Support and Chronic Pain Community Group
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Today has been a really bad pain day for me. I'm pretty sure its stress induced as I had my appointment with the orthopedic surgeon this morning. I didn't sleep well last night, had more pain than normal and was up super early with alot of pain. Besides my usual back and leg pain I had alot of muscle cramps in my abdomen and strangely, my hands. Lyrica, T3s and even my percocet this afternoon didn't really do anything. This evening its easing off a bit as I guess I've relaxed some.
The surgeon looked over my MRI results and said there is nothing wrong that can be surgically fixed. It mostly degenerative... ddd, facet join degeneration, two herniated discs, and arthritis all in L4-5 and L5/S1 areas. The results claim there is no nerve impingement so I asked why then does my leg/foot still feel numb and I have pain right down to my foot.. All he said is that these things heal in time but it can take 12-18 months ... its been 12 months already with no improvement to the numbness. The pain at least is intermittent now, where it used to be steady so maybe there is some hope it will heal. He did not offer any treatment at all but did offer to send off a referral to a spine specialist. That will probably take 2-3 months to get in but at this point I am interested in seeing anyone and everyone that might be able to help. I should be in to the pain clinic about October if nothing else works out.
Part of the stress is also trying to deal with what to do about work. My back to work date is July 4th which is just 1 week away. I will have to call HR at work tomorrow and talk to her about that possibility. If they won't allow me to work from home, and won't allow me to work on narcotics then my choice is made for me. If they will allow both then I have a tough decision to make. I will see my family doctor on Wednesday and discuss it with her as well but she basically just asks me what I feel I can do. If I say I can't work she will write the order for me to not go back. Nice in a way but I wish she had an opinion about whether I should or not.
I hope everyone is having a good low-pain day. Enjoy the holiday weekend coming up!
Lisa
The surgeon looked over my MRI results and said there is nothing wrong that can be surgically fixed. It mostly degenerative... ddd, facet join degeneration, two herniated discs, and arthritis all in L4-5 and L5/S1 areas. The results claim there is no nerve impingement so I asked why then does my leg/foot still feel numb and I have pain right down to my foot.. All he said is that these things heal in time but it can take 12-18 months ... its been 12 months already with no improvement to the numbness. The pain at least is intermittent now, where it used to be steady so maybe there is some hope it will heal. He did not offer any treatment at all but did offer to send off a referral to a spine specialist. That will probably take 2-3 months to get in but at this point I am interested in seeing anyone and everyone that might be able to help. I should be in to the pain clinic about October if nothing else works out.
Part of the stress is also trying to deal with what to do about work. My back to work date is July 4th which is just 1 week away. I will have to call HR at work tomorrow and talk to her about that possibility. If they won't allow me to work from home, and won't allow me to work on narcotics then my choice is made for me. If they will allow both then I have a tough decision to make. I will see my family doctor on Wednesday and discuss it with her as well but she basically just asks me what I feel I can do. If I say I can't work she will write the order for me to not go back. Nice in a way but I wish she had an opinion about whether I should or not.
I hope everyone is having a good low-pain day. Enjoy the holiday weekend coming up!
Lisa
As for your job...I just left my job on the 10th of June. I was working while medicated and very sleepy all the time. Here is what I learned aka Advice from Duckie:
The question is not "Can you do your job?" >> Of course you can do your job. I could do my job in my sleep and I was damned good at my job.
The question is not "Don't you want to work?" >> Of course your do, that is part of what being normal is and financially it is too scary to even think about. I loved my job LOVED IT. I worked hard to get there and I was making very good money. Anyone who questions my desire to work will not be happy in a confrontation with me.
The question IS "Are you physically able to do your job without putting your physical, emotional and psychological health in serious harm?" >> Only you can decide this answer. Everyone here on DS (God bless my friends); My counselor; My children and people I knew at work were all telling me to quit because of the misery and pain I was in. I tried and tried and tried to make it work. I hobbled in everyday on my walker, jacked up on medication. I was sneaking off for naps and crying in the bathroom. I wanted to make it work....it did not. The more I tried, the worse I felt because I was not the person I needed to be nor the person I could be.
I had to figure it out, get to that really low point and make a choice. I am in a tough situation financially...but, I will figure it out. It is much easier to get that figured out then live in the worst and longest and most miserable 8 hours of my whole life on a daily basis.
HUGS to you my friend.
After seeing the doctor it just happened that my insurance agent called to check up on me and see if I would be going back to work Monday. I told her the events of the day and the conversations I had with work and dr. She was great and just informed me of the paperwork I would need to file to continue my claim and even to extend to long term disability since August is long past my short term deadline. It was all good, I'm handling it ok and just trying to remember all the things I need to do to make this go smoothly.
And after all that yesterday I finally got a call from the pain clinic. I have an appointment for July 13th (I've been waiting since November). They have me booked for an assessment that will take 3-4 hours. I have no idea what could take so long but they are ordering some bloodwork first and sending me some information. There is some 17 page booklet I have to complete before the appt if possible. I also am on their cancellation list so I could get in sooner. I really hope they can help me since it seems there is nothing the surgeon can do. It came at just the perfect time and has helped me to maintain hope for improvement in my condition.
Oh, on a side note, I tried going in the pool today. Dr.'s and physio have been recommending it since last year. Well, after about 20 minutes I was in enough pain I had to get out and I've been in horrible pain ever since. I'm not sure why as its supposed to be good but I am not running to go back to the pool any time real soon, it was not a good experience. Anyone else find the pool makes you hurt more?
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback, its nice to know there are people here who understand.