Hi Lemmon, welcome.

Please be vigilant about the amounts of Excedrin and ibuprofin you're scarfing down; the acetaminophen in Excedrin can be hard on the liver, and too much ibuprofin (especially combined with aspirin from the Excedrin) can cause bleeding (voice of experience—I got IBS from taking too much ibuprofin, and now I can't take any of that or aspirin).

I think you may have a misunderstanding of what pain management is/entails. Some PM doctors/clinics won't even prescribe opioid medications, and use other modalities instead.

Another approach might be to see a physiatrist.

Has any subsequent imaging been done to see if everything is ok with the fusion/hardware? Bone fails to fuse in up to 40 percent of fusion surgeries. Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBBS) is quite common. A few things that can happen (not that they are happening): 1.) As bone fuses or grows over the hardware, it can cause pressure on nerves. 2.) A screw may have come loose or cracked a vertebra. 3.) The vertebrae above/below the fusion may be weakening; this is called Adjacent Segment Degeneration - ASD. 4.) In some cases, the hardware can begin to corode, causing inflammation and other problems.

The last two usually take longer, but can happen.

Doc