[thunderbear]

I went to the hosp today to get my reports to give my neurosurgeon tommarrow. I have more that degenerative discs and arthritis going on in there. I've got reversal of lordosis, curvature to the right in my upper t spine and curvature to the left of my lower t spine. anterior osteophyte (spurs) in my c4 c5 c6 c7. Promniant anterior osteophytes in my t. Degenerative discs disease in my c5-6-7 and l4-4 and s1.Bilateral cervical ribs in my c-7 and advanced degeneration. And my doc said "You've got mild arthritis and mild degenerative disc disease. HA I wanna smack her

[eskielover]

I know that UK is a distance for you, but they do have some good dr's. There are also good ones out of Louisville & Shelbyville

My migraines are really bad, but when they were trying to find a solution, they realized that I had had a bad whip-lash sometime in my past (only time I can think of is when I was bucked over the head of the horse I was riding in my college equestrian class). They determined that I needed to have neck fusion.....back in 1999. I had the surgery & have healed well from it, but it hasn't taken care of the migraines so now going to a wonderful pain specialist in Lexington.

Sounds like you need a really good Dr. Have heard that many here in KY are mostly ducks (quack, quack, quack). Even UK has it's not good Dr's as my friend found when they botched up her hip replacement surgery.

I am sure that you will find a Dr that will be capable of the correct treatment....just keep searching until you find the right one

There are many treatments for the back other than surgery which should be the last resort.

Now that you have the information from the reports, use that to look through the internet & see what kinds of treatments & studies have been done on treatments for the different problems you have listed.

At least then you will know what Dr's.

Keep us posted on how you are doing & if you can find a REAL DR to help you.

[(JD)]

I'm sorry you don't feel validated, but I think the films do show what's wrong...and that it isn't in your head. I'm sorry you're angry.

IDK how young/old you are, nor how limited you've become to doing and living life. More discussion with your doctor on how to heal is a good idea. (No smacking allowed. )

Bone spurs can be caused by arthritis.

Lordosis is an issue that is quite treatable (curvature of spine as described).

Treatment Lordosis of the lower back may be treated by strengthening the abdominal muscles and hamstrings, and by stretching the psoas muscles. Back hyper-extensions on a Roman chair or inflatable ball will strengthen the back muscles but may serve to increase the lordosis. Anti-inflammatory pain relievers may be taken as directed for short-term relief. Physical therapy effectively treats 70% of back pain cases due to scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis and bad posture.

Bilateral cervical ribs in c-7 means you have extra ribs.
Compression Worsened by

1. Shoulder sag (in elderly or Muscle Weakness)
2. Carrying heavy object in hand
3. Levels C8 to T1 most commonly affected

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. A large part of many patients’ confusion is that the term “degenerative disc disease” sounds like a progressive, very threatening condition. However, this condition is not strictly degenerative and is not really a disease: http://www.spine-health.com/conditio...e-disc-disease

I know you suffer, and feel like your doctor isn't bothering to listen. Yes, you have some physical causes for pain, but overreacting can also add to your pain...we are quite a connective body/mind being. While you work on improving physically, please also work on the mind set and psychological improvements that can help reduce your pain as well. Make sure he approves physical therapy for you.

[thunderbear]

I'm sorry you don't feel validated, but I think the films do show what's wrong...and that it isn't in your head. I'm sorry you're angry.
Thank you
IDK how young/old you are, nor how limited you've become to doing and living life. More discussion with your doctor on how to heal is a good idea. (No smacking allowed. )
29 almost 30. I can't sit or stand for mre than 30 min.- 1hour.
Bone spurs can be caused by arthritis.
Yeah I thought that too. i think that's whats been causing all that pain.
Lordosis is an issue that is quite treatable (curvature of spine as described).
They can do that? Cause its in my neck. On the X-ray, it looks like my neck is broken.
Bilateral cervical ribs in c-7 means you have extra ribs.
Compression Worsened by

1. Shoulder sag (in elderly or Muscle Weakness)
2. Carrying heavy object in hand
3. Levels C8 to T1 most commonly affected

Yeah the doc that works with my aunt at the hospital (she's the DON dir. of nurses) says it's a congenital defect and not harmful. It's weird though looking at the films of it. And you mentioned shoulder sag, do you think my um....large chest, has anything to do with it?

Degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of low back pain, and also one of the most misunderstood. A large part of many patients’ confusion is that the term “degenerative disc disease” sounds like a progressive, very threatening condition. However, this condition is not strictly degenerative and is not really a disease: http://www.spine-health.com/conditio...e-disc-disease

Yeah it hurts. Two of my lower I guess vertabre are sitting on top of eatchother. I hope it won't require surgery.
I know you suffer, and feel like your doctor isn't bothering to listen. Yes, you have some physical causes for pain, but overreacting can also add to your pain...we are quite a connective body/mind being. While you work on improving physically, please also work on the mind set and psychological improvements that can help reduce your pain as well. Make sure he approves physical therapy for you.
The doc said she would get me PT. I tried it before and kept the worst migraine. Hopefully, it won't be as bad this time. I'm not over-reacting it's just all that is a far cry from "mild arthritis". It just makes me mad because this is'nt the first time I had problems out of her. She knows I'm extremly allergic to NSAIDS and tried to give me a shot of Toradol.

[Jewels]

Hi Thunderbear,

I'm sorry your dr is just giving you generalities and not giving you any specifics.

As for your question about your large chest area, I had a very large chest--about a 46EE--before I had gastric bypass surgery and subsequent breast reduction did a LOT to ease the pain in the lower part of my Cspine and upper back. The only times I notice it now is if I carry a backpack only on one shoulder and not on both. Then my pain really skyrockets.

BTW, I was 26 when I was dx with DDD as well as degenerative arthritis. So I know the pain you have now. I am now 55, and while my back is still far from fine, it hurts a whole lot less without my extra weight up front--and that includes my tummy area when I had the tummy tuck the same time I had my breast reduction done. Getting rid of that excess weight has made a difference in my upper back and neck areas. Now I have bone spurs brought on by the arthritis and have two compression fxs in my lumbar region.

I'm sorry you are having such pain with your DDD. Like I said in the other post, I have Facet Injections every 3 months now. Before now, I was only having them every six months. They do give longer lasting relief than just pills. I hope you get your situation sorted soon. I know being in pain is no laughing matter.

Jewels

[krzyk101]

x
Thunderbear,

I went through what you are going through being TOLD to deal with intolerable pain and that my pain was all in my mind, UNTIL I finally went to a Pain Management Specialist who understood. I have been going to pain management specialist for 6 years now and have been on Opiate Prescription Therapy and take Oxymorphone and Roxicodone on a routine basis and am getting ready to have a pain pump inserted surgically into my body to deliver the powerful Narcotic Medications I NEED to live a comfortable and humane life. I also have Degenerative Disc DISEASE!! and as my pain management Doctor says EVERYONE is an individual and all have a different tolerance for pain. One MRI may show there should be no pain but they treat us as individuals not statistics. I would suggest that you go to a Pain Management Center who specializes in strictly Pain Control, not more Psysical Therapy that did not help for me or is helping not for you and get some relief girl. You need relief and I would be angry too. I would be and was pissed as hell. I would also suggest that you get an MRI as not much will show up on an x-ray.

An MRI is the only way to see all the damage. You might be surprised how much more damage is there, they found that not only do I have Kyposis of the C spine but Stenosis of the C spine in 3 different places. Don't let one doctor and your auntie tell you that your not in pain when you know dam well that you are, this just burns my behind cause I know how hard it is to have severe MI and Chronic Pain and all.

You might even ask for Demerol. It works quite better for pain than NSAIDS AND Tordol. I hate as hole doctors who have no compassion.

I do hope you find your way to a doctor. Who will give you relief. Se up the fight. And don't believe every article you see on the internet.

God Bless and Keep your spirits up, Chris

[thunderbear]

Thnkas Chris for replying. You know how it is then. These docs around here, push that tramadol like it was the next big thing. I know it is a good pain med for back pain (my sis is on it for arthritis) but I went back on my Celexa and you can't take tramadol with Celexa. I have even had a doc ask "What's more important to you managing your PTSD / depression symptoms or your pain" Ugh!! Of course I chose my mental symptoms. And went home with instructions on how to take 2 tylenoyl (LOL) every 4 hours and use moist heat. That was 3 weeks ago. For some reason the pain in my neck, shoulders and low back has almost driven me mad. The other week it hurt so bad I was throwing up so went to ER. The ER doc told me to not come back in over back pain cause they could not give me pain medicine (I have been in there 2x this year, gues thats too many) cause I have DDD and it's a chronic pain only to be treated by either my GP or my neuro. Which sounded funny t o me. But hey what can you do? My husband's friend has arthritis in his leg from an accident years ago, he doctor hops and gets all these diff pain meds (he don't even hurt that bad he has bragged on that) and sells them and makes money on them. That's why people my age can't get relief from real pain. i don't know. I feel like a druggie when I ask for them. So I kinda just quit asking.

[eskielover]

KY has had serious problems with drugs in the past & they clamped down on many of the pain specialists, so they are very leery of prescribing the opiates now. So many of the patients were abusing the meds (like your husband's friend) that it's made it almost impossible for those of us in real pain to get the meds that we really need. I was already being prescribed the large dose of med when I lived in California. When I moved here, I couldn't find a pain specialist that would prescribe the medication I was on.....took me a lot of searching. I found one pain specialist that I was going to go with in Lexington, but ended up finding another one that was even better.....all from phone calls from California when I was back there for a few weeks as the pharmacy would no longer fill my California prescriptions. (DEA is really picky here in KY even more so than in California).

Turned out that the pain specialist that I go to had a problem & almost lost his license because of one of his patients, so he was very leery of taking me on.....had to go to a pain psychologist to determine that I didn't have addictive tendencies which was pretty obvious since I had been on the same dose for 5 years already before coming here, but all he had was the note from my California pain specialist to trust at the time.

It took about a year to develop a trust & a good rapport between us, but once we established that, we haven't had any problems. For awhile, the pharmaceutical company was having problems with back orders & not having enough supply of the med I needed & that made it difficult as it was impossible to go to more than one drug store to pick up all of my prescription & they couldn't fill part if the rest can't be filled within 72 hours.....ugh.....all the complications made my situation with my Dr a bit difficult as there were times when he had to write out the rest of the prescription because it couldn't all be filled & I seemed to be a problem patient even though it wasn't my fault.

When you end up on the opiate drugs, it can be a very complicated situation, but sometimes, it's the only thing that will relieve the pain & they become necessary in order to have any quality of life (which is one of the things that determines whether they will prescribe them or not (along with lack of addictive issues)

I really think that going to a good Pain specialist, one that is willing to prescribe the narcotics (you have to ask because they don't all prescribe them even though they are pain specialists).

I remember when my first California pain specialist refused to prescribe the amount of med that worked, so I was in the ER at least once a week for a demoral shot. They were claiming that I was drug seeking, & yet they found out that once I was prescribed the right amount of pain medication, I never needed to go to the ER even once for pain.....proof above everything else that I WAS NOT DRUG SEEKING!!!!

Hope you can find a good specialist soon as there is nothing worse than continuous pain to cause even more depression than we would normally have.

Praying that it will all work out for you

[(JD)]

Take the PT and do all you can that they ask. You'll have to work through some pain but don't overdo or that might set off a pain flare.

You know, it wouldn't matter if it's "only" one thing that is causing your pain, you're in PAIN!

But as I say, the mind-body connection is more than just a connection ... it's something they can't divide. So work on limiting stress, how you respond to things that make you frustrated or increase your pain, and remember alot of that stuff is just life and you'll need to learn to compensate for the time being at least.

Feel better soon.

[ser25xr]

I just had a bout of sciatica, from a back problem that had me hobbling. I knew I had degenerative disc disease etc, but not as quite as many problems as you mentioned.

After a month I am back active and have my CT scan showing bulging discs, slippage of one vertebra over another by 1/4 inch, but my doctor was not too concerned.

My age is a factor in my condition -- 61, but I am now back at ice-hockey and Tae Kwon Do (2nd degree black belt).

It may be a matter of what you are told is wrong with you rather than what you can do.

I do hope you are able to cope with your problems though, we are all different hen it comes to injuries etc.

Best of luck - Alan

Originally Posted by thunderbear

I went to the hosp today to get my reports to give my neurosurgeon tommarrow. I have more that degenerative discs and arthritis going on in there. I've got reversal of lordosis, curvature to the right in my upper t spine and curvature to the left of my lower t spine. anterior osteophyte (spurs) in my c4 c5 c6 c7. Promniant anterior osteophytes in my t. Degenerative discs disease in my c5-6-7 and l4-4 and s1.Bilateral cervical ribs in my c-7 and advanced degeneration. And my doc said "You've got mild arthritis and mild degenerative disc disease. HA I wanna smack her