Multi-level disc injury - frustrated rant

[OakLeaf]

Oh man kamikazejane, I'm so sorry you're having to go through all that. One of the things I'm very grateful for is that I don't have pain - the new sensation in my left arm is more of a burning type numbness than the right side, but it's only like a mild sunburn (in fact, when I'm outside I keep checking my arm to see if it's burnt ).

The lumbar and thoracic stuff is getting better little by little. Wish I could say the same thing about the neck. My shoulders are so out of whack it's hard to know how much of the nerve compression is coming from the nerve roots and how much is from the thoracic outlet. I'm so hoping it's one of these things that gets worse before it gets better ... and that the new symptoms are just the result of my shoulders and upper spine realigning themselves ... fingers crossed.

I totally hear you on the bike. I'm lucky that running (short distances, anyway) actually seems to help my symptoms, but if that made it worse too, I'd have to choose between running and cycling.

You hang in there, yourself.

[OakLeaf]

Well, the left arm/shoulder stuff is getting worse, at this point it's the worst of it, though I've been kind of having a bad week with all of it.

My PT was surprisingly honest that the doctors in her practice are of the type whose skills consist of taking an MRI and finding the dotted line that says "cut here." She doesn't know a physician who takes a more hands-on approach at this point (she knew one who moved away), but she has a PT colleague who's both more hands-on herself, and who may know a doctor as well - she's supposed to get back with me today, hopefully. My sister who's an acupuncture doctor is also checking her networks to see if there's anyone here she'd feel comfortable with. It's hardly a health care mecca here, but then again I know there are a lot of places that are worse.

I'm really trying to be positive, but it's getting harder and harder.

[indysteel]

((((Oak)))). I'm sorry to hear this is getting worse, not better. I hope you find a doctor to your liking soon. Hang in there until then....

[luvmyguys]

I'm so sorry. I saw the thread title and cringed. I had to give up a sport thanks to my injury, and it hurt to give it up (but hey, now I'm here!).

Have you considered a good chiropractor? I make that suggestion with great hesitation, because there are good chiropractors and ones that can leave you paralyzed, and sometimes it's hard to find the good ones. I happened to luck out on that score. Everything she did had the blessing of an independently seen orthopedic surgeon, and she was the one who ordered the MRI for my neck and recognized (quickly) that my injury wasn't something she'd be able to treat. She then sent me to one of the best (and most medically conservative) neurosurgeons in the city.

She did something called spinal decompression (again, with the blessing of the orthopedic surgeon I'd gone to for a second opinion), which, while it wasn't able to fix the problem, kept me out of pain until the surgery. It's a gentle, computer based traction (I called it the rack, though).

Again, I make the suggestion with trepidation, because I know there are definitely bad chiropractors out there (I saw one article that referred to them as chiromancers). Think your PT might have a recommendation?

Good luck, and I'm so sorry it's derailing the sport you love!

[OakLeaf]

Thanks. Actually I've been seeing the chiropractor my PCP recommended. I was impressed with her initial exam but there have been a few things that have caused me to lose some confidence. My PT is setting me up with another PT in her practice who has a great deal of training and experience in manual therapy and we're going to go from there. Maybe with a new treatment focus, maybe with a referral to an ortho, we'll see after she sees me. My sister suggested I see a DO who's trained in Sutherland's technique - perhaps one of the doctors the new PT has in mind is one of those.

[Crankin]

I am sorry to hear this, Oak.

[Catrin]

Oak, so sorry to read this, hopefully the new doc can help you out. It is a pity that so many see surgery as the first option Have they tried injections/would you consider that? It did a world of good for me - it apparently brought the inflammation down enough that the more troublesome symptoms of nerve impingement (patterns of numbness from my jaw to my fingers) went away and haven't returned. My problem was pretty much limited to my cervical spine however, while it has multiple problems it certainly sounds less complex than your situation.

He was a "Physiatrist", if I recall properly. I know injections don't work in all situations/for all people but I did want to mention it.

[OakLeaf]

sometimes it takes awhile to find the right one.

I wish I had the first clue how to do that.

I spent 15 years reading other people's medical records, and while I definitely identified some doctors I would not go to, I still have no idea how to find a good one.

I had experience with another thing, some years back, and never did even find a doctor who would listen to me. The issue resolved (sort of) and I have my own opinion of what it was, but it's likely that it's responsible for other problems, that maybe I might not have/have had if the first thing had been properly diagnosed and treated. And in the meantime my medical records were cluttered up with doctor-shopping - remember that every time someone sees a new doctor, it's a black mark on their record that makes the next practitioner less likely to listen or respect them. Just the way it is. I can't even begin to count the derogatory comments I've seen in other people's records when they haven't just stuck with one practitioner.


I'm still inclined to think that referral from a practitioner I trust is probably the best way, but finding a practitioner I trust to begin with is still an issue. I like my PCP, but honestly I don't think she's particularly competent. I'm inclined to trust this new PT, but I've only seen her three times so far. The doctor she actually suggested I see isn't taking new patients, so I'm scheduled with a colleague of his who has similar credentials. One thing I know very well is that credentials and competence are two different things.

But I've got to be realistic, too. Medicine isn't magic. People younger than I suffer injuries that they never recover from. I'm grateful for the years I've had. This is earlier than I thought I'd have to be making hard decisions, but sooner or later, unless we're lucky enough to be struck out of the blue, we all have to make them.

[redrhodie]

Hey Oak,

How are you?

[OakLeaf]

Thanks for asking. I'm a bit better emotionally. We're trying a short road trip this weekend in the car ... I'm a little nervous about being upright so long, but hope to get through the weekend. Two weeks til I see the new doctor - keeping my fingers crossed.

How are you doing?

[redrhodie]

I'm feeling good. Meditation has helped. Time is helping.

Have a great trip! Hope your body cooperates! I hope the time flies until you see the new doctor. That's a long time to hurt.

[OakLeaf]

Update ... I've been posting some in the running threads, but I'm almost starting to dare to hope.

Three visits done with the osteopath. Getting appointments with him has been frustrating, but the treatments help. Sutherland's techniques are WAY different from anything I've ever had done before. I don't even know how to describe ligamentous articular strain. Half the time it doesn't even feel like anything when he's working on me, but whether I feel it or not at the time, I definitely feel it afterward. Muscle soreness on the one aspect, postural realignment on the other. Powerful stuff.

Then I'd originally asked my sister for a recommendation of an acupuncture doctor, and she's the one who recommended that I first see an osteopath who practices Sutherland's techniques, but in the meantime when I was going too long between appointments with the DO, I started seeing the LAc my sister recommended, who does motor point technique. Two out of three treatments with her now, I've been lying on her table and a muscle just let go and has pretty much stayed de-spasmed. Jaw-dropping stuff as far as I'm concerned. Again ... I've had acupuncture before, but not motor point work - actually my LAc isn't certified yet, but she's studying for her sports medicine certification and incorporating motor point techniques in the meantime.

My low back is WAY looser, I'm able to get my pelvis closer to neutral, I'm feeling better running. I've still got a fair amount of numbness all over but less "deadness" in my arms. I also started being less afraid of the stuff in my legs going into the motor nerves - even though it has already done that in my arms, my other sister told me that she has chronic numbness in her legs but no weakness, and she really doesn't take care of herself musculoskeletally. If things continue the way they have been (fingers crossed, again ... up until now I've been too afraid to even say I'm getting better even as it happened) I'll do one more "long" run (up to 9 miles now) and then try carrying water.

I went ahead and put my application in for the Boston Marathon when I was much more uncertain than now - the one thing I REALLY didn't want to happen was that I'd get healthy enough to train, but get closed out due to my own inaction - and I'm starting to think I might actually be able to run the dang thing.

I hope I hope I hope I hope.

[shootingstar]

Keep us posted, Oak. Hang in there. Eat healthy, etc.

What else do you love to do besides jogging & cycling? (I know it's not the same, but still...mental life insurance is useful.)

[OakLeaf]

What else do you love to do besides jogging & cycling? (I know it's not the same, but still...mental life insurance is useful.)

Well you know the gear that lets people do things without using their arms is geared to people MUCH worse off than I. You can understand why I'm reluctant to go there. I am considering a portable massage table, that would at least let me read through the face hole.

[OakLeaf]

OK if I whine a little more? Ignore if not ...

The good news is at least I have a direction in mind. I started seeing a new PT three sessions ago, who's taking a different, more hands-on approach, releasing trigger points in my diaphragm (ow!) and intercostals as well as the more traditional muscles and doing more mobilization and stretching, less of the strength work that tends to aggravate whatever it isn't directly relieving.

Several people agreed that I'm most likely to be helped by an osteopath who practices Sutherland's techniques. The bad news is that the nearest ones are an hour and a half away over country roads that are just murder on my back. I have an appointment in a month. I'm planning to let DH drive, and lie down in the back of the car. Still...

The isolation is as bad as anything else. Basically everyone I know is from either cycling or yoga - I've tried going to some political meetings and stuff just to meet people, but I can't be upright that long. So the only people I have any interaction with all day are my husband and my therapists, and you guys and my FB friends.

I know I know I know a lot of people have it much worse. I just need to vent right now....