cervical spine discs....pain....help
 

I am in so much pain. My neck hurts, my shoulder hurts, my right side of ribcage hurts, the back of my arm hurts, and now after injection im dropping things with my right hand. Im only 25, was in car accident and have 3 herniated and bulging discs in my neck c5-6 c6-7 and v7-t1 and also one or 2 in my lower back and 2 days after my injection I tell my dr. about how Im feeling over the phone and now my neurosurgeon dr wants me to go to pain managment bc he doesnt want to do surgery since im so young. He said they have given me the max of pain meds they can give...and doesnt feel they are controlling my pain... Im wondering if they are going to refil my rx next week or what im supposed to do, bc all the info on the meds I take says not to stop suddenly, can they do that? What am I supposed to do now? He said the plan is basically to do nothing and wait and have my body heal itself. Any suggestions? I dont really want to go to pain managment. Thanks in advance

Bad pain
 

What is making you think that pain management is so bad that you don't want to learn anything about it?
We all have to manage our pain, but that doesn't mean no medication, as you may be thinking.
My pain management doctor was very good. He firstly examined me so that he could make his own diagnosis and not just pick up what others had thought.
As a result he was able to correctly diagnose my problem for the first time, and he then suggested a treatment course that i have followed with great success.
Pain killers didn't come into it. That was left up to me.
They are right in saying that the body has to heal itself, and it's very good at that, but there are many things you can do to assist rather than just taking medication.
You should expect to be advised to do physio, massage, stretches and so on. These are vital.
You should also look at your lifestyle to seek out any damaging behaviours.
Diet must also be addressed. As someone said, you can't renovate a house with only door knobs and window frames.
So your body needs a nutritious diet to get better. Easier said than done, but if you research it you can find the way.

Thanks for your input. I do have a good healthy diet I follow as my husband had high cholesterol, so we follow a good diet. I also started stretches and light zumba to try to help. I completed physical therapy, and wasnt able to finish it was making it worse. So Ive done the injuection now, which is also making it worse. Im at my witts end. I should not have to live like this. I went to pain managment before and all they did was meds. I dont want to be on meds the rest of my life, I want a solution, I want to not be in pain anymore. I have 3 small children, 6 yrs, 3 yrs and 7 months and I have obligations to my children and I can barely do anything. I can not feed my baby, it hurts too much, and that hurts me more than anything. Ive been taking these pain meds for a long time now and am scared from all the pamphlets ive read that if I stop suddenly I will have bad reactions.

How long ago was the accident?

What kind of things did therapy do for you?
any of these?
traction
ultrasound
massage
If stim/TENS etc.
low level laser
whole body posture
how to move so less strain on the areas?
Or stretches and strengthening only?:(

If you are feeling worse during PT , then something isn't right.
Maybe a different place or therapist might be worth a try.

Maybe some alternatives for pain relief?
meditation, hypnosis, relaxation, acupuncture

Perhaps an advanced PT and/or expert chiropractor???

I don't know what type of surgery might be done if the doctor wanted to do it, but on our spinal forum there are quite a few that had fusions and the nearby levels eventually fail from the added strain. Just an FYI about that.

You might also want to read on our spinal forum to find members w/similar issues.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum22.html

Meds reduction
 

I learnt first hand that you certainly can have adverse reactions to stopping medication.
You build up a tolerance to some and so need increasing doses. To some extent you become dependent on them.
I stopped Tramadol after reading about pain meds actually causing pain. Luckily I wasn't on a consistently high dose so my withdrawal was limited to restless legs and a few minor things for a couple of days. Others have had far more serious symptoms.
You really must consult your doctor if you want to cut down.
I was quite surprised by the level of pain meds I was able to cut down to after stopping the Tramadol.
Would never have believed it as I thought my pain was increasing. It was just the Tramadol.
So give it a go under supervision-you too may have a positive outcome.

I'm 54 and have had 3 surgerys on my cervical spine . Fused 3/4 5/6 6/7-t1. Anterior and postoir. I can tell you that there is not a silver bullet that will fix your issues. I am applying for ssi and disabilty as I have not been able to work after my last surgery in November.
I tell you this to let you know that surgery may not be the fix for your issues. I do use meds {Methadone and Norco and Valum and advil}. I also have started Bio feedback and use heat and rest to manage the pain. Sometimes,alot of times nothing works and I just hurt.
I have excepted that I now own my pain It is mine to deal with and there is not a time that I will be normal again. I say this because it has helped me and has eased the stress that came with the pain.
I have had around 20 injections in my spine some have helped but most gave only a little relief of the pain.
Please keep a open mind and try everything. They can all be tools in your tool box that will help to deal with this life change you are going through.
I am so sorry you are going through this at a young age.