Hi Terclevenger,
Welcome to our Pain Management Forum at MedHelp. I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I can relate.
I will make a very long story short. I was in a MVA also and I was just in my thirties. I will never forget the conversation I had with a orthopedic surgeon. He said, The good news is you are not crazy, you have multiple reasons for severe pain. The bad news is you are as good as you will ever be and as you age the pain will increase. There's nothing we can do for you." I know how your husband feels. I too didn't hear much of the conversation that followed. The ortho was correct. My pain has greatly increased over the years. I am no longer physically able to continue my career.
There are options. Depending on the results of his CT scan should determine your next step. I highly recommend he get into a good Pain Management Clinic. They can offer him alternative approaches to pain control. There are steroid injections, nerve blocks, TENS unit's, spinal stimulators and more. He may want to consider opiates when not working and something like Tramadol (non-narcotic pain reliever) when he is working. Oral steroids may be an option for a short term burst.
The most important piece of advice I can offer is to get the best medical care available now. Begin a savings account or sock away some cash to prepare for a rainy day if his condition should deteriorate.
There are so many things they can do for CP today. And I beleive that as your husband ages and the years pass the medical community will come up with better options and more approaches to CP.
Your husband is very lucky to have such a concerned and supportive wife. CP sufferers greatly benefit from understanding and support. He needs you to continue to to both. I hope you will keep in touch with us and become and active member of our community. I will look forward to updates. Please don't forget to take care of yourself too. Peace, Tuck
thank you for your answer. They did another ct scan today and he has an appt in two weeks. so it is a mostly wait game till then. It was his first appt with this doctor yesterday and the poor guy said after the doctor explained pain for the rest of his life went kinda into shock. If anybody knew this guy it is so sad. He is a hard worker, out door man. It sad to see him struggle everyday especially with all the technology.
Welcome to the pain management community.
I am sorry to hear of your husbands pain. The doctor should have gone over all options available to him, he can have nerve blocks and there is also bio feedback and of course non narcotic medications. I sympathize with him not being able to take medications that will control his pain but there are other options. Non narcotic pain medications do not work as well as opioids would but they will offer some relief. He can take the narcotic medications while off work. I would suggest going back to the doctor and explaining his situation and tell the doctor he needs some kind of relief and see what he is willing to do. If he isn't open to helping him other than with narcotics find another doctor who will understand his situation.