:confused: Hi All,
Well i will start by saying back on Jan 1 2006 10 min past midnight while working for a city street department i fell off the top of a tri axle dump truck and broke 2 vertabre and s1. In Febuary 2006 i had triple disc replacement and got fused from s-1 to L-3. Very little was accomplished other than the numbness i had in my right leg was gone but now i had numbness in my left leg and foot. Anyway Things seem to have gone downhill from there. I was given a 65% disability rating to my lumbar spine. I was terminated from my employment sent for a disability pension and forgotten. I had another surgery in april 2007. They tried to widen the canals for my nerves and tried decompression. Strike two. I am still in pain allday every day starting to get a little depressed and feeling that maybe it would have been better to have just severed the spine so at least i would not have this much pain. I have been on so much oral pain meds and they just seemed to stop helping. I get about 3-4 hours of sleep a day. I just started on the fetanyl TD patches and only hope for some relief. Was glad to find that there was people out there that may be able to help with some advice. If anyone could help me find a way to deal with this a little better i would greatly be in debt to them. I would like to some day be able to spend more time doing things with my kids and girlfreind. Right now i am using a cane or a walker and sometimes a power chair. At 39 years young its just way to early to have to give up a normal life. I have been told by my Neuro that i will not be able to work again.
We all would like to retire early but not like this. Any suggestions ? Please Thank You,:confused:

Welcome to the board, I had a double fusion in 2005. My pain is worse now than it was before. I have pain from the waist down to my toes. The numbness turns into burning and then deep pain. I was told by my surgeon that I need to have my hardware removed and also some clean up work on the nerve canals. Probably like your second surgery. Have they offered you any pain management? Does your doctor know what the problems are? MY case is still open with W/C, but they are now trying to settle and let medicare deal with the issues. I can't use anything stronger than Norco. I tried and I get where I can hardly breath. Norco is nothing. There will be more people on here in the morning that have really good answers to give. I hope they can give some good pointers. You can't give up on yourself. Have you had any aqua therapy? It might help some. I have been diagnosed with Chronic Pain syndrome and Failed back surgery. I also only sleep 3 or 4 hours. That's usually when the meds take effect. I also take Ativan. I hope you can get some relief.

Jenkins - welcome to the boards .

You got a 65% disability rating on your spine ? I got a 28% and I couldn't sit stand or walk ?? I ask my attorney and he said 28% on a back injury is the highest they can go on back injuries.. I think my attorney isn't telling me the truth. :mad: I was pissed when I read the report the Dr. who did the exam didn't know what he was doing so he had this book on disability ratings he went with,,


I have the hip /leg / feet and toe pain as well as back pain ,but it has got better since I had 3 steroid injections. I still have the hip and feet/toe pain.
You may have scar tissue putting pressure on your nerves causing your pain..
Have you had a MRI or CT since your operation ? If not ask for one.
I know how much you want to return to work , BUT you should file for Social Security Disability until you can return. I made that mistake too ..Wish I filed sooner than this year. The money is well appreciated.

Shawley

Jenkins - welcome to the boards .

You got a 65% disability rating on your spine ? I got a 28% and I couldn't sit stand or walk ?? I ask my attorney and he said 28% on a back injury is the highest they can go on back injuries.. I think my attorney isn't telling me the truth. :mad: I was pissed when I read the report the Dr. who did the exam didn't know what he was doing so he had this book on disability ratings he went with,,


I have the hip /leg / feet and toe pain as well as back pain ,but it has got better since I had 3 steroid injections. I still have the hip and feet/toe pain.
You may have scar tissue putting pressure on your nerves causing your pain..
Have you had a MRI or CT since your operation ? If not ask for one.
I know how much you want to return to work , BUT you should file for Social Security Disability until you can return. I made that mistake too ..Wish I filed sooner than this year. The money is well appreciated.

Shawley
Thanks Shawley,
The 65 % is related to my lumbar spine Thats how its written my doc explained that there are 5 parts of your lumbar spine 3 are now fused he said that leaves you with 35 %. Had ct scan since surgery but not mri CT scan just shows narrowing of canals from scar tissue thats why they did last surgery. Doc says he doesnt want to go in again for fear that scar tissue gets worse each time.

Chris,
The second surgery was bascialy that to open canals for nerves but it didnt do anything but cause more pain and more scar tissue to come back. Iam sick of taking meds this new patch thing has not started to work yet. and now i just feel doped. Today with rain and cold sucks. Doc cant tell me what the problem is they just say some people it works for some it doesnt. Guess im the latter. Water therapy works for a while but then i tighten back up and its worse. I was by no means an athlete before but now sitting on couch wiggling my toes is my new EXTREME sport. I am now taking 2-3 10mg oxy every 8 hrs 2-3 perc 5 every 6 hours and started the fentanyl patch 5mcg/h yesterday. I also take elavil 50mg 1 time a day and flexoril 10mg twice a day or prn. I guess thats the pain management im on just dope him up so he cant talk to complain about pain. My comp case is open for now they want to close but i am afraid that i will need more sugery or whatever. I got a high rating but that does me no good for future. The city i used to work for is self insured and i did not pay into ss for 10 years working there. So if i close i get the money from comp and a pension of 400 a week. Thats not going to pay for things later in life. Anyway ill stop venting thanks for the words.