Mike- I think Tam and Vic are right... find a great neuro, see what they say. I also think that seeing a pain mgmt specialist is good for you. do you know if he/she is trained as a anasthesiologist or a neurologist?
- If anyone says that they can fix it with a quick surgery, get away!!
- Ask the pain mgmt doc for suggestions on non-surgical treatments like PT
- I highly recommend the book Managing Pain Before It Manages You. Several others here have read it- one of its suggestions is to keep a pain diary. That is something that I should start again....
- Keep asking questions both here and at the doctor! Keep some sort of small notebook or pad to write down doctors questions. I've found that by doing that, I a). don't forget, or b). can just hand the list to the doc, let him read it and answer the questions.
I'm sorry to read of what is going on with you, but I think that you found the right place. This site and the people here have been a huge blessing to me over the last ~2yrs.
-dabbo
oh, I know what you mean by being 29 and not ready to deal w/ this....I'm 27 right now, and have a 2yr old. Hang in there, and I hope things turn up for you!