Syringomyelia is now a part of my life. I am meeting with a neurosurgeon on the 22nd at the request of my workers compensation. Theyre calling it an IME (Independent Medical Examination). What I'm really thinking, is that this IME doctor is going to tell me that i've had this all my life and that they are not responsible for covering me. This injury happened at work and I never had any back pain or symptoms before this. How can one prove that i've had this my whole life or if this was caused by work. Also, the pain meds (vicodin) that i've been taking are beginning to not really work. I'm taking as many as 10 5/500 pills a day. Is that too much, do i need to go to something stronger? Some kind of patch, injection, neurological pill, what? Very scared about the future, will someone please ease my mind a bit....please.

way tooooo much tylenol....not recommended to take more than 4000 mg in one 24 hour period...and that is for only 2 days at a time, for longer term use it is 3000 mg a day, and i think that is only up to about 10 days or so.....talk to your lawyer before going to the IME...good luck

geez. didnt think of what else is in pain meds. Any idea as to what is stronger with less tylenol? Thanks again. And of course, my doctor is gone till next tuesday.

sent you a pm, the site i found wouldnt let me copy and paste, and i dont think they like to have sites directly posted here.....anyway i sent you some info on different formulations of hydrocodone....mrsd may have other thoughts as well......good luck

Is your appt with Dr. Oro the chiari specialist in Colorado ? And how did it go .

Hey ryguy,

I am not sure about civilian companies but I am assuming our situation might be similar. I am in the military and one day I was driving through a check point on post (one of the kinds that the guard has to lower toward the car and lays flat on the ground) and while I was driving over it, the gate guard flipped it up. It picked up and dropped the front end of my car causing me to have neck and back pain at which they found my chiari. There was a breif time when I was told that it wouldn't be covered because Chiari is something that you are born with. HOWEVER, someone with Chiari can go their whole life without symptoms. Usually symptoms don't start until later in life because USUALLY something happens to cause the onset of symptoms like a car accident or another injury. So I went off of that (and the fact that since I was never diagnosed before, they couldn't prove that I was born with it) and they are covering my medical. I would say you might want to get a lawyer just so you can make sure you're covered.

Also, regarding the medication. I posted on your other thread but I thought I'd mention it here too. I am taking Tramadol (Ultram.) I was up to about 12 a day but I have cut back to 6 a day and combining that with naproxen or excedrine and robaxin, it works pretty well. Also, I have just been perscribed recently a TENS unit to use at home. The reason that this works so well is because while pain medication blocks the reception of pain chemically, the TENS unit does it electronically. You should look into that as well but it is something you have to have a perscription for. Anyway, I hope this helped!

I recently switched from Vicodin 5/500 to Norco 5/325. I know it comes in strengths up to 7.5/325 (the bottom number being the acetometaphin content). I take very little, but because I have had so much of my digestive system removed, I have to protect my liver.

Colorado is a medical marijuana state. . . I might check into that. Not sure if it would address your condition, though.

I am not sure what the workers' comp laws are in your state but in California, if you have an aggravation of a congenital problem which had never caused you any problems before, then the on-the-job injury would be picked up by the workers' comp insurance ALONG with the prior anomaly which was asymptomatic until your work related injury.
You may need an attorney if the insurance carrier causes you some problem.
Take care and I hope you find the right pain medication.
Syringo

that was my line of thought as well, but i do know that laws vary by state....good luck