Oh Pink...I definitely can relate to the ping pong of medical "treatment." Being in my 30's, I guess no ortho thought there could possibly be any "real" damage to my knees. I had one ortho tell me, nothing was wrong with me and wouldn't order an MRI. VA denied my consult to ortho. After 4 YEARS of this nonsense, I finally got so frustrated I threw a mini-fit in the VA outpatient clinic and was able to get an MRI. The MRI showed all sorts of damage. Then the VA ortho said, okay, now we'll see you. Um, no thanks. I took my MRI to another ortho who did surgery and found my knee was even WORSE than the MRI showed so now I'm waiting for a cadaver cartilage transplant.

So, then ortho says we just wait for the cadaver donor and go to pain management. Go there and finally get something to help me live my life relatively normally until he leaves and the new PM says, nope, you smoke...quit smoking immediately. Then my meds get taken away and I'm forced to go to another PM practice who is severely undertreating me. I've had it up to and begged another ortho to consider a total knee replacement even though I'm only 34...I can't take the pain and TRYING to live my life being bounced around from one doc to another and not even being sufficiently treated then!

So, I didn't mean to "hijack" your thread...I wanted to let you know I so very much understand the frustration that comes with getting bounced around and no one REALLY helping. Many of us around here have the same problem...even after many years of CP. It's so unfortunate.

We are the strongest people because we HAVE to keep on going, keep on fighting. On some of our darkest days, we come here, vent, find support and then can turn around and try and help another on their darkest day. I have not been able to find acceptance with this life quite yet but I know I'm not entirely ready to give up so I fight each day...even if that means minute by minute.

I'm so sorry for your pain and being bounced around. I would make sure you keep copies of all records from everyone so, maybe, just maybe, you can show a future doc what you've gone through and can, hopefully, get quicker and more efficient help.

(((HUGS))) Sorry you have to be here but glad you are here.

~Michelle

These doctors did explain that the Sciatica is not the actual problem but a symptom of something else that is wrong? I shared this once before and I am not using the correct name but what Dr. Oz calls it is a butt pillow. They are used mostly when people fly and the pillow goes around the neck. The purpose for it with people with Sciatica, is to keep us from sitting on the 2 nerves that cause a lot of our Sciatica pain. The nerves that are irritated are called the Pudendal nerves. By sitting on this pillow, having the hole in it per sae, keeps us from sitting on those nerves that get irritated. I bought one of these pillows and it does seem to help with my pain. The pillow is u shaped.
There is another item they have been advertising on TV that wraps around the leg just below the knee on the side where the Sciatica is hurting. If I decide to try it and it works, I will let you know. Hugs Gramybear

Pink, I am brand new here and have no idea what you should do. But I know what I should do and that is to conduct some serious experiments with the efficacy of prayer and send as many as I can in your direction. Good luck, my heart goes out to you

Redheaddiva- So sorry for all your pain too! You didn't hijack my post :) It's nice to know I'm not alone on these days I'm feeling so defeated.

gramybear- I will be looking for this pillow today- and I saw the infomercial for that leg thing, please do let me know if you try it!!!

denbob- I will take all the prayers I can get!

See- the pain is interfering with my work now, and although I don't want narcotics, I do think they could have given me something to freaking help with my pain & spasms. I asked the nurse at the PM office 2 weeks ago for a muscle relaxer & they called me in ibuprofen 800. What a joke!

Wow i am so sorry you are in so much pain!!
I had some good luck with chiropractor, although my problem was not exactly diagnosed. I went based on my symptoms - had numbness and pain in leg and foot as well as the back pain.
10 sessions and i was back to normal.
My thought would be to seek second opinion from a neurosurgeon.
There has to be something going on that ortho and PM are not picking up on because neither of them are as well trained as neurosurgeons to pick up on nerve/disk issues from the imaging.
I hope you have some relief soon!!

welcome to our corner of the Internet...sorry you gotta be here because of pain involved in getting here....hugs bill

I'm new here as well. I understand feeling hopeless. I've been on the hamster wheel for over 4 years and it's exhausting and has really changed me. I try to be hopeful for my family that I can find a treatment or procedure that will help with the pain. Today....I'm just putting one foot in front of the other. Sending you strength, hope and peace.

Or for the most part you will find that most of us here have been thru the "being jerked around by drs"! It sometimes takes many a new dr to find the one that will treat us correctly!

Good luck

Hi and Welcome from me too Pink. I'm also sorry you're suffering so much and are getting the run around by docs, constant pain is hard enough to live with without having that added stress and frustration on top of it. You've come to right place but as we all get the feelings of hopelessness and anger your feeling and I hope that helps you a little to know that your not going through this alone.

I really like my current pain management doctor, he's kind & seems eager to help, but we've done an SI Joint injection last Wednesday & a piriformis injection yesterday... And I had to leave work today because I couldn't sit in my chair. We know it's sciatic because the epidural steroid injection worked, but seems like we're running out of options to find a cause. It's just disheartening because ibuprofen, Tylenol, baclofen, flexeril, voltaren, etc do nothing for it. Rest helps until I get moving again.