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What treatment discipline follows pain management specialists?
Spine Health | Last Active: Jun 25 8:11am | Replies (16)Comment receiving replies
Yes, I was thinking a spine neurosurgeon would be the next specialist to see. I wait to get a recommendation from the pain management doctors I've been seeing, but they seem to only want to prescribe some type of pain reliever.
As for epidurals I have had several of them over the past 3 years and the duration of pain relief has been very short each - 2 or 3 weeks at best. The doctors usually just say to come back to them in 3 months for another epidural. I wish it were that easy. The back pain resumes in a matter of days. A few days ago, I got a lower back "more precisely directed" injection (4 shots in a small area) that has now dissipated in terms of benefit.
It seems I'm headed for minimally invasive spine surgery, but there are several options there...Different Types of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, as follows: Microdiscectomy; Cervical Arthroplast; Minimally Invasive Laminectomy; Minimally Invasive Laminotomy; Percutaneous Fusion; Kyphoplasty; Minimally invasive scoliosis correction. I think I need to head to another hospital-based spine institute with a full staff of doctors and specialists.
Many thanks for your reply!
Replies to "Yes, I was thinking a spine neurosurgeon would be the next specialist to see. I wait..."
@laughlin1947 Try the Mayo Clinic. They won't see you unless you have had imaging studies, have failed PT, epidurals and pain management and been referred by a doctor, but it can be a PCP. I would recommend trying to see a neurosurgeon.
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@laughlin1947
You are on the right track. You need to find the exact cause of your pain not just just throw pain meds at it.
I had a MILD done last year but onlt helped left leg some and right leg not at all.
It was worth the chance, the surgery is a fairly easy one and it confirmed my stenosis pain is foraminal and not central.
Due to adult scoliosis there is really no other solution for me than a fusion to fix.
Bones vs. nerves bones always win.
Below is a link to the best explanation to fusions that I have found, it explains everything quite well. It is a little long but is in plain english and a good read.
https://tinyurl.com/4br244ps