[Michelle]

I know the feeling of walking into the office, perversely hoping you'll be told there's something drastically wrong on your films, just so you have an answer for your pain. I'm so grateful that I was lucky enough to have docs who actually tried to convince ME that it wasn't in my head. The biggest clue as to my problem was the fact that I had no pain in the am. On getting out of bed I was fine. Almost instantly after standing up, I'd have pain in my back. By the end of the day the pain was all down my leg, and so bad I wanted to throw up. All my studies were done lying down, so there was no evidence of the area collapsing when I stood. But it was. It took a discogram to 'prove' that was where the pain was coming from. In the absence of anything else wrong on MRI other than 'narrow disc space', and with the evidence of the pain coming from the disc, they were pretty confident that they were doing the right thing. It took a lot of injections, PT, acupunture, etc before they'd even consider this, and while understandable, it's frustrating. I was lucky enough to have a general doc who knew me, and knew I wasn't drug seeking or anything, and he also was friends with my ADR surgeon. I really have to thank my GP for that. Just because you don't have a huge bulge or tear, doesn't mean the disc isn't causing your pain. Ask for a discogram. I had been told before that the pain was from surgical scar tissue, and nothing could be done. I didn't accept that, and kept looking. All I can say is keep at it. You'll eventually find something that will help, even if it's just a good pain management program. If your doc keeps treating you like it's all in your head, switch docs. Get a referral to a spine specialist. I feel for you in your battle. But hang in there-it does get better! I'm a bit of a ProDisc fan, so if you want some info on that, let me know.