i was hoping someone could direct me to where i could find some information on this area. my neuro-surgeon says its a very uncommon area to have HNP. i am in terrible pain and the medication is not helping. surgery is an option but first i have to see a physisit(sp?) and a pain specialist for possible injections.

if anyone has had this problem or has any info as to what i may expect with all these doctors, i would greatly appreciate it. i am very nervous about the injections and PT has not helped in the past.

thanks for your time.
kathy

Hi Kathy,

First welcome to the exclusive club of thorasic disk suffers. Only about 2% of all herniations happen in the thorasic spine. Lucky us? You will find that finding someone with the expertise to handle surgery on this part of the spine far and few. I see that you chimed in on the WEBPT post. So I will not go into those details. I would suggest that you be careful about the injections. They sometimes can make things worse. I would suggest that if you show no noticable results from the first injection there is no need for further. When they did mine it burned like fire over the damaged disk and I raised up off the table even with 3 full grown men holding me down. Unless nobody has told you yet there is no real Physical Therapy for that part of the spine. The problem is it doesn't move very much so manipulation is a waste of time and money. I will say a good massage helps to loosen up the muscles that get tense because of the pain but it does nothing for the T-spine.

As I have said before in the other post you only have a few options. Either you can live with it untouched by medications or injections or you have surgery. I would suggest the modified version in your case since your damaged area is exactly in the same place as mine. I was lucky and was up and walking 6 hours after surgery.

My descion to have surgery was my own. I had two doctors reccommend surgery and two who didn't reccommend surgery. I decided I could live with some pain but the progression of other problems I could not. After my accident I had pain which felt like a corkscrew being turned in the center of my back 24/7. Nothing I took made it feel better. The medications only served to dull the senses not the pain. After a couple of months I started to notice my urine flow slowing and the frequency of going increasing. After a year I was going a teacupful 18 to 20 times a day. Then the problem of being able to have a bowel movement. I developed an area of numbness down there which made me unable to feel a bowel movement. When that happens one of two things happen you either go without control or you don't go at all. For the publics sake I was one who just didn't go. For me it was to be my worse nightmare of finding ways to release what needed to be released. But, finally I found using muscle exercises every night at the same time has made it possible for me to do on my own. Notice I didn't write easily. The worse part to be finally affected was intimate relations. At first they were difficult in how long it would take to reach climax. Some would say lucky you. But, progressed into the length of time getting longer and longer. Till finally there is no desire at all. Believe me I don't like taking about these things in public but they need to be said. I was suffering with pain radiating down the back into the kidneys and down the legs to the feet and toes. All of this before surgery. I felt my life was sprialing downward to probally being a parapelgic. I was a young viral man use to doing anything I put my mind to. I worked a hard job which required my strtegnth to complete my job. I sold ceramic floor tile as well as granite and marble tiles as we. I was considered the top of my profession and I was paided well for my work. So the choice oof being in a wheelchair did not intrige me in the least. So the was a 15% chance of being there from the surgery didn't scare me. I felt I was heading there without the surgeons help already.

So I had the surgery they when in through the back side removed a rib and did the diskcetomy and filled the space created witha metal cage filled in with slivers of my rib and other inert bone growing media. When I woke up the much of the pain had gone away. I still had some at the site as well as some down the legs and feet but they were less that a third of what was before. My urinary problems went away and only show up every now and then. The bowel problem has remained unchanged I am sorry to say. The same is true with the impotency. They may improve given time. The biggest problem is finding a useful way to live life with my limitations. I don't see many ad's for a heavily narcoticed person who can only move around for two or three hours before he has to take a hour nap to regain strenght. And due to the medications this candidate can not drive machinery. I must have available chairs to rest on and there is a posibility that my mind could not be clear some of the time due the medications. But, on the whole a truely entergentic person who most people enjoy passing the day with. OH! I forgot I can't lift more than 10 lbs. at any given time for more than 2 minutes. So Tell me what can I do???

Well sorry to go on and on. I have had it up to my limit with insurance companies and doctors who say they are experts of what they have no training for. Telling me it's all in my head. I tell them on many occasions that they don't quite grapse my condition. I then say that I am sure the insurance company will paying you quite well for your opinion. So tell me doctors what should I do??? Then the great silence comes because there is nothing these unqualified insurance hacks can do. They are not qualified in the procedure.

So there you have what you will encounter of the next several months. IF you hit a big brick wall and need some ideas of how to push out the group of these neaderthals. We here will be happy to help in any way.

Good Luck

Oliver :WAVE:

wow, you sure have had a rough go of it. it just sounds terrible. i am very sorry that you have had to go thru all of this.

i do have terrible pain but it doesn't radiate down my legs. it remains in my upper back and sometimes it just feels like someone is sticking a knife thru it. i am a sub-teacher and i had to ignore the call on my answering machine today. i just woke up in severe pain. it feels like a huge bulge is sticking out of the side of my back and it hurts like hell.

i didn't have any type of accident so this makes it harder to explain. i don't want to try the injections because i know it is going to hurt like hell. i can't refuse them though. i know i have to give it a try. i doubt very much that when i meet with this doctor in the beginning of february that he isn't going to want to try it. i think the physist(sp) is going to be a waste of time but once again, i have to go thru the motions.

my neuro-surgeon has me on vicoden which doesn't help. he told me to take 1-2 every 8 hours. i had to sign a pain medication form. i guess this is pretty normal from what i have heard. i am so afraid he will not refill my meds. i can function fine on them. i drive the boys to all their events and even teach on them. i am wondering if they are not strong enough for me. i did just have a total hyst was on the perks for awhile. i think those are stronger.

i also didn't realize the bathroom issues could be related to the spine. i just thought it was from the hyst. this is very interesting.

as for the surgery, i just don't know what i want to do. it sounds pretty scary. i don't think i'm in a position to take a chance on being in a wheelchair. i have to teenage boys and a wonderful husband who depend greatly on me. i am an only child. my dad died 20 years ago and my mom just passed away this past march on my 40th birthday. i have no one else.

i know i am just rambling but i am just so fustrated. i should have just taken the call and gone to the high school for the day. i guess i'm just a little depressed today.

well, i guess i'll go and try and find some info on this area of the back though i always seem to come up empty. if you have any good sites to check please let me know.

thanks for responding. i really appreicate it.
kathy

Hi Kathy
I wrote just a quick note to you over at the webPt page but I just wanted to say you have been through alot lately it sounds like and I will send my prayers your way. Please hang in there. There are so many supportive people here. If you do have the surgery it will be ok. I am going through it right now. I wont lie. It is very hard and painful. If you want to hear about my experience with the surgery then go into my profile and read my interests http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wink.gif http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/round.gif I stole that one from Bounce! Hope to hear from you soon.
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif Shiz http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif

Hey Kathy,

Vicodin is a good pain killer for those with arthritis. You would probally do well with percocett or maybe Ultram. Some people don't like Ultram. I seem to do well on it as breakthrough pain from my oxicontin. If you really hurt oxicontin is the ultimate medication. It's effects last almost 12 hours and leave you with a great deal of function. Like vicodin it is a narcotic and one can become dependent on it. The literature says Ultram tm Tramadol generic is not habit forming but, I can tell you it is. Not as bad as narcotics but troublesome none the less.

I think the loss of good sleep is the hardest on us who are in pain. Right now I have taken 40mg of Oxicontin, 100mg of Ultram, 10 mg of Ambien, 2 aleve tablets, and 25mg. of benedryl for my allergies. You would think I would be knocked out by now. The trouble is trying to fall asleep with the pain. It really works on the nerves. I was worse! But, I still have a ways to go.

Should you have any questions about the thorasic spine I will be happy to answer. I have done quite a bit of research on the subject and I guess I am an expert on the subject by now.

Talk to you later,

Oliver http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif

thanks for the great welcome. omg, i have so many questions but don't know where to start.

any suggestions on what this physist(sp?)may say? i've done the pt route and it only makes things worse. i have read that pt really doesn't help the thorasic area. maybe she'll agree and just send me away. if she wants me to do pt, then i will though. waste of time and more pain if you ask me though.

now, what i am really afraid of is these injections. i am sure i will have to do that. what are they all about? my neuro-surgeon said if i don't have relief that day then there is more problems than the MRI is showing. what the heck does that mean?

i do have some questions about rx's but i guess i'll post them on the pain forum. i am very nervous about being labeled a "seeker". i guess you could say i am a "seeker", a seeker for pain relief and a normal life!!

thanks and please let me know what you think about the T7 area and my options and possible outcomes.

boy, i am asking a lot sorry.
you all have been so kind and i really do appreciate it.
thanks for taking time out of your day to help me.
kathy