Hello, I'm Ron. This is my first post here so I might as well provide a brief bio before I provide my medical situation. I'm a 22 year old south Asian Finance degree student in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolis of Texas. When I was 17 years old I had injured my lower back gradually in the span of two months while working out when I had started playing football in my high school. The injury has caused me to be unable to stand for more than 5-10 seconds without having a pinching nerve pain shoot down my right leg. I also could not walk as much. This had caused me to get fired from my first job which was at Fry's Electronics after working there for two months.

Since then, I have had five other positions that I attempted to work at, but I couldn't hold a single position for more than a month or two weeks. I had gotten surgery when I was 18 and it was a seven hour procedure where they had scraped/cut off the two excess bulging discs on my lower back. I was alright for a good six months and then the problems started coming back.

Right now I'm in the position where I'm in chronic pain, from the second I wake up until I fall asleep. I'm in pain whenever I am not laying down on my back. I can't walk much without being in pain, sit down somewhere for more than twenty minutes without getting extremely uncomfortable, or stand around for more than ten minutes. It has gotten to the point where I had to start missing classes because I can't sit in the chairs for more than fifteen minutes. All I can think about all day is the amount of pain I am in and when I'll be able to escape it. I have been given four medications to cope with it until I get further treatment, but I don't take them unless I'm having excruciating pain. I have gotten my MRI results back and it shows obvious herniations in the same two discs, and a narrow nerve passageway due to those discs being bulged.

After being transferred around for a number of appointments, with my pain getting worse each week, I have expected my results to show my parents and my doctor that I need some serious help soon. At my follow-up MRI appointment, I thought the results would have my doctors take a different path and start finding me a way to get treated. But to my surprise, I was offered injections to my back for temporary relief. Instead of them trying to FIX my "angry nerves" in my back (as my doctor had tried explaining to my ignorant parents) , they offered injections which I would have to keep getting every month. But I want to fix the source of the inflammation by having my back actually treated. This caused extreme frustration between me and my family because they didn't understand the point I was trying to make. I know for a fact that I need another surgery. I don't trust government provided insurance at this point (I have JPS Bluecross Blue-shield), and I'm desperately seeking help from unbiased experienced professionals. What I am specifically looking for is options for different surgeons/hospitals, and if my insurance will be compatible or how much it would cost out of pocket. This injury has taken every bit of faith, hope, motivation, and ambition I ever had. Thank you in advanced for having the patience to read this and providing any help/suggestions you believe will benefit my situation.

Medications prescribed:
Naproxen 500mg
Cyclobenzaprine 10mg
APAP-Codeine #3
Meloxicam 15mg

Results:
DDD (degenerative disc disease), lumbar (and arthritis)
L5-S1 grade 1 spondylolytic spondylolisthesis.
Multilevel degenerative changes most prominent at L4-5 and L5-S1 with mild-to-moderate canal stenosis and mild right neural foramen stenosis at L4-5 .
Small posterior disc osteophyte complex is noted at L5-S1 with mild-to-moderate right and at least moderate left neural foramen stenosis.

Hello and welcome to the NeuroTalk Support Groups.

You're very young to have such extensive back problems and so much pain.
I don't live in your country so can't actually offer you any suggestions regarding insurance or doctor recommendations, but hopefully others may have some ideas for you.

You could also post on the
Chronic Pain Forum

Not everyone checks every forum here, but you may find ideas from the members who post there.

You take care of yourself and I hope you get the correct treatment/s very soon.