Local Hospital Dropped The Ball....

Went to my spine (he treats my Osteoporosis) doctor on Friday. Got some pretty upsetting news... First let me backtrack a little bit.....

A little more than a month ago, I went to the ER for severe lower back pain. Dr at the ER said I had sacroillitis after looking at my x-ray.... gave me pain killers and sent me on my way.....

My spine Dr took x-rays after I told him that I am have tons of pain when I sit down and now I can't turn my head to the right....

He came in and told my I have a healing fracture in L5 vertebrae in my low back... He suspects I have had it for a month.... My neck is from a degenerating disc.... Which I have already suspected...

I am really pi$$ed at the hosp and my General Practitioner, I have been walking around for over a month with a fracture that could potentially paralyze me if I moved or did something the wrong way! I can't tell you how scary that is....

I will know more after my MRI on this Friday.....

That's terrible! Take it easy and keep us updated.

^^^
X2
Hope all goes well on Fri.

Those docors should have let you atleast some idea on what was going on! Hope everything goes well for you

Did you get a MRI done past that there is no way for a doctor to give even close to accurate diagnostics for spine pain,I have seen the best doctors in my state about mine and the bad part is a lot of doctors only take high percentage cases that they feel you can recover from surgery ...don't wait until you are over 50 like me .
I can only sit maybe be a hour a day tops and sleep packed in ice on my lower back and arse. Been going on 4 years like this and no one can help me, I use a tens unit and pain meds just to live day in and out. I have used spinal shots,decompression , physical therapy,,bone crackers,deep tissue all with no help. I do like my inversion
Table the best,twice a day does give some relief . Good luck

Get well SOON

mrtrailcam1 wrote:Did you get a MRI done past that there is no way for a doctor to give even close to accurate diagnostics for spine pain,I have seen the best doctors in my state about mine and the bad part is a lot of doctors only take high percentage cases that they feel you can recover from surgery ...don't wait until you are over 50 like me .
I can only sit maybe be a hour a day tops and sleep packed in ice on my lower back and arse. Been going on 4 years like this and no one can help me, I use a tens unit and pain meds just to live day in and out. I have used spinal shots,decompression , physical therapy,,bone crackers,deep tissue all with no help. I do like my inversion
Table the best,twice a day does give some relief . Good luck

Thanks all. MTcam1, No, no MRI in the past. I am sort of lucky to have the doctor that I have. He will operate, he cares about his patients. If it is something that hasn't been done before, he will be the first to do it.

I use a Tens Unit also for pain. I also use a infared light source, in addition to my physical therapy, pain meds. It helps to reduce inflammation. It has helped. I am having a hard time sitting as well from the fracture. My major pain issue is I can't turn my head to the right. My neck pain is intense. It is causing headaches on the left side of my head, making my whole back spasm..... I am hearing a crunching type noise coming from my neck.

My MRI has been pushed back, an insurance issue. Hopefully I will get it done soon.... so I can get this mess dealt with.

How well I know the back issue. I never had any health issues in 50 yrs of my life and last October that all changed. My L1-L2 disc ruptured and was eventually replaced.
First I tried the epidural injections lasting 1 month, 3 weeks and then 3 days before I bit the dust for good. I slept in a cushioned office chair for 3 months because I couldn't lay down. Pain killers wouldn't touch my pain and when

I had to be hauled out in the ambulance the powerful injectable killers in the hospital wouldn't stop it either. I was put in twilight until that night when I had the 4.5 hour surgery to repair my back. I tried an inversion table prior and I think that made it worse.

My injury was due to compression and not from lifting incorrectly. Years of packing that ruck sack in the Army, pumping iron and operating heavy equipment led to it at age 50.

The doctor here is one of the top 10 in the world, not the USA, the world. He said he could do it no problem when others said "If we cut we can't go back"
After 4 titanium screws, synthetic disc and 2 braces I'm pain free and take no pain killers. I had a broke back and was back to work in 90 days when it usually takes 6 months to a year!

I lightly touched on how bad my injury really was and I can tell you that it was fricken unbearable X 100 to say the least. My disc was ruptured all the way across the vertebrae pushing the nerve against the bone blocking off the blood flow killing the nerve and causing paralysis as an outcome!!

I'll say a prayer for you all that posted an issue because it really works, I'm proof of it!!

Here's the X rays and a model showing the repair and injury.

Damn Ghost!!! I am glad that you are finally doing better. My back issues are brought on by my osteoporosis. All of the compression fractures I have had, is causing disc issues. We are going to run into a problem if I have to have surgery, my bones are WAY too fragile for screws, pins etc.... They will pull right out. That is why I go to the doctor I have. He will come up with a way to fix me. He has also taken over treating my Osteoporosis. Hopefully I can finally find a treatment to stop the progression of this disease. Most of the treatments are frightening... some are killing women....

Dr. Nunely has three clinical trials coming up, that I may qualify for. We will see on that one.

My boyfriend Mike has gone through disc issues in his neck. He already had one surgery 4 years ago. He currently has another disc blown. The same doctor is treating him. He is also looking at surgery sometime soon. We make a hell of a pair... LOL

UPDATE: I still haven't been in the MRI. The pain has eased up. My physical therapist now believes that I also have disc issues in my lumbar spine. Still fighting the hospital on the copay.

Ghost: I have found that between using my Tens Unit x2 a day, has helped alot. I have also found that the Light Relief unit I bought, (LED Light Therapy) helps the pain and stiffness in my neck. I need to use that twice a day as well. At least I can now function without having to rely on my pain meds... I have Mike doing this too.....