Had bike crash 2 years ago and have argued until December there that something not rite in spine.
Now had 4 mri scans and they have found I have disc bulges to c3/4 C5/6 C6/7 LEVEL ALSO DISC BULGES TO T7/8 T8/9 LEVEL ALSO WEDGE BREAKS TO T8-12 was told a week after accident I had fractures to L1-2 .
Also have what looks like tear on spinal cord at L1-2 level
Have been told I have had spinal stroke at time of accident. Have lost sensation down left side from waist and no reflex. From time to time I lose feeling from waist down can last up to 30 minutes and can't stand.
I suffer from constant pain which is not nice.
During the night I have started waking when I do eventually sleep with pins and needles from the waist up which only goes away when I stand up for 5 minutes.
The great British health service don't want to seem to tell me what I can do and what I can't do.
My next appointment is not until August
I can't live with the constant pain anymore and the pain killers that make me feel drowsy and forgetful and crap all the time
Can someone shed light on my injury's for me and give me an opinion how bad they areally and do I need surgery to correct and take pain away.
Getting weaker by the day.
Ah I am so sorry you are suffering like this but unfortunately it seems to be happening more and more, I can totally sympathise with your pain as I have the same issues with my neck and have a cyst on my thoracic spinal cord, go back to your GP and be referred to a pain specialist or pain mangent unit also ask for a second opinion with a different neuro surgeon, it's a long road to finding the right docs and care plan for your needs, do as much research on your condition so you can't be fobbed off, if your armed with information and questions they have to answere them otherwise youl be sent away in pain until your yearly follow up and this will go on for years.
I find gabapentin helps with nerve pain. I get it when it's so bad youl take anything just to stop going crazy but like most people here we've tried a lot of hard meds only to realise that the long term effects do more harm than good, try heat/ice packs, tens machine, relaxation techniques and a good chiropractor, the key is to finding what works for you, I wish you well in your recovery, please keep us updated with your progress or even if you just need to sound off where here to help in what ever way we can, good luck 😊
A chiropractor should be able to help with the disc bulges at least and honestly I must say do everything you can to avoid surgery unless it's absolutely necessary, good luck 😊
Hello from the USA. I feel for you and the pain you are going through. I am not as familiar with your healthcare system. But sounds to me that they are not as concerned about YOU the patient. Until they feel what your day to day living is like, they will take a wait and see attitude. You have been given some good advice from the other two responses. If surgery is not an option for a variety of reasons, you might want to find a good pain management Dr. and look into a pain stimulator trial to help with the pain if your pain is in a area that a stimulator can help.
They do work, but it is trial an error in finding the right one. I know your Country uses it more than here. I just had one put in on 3/2/17 and I am now through much trial with the settings getting some relief. I am hoping it will work better with more time.
I wish for you good luck in your finding some solution in alleviating your ongoing pain.
Dee
I insisted my GP send me to a private hospital/ neurosurgeon via the nhs . This was September last yr it's the best thing I did do far my neurosurgeon has been fab and I due for spinal fusion on the nhs at the private hospital next month. Originally the rheumatologist at the nhs hospital said just stick on more pain relief and physo , yeh right can't event sit up strait . Push like u did they can't and should not refused u have a right to be seen where u like .
I have a spinal fussion and I know there are cases where this has to be done but it was the worst thing for me and has completely ruined my life, I say this only because i think the surgeon let me down and tha pain I suffer could have been avoided to some degree if the right after care was given but all he was after was his private fee, I have to live with that decision the rest of my life or what is left of it
It hurts me to read of the lack of care or compassion you received from your doctors. I can only speak as one individual who has gotten the care I desperate needed. We do not have single payer here. Our Veterans seem to be going through what you have experienced. So sorry for what you have gone through. I will keep you all in my prayers that someone will step up and find a solution for unending pain.
Dee
Hey Bob, I am a retired MD from the US, I did pain management and anesthesia. I am not too familiar with your system either. Just please promise me you won't see a chiropractor. Your spine is not very stable and you don't need someone cracking and manipulating it, you will end up fully paralyzed. I don't know how you go about getting a referral to a pain management doc, but I would suggest you start there. If you start with a surgical consult, you will most certainly end up with a surgery. If you start with pain management you will get suggestions for conservative therapy, that's not to say you don't need surgery, because you may, but my thoughts are to always give conservative therapy a try first if at all possible. Given that you have lived with this for 2 years it seems you can give a few nerve blocks or a nerve stimulator a try. I agree that oral drugs do make you very drowsy and to be on them long term isn't a pleasant idea. The same thing is true of drugs made for nerve pain, things like topomax, gabapentin, lyrica. These drugs can be delivered to you by way of a cather placed in the space next to your spine and they'd have less side effects. All of these options can be done by a pain management doctor. As you are in so much pain, but are also having changes in sensation I'd have your GP get you simultaneous referral, one with a neurosurgeon, one with a pain management doc. That way you will put together a team to manage all your symptoms--the pain, the sensation loss etc. Hopefully they can work together like they do here in the states. I am having a lot of problems with my neck, my MRI was a mess, the worst finding was that my spinal cord was flattened by the bulging discs and a huge bone spur. My PM doc wanted a surgeon to take a look and be on board. The surgeon saw me and my MRI, did an exam and said I wasn't an emergency, let the PM doc finish with his bag of tricks, if these didn't work for my pain, then come back to see him. Only at that point would I have to have the dreaded fusion surgery. I suggest the same tactic to you. Hope that helps!
Lynn
Jessica am so glad to read that you have found a good surgeon to help you. Wishing you a speedy recovery upon having your back fusion. I have had 3 back surgeries and now have a spinal stimulator to help alleviate the nerve pain from a minor auto accident 2 years ago. It has been a long road back, but Imdo believe I and my rep. For the stimulator have found the right setting for my pain. It will need some tweaking for maximum pain relief. Keep us posted.
I started a page on surgical pain stimulator. Mine is the BURST by St. Jude's. I found my info from your corner of the world and talked to my Dr. here. Your country ahead of ours in getting medical devices to market before ours, Kudos to those in charge of that. Again good luck.
Dee
Lynn as usual the teacher here with sound and viable advice.
Dee
No ones MRI is normal, we are all different, unless you have been told by a radiologist that the bulging discs are pressing on nerves, they will generally not cause the type of problems you have.
It's unlikely that you have a tear in your spinal cord, or you would have had immediate surgery to fuse the area, or you would be paralysed.
I am not a doctor but it's more likely that l1/l2 is putting pressure on your sciatic nerve, and that is causing the lack of feeling and the pins and needles.
You need to get your doctor to refer you to a pain clinic specialist for help in controlling your pain. Also he will be able to refer you for more tests if necessary.
Hi Bob; My advice would be to go to the hospital and demand to see a surgeon. Nothing gets done until you push for your rights. It took me 5 years to finally get back surgery. I was at the point that you seem to be at now...pain 24 hours a day. I couldn't walk more than a city block. It was depressing because it just seemed no one understood how bad my pain was. It's your life and you have to advocate for your rights...no one else will unfortunately. Wishing you strength to push forward.
the reason I recommended a chiropractor is because mine has prevented me having further surgery and if he'd been around in the early years maybe he could have prevented the fussion saving me from a life of chronic pain and misery, also I must add that my chiropractor has never done any treatment without seeing all my medical records even sending them
To America for a 2/3/4 opinion before manipulating my spine where my chord is being compressed with an arachnoid cyst, I live with chronic neck spasms that have been greatly reduced due to traction ( I couldn't move my neck a mm in any direction due to spasms it's terrifying) my spine is also very unstable with approx 8 bulging discs ranging from top to bottom, lumbar fussion, cervical degeneration, bone spurs, lordosis. I'm never going to be cured but he definitely makes my condition more bearable to live with, I think everyone's opinions are valid and any information given should always be fully researched first. without our suggestions then we will never know what is going to work for us as individuals, I have tried every treatment and just about every medication but my chiro is the one that has helped the most.
You need to see a neurosurgeon...IMMEDIATELY!!! Played hockey for 45 years. Three back surgeries including a fusion plus metal knee and hip. Lots of chiropractor trips. You need a CT/Myelogram with contrast (basically a map of your spine) and a neurosurgeon to fix it. You have tons of nerve roots being affected and all of that can only be fixed by surgery. Period...
I think it's disgusting you've been left as long as you have which can only lead to lasting problems
Problem is Chico, over here in the UK, the NHS is in crisis, most people do not have insurance. It's hard to even get a GP appointment.
it isn't an option to see a neurosurgeon immediately. We are very dependant on neurosurgeons and any other type of surgeon even having an appointment for months.
Unless you go in hospital in an ambulance as an emergency, and there's approx a seven hour wait in a and e when you get there, then there isn't a bed, or enough staff to look after you.
This is the reality of life in 2017, not good.
So very sorry to hear that. Since the UK is not on Trump's banned countries list, why don't you fly over and apply for an extended visa or Green Card. Then apply for Obamacare and get your back done. Probably faster...no kidding. Got extra room at the house outside of Fort Worth. I'll even introduce you to my neuro Tommy "The Wrench" Ellis. (I gave him the moniker because he used an Allen wrench to expand my LLIF spacer a few weeks ago...)
No brainer. Badda bing, badda boom. Done.
The tear is there in spinal cord. Was pointed out by the neurosurgeon on last visit that's why I have lost all feeling in left from waist down. I have had sciatica pain in past and this is different. Neurosurgeons secretary called me today and said he would like to see me on Monday now after me calling and going off my head at them and threatining legal action. So I will see what happens then.
The doctors here are a joke it took me 15 months from the accident to get the doctor to refer me for a scan.
I'm a failed back patient, couldn't even get to the airport nowadays.
I'm lucky, have insurance, but, won't have more back surgery.
It's a neurosurgeon I have seen twice now
And it feels like they are not taking this serious. When I seen him in January he told me to go home and don't move as I could bend or move the wrong way and break the rest of the cord.
Couldn't believe what I was hearing if it's that bad I should be in hospital.
He told me at time of injury I should not have been released from a and e and should have been in a body cast for months to stop further injury.
So you can see my frustration I am apparently seeing the rite people but it's a joke to them.