Hi Debby and others who can read this.

My name is Stevie. I was reading your post about possible Arachnoiditis. I thought I might be able to help you to understand something about it and to know if you have it.

First I want to say that if you had it you will know you do. Don't expect a doctor to tell you that you have it right off because of the way you get it. It is through Failed Back Surgery, Putting oil base radiography dyes into your spinal canal. They do this in order to perform myelograms on you. But more modern tests suggest the use of MRI's and or even a CT.

Mine first started while I was in the service. It generally starts with severe low back pain along with radiculopathy pain, (down the legs along with burning called neuropathy pain. As I said don't look for a doctor to tell you right off that you have it. No matter how bad the pain gets, they will keep telling you that it is something different, the reason being is because you get it from doctors making mistakes and is a good mal-practice suit.

It used to be that when you went to a doctor for low back pain and it didn't seem to go away and it might even have gotten worse, your doctor may have scheduled you for a Myelogram. Which this is bad because it is wrong for them to inject your spinal canal with any freign substance. It used to be Myodil, they found one disc then 3 months later another one. They tore my back up so bad. 49 years I have had this. After the Myodil, the 2 myelograms and both surgeries, he never told me what I had just that my back was so bad that I would wind up in a wheelchair within 5 years. Before the surgeries, it was my female organs and bladder that stopped working, then they did the back surgeries. Everything below the waist stopped working. Yes, I have to use a wheelchar. The pain is s bad that I just can't stand it.

Unfortunately, I go to the VA Hospital for my care, and somehow they seen to get away with not recognizing it as a bad crtippling disease. They don't recognize it at all. I don't know how they get away with it, but I am trying to find some answers. They keep turning me down on my service connected disability. I want to say for now, it is the most painful thing that I have and could ever imagine the human body could go through. It is horrible. I take 60 mgs. of Morphine three times a day, I have been taking it about 10 years and it has stopped working. But they won't change it. Check your state laws on pain control for chronic intractable pain and see what they say.

I have to go for now, I can't sit any longer, but I will be back.

Stevie.