I've been DX'd w/DDD: L3 > L7. I am 61 years old and the chronic pain is becoming even more so; should I see an Orthopaedic Surgeon Re: possible surgery? Or is it too late? Physical therapy over the last seven years really has had no positive affect. I swim and do Aquatics 4 > 5 times a week, 50 minutes each. I used to walk 5 > 6 miles daily, but I get stopped in my tracks, literally, when I walk my mini-schnauzer(Lil' Dude) 2 > 4 blocks! Please help? Thanks, Franciann, Chicago, IL

I am only 21 and I have already had 3 knee surgeries (meniscus tear, drainage, lateral muscle release and a plica removed. I had an MRI in July and it showed that the cartilage between my tibia and femur and under my patella is deteriorating pretty quickly. I have a brace for it (a BREG brace), but I can't use it forever. For people with this kind of issue, what surgeries are best for someone my age? Should I talk to my doctor about having surgery or should I wait it out a few more years. I started taking glucosamine as well. I have tried medicine (vicodin doesn't work and voltaren gel hasn't worked either).

I am a 21 year old female who broke her sacrum when I was 13. I then fell and reinjured it when I was 16. I now have a partially sacralized l5. I have so much pain every day, no meds, PT, or anything seem to help. Massage is nice, and I would like to try acupuncture, but insurance does not cover such things. I am hopefully seeing a neurosurgeon soon, but would it even be possible to have surgery to fix my pain? I know I was NOT born this way.. My whole life has been upturned. Thanks! Kara, Detorit MI

What kind of treatments can help a compressed ulnar nerve? Does icing the area help or is heat a better option?

I have worked in the very physically and mentally demanding career of law enforcement for almost 15 years. In January of this year, I was hurt while arresting an uncooperative suspect. As a result, I had neck pain, which turned into nerve issues (discoloration in my right hand, pins and needles in my finger tips and "dead arm"). After seeing 3 different doctors 4 physical therapists, a chiropractor and an orthopedic surgeon, I have been diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. The doctor and surgeon cannot agree on which form. The tests seem to reveal that my pulse stops on my right side indicating Arterial TOS, while the surgeon believes despite the test result, ATOS is too rare, but does feel I have Nuerogenic TOS. He believes surgery is my best option, yet from all that I have read, it's not only a risky surgery, but the success rate isn't high. My question is, with or without surgery, based on the diagnosis of TOS, when (if ever) can I expect to return to the streets in full capacity?

My back hurts all of the time. Washing dishes can set it off. I've had many of those epideral injections and they did no good. Every ortho guy I see tells me that is degenerative disc disease and that I'm getting older....so there has to be something to help the pain without pain meds. I need some quality of life in this area. I've done physical therapy and had no good results. I also have Hep C and stomach issues but don't see where that would play a role. I stick to a stick Live diet and I don't do drugs, drink or smoke.

This one I posted in my chronic pain forum, I'm posting here, for more answers:

I have CRPS. I am currently entering stage three of this progressive disease, an illness i suffered as a result of misdiagnosis and refusal of medical assistance while in the military. The ailment began in 2009 as a result of a displaced fracture that went untreated because as I was told: "I am lying to try to get out of my soldier duties because I'm a female"
After being forced to perform my military tasks on a broken tibia for 1 1/2 years, I finally suffered one last set of fractures that stopped me in my tracks completely. By that time I had had multiple fractures, un-healing fractures, displaced snaps, calcium deposits and stress related fractures all the the same location. My lower left tibia was a fragile mess, held together by god knows what kind of miracle. I was discharged on a measly 10% after a horrid set of experiences with terrible leadership, and thank goodness the VA raised me to 70 for my other ailments. For a very long time I had no idea what was going on. I had so many different people telling me different things:

I'm ok, I'm not ok, my leg needs surgery, I dont need surgery, I need a rod implanted, I need to cut the bone, I need a wheelchair, i need a walking cast etc etc etc. Nothing worked. I've done everything from progression walk to run therapy to water aerobics, bone stimulation to "mind of matter" meditation......

and i am now unable to walk unassisted, in consistent pain, i cannot sleep, i cannot sit comfortably. I want to play with my stepson and walk with my husband. ( we got married yesterday I almost had to sit for my own marriage, lucky the commissioner was kind enough to give us the "speedy" version of wedlock to save me from too much pain) I want to be able to pick my stepson up when he needs my embrace, but i cannot. My everyday is spent carefully calculating every move i make to ensure the least amount of pain as possible, when i watch tv, or have coffee, or make myself breakfast, even getting out of bed requires some sort of painful caution, as if I'm going to break like an antique vase if the blankets hit me wrong.

After having a name put to the pain a few weeks ago (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy AKA Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome "CRPS") I began to research and speak with people who have the same ailments. All answers for my own situation point to a below the knee Trans tibial amputation to stop the progression of this disease. It is already starting to spread, everyone i know who was in the early stages of this disease when diagnosed (I am beginning the latest stage, stage 3) were given a great prognosis. They were told they'd be healed in no time, that with intense therapy they would walk again, they would run again, they could be happy again, they could wear shoes and stand and dance and be normal again. The same thing I was told...But my stage is irreversible...theirs "wasn't.".... now ALL of them have gone through painful procedures with no remission, and one has had chronic pain for 30 years now, another lost her precious mobility due to the limb becoming necrotic and having to be forcefully amputated to safe her life. I DON'T underestimate the severity of losing a limb, I am saddened by the thought of how all of this could have been prevented if my PA in the Army had shut his biased thoughts out and did his job, instead of assuming that I was just "being a girl" and I was just "crazy" or a "liar". If someone had actually helped me...I wouldn't be here, suffering with a decision to remove my own leg in order to live even closer to a life I once had.



I am 21. I'm too young to feel this old, and I've had one hell of a life so far. I'm not going to (pardon the pun) stand for this any longer. I don't want to be disabled for the rest of my life, having doctor after doctor just smile and tell me that if i try hard enough ill be OK, when they have no idea what I am feeling. I don't want to be in a wheelchair, or a hospital bed, with a tube in my spine, hearing the same prognosis "you'll be fine, just keep trying" I've heard that for a long time now, and I see it repeating in the future for years to come.

For me, it is the right choice. I can potentially walk again, I can work again, I can stand on my own again. I can hold my son and I will no longer have to calculate how to stand or how to put on a pair of pants without feeling like my legs are being crushed in a vice and then lit aflame!!

My question is: How do I request this procedure without being turned down? How do I make my doctors see that this is what I need? How can I get my life back?