pretzel) while out of town on business, called when I got back, and again never received a call back. I currently don't have another appointment with this doctor for a couple of months. I called to try to get an appointment sooner, but it would be at least three weeks before I can get in. I would rather not switch doctors because I don't want to have to start over.
Any advice? What should be the next step in dealing with this? Thanks in advance!