New Here - Hubby's MRI

[Guest guest]

Hello, I am new here and have a lot of questions.

Hubby, age 46, has had lower spine/lumbar problems for over twenty

years. We knew a few years ago that he had Degenerative Arthritis,

and that two of the lower disks (L5 S1) had no cartiledge in between

them. Recently though, it got much worse, came on in about two

weeks, and then he finally " did himself in " by an activity involving

leaning over backwards. Result: trip to the ER. X-rays didn't show

much (so they say, but we knew better from previous x-rays!). MRI

showed (1) disk disease (I guess this is Deg. Arth?), (2)

broken/chipped vertebrae, and (3) pinched nerve.

He has dealt with pain for many years and now it is hardly bareable.

He is on heavy duty pain relivers (hydrocodone/Vicodine)and muscle

relaxers. He was also given Toradol and DeproMedrol (sorry for the

spelling!), which he could not tell did any good. We are waiting for

a neurosurgeon referral.

His right leg/hip/buttocks are not hurting worse, possibly indicating

a slight worsening of his conditions, which I've relayed to his

regular doctor. We have a follow-up appointment with this doc next

Tuesday, which I feel is unnecessary, but we'll keep anyways.

To complicate things, he also had a Brain Trauma incident/injury in

1986 and was on Dilantin for seizures for a long time. He also is

Dyslexic, and has some learning disabilities, but makes up for it by

being gifted in many areas - especially mechanical reasoning.

Daypro worked for the pain for many years; I'm thinking if he was

still on this now, the problem would not be as severe. Due to

increased cost, Daypro was no longer covered by our state-provided

insurance.

Oh yes, and he's recognized as Disabled, gets SS, which is just

enough to barely live on.

What I'm hoping to find on this list is good advice about what

questions to ask for a neurosurgeon consult and be an informed spouse-

of-the-patient. <G> I specialize in research look-ups on the web,

and have a keen interest in details and understanding specific

implications for medical interests, having other medical problems

myself in the last few years (including concussion, hysterectomy and

Post Traumatic Stress Syndome/Disorder).

We are rough-and-tough farmers living off the land in Oklahoma since

1989. So we are no stranger to hard work, hard living, and " getting

by " . But this is knocking us for a loop and changing our entire life

style, and we need some advice for coping skills and education on

making wise decisions in the immediate future, especially if surgery

is recommended.

We are active Christians and recognize that God nevers allows us to

suffer needlessly; so we are looking for the purpose in all this, and

until we find the purpose, we are praying for perseverance!

Debbie Dahl

Colcord, Oklahoma