Back Pain Support Group

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical care. In fact, about 3 in 4 adults will experience back pain during their lifetime! The term back pain includes pain affecting the neck, midback and low back. Acute back pain may begin suddenly with intense pain but typically lasts fewer than three months. Usually, chronic back pain is persistent, steady, and...

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Bettme13 05/17/2011

I am getting really nervous as the month is progressing. My Pain Mgmt Dr. is trying to press me to get a 3rd epidural injection. He claims that it is rare that he would suggest a 3rd one but he feels it would work for me. The first one worked for a week, the 2nd one made me worse for about 2 weeks and then went back to my normal pain levels.

Can anyone see a reason why I should do a 3rd? $5k for the injections & Dr. thank goodness I have insurance, but I still have to pay around 300 for each one. I also end up having to take another 2 days off of work. For whatever reason I always end up feeling worse the next day and he only does them on Wed. In the middle of stinking work week.

He also mentioned a possibility of doing a procedure in the office where he can insert a needle and remove what is left of the disc. Since the leaking of the disc fluid seems to be the issue. Anyone heard of this? Biggest issue with that procedure is that my insurance company does NOT cover any of it.

I am feeling as if I say no he will not give me any more pain medication. He states my 2 lortab 10s will not kill me but that I my body will get use to it and will need more & more. Which I am sure is right, but I have not experienced it yet. I'm just not sure what to do.

deleted_user 05/17/2011

I am so sorry for what you're going through and I totally understand. It is so frustrating not knowing what the best thing to do for your back is. I have been suffering from low back pain for 4 years now. I've had 2 epidural injections, each lasting for about 6 months, which I feel very lucky about. I had my most recent back flare up a few weeks ago and my doctor tried to talk me into getting a 3rd injection too. He also mentioned a similar surgery to what you described where they take the bulged part of the disc out.
I have started feeling some better on my own with pain meds, and my daily stretching. I've decided to hold off on my 3rd injection for now to see how much better I can feel on my own. As for the surgery, I actually had a consultation this morning, and the doctor said I wasn't a good candidate, so that's off the table, which I'm acutally pretty relieved about. Surgery scares the heck out of me, and I've read almost nothing positive about from people who've had it done.
I wish I had more advice for you. I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone. Best of luck to you. Goodness knows we all need it! :)

Bettme13 05/17/2011

Laura, I had a discectomy that removed the bulging disc like you are talking about. But after that I slipped on some ice and it caused a tear in my disc that leaks the acidic disc fluid onto my nerve. So it didn't help at all. Not sure what the new thing is they are talking about.

deleted_user 05/17/2011

Well, I hope you can at least go in and talk to the surgeon about this procedure that they are talking about. It seems like I had read that when they have to totally remove a disc, that that is when they do a fusion?? But I could totally be wrong. It's amazing how much research and reading I've done on the back and all these issues. I feel like I'm in medical school or something!
And yet, with all this reading and research, I STILL have no idea what to do!
Keep us posted on what you decide.

deleted_user 05/18/2011

First, if he did a "procedure" which removed the rest of the disc, you;d have bone on bone between the vertebra. That isn't possible.

Secondly do NOT have another injection. If the FIRST one didn't work for long, the NEXT ones will NOT work. He just wants the money. SHAME on him. Grrrr. This infuriates me.

I wish you the best of luck. God bless you. Hugs, Lee

Bettme13 05/18/2011

Lee that is what I was thinking. I told him that I did not see the benefit of doing a 3rd one when I have already paid for 2 that did not work. Besides the cost of the injections, missing a total of 4 days of work already is enough.

He gave me a whole song & dance about pills might be cheap, but they won't work forever.

I also thought how can them removing all of the fluid through a needle work? Besides I can only imagine what that would cost me, since insurance wont cover it. I think I'm going to ask my husband to come with me for my next appointment. I am less likely to get pushed around with him there.

It has been a year and a half since my last MRI, there is no way I want them doing any other procedures without them at least looking to see if anything has changed.

Thanks for all of your support. I really appreciate it.

sammycat2 05/24/2011

Last year I went to a pain management doctor. They gave me one shot for sciatica, and then another "nerve block" injection. I did not really improve after the first injection, and the pain after the second injection was the worst I have ever felt. I went back to them and I was told they would not give me another injection since the two I had did not work. I think they were ethical for not recommending another injection. I also do not think you should get surgery. Get as many opinions as you can.

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