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Excruciating chronic left side neck pain plus lumbar issues
Spine Health | Last Active: Nov 18, 2023 | Replies (360)Comment receiving replies
Update 22 January 2023.
The last 2 days have been reasonable, in other words not too painful.
Not sure if it is because of the pain killers and the anti-inflammatories.
I still can't believe how many meds my pain management doctor gave me to be taken daily 😱
1 x Endep 10mg
1 x Pregabalin 25mg
1 x Diclofenac 50mg
1 x Clonidine 50mcg
1 x Targin 10mg
I believe that I can't take this stuff forever, it may cause other issues.
On Friday I had a phone appointment with the doctor. He told me to keep taking the medicines because he believes that we have to wait 3 months to allow the discs to repair themselves. The MRIs show that I have bulging discs, thinning of the discs and large complex osteophytes which are severely compressing.
I don't know what he is up to. How can the medicines improve a structural problem?
To me it is is like a bridge with damaged columns trying to stay up.
Anyway I am not medical expert to make such statements.
Today the pain has increased again despite the meds. I feel pretty strong pain shooting through traps, shoulders, arms , hands and fingers especially left thumb, index finger, middle finger and little finger.
The come and go throughout the day.
I am frustrated by the fact that most of my activities are restricted now. Before I was so active physically and mentally. I have been an IT expert for more than 30 years and when people ring me to get IT support I have to tell them that I have to ring them back due to the pain. I can't drive onsite for the same reason. A lot of support is done either through the phone or via remote access. My brain is fully functional, I can resolve issues, but the pain interferes in a big way.
When will I see the light? I keep praying our Lord 🙏
Alfred
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@ab6540183
Alfred, I think you are right to question your doctor's motives. When your disc is loosing height it is on the way to collapsing. You can simply ask your doctor how can a disc that does not have a blood supply repair itself?
I asked if my spinal disc could be saved, and the answer was "no" from my neurosurgeon. The disc was collapsed 50% and was growing bone spurs next to the extruded material (the nucleus) because the outer layer (the annulus) had ruptured.
I've been looking for some literature on the topic of spinal disc regeneration in case there is anything that backs up his statement about a disc healing itself. I found these, and it doesn't really answer the question. I'm sure there are lots of factors, and age (and degree of age-related degeneration) and degree of injury surely would be variables.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8607668/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20739107/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8155933/
As for the restriction of your activities, you'll need to come to terms with that. It's a loss. Right now, you don't know what recovery is possible, and this is going to take a lot of patience. Surgery will be a compromise because you can get back some function, but you can loose some ability to move normally. Perhaps, you don't have that now. Somehow you need to find some strength inside yourself to move your life in another direction, whatever that would mean for you. Learn all you can about your condition so you can ask educated questions that will make the surgeon think to answer it.
Pain interfering with your normal daily activities and inability to focus are things that doctors and therapists make note of. They give you a numeric disability score based on questions, and also gage any recovery later on by asking the same questions.
You are right. Pain medicines do not solve a structural problem. The anti-inflammatories may buy some space by reducing inflammation. Your surgeon should give you a better explanation about waiting 3 months. Does that even make sense since your injuries happened over a few years time, and have recently escalated? If the discs were going to repair themselves, wouldn't that have already happened previously? Perhaps this is kind of like a requirement in failing physical therapy before a surgical solution is offered. You are in a tough spot of needing his help even though you question his motives. You'll need to be respectful when communicating with him. I know this is difficult. Hang in there.