SCS - Horrible Pain Everything went wrong!

[kajari]

Thank you for all the thoughful and caring response. To answer some of the questions. Yes, I am under the care of PM docs as well. I have been with PM docs for over three years now and have been through the ringer with medications. I am on a mixture of nerve medications (Neurotin and Lyrica - both being used because of a study that was performed at a hospital in Colorado Springs, CO), pain medications and meds to help me fall alseep. I usually only get a total of 2 to 3 hours of sleep at night due to the extreme pain in my back and hypersensivity of my nerves when something touches the banding pain around my chest. I was seen by my ortho two days ago and I am getting the same answers as I usually do. They are telling me I have spinal cord and nerve root damage along with scar tissue build up. Even though my right leg is going paralyzed more frequently my ortho thinks this not out of the ordinary considering the damage that has been done. I cannot get a straight answer about what actually caused this damage because he does not want to get caught up in what the previous surgeon did to me. He is afraid to offer any surgical or medical treatments due to the severity of the damage and I am told I need to wait a few more months to see if things get worse before he will recommend anything. I cannot lay on my back due to the severe pain so I will need to be anesthesized to have any further MRI's or CT scans. This has turned into an absolute nightmare. I really am grasping at any hope but cannot seem to get any relief or help with the pain and severe symptoms. I am stuck in a very bad situation and cannot seem to get any straight answers because these surgeons do not want to implicate the previous surgeon and face being caught up in a lawsuit. It is sad in the USA that it has come to this and every doc is afraid of being caught up in a malpractice suit. I know I have a pretty good case against the previous surgeon but if I even start a malpractive lawsuit there is not another Ortho or Neurosurgeon in the USA who will see me due to their fear of being caught up in a lawsuit. So I lay on the couch an pray for some relief and hope that something magical will happen to make this all go away or at least 25 percent of it. I deal with the leg pain, back pain, sciatic nerve pain, thoracic pain, the banding pain around my chest and the hypersensisvity to any touch around my mid section and t-spine. It is almost more than a person can take.... I would not wish this on my worst enemy. Thank You again for all the thoughtful and caring response. Take Care.......Greg

[dshobbies]

Greg,

My heart breaks as I read about your circumstances. I don't even know what to say -

However, if you decide you do indeed want to bring a lawsuit against your doctor, you can find a good attorney and he can then either recommend doctors for you to see and/or subpoena records. I'm sure this is the not the first time doctors have been reluctant to 'get involved'.

I am truly, truly sorry. This is absolutely horrendous-

Dale

[Maria]

I think you're getting ahead of yourself as I do think there would be another surgeon in the US and more that would consult w/you as well as perform surgery on you. You'd likely have to sign legal documentation releasing them from liability which can be done with regard to current and any future lawsuit regarding your spine though that in itself can muddy the waters re current findings and changing anything anatomically then later contemplating a suit.

So if there was ever a time to try to initiate a suit it would probably be now with the surgeon while you are in the current situation that you are w/the current findings and no other invasive procedure of any other kind being implemented.

Please think about this because you may be forfiting something that you could potentially gain and meanwhile perhaps allow the body to try and recover/compensate on it's own no matter how brutal this feels.

Then in time someone could well be willing to perform either surgery or implant of some sort for you.

There is always the option to go out of the country if you're able as well and quite possibly if you gained some $ from a lawsuit that would be a viable option for you.

Not trying to force you into anything just trying to give a different perspective. You may just decide all this would be bad karma and is too much for you to deal with emotionally and/or physically and as one who spent way too much time in bed for years after my 2nd surgery failed re more pain than I ever imagined possible (and it sounds like nothing compared to yours and others I have read about) I can certainly understand that point of view.

My case was WC so I was in litigation re both my spine surgeries (different surgeons) and surgery failed in '92. I considered suing my surgeon though unlike you doubt I had anything more than bad surgery bad technique perhaps to go with and then had scar tissue develop so that's always used as a reason for more pain ... anyway found a new OSS several years after this happened who offered surgery and found other surgeons as well willing to perform more surgery.

In my case one cannot sue the WC system in this state and getting copies of surgical records can be near impossible let alone finding someone that could take a case against WC (probably more impossible) ... I'd have really tried however if I had seen an attorney and he or she thought I had an airtight case.

[kajari]

I dont know if I even have the energy to even think about bringing suit against the other surgeon right now. My case is also a WC but it is a Federal WC and as much as I might win in a suit it would all go to pay back the hundreds of thousands of dollars that these surgeries have cost. Money isn't even of importance right now as all I want to do is fix this whole mess the previous surgeon has caused. I just got back from my PM Doc. He checked my legs and the right leg that is going paralyzed is extremely weak and has lossed muscle mass (is a lot smaller than my left leg). My right leg has started twitching and shaking when I stand or walk which is of a big concern now. The PM doc wants my surgeon to do further studies and MRI but I cannot have an MRI without being anesthesized because I cannot have anything touch my back or mid section or lay down without extreme pain and burning sensation. I do not know how they would do an MRI while sedating me. This is just getting quite unbearable and the pain has gotten so much worse. PM Doc upped my pain meds AGAIN and that just is not an acceptable solution to me cause these pain meds just make me feel sick and are poisoning my body. The amount of pain meds I am on now is frightening....would probably kill an elephant. It is a never ending cycle of more pain...increased pain meds...more pain...increased pain meds. There has got to be a solution to all of this horrific cycle and torment that my body is enduring. No one really realizes how much of an impact an injury and then a mistake by an incompentant surgeon can have on your life. It can destroy your life as you know it and that part of your life is gone forever.
Take Care,
Greg

[kajari]

Maria and all, for all of you who know the legality of medical issues I forgot to mention that the surgeon who did this to me last year NEVER charged for his services or for the cost of the spinal cord stimulator. He had one year to charge federal WC for his services. His one year ran out April of this year. There is a legal term, which I cannot recal at this time, that refers to a physician who knowingly makes a mistake or error during surgery and then charges for his services. By him not charging for his services it puts a HUGE RED FLAG in the air. It just makes me so angry that he did this to me and then zipped his mouth shut once things went horribly wrong because of his mistakes during surgery. ANGRY, IN PAIN, SUFFERING, the list goes on and on and all I want to know is what this surgeon did wrong so just maybe another surgeon can fix his mistakes. Thank you all for listening to me rant and for all of the support and wonderful posts.

[jsewell]

Greg Rant all you want, you can see by my posts that i do for sure. I have past posts ranting about DrRegan and my pulmonary problems. He basically left me in PACU after surgery where i ended up almost dying adn then was sent to ICU when stabalized enough. His phone message on my phone (not my husbands, who he never talked to) saying about Mrs. Sewell, everything is fine. I stopped breathing and was on a respirator and everything was fine. You can see i can still rant at any time about him.

Did you ever see your surgeon who did the damage after the surgery? Some of this is just my curiosity.
I also wanted to let you know that the taking of pain meds seriously reduces your testosterone levels so you should get yours checked and get an endocrinologist to get you on testosterone if needed. Even as a female i am replacing it daily as i too have been on pain meds for 3 years +. I also have endocrinology problems so i have an excellent research doctor who checked my levels years ago. Just trying to get you to feel as good as you can and it might help a little with the muscle weakness . I realilze the nerve damage is doing most of it, but the testosterone would not hurt if you are deficient.

I considered a law suit against DrRegan and still have not dropped the idea entirely, but i have been told the same thing that i would not get another doctor to treat me as they would fear a law suit. Doesn't that just suck!!!!
judy

[dshobbies]

Greg,

We all hear you - ALL of us. We've all lived in pain and know how it both physically and mentally takes your life away.

Whatever you need from us, we're here. I know you feel all alone but I assure you, you're not.

I know your life is filled with Dr. appointments and tests but please keep us posted. We care so much more than you realize.

Dale