I just tried to call my pain doctor ... I just can't handle this pain in more...I've been to 3 doctors in the past 6 weeks about this and it's getting worse....2x to pain doc 1x for injection; family doc referred me to ortho doc...

hubby has mentioned me going to the er.....i just need some relief here...am worried also that spinal cord being pinched or whatever or nerve damage being done permanently...

just want some help....

The only thing that going to the ER is going to accomplish is they'll think you're a drug seeker. It happens like that all the time. They MIGHT hand you a couple of vicodin and tell you to follow up with your doctor, and send you home.

If you're EXTREMELY LUCKY, you might get them to do an MRI, but I've not heard of this happening unless someone comes in bloody. So don't count on that happening.

I'm sorry to say this, but ER's are NOT sympathetic to us in chronic pain. They've had too many addicts coming in looking for drugs. And WE get punished for it. It's not FAIR, but that's the way life is.

You should ask your doctor to refer you to a Neurosurgeon. But first you need an MRI with and without contrast material so you can take those films to the Neurosurgeon. If he won't order one, then just get referred to the Neurosurgeon who WILL order it. Trouble is, that just wastes time.

I wish you the very best. Let us know what happens, ok? God bless and please take care. Hugs, Lee PS -- in the meantime, use ICE for 20 minutes every 2 hours. It DOES help with the pain.

I never thought about that...but yeah here in the small town I'm in it's a known meth area....sad but true....

I've taken 2 30mg mscontin and 4 10/325's hydrocondone so far today....I'm no longer in tears as bad but still have to just sit here, have to have my recliner back if I try to sit up even 1/2 way the pain comes back...

I'm waiting for my pain doctor to call...and they are suppose to be setting up the mri and some pt (talked to them last week)....then I have the name of a neuro I want to go to....

it's just taking so so long to get anything done....

thanks for your reply....it's hard when you reach out and can't find anyone to talk to about it...my hubby is great for the most part....but he just says he doesn't know what to do or say...he has dealt with my pain for 35 years........

I'm seriously concerned though about my spinal cord.......the tingling, etc is moving up from my 2 fingers up my arm now...and I get dizzy when i turn my neck certain ways....

again thanks!

oh one good thing about this er (just remembered) they make sure theykeep my x-rays because last time they said if they just looked at my neck cold turkey I would be on a life flight to tulsa....there is no mri here..closest is 45 mins away...

so at least they would have my x-rays to show that I am in pain...fingers crossed...

debi...i was is your situation a few weeks ago. screaming pain in my legs and lower back. couldnt move without exploding pain...i went by ambulance to the ER and i'm thinking they will do a scan. well no they didnt do scan.they said i didnt have enough neurological trouble. i could move my legs when laying down. but they game me a n intravinous dilaudid injection. i was in the er over 24 hours and then sent home.

7 years ago i went to er in terrible pain but i was also having bladder trouble caused by spine compression. with the neuro trouble they kept me in hospital and operated on my spine the next day.

i recall you said heat worked best for you. does it help if you roll up a towel and place it under the curve of your neck? when my neck was bad i also fount raising arms straight up if you can would ease pain.

heres another one. press your hand against the side of your head and push hard against it for several minutes. dont let the head move. keep the pressure on...

doctors dont recommend this but i found taking an ice cube unwrapped and held it in my hand as long as i could stand it.


take care and good luck....pete

My gosh Deb -- you have to go 45min away for an MRI? Jeez. I thought *I* was out in the sticks. LOL The hospital I go to has one of those "trailer" jobs that brings the MRI to the hospital every weekend. And this hospital is about 9 miles away, so i don't have to go very far. Yet I'm out in the sticks! LOL

I hope to heck the pain doc calls today! I HATE waiting for doctors to call, cause half the time they never do! And you sit and wait, wait, wait....

From the sounds of things, I don't think the cord is compressed THAT bad, or you would have much WORSE symptoms than you do -- but any compression is bad. Perhaps it's just impinged, which would be better. You'd still have symptoms, like the tingling and some pain. But it's not as bad as compression.

I'll keep my prayers going -- and PLEASE let us know what happens, okay? God bless you Deb, and I'll keep watching for an update. Hugs, Lee

Yes I am in the sticks!!!.....closest walmart is 15-20 minutes away...seriously...I live in a lake resort town in oklahoma....love it here but every spring the past 3 years I have been laid up...
I am having some bladder issues also.....just when I cough but I never had this before and it started yesterday....

well, the pain doc never did call back....I will call tomorrow a couple of times if i have too...I will also call my family doctor and have him order up the mri...I have to go 2 1/2 hrs away for my mri because they put me completely under....I am very claustophic and cannot lay still long enough......so for that I have to go to OKC or tulsa and I will not go to the one in tulsa again (see my other threads)....

I did finally take enough pain meds I was able to throw dinner in the oven....will have hubby and grandson (guardianship he's 12) do the dishes....but am back in the recliner ...

I'm very much a type a personality and it is so hard to do nothing.....and to think this may be the way it always is frightens the heck out of me.....

I know that I am so much better off than alot of people.....it's just the pain has worn me down so much

could someone explain about the pain pump?...an scs had been mentioned to me in the past but I said no....is this something maybe I should reconsider?

I had the SCS implanted for 6 months. It gives "electrical" stimulation to the nerves that are painful, and masks the pain. It didn't work very well for me, but we kept trying by reprogramming the SCS. Trouble was that I was so thin that the "generator" that was implanted started working itself OUT of me!!! So the whole ball of wax had to be removed, and that wasn't any fun.

Then I had the trial for the pain pump, which was STUPID because the pump is even BIGGER than the SCS!!! But anyway, the trial was WONDERFUL. It delivers liquid drugs to the nerves and bathes them in the drug. The drug does not go to the "head" so it doesn't make you loopy. it worked GREAT for me -- in fact, all my pain was GONE during the trial. But the trouble was, they said the pump was too big for me, and I couldn't have it. LOL

They would probably try the SCS on you before the pump. That's usually the way they do it. The SCS and THEN the pump. I guess the pump is the last gasp, so to speak. LOL

I wish you the very best -- please keep us posted Deb. I'd really like to know what happens, okay? Thanks Deb. Hugs, Lee

sounds like the pain pump would work ... I just called my family doc and they are setting up my mri now.....not as much pain as yesterday but have not moved at all yet...

thanks for caring!

Mri with sedation scheduled for JUNE 10TH....insurance won't cover my shoulder but they will do my neck.....I figured that will be ok, if they don't find anything in the neck to cause the shoulder pain then fight them to get one done on the shoulder....