Hi @lilrav, it sounds like you are in a really tough place right now and feel there no doctor is supporting you to find answers and relief to your pain. Members like @nlback22 @jenniferhunter @lilypaws @wisco50 know this feeling and can share their stories.

Lilrav, do you see a physical therapist?

Sorry you are experiencing so much pain. I am not the person to advise, but please continue your pursuit for the right medical professional. There has to be help for you.
Keep the faith. You have gotten this far....You are strong.💞🙏

@lilrav I am a spine surgery patient too, and for some, this is a difficult surgery. You start to wonder if the pain will get better, and it does. I think you are getting through the most difficult part now. Improvement comes in baby steps, and the surgery at the lower end of the spine is a more difficult recovery. I have been helping another patient who had spine surgery right after yours, and 5 days after the procedure , she started feeling pain and weakness in her arm. We were both very worried, but now she is getting better and every day she has less pain. I know this is hard, but you have to believe that you can do this and get through it. It might seem as if time is standing still right now, but your body is healing and that can't be rushed. It takes a lot of patience.

With my spine problem, I had some unusual symptoms, and a lot of surgeons didn't understand the problem, and then wouldn't help me. I was getting worse and symptoms were changing with pain, burning and weakness. I spent 2 years trying to get help and saw 5 surgeons and all of them passed on me. That is discouraging and I felt no doctor was listening. During that time, my dad was also dying of end stage heart disease. He had given up, and was so weak , he could not move himself around in bed. I was in a lot of pain with a compressed spinal cord in my neck and was there taking care of him at home, and using a lift to transfer him to a wheelchair and so on. This was the hardest 2 years of my life, but I did have some more time with my dad because I wasn't having surgery.

It was right after my dad passed, that I did get the call to come to Mayo. Still, going through cervical spine surgery is a long recovery, but it was worth it and my life is better now than it was before the surgery. There is always a compromise that is made when you have surgery, but life is about adapting to change and doing the best you can. Be kind to yourself. Listen to music you love and relax. Try not to stress about things and just unplug from the world as best you can.

When is your appointment with the new doctor?