Back Pain No Relief In Sight

[sunshinebear01]

My roommate was injured on the job two years ago.  She has been seeing an orthopaedic surgeon for all tests and problems.  He has told us that there is nothing they can do for her anymore but refer her to pain management clinics and hope that workers comp approves it.  Last week she had an episode where she couldn't get out of bed and when she finally did we were in the ER for 6 hours.  They of course can't do anything but dope you up and tell you to schedule an appointment with your doctor.  A month before that we were standing in our living room and she just fell. She told me she lost feeling in her leg.  After visiting the orthopaedist today and telling them these new problems they said contact our primary care doctor for any new or worsening problems(we don't have one. She was only on her job 3 months before getting hurt so insurance was never an option)  She had been diagnosed with a bulging disc and degenerative disc disease(almost 40 we were told this is normal for her age) and some nerve damage but not to the root.  When we questioned the doctor about referring her to a neurologist his assistant told us that it would not benefit them so she would not give the referral.  She said they did all the needed workups when the injury first occurred.  I am at a loss because she is still in so much pain and some days can't walk sit or stand in order to get comfortable.  What other options are there for her now?    

[Magda15]

She needs to fight it tooth and nail. How they can deny something like PAIN MANAGEMENT to someone in PAIN is beyond me, but insurance companies suck. There must be some way that if the doctor ORDERS it, they need to honor that.
I truly hope she gets help. Back pain is enough to drive you insane.

[sunshinebear01]

Workers comp wont sign off for her to go to pain management..It has been requested three times by the doctor and her lawyer says if they wont sign off she can't go... I feel like we are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[Magda15]

Definitely get her to pain management. I have been living with Degenerative Disk Disease since I was 25 and I am 32 now. My L4-L5 and L5-S1 disks are bulged and there are MANY days, weeks I cannot function.Until a few months ago, I was able to avoid all pain meds by seeing Pain Management and getting corticosteroid injections at the epidural site. 7 year those shots made my life livable. I still swear by it and refuse pain meds in general, but my last bout took me down and I did take vicodin for a week.
My legs, from bum down, usually on my right side often go numb or "fall asleep" and I have occasional burning in my toes.
Pain management was a life saver for me. I HIGHLY recommend she give them a call. They usually have a waiting list, so the sooner the call the better. Wish her luck from someone who KNOWS what that feels like.
Shoot me a message anytime on this.

[mooksmom]

Do what they told you to do. Make appt for the pain management doctor.