Degenerative Disc Disease Support Group
Degeneration of the intervertebral disc, which is often called "degenerative disc disease" (DDD) of the spine, DDD is in fact a condition that can be painful and can greatly affect the quality of one's life. While disc degeneration is not a normal part of aging and for most people is not a problem, for certain individuals a degenerated disc can cause severe constant...
I have been dealing with DDD and DJD since 2007 when I found out that I had them. I was in my late 30s at the time. And only learned about it because I was in an accident and had to have my knee reconstructed.
In 2010, I had a fall down the stairs and injured my hip and low back. In the years, since I have had over 20+ significant falls with 5 of them being severe. So on top of the DDD, I have herniated discs, bone spurs, psuedotumors, and a grade 1 fracture in the areas of L3 to S1. I also, reinjured my knee and have tears and rips in it. Also, I know have a tear in the fascia of the muscle over my tibia that still causes me extreme pain that they cannot do anything to fix. It was caused when the swelling from the 2nd injury tore open the fascia because the Ortho doctor did nothing.
My pain is uncontrollable most of the time, and I have just learned to try and deal with it the best I can. I am no longer able to work, so I spend most of my days at home, trying to find any comfortable position to be in. I can only walk short distances, stand for less than 5 mins, and sitting causing swelling in my legs and feet.
I also have severe burning sensations in my lower legs, electrical shock feelings in my legs, the feeling of water running under my skin, weakness in my legs, and just extreme pain in my lower back and pelvis area. At times, I just feel like someone stabs my in the spine and my pelvis feels like it is being crushed.
I was sent to physical therapy, and that went badly this week. The therapist that I saw was nasty to me when I could not perform simple exercises due to the pain. He kept repeating to me if I could not do the exercises, then he was referring me back to the doctor. Now, I am no longer getting any therapy.
I am not a candidate for any surgery at this moment because I have gained weight from not being able to move. The surgeon told me that until I can lose some weight and move, he will not do any surgery. He did however, give me a cortisone injection in the worst knee, and I have had nothing but extreme pain for over 3 weeks now. At least prior to the injection the pain was tolerable.
I am so frustrated that I cannot stand it. The doctors act as if I chose to live in this much pain and forgo having any type of life. The medications that I am not are doing nothing to control the pain. The only thing that I have been offered is steroid injections into my spine, but I have serious concerns about them, especially after my recent cortisone injection experience.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
In 2010, I had a fall down the stairs and injured my hip and low back. In the years, since I have had over 20+ significant falls with 5 of them being severe. So on top of the DDD, I have herniated discs, bone spurs, psuedotumors, and a grade 1 fracture in the areas of L3 to S1. I also, reinjured my knee and have tears and rips in it. Also, I know have a tear in the fascia of the muscle over my tibia that still causes me extreme pain that they cannot do anything to fix. It was caused when the swelling from the 2nd injury tore open the fascia because the Ortho doctor did nothing.
My pain is uncontrollable most of the time, and I have just learned to try and deal with it the best I can. I am no longer able to work, so I spend most of my days at home, trying to find any comfortable position to be in. I can only walk short distances, stand for less than 5 mins, and sitting causing swelling in my legs and feet.
I also have severe burning sensations in my lower legs, electrical shock feelings in my legs, the feeling of water running under my skin, weakness in my legs, and just extreme pain in my lower back and pelvis area. At times, I just feel like someone stabs my in the spine and my pelvis feels like it is being crushed.
I was sent to physical therapy, and that went badly this week. The therapist that I saw was nasty to me when I could not perform simple exercises due to the pain. He kept repeating to me if I could not do the exercises, then he was referring me back to the doctor. Now, I am no longer getting any therapy.
I am not a candidate for any surgery at this moment because I have gained weight from not being able to move. The surgeon told me that until I can lose some weight and move, he will not do any surgery. He did however, give me a cortisone injection in the worst knee, and I have had nothing but extreme pain for over 3 weeks now. At least prior to the injection the pain was tolerable.
I am so frustrated that I cannot stand it. The doctors act as if I chose to live in this much pain and forgo having any type of life. The medications that I am not are doing nothing to control the pain. The only thing that I have been offered is steroid injections into my spine, but I have serious concerns about them, especially after my recent cortisone injection experience.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
It is a slow process but I believe there is hope for you in this. As you know when you are in water the weight is taken off joints and such. The warm water will make you feel good. Perhaps your doc will write a script and it will wave paid for. Some hospitals have then. You may qualify for transport.
Whatever you do don't give up. There are no overnight fixes. The one I am suggesting is slow and good for your body and spirit. You will also loose weight and most likely socialize.
I am sorry you are going through all this. Please keep us posted.
hippy
I hope this information is of use to you. Check my journal for my journey with DDD. Take care and know you are in my thoughts and prayers. Darlene
My medications are a mess. I take Meloxicam, Lyrica and Flexaril, and Norco.
My doctor will no longer give me Soma. He will not prescribe it for more than a few months at a time. I would love to get real sleep and wake up feeling like I had some rest.
I only get a very limited amount of Norco/5-325 as the doctor is afraid that I will become addicted. I have to beg him for Norco. This last time he gave me 30 pills, and told me to make them last because I know how he feels about prescribing them.
The Flexaril/10mg has helped me sleep for a few hours, but I only am allowed to take one pill per day at night. So when I am trying to do things in the day and my back is in spasms on top of the pain, then I cannot move or do anything.
The Meloxicam/7.5mg/2x times a day really does nothing for me. It do not feel like it has made any difference in comparison to the prescription strength Naproxen I was on before. Not sure what else I can try as I am allergic to Motrin/Ibuprofen and many of the drugs very close to it - other than Naproxen.
The Lyrica/50mg/3x a day helps some, but not enough. He did increase it the amount last time I saw him, but I am going to ask him to increase it again. I tried Nuerontin and had to stop because it had very bad side effects for me.
I guess that my biggest issue is that I am now on Disability Medicaid because I do not have any other insurance. I live in a state where it was not expanded and most of the providers dropped their patients as of Jan 1st. I have very limited access to medical care, and what I am getting is substandard. When I was in extreme pain a month back, I was actually turned away from the ER located a few blocks from my house and had to drive 10 miles to another hospital for care. I have had doctors say things that are completely inappropriate to me, but I have no where else to go, so I have to just shut my mouth and try to ignore it. I do call around as much as I can looking for other doctors that will take my insurance. It is really exhausting to fight for any little bit of care that I do get.
I have been able to lose 12 pounds over the last month just by changing what I eat, so hopefully the doctor will be a bit nicer when I see him again in August. I plan to keep it up. Other than costing more, it has not been hard to do.
I really do not know what else I can do.
Virginia Medicaid will not pay for SOMA for chronic pain, as of July 1, 2014. It will only pay for acute painful musculoskeletal conditions.