Often we have to take care of ourselves when it comes to back pain, and that means learning all you can about it, and possible treatments.
At this point treatment involves medication to control pain and inflammation, physical therapy, and perhaps injections of corticosteroids.
Search for "Interventional pain management" to learn more about treatments.
thanks very much for your reply,
pain started in 2010, after I had a fall. when the pain started I was getting electric shocks and rapidly escalated in severity to within a month I couldn't and still cant wear socks or shoes .
I was misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathy until a few months ago when I had my mri.
the sad part Is back in 2010 I saw neurologists and 4 different doctors and none of them thought to look at my back,
now my meds are
gabapentin 3600mg/day
lyrica 300/mg day
tramadol 400-500 mg/day
flexeril 10mg/day
and I still have debilitating pain
Gary, it is obvious that you reported with neck and lower back pain.
The MRI shows degenerative disc changes at multiple levels in both the lumbar and cervical spine. Some of these discs bulge and press against the spinal cord and root nerves, with altering severity. The general diagnosis is degenerative disc disease (DDD), and more specific diagnoses can be applied, depending on the severity of disease and structures affected.
In general, your MRI looks like you're at an early stage of DDD because the space between vertebrae is preserved. Fortunately there no cord stenosis or narrowing of the spinal cord space in the neck. There is some narrowing near the lumbar/sacral interface, just above your hips.
Treatment at this point involves medication to control pain and inflammation, physical therapy, and perhaps injections of corticosteroids.
Cord stenosis in the lower back should be watched for increasing severity. Often mild cord stenosis (called in this case, lumbar spinal stenosis) is asymptomatic. With no prior MRI data, we don't know if this is a new condition or if you've lived with this for a long time.
Unfortunately, this is a chronic condition. You will not heal from DDD, but you will want to control pain, and maintain range of motion. Seek out an interventional pain doctor specializing in the spine. These specialists treat pain and help avoid surgery until it is necessary to stabilize the spine or maintain the cord space. You are far from this, so don't let them operate.
It is unfortunate that many PCPs refer to surgeons as a first choice, and people have surgery too soon, causing additional intractable pain.
Best wishes.