dnh43

Bear with me, not to many doctors actually ask or listen about the pain levels and where it occurs. So I failed to include upon my original post.
In the beginning before the first hip surgery, I received two injections into the hip joint. Neither of the injections provided much relief for more than 3-4 days so I couldn’t tell if it was the anesthesia or the actual injection. My pain level before the injection was a stable 9 and afterwards an 8. But I also received injections into my SI Joint and near my ischial tuberosity which did nothing for the pain in my groin area or the back side of my pelvic region.
After the hip scope I started experiencing much worst pain in the hip joint area. I continued to plead with the hip surgeon to double check his work, because the pain had gotten unbearable (a solid 10 on the pain scale), so I went to a independent hip specialist and got a second opinion. Upon our consultation with him, he explained how difficult it was to correctly diagnose a back injury from a hip injury. But he stated in his opinion that the hip surgeon removed an excessive amount of bone which left me bone on bone and referred me to another hip specialist at the Washington State University School of Medicine in St.Louis, MO for prehaps some alternatives other than a THA.
The examination and the review of my medical records with this new hip specialist resulted with the same opinion, but there were no alternates other than a THA available. Sometime either before or after this surgery he informed me to make a pain diary so if I had problems he could easily go back and see what actions intensified or make my pain better. So I have a pretty decent pain diary for that year and occassionally after that when I started seeing the current pain management doctor that attempts many different injections.
During my physical therapy after the THA my pain continued. In general my pain is in the middle of my back above my beltline and progresses down into my buttocks and around the outside of my right hip into my groin and down the front side of my thigh. On a pain scale, my back usually is a mild burning/ ache (7-8), front and back of the pelvic area is a intense burning/ stabbing pain (9), and down the front of my leg is a burning/ ache pain (7-9)( with activity such as walking, twisting, bending all areas increase with pain – leaning over a table unsupported by my arms or riding in a vehicle in such a manner where it feels like my back is a shock absorber gets the back inflamed with a burning and down right painful pain that doesn’t just resolve on its own). I have never experienced any pins and needles in my back, pelvic region, or down my thighs. I am weaker on my right leg when pulling up or pushing down my toes against resistance. Before and after the hip scope and THA I had some numbness in my right foot primarly in the arch of my foot and the last two toes but in the last six months that numbness has subsided but the pain continues.
Since my first post I have undergone two more epidurals at the L2 and L3 region. Surprisely I had very good results but it only lasted for 8 days. My pain went from a 9 to a 1. I experienced some migrain headaches and experienced a extremely fast heartrate for a day, so it was a rough few days but once that was over I finally got to experienced what being normal was like. I had a minor ache in my back throughout that week that wouldn’t go away but it was a relief to be pain free for the short time. Its the first time they have ever let me influence them to give the injections higher so perhaps their misses everytime might actually provide some relief.
But my return visit with the doctor today wasn’t very productive in my opinion. After three years of continued conservative treatment they don’t want to explore or try anything else except the same manner in treatment. Due to new provisions that were outlined by workers comp in a mailed letter they are switching my medication from 90 mg of morphine per day over to 5 tablets of 325 mg – 10 Norco per day. This was a medication I used to take on a higher dosage(12 tablets per day) before the extended release morphine. The reason for the change was I wasn’t getting enough rest before I had to take another dose and my PCP didn’t want the Tylenol to eat my liver. So I am back into this endless cycle once again.
I did look into Laser spine surgery to see if this might be an option that is widely televised about but after filling out all of the required documents once they realized it would be paid by work comp I received a pleasant email stating that they do not accept workers comp for payment. I got to wonder if I had regular insurance if more options would come available and these doctors would take the necessary steps to help relieve me of the ongoing issues that I have faced for so long. Well I am actually going to test my theory, because this is getting ridilious.