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Chronic Pain even after several back surgeries- suggestions?
I am hoping to get some guidance as to what my options to get my pain under control might be.
Quick background: I was hit by a DUI in 1985 and that started my back issues. Pain was managed through PT, Chiropractic, and medication until 2009 when a microdiscectomy in 2009 and 2010 was done. When I could no longer stand, I had a fusion L5/S1 done. Things were "OK" after that.....until:
June of 2019 some kid texting ran a red light and I T-boned his vehicle at 45 mph.
This crash caused multiple issues and dramatically increased my back pain. As a result, I had a bilateral SI joint fusion June 2020 and then a fusion L3/4 December 2020.
Despite all this (with lots of PT, acupuncture, medication, medical marijuana, pain creams) I am STILL in chronic lower back pain, my left thigh is numb (since the L3/4 fusion) and my left foot has varying degrees of numbness- it increases with back pain increases.
Since the two most recent surgeries, the pain has only slightly decreased. I have some "tolerable" days and mostly "intolerable ones".
I can stand most of the day just fine. However, most of the pain is from sitting and lying down. If I bend forward (like getting my sunglasses from the glovebox in my car) - the pain in my right hip is intense! The pain is awful If I lay down to sleep- if I rock my hips from left to right- that increases pain. I can only sleep an hour or so until I must get up and apply pain cream to my back (and neck- sore from tossing all night). If I stand up from sitting- it takes me a few minutes before I can stand up straight- the pain is high when doing so.
I have had many xrays, MRI's, and CT scans. I got a second opinion from a top Neurosurgeon at Penn, he says the hardware looks OK and sees nothing that concerns him. I have met with two pain management doctors, one suggests seeing if I am a candidate for a spinal cord implant, the other pain doc doesn't really like them.
My doctors all say they have tried everything, but before I get a spinal cord implant device, I gotta believe more diagnostic work can be done? I feel the implant will just "mask" the real issue. I really have to find out what is causing my pain!
If anyone has suggestions, it would be very much appreciated. I am at the end of my pain-tolerance-rope, Thank you
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Two suggestions that help me. Dead Sea Salt is applied to the muscles that hurt - it includes magnesium. You can get it on line as a spray, but I also found it at Walgreens in a larger can that comes out as a foam and is much easier to spread. The only negative is that it last 2-4. I find it very helpful for the muscle pain that feels like electricity running the length of my muscle fibers while the CBD takes care of the muscle spasms.
Second thing - I supplement 2, 10mg diazepam tablets with 2 valerian root tablets before bed.
Agreed
@s4vageb8 Hi there, how are you doing? I was wondering if you've made a decision yet on receiving a spinal cord implant, or if doctors have concluded any other source of pain beyond chronic pain?
Will you keep me posted?
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1 ReactionI suffer from chronic pain. I have found that Dead Sea Salt which can be open on line or at Walgreens which is easier to apply to be very helpful.
"whattodo" took the words right out of my mouth! Back and hip issues can obscure one another. Both my daughter and I were evaluated for hip pain by the same ortho doctor; both os us also have back issues. Both of us were rather "written off" by the ortho doc until his own physician's assistant called me to come in for a re-evaluation X-ray because, he said, he recognized how much pain I was in. Long story short, that simple X-ray led right away to hip replacement surgery. My back was not the issue! Daughter is going through the same process now. Each of us has had to be our own determined advocate to find the source and possible solutions for our pain. I say this because the day of one primary doc managing everything is over in medicine. That person has been replaced by the patient, the very person who may feel least able to handle things.
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2 ReactionsHas psoas muscle tightness from nerve irritation? Pain is felt in the hip, thigh, groin for some.
Absolutely! I have spinal stenosis & arthritis, but the true cause of my back pain was deteriorated hip joints. Once replaces, the back issues have been completely manageable (without surgery) for over 15 years. The orthopedic surgeon told me "You have the hips of an 85 year old" - but I was only 53.
Sue
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2 ReactionsAre you asking for yourself? Or responding to someone else?
Sue
I was trying to reply to the OP but there is no Reply option on their post, only Comment.
Was also trying to edit to say, Has psoas muscle irritation been discussed?