I went to a pain managemnt doctor for the first time today for pain in my neck, shoulder and constant headaches. My PCP had ordered an MRI which showed "degenerative anterior spndylolisthesis oon C5 by approximately 3-4 mm. A disk osteophyte complex results in a moderate degree of central canal stenosis. At C4-5, there is a mild/moderate degree of left and moderate degree of right foraminal narrowing secondary to uncovertebral joint hypertrophy and facet arthrosis on the left and unconvertebral joint hypertrophy on the right."
The PM doc looked briefly at my MRI, examined me briefly and said an epidural shot was the only thing that will help. I asked about PT and he said that would not help, that this was all wear and tear and the shots should provide relief.
I felt like they were just interested in getting me in there for the shots. My insurance just started requiring preauthorizations for this and that was what they kept talking about-how to get my insurance to pay for it and what they would pay for, etc.
Is this how this works? Can anyone tell by my results if something else would help? I want relief from the pain but I don't want to have an epidural just for the sake of having an epidural or because insurance will pay for it.
They were really nice in the office and the doctor was nice but I kind of just felt like it was kind of an assembly line. I was kind of hoping that the doctor would explain a little about what was causing my pain or at least what everything meant but he really didn't.
Many of these pain clinics are into giving these shots. I cannot believe how many people in my area go, it is shocking. Don't get me wrong...if they really work, great, but I see so many different results for so many different people. Personally I know three people right off the bat that I could name that go, and again all with different results. I hope they were able to give you some pain meds to help you?
We have two pain clinics here where I live, located right beside one another. One is known for injections but dosing out a LOT of meds, and the other is known for injections to try and keep people OFF meds. Go figure.
No, I didn't get any meds, but didn't really want them. My PCP has given me tramadol and percocet for when it really gets bad and I would like to keep the meds with him. However, now that I think about it he didn't even offer anything-just come back when my insurance approves the shot. They set up an appointment for 2 weeks, that's how long they think it will take to get it through. I was hoping he would explain my MRI, etc. to me, but he just said it was wear and tear and nothing would fix it short of surgery. He didn't tell me if heat or ice would help or any type of exercise or ANYTHING. I guess I wasn't being a very smart patient because I didn't ask, but I just kept thinking "is this all they do?"
This is someone my own doctor (who I adore) goes to, but I'm sure it is different when you are a doctor who is the patient rather than just a patient.
It just seems like to me from what I saw, that pain management is all very regimented-more taylored to the condition than to the patient.
coping1, while I cannot understand what your MRI says, I can tell you what I did, I have two bulging disc at c-5 and c-6, I didn't understand my MRI either, and my doc said that it would not cause my horrible headaches......but he did send me to my pain management doc which really has saved my life. I do not take opiates, don't want them. We started out with trigger point injections, which is lidocaine, that only last for a couple of days, so I am then back on my ibuprofen 800mg, 3 to 4 times a day, after that I went for the epidurals, they helped me immensely. I had 3 in 3 years, then the fourth one did not help at all, so we tried topomax, wow, topomax worked immediately, I statred out at 25mg, and have worked up to 50mg twice a day. am completely happy, no more shots, no more headaches. My doc did not push anything on me, and definitely did not push narcotics on me, I just won't take them. So maybe you can ask about the topomax, or maybe you might want to try the epidurals. Epidurals are a bit more invasive. I wish you luck.
hi there. I found that my experience was quite similar to yours. An assembly line is a pretty good analogy actually. I have spinal stenosis and some bulged discs and was put on the Fentynal Patch. 25 mcg. I didnt know anything at all about it and found that the Pharmacist explained more and took the time to answer more questions about it then the dr. I have also registered to a couple sites like this one and am really learning alot through here. Which I truly do appreciate! We do all we can do dont we? I just now called the makers of this patch and was told for the first time to NOT apply the patch below my waistline and the one i have on right now is just right above my buttocks so I just gave her the wrong answer for where I had applied it! lol. Oh well. Thats how we learn, huh? Good luck to you on your progress with Pain Management. Mykinzie.
hi there. I found that my experience was quite similar to yours. An assembly line is a pretty good analogy actually. I have spinal stenosis and some bulged discs and was put on the Fentynal Patch. 25 mcg. I didnt know anything at all about it and found that the Pharmacist explained more and took the time to answer more questions about it then the dr. I have also registered to a couple sites like this one and am really learning alot through here. Which I truly do appreciate! We do all we can do dont we? I just now called the makers of this patch and was told for the first time to NOT apply the patch below my waistline and the one i have on right now is just right above my buttocks so I just gave her the wrong answer for where I had applied it! lol. Oh well. Thats how we learn, huh? Good luck to you on your progress with Pain Management. Mykinzie.
My friend gave me the number of a therapist who specializes in neck/spine/head issues and he squeezed me in tonight. He was so helpful and spent 1 1/2 hours with me explaining EVERYTHING. He said that while my MRI shows that I do have some significant issues, the areas that are causing me the most pain are not the areas that show problems on my MRI.
I was very impressed because he told me I had some issues in the chest area with my arteries and blood flow and I had not even mentioned (and I was fully clothed so he couldn't see my scars) that I have had 5 mediports in my chest. He said he could tell that something was wrong because he lost my pulse when he moved my arms a certain way. He also said that I had problem in the area of my right rib under my clavicle which I then told him that I had previously broken that rib.
He told me exactly why I was having the headaches and what I could be doing at home to help relieve the pain in my head, neck and shoulder.
Soo....for now I am going to have the PT and put off the epidural. He said that the epidural might help in the future but until I deal with my other issues I will still have pain.
When I left, I realized I didn't have a headache for the 1st time in a long time, although it has now come back
Sunny, please be careful with the ibuprofen. I too was taking large doses and I had an endoscopy recently for some other problems and they found pretty severe inflammation/ulceration in my duodenum which they said was from my ibuprofen use. In fact, that is why I finally decided to seek help for my neck/head pain, it became so much worse when I stopped taking the ibuprofen.
Hello. Please let me help u with this because I had no idea this could ever happen to me. I was taking massive amounts of aleeve and ibuprophen for my back pain. Before I knew it, and at age 35 I had severely bleeding ulcers and almost died. I had emergency surgery to have half my stomach n small intestines removed. Now my stomach n intestines are way different. I wanna help someone else NOT have to go thru this. I hope I have helped you out. Marla
