Likelihood that the pain will progress or stop?

Hey @lorry, thanks for your reply. I don't even know where to begin. I only had lower back and buttock pain from a ski fall when we moved to Delaware back in 2023. My last surgery was to have a pain pump with hydromorphone implanted in April of 2023. The trial was great, but the permanent implant has never helped one bit. Had it adjusted up, down, all around to no avail. I am having it adjusted down so I can have it taken out.
About five months ago, I started getting extreme pain in the back of my legs and in my feet. Pain docs here in Delaware seem totally befuddled and not willing to look deeper. I will be going for Scrambler therapy at the end of the month. I have very cautious optimism because nothing has helped so far. I just mad a list of my symptoms. Too many to even enumerate here. Looking at them, one would think I was a hypochondriac. Good luck on your journey.
Yes, many anti-inflammatories.

Hi @heisenberg34
Your situation (and probably your age) is much closer to my son (he is 41). Big fit smart guy who's life was destroyed by a back injury. He was young enough to believe medicine was a science, when it remains a debate, and he went for the quick 'big fix' of back surgery - he just wanted his life back. Understandable but not something a 29 year old should do (IMO).

Sad news is there are no quick fixes and no miracles, no 'one size fits all'. He found the surgery failure, removal of the hardware and the daily pain was only the tip of the iceberg once the depression hit. Once 'the boy most likely to succeed' he is reduced to researching medication and had a huge battle with (prescribed!) oxycontin addiction 10 years ago, and on-going juggling of anti-depressants and their side effects.

He did look into a tens machine and at an implant. He got quite serious about doing that but thankfully I discouraged him from implanting anything. The saying that 'surgery is good for surgeons, not necessarily good for patients' has a lot of truth.

He is lucky to have parental support - we can give him a house, but his physical and mental journey is his alone to travel. He studies and reads a lot. We are in Australia and he has excellent specialist support but its your own demons that are often the hardest to tackle. Down days, (feeling helpless, hopeless) are all too common.

I spoke to my own doctor about back surgery (I had a major injury 50 years ago) and he said "100% of people that sit in that chair and discuss their back surgery with me, regret having it done". OK that is only one doctor's experience but 100% is a pretty astonishing statistic.

My son has had recent success with pain patches. He doesn't welcome my curiosity or input so, as hard as it is, I have to stand back and watch.

My own journey is with neuropathy caused by B6 toxicity. I have bought the B6 levels down in my blood stream but the 'toxicity' has been like a wildfire going through my nervous system leaving charred remains where some nerves will die and some will regenerate - my challenge with ataxia (in all its forms - swaying like I'm drunk, hands shaking, I can't put a cup to my face and find my mouth!), and brain malfunction (slurring words like I've had a stroke, memory loss and constant fog), skin itching and feet burning. All of my peripheral nerves appear to be affected.

You possibly have sciatic nerve pain. Possibly pinched in your fall, if you landed on the base of your spine. The sciatic nerve originates in the lower back (lumbar spine - L4 to S3), travels through the buttocks and down the back of each leg, and splits into smaller branches near the knee all the way to the feet.

A lot of people on this site are talking and sharing (from all over the world). This has got to be healthy - to work as a global community for the health and support of one another.
Good luck on your journey

Not even close to your son's age. 77 and counting. Nerve testing says neuropathy. A fancy way of saying that I have nerve pain. I feel bad for your son. Pretty young to have all those problems. I hope and pray that he can find some answers. One of the keys is to find a doc who will really listen and will be willing to take a deeper dive into the pain. A private practice doc will more likely be able to spend more time. The first neurologist I visited was a private practice doc who spent and hour and a half(!) with me, ultimately prescribing a cocktail of drugs that literally changed my life. Best of luck to you and your son.

Hi Heisen

Could you please share the cocktail of drugs that literally changed your life?
Thanks

Allessio

Back at ya, @allessio77 . I was prescribed Tramadol(50 mg 3x/day). Gabapentin(100mg 3x/day), and diazepam(I forget dosage). The first few days left me very dizzy. I was contemplating cutting some of the pills in half, but soldiered on. After about a week, the dizziness let up and things evened out. I was eventually able to get back on my bike and ride 30-40 miles a week, something I had not been able to do for almost two years. Like I said, numerous orthopedic surgeons had looked at my chart, scans, etc. and told me point blank: "There's nothing else that can be done. Just learn to live with it". That's why it is so important to advocate for yourself.
I wish you much success on your journey. "If God be for us, who can be against us?".

Thanks...I'm thinking I may be at point where I need this kinda cocktail. Just wondering if the side effects mellowed out after a month or two. Looks like they did for you! Good luck.

Yes, they did mellow out. Try to find a private practice doc who will take the time to really listen to you. My cocktail may or may not be exactly the one for you.

There are so many side effects to all of those drugs. All are addictive. Then the cycle of ‘try’ then ‘titrate’ can be long (years) while you find what works for you. Tramadol caused nightmares and long term Gabapentin caused (irreversible) tinnitus.
If you don’t get a skin reaction the best we have encountered is skin patches at the lowest dose for your body weight.
I used Norspan. That is a brand name for Burenorphine. Amazing pain relief. Has a terrible reaction (for me) of nausea with the tiniest amount of alcohol. One patch lasts a week.
Everyone is different. I agree that reading researching and advocating for yourself is a good approach.

JOURNAVX is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderate-to-severe short-term (acute) pain.

It is not known if JOURNAVX is safe and effective in children.