I feel your pain man! I have just about the same amount of damage to my back and have been on oxycontin & roxycodone for the past 5 years. Due to my age the doctors feel I am too young to benefit from surgery.

I was able to finally qualify for disability due to this and other problems I have. Its not much but it pays the bills for now.

Good luck to you and if you have any questions feel free to hit me up.

 

One thing that will definitely get some action going, is to call the Insurance Commisioner in your state, or write him a letter explaining what has, and has NOT been done etc. 25 years ago I broke, or shattered everything from my knees up in a truck wreck. I shouldn't even be here, much less walking, but I'm too damn stubborn I guess. I've had 14 surgeries in just the last 6 1/2 years. I've had multiple epidurals, and they were temporary for me. Everybody reacts different to procedures and drugs. I've been on Percocet so long, it doesn't do anything for me anymore. I'm now on Morphine, and Methadone, and only have minor relief. You know what I'm talking about when I say that you wouldn't wish this pain on anybody. I've got more metal in me than alot of hardware stores! My first neck surgery, C7 ruptured, was a joke. I was in worse pain overall after that than I was before. You had better hope that you don't have a disc rupture. On the 1 - 10 pain scale, it was about a 12!!! I've got an EXTREMELY high tolerance of pain now too, been living with it for so long. The pain management doctors really don't know what to do with me anymore? I have a good primary care dr that believes in quality of life, so she's not afraid to keep giving me the opiods. I'm NOT addicted, but know what it would be like. I used the Fentanyl pain patches for a while, but coming off of those was a nightmare. I did not sleep for 7 days! Seriously, those things are nasty. I sleep in shifts. I've been up today since 4:30 am, but I hope I'll get some sleep tonight??? Muscle relaxers help in that aspect, some. Not always though. It was said before that alot of your pain is from muscle tightness, which is true. Just remember to stretch WHENEVER you can, and as often as you can. I broke 5 vertebrae in my low back, 3 in my thoracic area, 3 in my neck, as well as shattering my left hip & pelvis, knees, sternum, 8 ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and damn near cut my right arm off at the elbow. I don't remember a thing about it, cause I was in a coma for 6 days...probably a good thing.
Keep a positive attitude...you WILL have bad days, and then they will get worse. There's only so much you can do though. Find a doctor that will listen to you, and is willing to try to find the problem, not just order tests, and put a band-aid on it to make it feel better. Believe it or not, I had a psychiatrist tell me that it was all in my head, and the reason I was in so much pain was due to the fact that I didn't have any children!!!
Hang in there, I hope the best for you.

You will also be able to forecast the weather better than the meteorologists on TV now also!!!

Again, GOOD LUCK

 

anyone have experience with the epidurals of cortisone and steroids? got another one coming on thursday. dont really have a choice in the matter since its workers comp. besides i dont have any better ideas at this point. all i know is it hurts and theres a chance this might help. is this just another step closer to surgery?

 

Sometimes they help, other times they miss. From the extent of damage you described. You may notice a little improvement. But there is no silver bullet.

 

the one i got a month ago lasted for about 3 days and then there was a steady decline back to where it was. i did notice the pain in my legs got worse and where it was only my upper legs it is now all the way down.

i wonder if when i go in on thursday if they can knock me out all day instead of just an hour. would be nice to catch up on some sleep.

bullet doesnt sound bad, but i got my wife and kids depending on me for a pay check.

 

To help your family, you have to forget the bullet. I have been where you are now, and it is not an easy task. Just don't let workers comp off the hook. If they get you back to work, they'll screw you.
Just keep jumping through their hoops, ad never let them convince you , that you are better.
When you are back to 100% for a long period of time, maybe. But your life has changed, that is the first thing you have to accept.
There is always hope. The Doctors have improved my problems, but I'm by no means fixed. If you need stronger pain meds , tell them.
Just remember what I stated before , the meds can be dangerous with out discipline.

 

thanks for the reply. i never left or missed work. the diff between the workers comp pay and what i get was to much. besides, thats not teaching my kids anything. i just suck it up get in the truck in the morning and fell every bump between home and work. i got put on light duty which so far is working. i do some and then head to the desk and heating pad and do some paperwork. its the change it made for me doing my job and more so all the things that i have done in the past at home and with the family. its torture to go to kids sports and sit on the bleachers. i end up standing for most of it until my legs feel like they are going to explode. then i look around and see how many fathers arent there and it makes me feel good that i did.

maybe cause i am at work they arent breaking any records with treatments. i dont know. just dont want to risk the job.

 

I had to give up many things also, my children understand. I to, go to work everyday, except the times I was recovering from surgeries. It's tough, but I can't quit, I would go crazy at home.

The term ruptured disc, makes it sound like less than it is. But in actuality the fluid that protects the spinal cord is leaking out, and not cushioning the spinal cord. Very painful I don't care who you are.
The ruptures will not heal themselves, It will take one or more surgeries to fix. That is from my experience.

Like s2krn said, The Workers Comp Nurse is not your friend, never tell the nurse you feel better. That would be used against you if it comes to a disability case.
Good luck! and best wishes.