severe back pain 2 months after cervical spinal fusion with numbness in my hands.....

[Kevin Greer]

I had cervical spinal fusion done on February 12, 2008, I was in severe pain before the surgery and I had severe numbness in my hands as well. After the surgery, it's working on one and a half months, I am still having severe pain in my back, and severe numbness in my hands. I'm in the same shape I was in after surgery as I was before. My doctor tells me that I have taken him to the limit of his knowledge, and there is nothing he can do. This guy is a specialist. I had cervical spinal fusion of the c5 and c6 verterbrae. Please help me.

Kevin Greer

[Nana4&cntn]

Welcome Kevin,

I also am a chronic back pain person, please join us in the Chronic Pain and Spinal Disorders Forums. You are not alone in this. There are a lot of very intelligent and caring people in both of those forums.

Hope to see you there,
Kathy

[Kevin Greer]

One more thing I forgot to mention, My specialist won't prescribe me pain medication because he thinks I'm fixed. I'm hurting so bad, I scream. I have migrane headaches, severe back pain, and very bad numbness in my hands. I don't have a primary care physician. I can't live with this pain anymore. What should I do. I feel if there is something wrong with my back, that wasn't diagnosed. Should I go for another opinion, or should I do a pain management doctor?

Kevin Greer:(

[Lee157]

Sorry to hear you got such a raw deal with the idiot doctor. Seems to be happening a lot across the country. If you went to a hospital doctor you might see about contacting their patient advocate. If it a group of doctors working out of a center, they also will have an administrater that handles the 'hiring and firing' of the business. You might also see about contacting your health insurance company and seeing if they have a patient advocate person. In the meantime, get to a pain doctor and get yourself taken care of. Get your records in hand, the complete MRI done before and after the surgery, if any, and take someone with you when you get in to see the pain doctor. It is a rare doctor in the same town that will go against a spine doctor, and beleive you. I've had problems with the doctors in my town and fortunately the pain doctor I went to knows all the crackpots in town and is well aware of each of their weaknesses. Seems I went to a few of them, so he took my word without a handful of records. We've been working on a dx, besides the occipital neuralgia for 3 months. I was in a car accident, how did you get your problem?

[jillyh]

I also still have numbness tingling severe headaches etc I am 38 I had my third surgery, 2 on my neck 1 on my back I had 4 levels done on my back 3 months ago And sometimes i feel Im in worse pain Ive had every disc in my neck done except for c5-6 which now i found out is bulging and that I have bone spurs on my neck fusion has anyone else had bone spurs on a fusion.Also am I the only one severely depressed? I cant stand it any more I feel like a prisoner in my own body.

[Kevin Greer]

Sorry it has taken a few days to respond, but I'm in the same boat. My orthopaedic surgeon says he knows I'm in severe pain, but has been reluctant to prescribe me a pain medication. He finally prescribed me loratab 5 40 of them with 1 refill, but won't let me get my refill until 20 days have gone by. I have had to take them 2 in the morning, 2 at lunch, and 2 in the evening just to withstand the pain. Needless to say I went through 40 of them in about 8 days. He was wanting me to take them just 2 a day. You can tell he really understands my pain. I have already gone to the emergency room once for a shot to ease my pain, and he still says no early refills. I'm going to have to go to the emergency room again, because I've got pain that I can't deal with.

Kevin Greer,
Know how you feel!

[Lee157]

Kevin that's horrible!!! Not just the pain you're in, but the doctor not coming through with another MRI to see what the heck is going on in there. For all you know the fusion was a failure and could be doing more damage. And he doesn't want to know about it. Hey just wait the two years and I can't be sued for a botched operation, I swear this is what these guys are all about.

Get a second opinion, and if he has a fit aobut it, tough sh*t!