NEW TO THE BOARD AND........

[Nervepainsux]

Hi, i'm new here but not to pain

I'm 21 yrs old and was the victim of 2 car accidents in dec. of 2001. Yea, 2 car accidents in 2 weeks time(Neither of which were my fault)!!!!! I was pretty shaken up but here are some of my problems that remain to this day. From the first accident(i rolled the car) i had a knee injury and in jan of 2002 i had surgery (meniscal repair) which was successful.

During my recovery time, the doc put me on oxycontin 20mg. That medication was the only thing that i have taken yet that has done any real improvment on my back pain that i recieved from the SECOND accident where i was in the passenger seat and a guy struck right behind me in the rear right passenger door. I've had steroid injections galore, a discogram, physical therapy, chiropractor, and now i'm currently in a pain clinic.

The doc has me taking 8 vicodin 5/500's a day. First thing is i'm worried about all of that tylenol. I know that 4000mg a day can't be good for your liver. Secondly, it doesn't seem to do much for my leg pain either. They said i had nerve damage and DDD in my L4/L5 and L5/S1 disc's. Also after my knee surgery, i had a hard time getting my knee straight because of my back pain, and the exact same for my back because of my knee. My nerve pain is on the same leg that i had the knee surgery on. My knee feels fine now but my leg from my buttock down to my calf (and foot sometimes) is CONSTANTLY in pain. I rate it about a 7 on average. It's really getting hard to deal with considering that i have a 3 yr old daughter i have to constantly pick up and care for. I also have classes i go to 5 days a week where i have to walk around the college campus.

It took me long enough to convince the doc that i was really in pain, and i know my age didn't help any as he thought i was just looking for a "FIX". After he did the discogram he has been a lot better as i guess he saw that i really was in pain with that test.

What could i say to my doc or ask for to help with all this pain. The vicodin takes my pain level down to about a 5 but in class it's still awful hard to concentrate and it's really interferring with my life in general from my marrige to my school. I'm always cranky because of it and i feel like i've tried everything. The doc offered fusion to me but that seems a bit much and besides, i can't miss school right now for the recovery period.

I appreciate any and everyone that responds here. I feel like i'm at the end of my rope and have nowhere to turn. Any advice is welcome.

Thanks and by the way, this really looks like a great place.

Is there some sort of a nerve block that they can do? Sounds like you got a real good DR who believes that your're in pain. You're a very lucky for that. Too many of us can't find one like that. What about Neurontin? Its a med they give to people sometime with nerve problems and pain. Best of luck to you

[maildawn]

Hi Nervepain. Sorry you're here, but glad you found such a wonderful support forum. My problems began, too, with car accidents - first one in 1982 (went through windshield), second in 1992 - hit head on by teenager. Spent years suffering and by 1999 things got so bad, I couldn't sit or walk. Found an Ortho, he treated with epidurals and meds for a few months, then surgery....botched the heck out of me! Now I have a tremendous amount of scar tissue on the sciatic nerve (and still have a massive amount of tumors).

To make a long story short, it sounds like you're suffering from Sciatica. Has your doctor mentioned this to you? If you are in a Pain Clinic, there are meds that can help, but I'm not sure how to go about getting them - if you ask for specific meds, they get suspicious. I am on Methadone, Percocet (BT), and Neurontin. I can honestly say that without the Neurontin, I could not live! It takes away the CONSTANT burning/stinging that I have from my lower back all the way down to my 4th toe!

Sorry you're suffering. Stick around, there are alot of wonderful people here that can help and offer encouragement. And, even if we don't always agree - we ALWAYS respect one another's input! That's a rare gift amongst such a large group of people.

Take care and let us know what we can do,
Dawn

[Nervepainsux]

Thanks for all the replies.

I also might add that my doctor offered me a choice between the Idet procedure and a full fusion of L4 L5.

I've talked to several other docs about the idet and they say that it's not all that great and that the only real studies that have shown it's effective are from the brothers that invented the procedure (GO FIGURE!).

So basically what i'm asking is if anyone here has had a full fusion and been able to live a fully active life? Keep in mind i'm a 21 yr old student please and i don't like the idea of any kind of back surgery at this age unless it's going to greatly and i mean GREATLY improve my pain.

Thanks again for any replies

[maildawn]

I certainly would NOT recommend that someone your age go for full fusion! I have too many friends that have undergone fusions and ALL WERE FAILURES. Everything from scar tissue messing with the hardware, to breaks, shoot - everything all the way to just plain continued pain. PLEASE! PLEASE! Let your research include the many forums/message boards for CPers... there are alot! One to start with would be WebMD - their Back Problems forum has a number of individuals suffering from failed fusions. If you're not familiar with the (many)other message boards, come back and let me know...I'll get them to you!

Take care of yourself...I know it's rough, but I pray you can find another alternative that will help you.
Dawn

P.S. I apologize in advance for mentioning the other board, but I felt like he needed to see right away. Sorry.