Re: The Well XCVIII - Jeff_H An Enigma Surrounded By Mystery, Wrapped In A Conundrum
Okay,
What is the main problem with your neck?
What kind of pain (pinching, pressure or pulling) you get with which movements?
What did the doctors told or did before?
Since when do you have the problems, are there any changes?
The problem is actually with my back....lower back. When it acts up now, it's just a deep, deep sore feeling; like a muscle pull but much worse. I rarely get any pinching or pulling....so I guess pressure is a close an answer as any.
My leg pain is usually the worst. It used to feel like every nerve ending was erupting acid. Now, it's more of a deep ache to the bone...almost like bone on bone is rubbing...it's really deep. My wife massages my legs fairly often and it helps for a little bit (hour or so), but the pain is always there...every day. Some days aren't so bad. Some days I can walk a little bit and get some temporary relief, but I've tried everything.
The doctors originally diagnosed the pain as associated with my back injury and partly as diabetic neuropothy. I had an MRI back in 06', which showed several annular tears in two discs, a slightly bulging disc and some degenerative arthritis in one disc.
The doctors out here prescribed a variety of medicine to combat the problems...Lyrica for nerve pain, a muscle relaxant and Oxycontin for overall pain control. I did that for over two years....but it got to the point where the pain was worse than it was before....especially when the Oxy wore off and it was almost time for another dose. I finally took myself off all of the pain meds, and after the withdrawal was finally over, the paid was actually better than when I was on painkillers.
The pain is not truly debilitating, but it's enough that it makes normal, everyday activities difficult. It's like having done a really hard leg workout and having that 2nd day pain...but deeper and every day.
My original doctor was a pain management doctor, but all he did was prescribe pain killers. I asked him about alternate therapy or different medication, and he would always tell me that what he had me doing was what he thought was best.
I was in the process of going to a new doctor to see if he could help me further, when I was laid off and lost my insurance. As soon as I'm working again I'll get back on that track. There has to be an answer somewhere....even if it's back surgery. I'd like to avoid that if at all possible, but I don't want to live the rest of my life like this.
