Chronic lower back pain & Radiculopathy 21 yrs old

@ellakaluzinski04 Welcome to Connect. You are right that some people have congenital spine issues and you are very young to have a significant spine problem. Over time that can get a lot worse and you will need to be your own advocate. I am a spine surgery patient for a cervical issue caused by a whiplash years earlier and the changes in aging 20 years later. I understand the difficulty now in trying to go to college or work with your condition. My surgeon had a similar case in a young man who was a swimmer and his lumbar spine condition prevented him from walking. Before possible spine surgery, you will need health insurance that covered a surgeon of your choosing within their network. That sounds complex, and insurance is accepted where there is a contract between the health system and doctor and the insurance company. That would be the first problem to solve before you get into a situation that requires urgent surgery. You have a choice to change the course of your future. Your surgeon is right about the need for future surgery. I know that is scary and a big deal, but then again living with a disability is also a big problem and may confine a person to a wheelchair and possible incontinence. I don’t say this to scare you, but you need to understand what your future may be without surgical intervention. Please join the Spine group here and you’ll find more information.

It is OK if this is overwhelming; anyone would feel this way with this news and introduction to a spine condition. Mine was caused by an injury and I was overwhelmed and scared of surgery. An excellent surgeon can change your life like mine did for me at Mayo.

Not to cast a negative stone, but epidurals have a hit or miss chance of being effective. Hope they work for you.

Do not have spinal fusions. It's a 6 month recovery. Sounds like you need a discectomy. Shave off the bulging discs. It's a minimally evasive surgery.

@ellakaluzinski04

I have congenital stenosis due to being born with a narrow spinal canal and any degeneration causes compression. I am now in my 50s but have had various issues over time.

Are you hypermobile? Are your joints extra flexible and do your joints feel loose/easy to dislocate or bend excessively? I have hypermobility and can bend and touch my hands flat to the floor despite 2 cervical and one lumbar spine decompression/fusion surgeries.

You may want to see a rheumatologist for specialized bloodwork to see if you have an autoimmune disease (mixed connective tissue disease) for treatment options. Have you had extensive bloodwork done and has any result fallen outside the normal reference range minimum/maximum?

You would benefit getting a psychologist that specializes in helping people who deal with chronic pain. You may also benefit from taking an antidepressant to help you cope. Are you still taking duloxetine? It is supposed to help with nerve/arthritis pain but also helps with depression from chronic pain. If it isn’t helping your depression, you may want to work with a psychiatrist to consider adding another medication, like Wellbutrin/bupropion, to your duloxetine . I had taken both at a time. I am now just taking the bupropion but may look into taking duloxetine again since my nerve pain is increasing again and pregabalin (Lyrica) isn’t helping much.

What do your parents suggest you do? Are they helping you navigate the healthcare system and advocate for the best care?

I'm not hypermobile, I haven't had many dislocations in my life and haven't broken any bones. I think my doctor did a "general" autoimmune blood test, i am not really sure to what extent but since autoimmune problems run on my mothers side of the family my mum is pushing my doctor for further testing, I am not sure if you are from Australia but most of our healthcare is bulk billed or only small out of pocket expenses. I had a look online said rheumatologist appointments in my state are about $120 out of pocket expense. This is something i can afford and will keep this in mind. I have considered seeing a psychologist but they are crazy expensive here and the wait time is ridiculous, possibly a future thing. My parents and I are very close and they are helping me every step of the way, My dad often works away so i don't see him often but he calls me regularly to stay informed and gives me support and my mum is there with me for every doctors appointment to help me advocate for the best care as sometimes I am not a very good communicator and can get a bit flustered especially with a lot of information. The next step my GP recommended is to get into a pain specialist as soon as I possibly can he said me marked as semi urgent moved my wait time from 8 months down to one month, so i am just waiting to get a call from the pain specialist and then the specialist will override what my doctor does and take it from there.

He did mention they don't work for everybody.

@ellakaluzinski04
You may want your doctor to fully evaluate your thyroid function and see if you have hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism (check TSH, T3, T4). You can also have them check TPO autoantibodies to see if you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Thyroid disorders can affect cartilage. The thyroid gland plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism, growth, and development, which includes the health of connective tissues like cartilage. This could be behind some of your spine/joint/disc issues.

My mom also had lupus/RA/Hashimoto's so autoimmune runs in my family. When I started to have pain in my early 40s (after my first and only child was born), I was told I have a congenitally narrow spinal canal (~10mm) and that I have a spine that looks 25 years older than my chronological age. You definitely sound like you have something going on since it started in your teens.

Did you do any sports, gymnastics or dance when you were a child/teen?

I don't see where the OP said that.

"'My GP said i will most likely have to get CT guided epidural steroid injections in my lower back every year for the rest of my life unless i consider surgery.""

I hope that they would help.

sorry my bad i forgot to add it in there

I’ll ask for a blood test for what you have mentioned. I am quite tall (6ft 2) and i weigh about 78 kilos i’m not sure if that could contribute to anything or not. I didn’t do gymnastics or dance when i was younger and i did sport sparsely nothing too intense or for long. I never even thought about the thyroid gland and how it can affect the cartilage in my body. Gives me more insight and more stuff to get tested for and more questions for my doctor. Thank you for the information !