If you are suffering or know someone that suffers in chronic pain, I hope that this blog can be helpful. I will fill you in to, what I did after the surgery. If you had one. Or What to do after you see the doctor because of pain and the doctor sends you away and says "there is nothing we can do".
You have a choice to do your own research. If you cannot have someone help. It is so good to know as much about the subject that is hurting you as you can. Like I said I found a doctor that understands pain pretty good. My family doctor could only help by giving me more pain meds. Pain meds are good but you have to learn how to use them. I had so many pain killers and so much pain killer that it no longer was being useful in my life. I tried everything available locally with no help. It was time to see my surgeon. This can be requested through your family doctor when ever you and your doctor feel the need to see the surgeon.
I had to travel to Calgary and this like I said is not pleasant. At the time I never flew alone. So I did have help on my travels. I had an appointment to see the surgeon. We knew that it would involve taking MRI to see what the problem could be. I also was scheduled to take a bone scan during the same time frame.
The tests were all done and I was scheduled to see the surgeon. My hope was to hopfully find what possiblily could be holding up my progress. I somehow thought that the surgeon was going to help. I was still in the "God" state of mind in the way I though of the Surgeon. I was so wrong they are just people that have a skill at something the rest of us don't. I was hoping that the surgeon would just say hey It could be this nerve or that nerve or a cut here or a cut there. Not true. I got the attitude. The surgeon said "it looks much better than it was". Excellent statement isn't it? In the next breathe he pointed out some problem spots. At the time I still had disc material and surgical material around my spinal column. Can that be good? Oh right it looks better than it was. Right ?! Don't ever admit to any guilt. My surgeon wasn't going to do that. A nice talk about it and suggestions to what I could do to help myself was what I hoped our meeting would be like. Not what I expected
Time went on and I got several opinions as to what I should do. During this time I was also working hard to stay as healthy as I could. I had the same surgeon say that he would fuse my thoracic vertebra together. He had gave me a prescription for a back brace and it was custome made for me in alberta. I had it fit and if that helped allot then a fusion would probably help too.Very unusual surgery at thoracic spine. This surgery was very rarely done. I talked to three other surgeons they all said "no way not at the thoracic area" The surgeons were scared of more surgery in the area. During the first surgery the surgeon cut a artery that runs up the length 0f the spine. This is now a concern with every other surgeon. Scare tissue and just the location didn't make me a good candadite for the fusion.
Back home I was laying around in more pain. IT was not good. I would try and use Ice and heat. It just was nasty pain all the time. I tried everything and it just didn't work. In the mean time I was taking more drugs for pain. I also saw an eastern doctor. He just didn't want to try anything because it was too complicated. Or maybe he knew what he had to offer just wouldn't work! I also was trying acupucture. The muscles were so tight in my injury area that they could barely get the needle in.
I went out to a rehab. place in calgary that was tied into my surgeon somehow. I think he owned the building. It was awkward for me there. There were physios, kiniseologist all kinds of rehab. people that were going to help me. If I stayed there a day it was a day too long. IT was so bias in favor of insurance companies and surgeons. It was little help. I did meet a doctor there that was willing to give me an injection into the area around the disc. It would give me some relief and if not I would certainly be sure that where he injected it was where I was hurt. It was a big needle that was incerted into my back while I was on my stomach. The needle was pushed in until the needle hit my vertabre and then it was slid along the vertibra and the contents of the needle released into my spinal area. The nurse looked at me and said allot of people have passed out from that. Now you tell me. It definately was the right spot. A whole syringe was injected and It felt like the top of my head was going to come off.
The same doctor was the first to sit down with me and say look you are not going to get much better from this condition. Man I hated to hear that. I was so upset when he told me that. I had a pretty good Idea that I may never get better but when I heard it from a doctor it was the worst news I could have gotten at the time. I spent a couple of weeks there and never really got much out of it.
I was back home again doing the same thing looking for help. I searched hi and low for something that may help. I studied all I could about the injury. My pain doctor here suggested that I go to a pain clinic rehab center. I agreed and I was off to Alberta. It was a three week program. By this time I was so drugged up and in so much pain I was desperate for help. I was so weak at this time I could barely stand up. I was wearing the back brace often because it help a little to provide stability in the area. The back brace was also weakening the muscles around my back. This is another reason I may feel so weak at the time.
The first thing they tell you at the clinic is that you need to get off the pain killers. I agreed with them on this point. It would be hard to access a patient that has a back brace on and is on a tonne of pain killers.
During my stay at the rehab facility I learned many coping skills that relate to chronic pain. These skills are very helpful if you can learn them. Some coping skills you remember well and use all the time others you have to find again.
I cannot remain seated at the computer any longer I must go lay down. One thing that happened to you today that was positive. Today I had alot of things go wrong. When I look back on the day it is difficult to think of positive! I had a good talk with my doctor today. He had a positve out look on my pain pump and was sure that the doctor would find a dosage or a combination of drugs that would help my pain/quality of life. I look forward to my trip to see the doctor
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