Re: Need Advise For Monday Dr. Appoitment

[Guest guest]

Rich,

I'm not sure what to offer by way of advice other than to say good luck to you. 

I know how horrible it is to go to yet another new doctor and start over asking

for help without being made to feel " guilty " when you are not. 

I was intrigued by your surgery (L5-S1 fusion).  I had the same thing in 2002

and am still in chronic lower back pain and now how terrible fibromyalgia all

over my body that I believe began after the surgery.  I'm so mad that I had the

surgery and now I feel worse rather than better.  Are you? 

I think I hurt less before the surgery. I can just do more now - it just hurts

too bad to do so. Good luck at your appointment.  What kind of doctor are you

seeing?  I currently am under the care of a rheumatologist and don't know what I

would do without him.  I gave up on my orthopedist.

Robyn

--- frescasdad wrote:

How do I explain or go about this interview and not have this new doctor be a

sceptic like so many become?

[Guest guest]

> Rich wrote,

> How do I explain or go about this interview and not have this new

doctor be a sceptic like so many become?

>

Good morning Rich,

I hope you saved all your medication bottles. If so, then bring them

along with you.

Also, if you can call your ex doctor, ask her/him for a brief

synopsis of your ailment, in other words, just a short and to the

point medical report of all your ailments.

By law, in New York, he/she must give you the doctors reports. Sometimes, they

may charge you $.75 per page.

Just ask for a synopsis(short and to the point) report.

Other doctors prefer that too.

/NY

[Guest guest]

Hi Rich,

I'm so sorry for your horrible experience following the back surgery.  My back

surgery was also an elective DDD surgery.  I wish I had known more about the

fact that the pain would not be relieved just by having the surgery. 

I now take a cocktail of medicine that includes Hydrocodone, Fentanyl patches,

Neurontin and an anti-depressant.  This is the only  combination that has helped

me with the back pain and fibromialgia.  

The pain that you are describing across your upper back sounds like shingles as

described to me by my dad.  He had it a couple of years ago. 

Right now I'm trying to continue to work full-time.  I usually don't get to the

office until 9:30 AM but they are understanding.  I work at home one day a

week.  I do grant administration for a university office so they are pretty laid

back. 

Unfortunately, the past month was the first time that my absences from work

actually became a problem that they felt the need to discuss with me. I'm just

trying to come in every day and do the best I can.  I too have a mini-van and

many days I go out at lunch, eat my lunch in the van under a shady tree and lay

back in the seat to put my feet up and rest.  That helps some.  I have thought

of bringing a cot to work but nowhere to put it here.

I'm 48 myself and just hope that I can continue to work until my 10 year old

finishes high school.  Right how I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Good luck with your new doctor.  Ask him about the shingles but also about

fibromyalgia.  From my understanding fibro is frequently caused by a traume to

the spine and I believe that my surgery (along with numerous epidural steroidal

injections to the spine) has probably caused it for me. 

I have constant all-over body aches that feels like the worst flu that you ever

had.  That's the best way I know to explain the fibro.  I also have the back

pain from the failed surgery.  (Yes, my pain doctor diagnosed me with fibro and

failed back surgery syndrome.  Did you know there was such a thing?)

Robyn

frescadad wrote:

What I have recently started having is what I thought was shingles

but I'm not sure now because of things I read here about Fibromialgia.