Diagnosed. Annular tear in the l3l4 l5s1

[FMLJ222014]

My question is what do I do? I've done physical therapy, yoga, Pilates to no avail. I take 50mgs of hydrocodone a day and it's starting to not help with pain. I woke up yesterday morning and while getting out of bed I felt this burning pain shoot down my leg. I went to the er and they said it was an acute injury of my back and sent me home with Ativan .5 mg to take with the hydrocodone. Still did nothing. I know not to up my dose on my own, but how do I talked to my pc with out him thinking I'm a drug addict?

[philnoir]

Then you may need to find a spine specialist. Orthos know little but surgery, and they don't like to treat pain for more than 90 days with opioids.

One thing you can do is get a second opinion from an objective spine doctor. I suggest seeing a specialist trained in pain management and the spine. These doctors are a board certified pain medicine specialists, credentialed with the initials MD, DABPM after their name. This means they have a diploma from the American Board of Pain Management.

These are doctors who are trained in advanced anesthesiology and treat chronic pain as a disease – not a symptom. They have a thorough understanding of the nervous system, the spine, the use of advanced pain medication, and are trained in techniques that can deliver pain relief with injections and other non-invasive procedures to specific areas of the body.

They are also experts at diagnosis of rare pain syndromes, like central pain, CRPS, and RDS.

They treat LBP all the time.

But whomever you see, don't suggest treatments -- that's the doctor's job, and it will make you look like a drug seeker.

[FMLJ222014]

I have done everything and more to help my back. My ortho sent me to physical therapy. I on my own decided to take up Pilates and yoga. I don't want more hydro. Something that work would be nice. As of this morning my orth set me up for blood work and another mri seeing as my symptoms have gotten worse. Flooring pain down my right leg. My question wasn't how to get mor it was to get something that works better.  And philnoir as you can see I have been doing what was asked of me without any problems. It hasn't worked for 3 months. Still in chronic pain. Thanks for you opinion philnoir.

[philnoir]

Your doctor has been trained to treat you, has had years of experience of treating people with conditions like yours, and has in fact, treated your condition so far with success -- am I correct?

Yet your question is: how can I get him to give me more hydrocodone?

You sound as if you don't want his learned opinion, and look upon your doctor solely as a prescription service.

Now, why would he think you were a drug seeker?

This is what annoys most doctors about some of their pain patients.

You've decided that you need more drugs, regardless of any other treatment option that may be, in your doctor's learned opinion, more appropriate for your current development.

Perhaps your spine is in danger. Perhaps you're facing losing sensation or control of that leg.

Wouldn't you want to know if that was what is happening?