so some of you guys know my story, but long story short I blew my back out last July 2012 at work (L4-L5) went through the process and ended up having surgery December 20,2012 when all conservative measures didnt stop the pain and numbness an bc the disc was completely pushed in on the nerve root. I had the surgery an felt wonderful for the first 16 days after surgery, pain was mostly gone, however still had numbness due to the damage. well after the 16th day ive had horrible pain and numbness mostly in the (R) leg. u guys know the throbbing, cuting,stabbing,numbness, pins an needles, and short circuit feeling...anyways ive had 2 MRI's and a CT scan which have been disputed between the radiologist and my neurosurgeon. the radiologist says theres a reherniation and my dr. says no its scar tissue. Ive had 2 ESI, with no relief an finally having a myelogram this coming tuesday. which im praying will show him something. I know i have DDD and foramenal stenosis....
my problem is i work in the health care field an I'm so adimit on staying on the lowest does of pain meds i can manage with....i went from percocet 10/500 3 times a day down to lortab 5/350 an back up to 10/500, im so adimit on preventing a tolerance or any of that an i try to stay on what will manage my pain the best. now the pain has gotten so bad that ive been in the ER twice this month with pain so bad i was in the fetal position in tears an i have a relatively high pain tolerance....they ended up sending me home with percocet which worked wonders again. I try to be my own advocate with my dr. but now he is saying he doesnt want to move me back up all bc I MADE the decision to drop my dosing. How can i make him understand my frustration and pain. He says he believes me but bc i made the decision it doesnt feel i need it, which makes no sense..... ALso im on neurotin 100 mg 3x a day and soma 350mg 3x a day.......sorry for such a long post, im just mentally and physically tired of this pain and numbness day in and day out it never ends! Would i be better off asking him to refer me to a pain specialist? I live in KY and he is in TN bc they are the "best" in my area......just lost on what i should do. Any info and ideas would be greatly appreciated!!