First post, advice needed!

[rbrown]

Originally Posted by Maria

I've seen Dr. Rick Delamarter in Santa Monica and Dr. John Regan at Cedars? Both are orthopedic spine surgeons. I liked Dr.Regan tho Judy actually had surgery with him and some serious probs so perhaps you'd want to talk to her. Again I do recommend talking to Mark because he does Spine patient advocacy and actually works with spine surgeons so he would have a much better idea of who you might want to see. Good luck!

I sent him a PM hopefully will hear back from him. Having even this amount of contact with others having back issues is somehow helpful. I have my wife and my family prays a lot for me but its something special to have contact with people that have experienced this terrible thing. I look forward to more info and hope that I can contribute somehow through my problems. I did see the Chiropractor today. My pain was very low and he said he got some good movement on me today. He is very confident that he will have me in "good" shape in 6 weeks. Ive never been under the care of Chiro before and am trying to work through my previously closed mind about them. I'm trying to keep the best mental attitude possible and asking God for strength. I took the last of the Prednisone yesterday so tomorrow will be a really big deal for me at least mentally. I feel like I'm ready to turn the corner on this bought, been pretty rough for a few months this time around.

[Maria]

No doubt you may feel some aggravation w/o the prednisone as it's such a powerful anti-inflammatory drug though I hope your pain if present is minimal. I don't know if you're having just the flare up type of pain from disc material leaking on nerves and muscle spasms etc or if you also have facet pain or other pain generators involved.

Hopefully if you speak with Mark you can get a better grip of what might be going on and maybe who it would be worth your while to consult with. Trying to get your HMO to authorize any outside spine consults will probably be futile and even getting in to see someone in the network that you may want to see will likely take time. I dislike HMOs very much for their management of things like back pain although some do have good Pain Management services and some very good doctors. Unfortunately it's the insurance co. themselves that restrict so much of what a really good doctor would or could do. At least this is my opinion.

So wishing you the best. We do understand here believe me. Maria

[rbrown]

Saw the Chiro again today. Electro stim therapy, cold laser treatment. Adjustment wasnt much today cause I was pretty stiff and guarded. Havent had any bad spasms or pain this week except for a few little grabs today. I still have not heard from Mark. I have no idea what happened or is happening with my back. My Primary Dr is on vacation this week. I did request a referral to Dr. Costigan and a request for a weight bearing MRI. They said either my Primary has to request the MRI or the specialist. I dont know what will be approved if anything till my Dr is back. These last few months have really been terrible and confusing. I thought for sure surgury was imminent or at least facet injections. Is it possible that what ever was happening has resolved itself for now?? Will I ever know what the cause was/is?

[Maria]

Hold your last few thoughts there and do a wait and see if you're feeling better. I'd like to say things can resolve themselves and I think for some people they actually might. That wasn't my case although I went thru years of having flare ups and then periods in between without probs. When the flareups became more frequent and closer together or the period inbetween was indistinguishable then I had my first spine surgery.

Keep a positive outlook even though the spine stuff is driving you crazy because the good thing is you are at the point where you can get more information and there are options. While it may not seem like a good place to be believe me it is (at least in the spinal problem journey).

Keep us updated please if you're so inclined. Hope you'll find a really good spine doc to consult with! Maria

[rbrown]

Mark called me and we were able to chat a bit. I mailed him copies of my MRI and Xrays. Maybe he will see something and have some ideas of what might be going on. It seems that a discogram might be a logical test but who knows if I'll find someone that does them through our HMO. I'm still having the low back spasms on and off. Less than before but still there. I'm trying to stay out of bed as much as I can during the day, I'm sick of laying here! Last couple days ive been on my feet, sitting for short periods and streching and excercising to the extent I can. I havent been having much leg pain and am wondering if I just tore or stretched a muscle/muscles or ligament or tendon or something in my low back. Maybe someone can comment if its "normal" that a disk or nerve issue is causing the muscle spasms or is it more likely that its just a muscle issue? I know the spine doesnt follow a given set of rules but I'm hoping that its a muscle problem that will heal sooner than later. I dont want another surgery and cant find a Dr that cares to find the problem. I'm still seing the Chiropractor but the last couple visits he didnt really get any adjustments done cause my pain and back are guarding to much for him to get any movement. I am getting electronic stim and cold lazer therapy there so I assume that is better to have than not.

[Maria]

Can often happen when spine is guarding or protecting itself. Torn ligaments, tendons, muscles take a long time to heal. Maybe a strain.

Disc material leaking out on a nerve (as in bulging disc) can create muscle spasms and usually does..

Try getting an injection of Toradol 60mg IM (Nsaid) if no known allergy to medication and no probs with kidneys. This often helps with muscle spasms pretty quickly and can break up a cycle that might take weeks to otherwise alleviate.

I had electric stim therapy and cold laser and did well with it though that was long ago and took many sessions.

[rbrown]

Originally Posted by Maria

Can often happen when spine is guarding or protecting itself. Torn ligaments, tendons, muscles take a long time to heal. Maybe a strain.

Disc material leaking out on a nerve (as in bulging disc) can create muscle spasms and usually does..

Try getting an injection of Toradol 60mg IM (Nsaid) if no known allergy to medication and no probs with kidneys. This often helps with muscle spasms pretty quickly and can break up a cycle that might take weeks to otherwise alleviate.

I had electric stim therapy and cold laser and did well with it though that was long ago and took many sessions.

Does a bulged disc necessarily mean leaking disc material? If a disc is leaking will it stop leaking at some point? Would the Toradol injection still help even after ive been on two cycles of Prednisone? Can my primary Dr give me the Toradol or does that have to be a specialist?