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Chronic Lumbar radiculoparhy
Hello .My drs are no help as they say my radiculopathy cant be coming from my back and told me to see a pain shrink.Seen 3 neurosurgeons who dismissed me .My mris show facet arthropathy 3 levels in my lumbar spine .Mild disc buldges L3 to S1 .mild bilateral foraminal stenosis same levels .Mild canal stenosis at L5 with mild bilateral recess narrowing ,small annular fissure and moderate facet arthropathy along with foraminal at L5 .I have moderate denerative changes si joint bilateral with anterior osteophytosis and partial lumbarization of L1 .I have facet arthropathy all levels cervical and mild disc buldges and mild foraminal stenosis .On thoratic i got 4 spinal hemangioma and 4 mild chronic anterior wedging .I cannot sit for 30 min without butt pain and cant walk more then an hour my leg is on fire .My hands hurt like heck .I did an emg and it came with chronic radiculopathy and mild carpel tunnel and cubital tunnel .My drs are not concerned and dont think that i should be in that much pain even tho emg said other wise .Seen 3 neurosurgeons and just got an emg .They think its a post tramatic case and i should see a shrink .
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I am so sorry you have been treated so dismissively. However, a psychologist or therapist is often part of a pain management program. It sounds like noone communicated well with you about this. In my experience, where communication was better, it was explained that this kind of referral or inclusion of a psychologist in a pain management program does not mean that anyone thinks the pain is "all in my head."
The thing is, do you want surgery? If you don't want surgery, and now with resistance to prescribing many types of pain meds, there have to be alternative ways to deal with pain. Cognitive behavioral methods, art therapies, distraction....all in the realm of psychology. If you go on the Psychology Today therapist finder, many say they specialize in pain.
Doctors tend to not be good at communicating when they cannot fix something.
A family member of mine did PRP_ platelet rich plasma- for some of the issues you have with SI joint. You pay about $1,000 out of pocket. It was amazing for her but it depends on the cause of your issues.
You could also try to see a functional medicine doctor who sees the whole picture. But, again, referral to psychological approaches is very very common and often a part of pain management, and does not mean anyone thinks you have a mental health problem 🙂
clptampa,
Don't head for the couch just yet. You have evidence for the source of your pain that isn't psychiatric. We can only assume that your surgeons themselves found benefit in psychiatry for their imaginary pain.
Radicular pain originates at the nerve root close to the spinal cord. So maybe it isn't radicular pain. Except that you have narrowing in the lateral recess which is where the nerve root lies.
Some of your pains sounds like sciatica. The sciatic nerve passes through the piriformus muscle in the buttox and causes pain when sitting bcause the muscle compresses the nerve. https://www.spine-health.com/conditions/spine-anatomy/sciatic-nerve-anatomy I only hope you look at the picture of that big fat sciatic nerve as it runs down the back of your leg.
I'm only guessing sciatica. You have lots going on at L5. And you 'll be surprised at how many remedies work.
If there is a university pain clinic near you, you might schedule there. There are nerve blocks for every place you are having pain. And there are many minimally invasive procedures. You have a good path out of pain.
If you were my Mom (doctors love to say) I'd be on the phone first thing tomorrow morning. I'd make an appointment with a chirpractor first an appointment with a massage specialist second. I'd find a pain specialist with good patient ratings for the back and a completely different pain specialist for the neck. I'd schedule as soon as possible and then I'd call every day to see if there are cancellations. I'd have any imaging and the emg report on hand for the appointment.
You are going to have good luck.
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2 ReactionsInjections didn't help me or my daughter, nor did PT. Massage and chiropractic help temporarily. PRP was the only thing that helped. I went to a comprehensive pain management program with doctor, PT, OT and, yes, psychologist, but not for mental health- as I said_ but for pain mgmt. techniques. Hope something helps you!
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3 ReactionsTry contacting Dr. Carl Lauryssen (I think he's in Texas now). He was Very helpful with disc replacement surgery for me in 2008. Maybe you could request a consultation? I hope you can find relief!
Thanks for the reply .thing is ive seen 3 neurosurgeons and they think its a damaged nerve and they all explained there is no surgery to fix this .This is whats so upsetting about this .Been advocating for myself for 3 years and no luck .Sit in pain while drs try to figure it out.
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2 ReactionsThanks for your reply .iam actually going to see a physistrist rehab dr tomorrow so fingers crossed..And what makes the shrink part so bad is the face the dr made when she said it .Thank u so much for commenting and for your time
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1 ReactionYour X-ray results as your describe could be mine but I additional have fused L4-S1 with stainless steel bars. So you have chronic neuropathic pain and now need a pain specialist. Yes seeing a psychiatrist is part of the process and you might learn something new and interesting about yourself too. Good luck with your pain control.