Sometimes the mental toll of chronic pain can be as bad if not worse than the physical ramifications. While western medicine mainly focuses on treating the body only, there should be more focus on the treatment of the body as a whole. The Chinese and other Eastern cultures have known for thousands of years that you cannot treat the body without treating the mind and the spirit. I feel that modern medicine needs to learn this! Some pain management clinics do have psychologists or other mental health professionals available to their patients but the vast majority in this country do not.
Most Family Practitioners and Internal Medicine Physicians are not equipped to handle any type of acute pain situation very well much less a chronic pain problem. They try and bless them they are the patients first line of defense in this poor maze of jumbled facade of errors that our medical care has become in the U.S. today. However, the statistics show that hardly any of the physicians that are in practice today are even aware of what pain protocols are! If they are ill equipped to treat the physical symptoms, how on Earth do they attempt to start to conquer the emotional and mental problems that chronic pain can cause?
As a chronic pain patient myself, I ask this hoping to get insight for myself and others as I do not have a good answer for this! I really wonder if there is a good answer in our standard of medical care today. If there is I for one do not know about it. I have found some others who are advocates for people who are in chronic pain.
There is a great site called The American Pain Foundation. If you have not visited them in the past, I highly recommend you give them a try. They have chats, a message board that you can get information and advice from Nurse Practitioners and Physicians Assistants who work in Pain Management as well as support from other people who experience chronic pain. They also hold frequent chats with some well known people in the Pain Management world. You can sign up for email alerts for upcoming events or chats there.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Other Alternative Therapies That Help Chronic Pain
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese-developed therapy that is known for it’s abilities in relaxation, relieving pain, and improving health. Although the therapy was originally dismissed as a myth by many scientists in the western world, many recent studies have shown that if done correctly, acupuncture is effective against certain maladies, as long as sterile needles are used for the procedure. The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as a valid treatment for over twenty conditions. Acupuncture is commonly practiced alongside herbal medicine, as various herbs and roots are believed to encourage the healing effects also being promoted by the acupuncture treatment.
Acupuncture has been used as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine which encompasses both herbal treatments, acupuncture, and diet to treat the person as a whole. The Chinese believe that the person cannot just be treated physically but has to be treated as the mind/body connection play a very big part in healing. Food plays a big part in this type of therapy and Qi or the life force of health and well being is blocked or dysfunctional when disease or pain is present. This type of therapy has been used for thousands of years both in conjunction with western medicine and in lieu of. Many people have been helped by adding this type of therapy to their pain management regime.
Reflexology
Reflexology, a branch of massage therapy developed in 1913 by William Fitzgerald, is usually described as a massage on either the hands or feet (as well as other body parts such as the ears) that is meant to cause positive reactions in other parts of the body. There are various charts that reflexology therapists use in order to map out which parts of the hand and feet correspond to the various organ and muscle groups of the body. The therapy itself is sometimes referred to by patients as “zone therapy”, because of the belief that the hands and feet map out the various zones which they will effect.
Studies have been done that have shown there are relating reflex type reactions in parts of the body on both MRI and pet scans while reflexology has been done on patients. There is a general sense of well being and relaxation after being though a session of reflexology and the premise behind the treatment is to open the energy channels in the body so that it allows the body to heal itself. This can be helpful in relaxation and to relieve stress and tension in long term painful situations and syndromes.
Rolfing
Rolfing is a therapy technique developed by Ida Pauline Rolf in the mid 1950’s. Rolfing is primarily used to release bound up connective tissues to enable muscles to work with less restriction. Over time, muscle fibers tighten up in some people and inhibit movement – this technique loosens the fibers through deep tissue manipulation. In addition to the massage, patients undergoing Rolfing are asked to make specific movements while the massage is being completed. Although there is not enough data to prove that Rolfing is an overall effective manner of treatment, many patients claim to experience increased mobility after undergoing the treatment.
Myofascial Release
Myofasical Release is a technique that aims to eliminate pain while increasing flexibility. This is done by manipulating the fascia – a paper-thin layer of connective tissues located below the skin and above the bones – through a heavy massage. The massage loosens up the layer of connective tissues to release the tension in the fascia and improve overall mobility, and can be done directly or indirectly. The direct method involves moving the tissues back and forth that need to be loosened. The indirect method is slower and relies on holding slight pressure for a few minutes and then releasing. The technique became widely used in 1983 when Janet G Travell published a book about the therapy.
Both Rolfing and Myofascial Release work in conjunction with massage therapy or in lieu of on the premise of breaking up scar tissue or releasing connective tissues that are either scarred down or not pliable as they should be. This should allow muscles to move more freely and allow them to heal themselves with more movement. Both of these treatments have been shown to be beneficial in situations where there is injury or trauma to tissues, muscles, tendons, or joints.
As with any type of alternative therapy, you should talk with your physician and get their permission before trying any of the alternative therapies that are mentioned here or elsewhere. However, if your physician does agree for you to try some of these methods, I think you will find that thre is a lot of benefit here for you as so many others have found before!
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese-developed therapy that is known for it’s abilities in relaxation, relieving pain, and improving health. Although the therapy was originally dismissed as a myth by many scientists in the western world, many recent studies have shown that if done correctly, acupuncture is effective against certain maladies, as long as sterile needles are used for the procedure. The World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as a valid treatment for over twenty conditions. Acupuncture is commonly practiced alongside herbal medicine, as various herbs and roots are believed to encourage the healing effects also being promoted by the acupuncture treatment.
Acupuncture has been used as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine which encompasses both herbal treatments, acupuncture, and diet to treat the person as a whole. The Chinese believe that the person cannot just be treated physically but has to be treated as the mind/body connection play a very big part in healing. Food plays a big part in this type of therapy and Qi or the life force of health and well being is blocked or dysfunctional when disease or pain is present. This type of therapy has been used for thousands of years both in conjunction with western medicine and in lieu of. Many people have been helped by adding this type of therapy to their pain management regime.
Reflexology
Reflexology, a branch of massage therapy developed in 1913 by William Fitzgerald, is usually described as a massage on either the hands or feet (as well as other body parts such as the ears) that is meant to cause positive reactions in other parts of the body. There are various charts that reflexology therapists use in order to map out which parts of the hand and feet correspond to the various organ and muscle groups of the body. The therapy itself is sometimes referred to by patients as “zone therapy”, because of the belief that the hands and feet map out the various zones which they will effect.
Studies have been done that have shown there are relating reflex type reactions in parts of the body on both MRI and pet scans while reflexology has been done on patients. There is a general sense of well being and relaxation after being though a session of reflexology and the premise behind the treatment is to open the energy channels in the body so that it allows the body to heal itself. This can be helpful in relaxation and to relieve stress and tension in long term painful situations and syndromes.
Rolfing
Rolfing is a therapy technique developed by Ida Pauline Rolf in the mid 1950’s. Rolfing is primarily used to release bound up connective tissues to enable muscles to work with less restriction. Over time, muscle fibers tighten up in some people and inhibit movement – this technique loosens the fibers through deep tissue manipulation. In addition to the massage, patients undergoing Rolfing are asked to make specific movements while the massage is being completed. Although there is not enough data to prove that Rolfing is an overall effective manner of treatment, many patients claim to experience increased mobility after undergoing the treatment.
Myofascial Release
Myofasical Release is a technique that aims to eliminate pain while increasing flexibility. This is done by manipulating the fascia – a paper-thin layer of connective tissues located below the skin and above the bones – through a heavy massage. The massage loosens up the layer of connective tissues to release the tension in the fascia and improve overall mobility, and can be done directly or indirectly. The direct method involves moving the tissues back and forth that need to be loosened. The indirect method is slower and relies on holding slight pressure for a few minutes and then releasing. The technique became widely used in 1983 when Janet G Travell published a book about the therapy.
Both Rolfing and Myofascial Release work in conjunction with massage therapy or in lieu of on the premise of breaking up scar tissue or releasing connective tissues that are either scarred down or not pliable as they should be. This should allow muscles to move more freely and allow them to heal themselves with more movement. Both of these treatments have been shown to be beneficial in situations where there is injury or trauma to tissues, muscles, tendons, or joints.
As with any type of alternative therapy, you should talk with your physician and get their permission before trying any of the alternative therapies that are mentioned here or elsewhere. However, if your physician does agree for you to try some of these methods, I think you will find that thre is a lot of benefit here for you as so many others have found before!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Decisions, Decisions!
I decided to take some time off to try to enjoy the holidays.I felt I had spent my whole year spinning my wheels, being miserable with my health problems and the aggravation from the insurance company, and very little to show for it. I wanted to have at least some time without worrying all day every day what was to come next. I resumed my search for treatment including new options in late January, 2006. I was happy to find a couple of things that were available to me that I had not really considered before.
One was surgery in Germany I found out that many other people that were in the same boat as me were mortgaging their houses, emptying out 401K's, their savings, taking out loans, etc to finance their way to Germany to have one of the worlds most renowned spine surgeons do the procedure on them. Dr Rudolph Bertagnoli was one of the first surgeons in the world to do this procedure and has done thousands of them over the past 25 years. He takes patients from all over the world on a cash payment basis. Surgery in Germany is considerably less money than it is here. At the time after the money exchange it came out to be around $35,000 for the surgery, trip and stay there. Unfortunately our finances could not stand the additional burden at the time. Now I think back and wish that maybe we had taken the plunge. Of course hindsight is 20/20. I was considering this but it was last on my list due to the financial burden.
I also found out in the meantime that there was a surgeon here in the US that was performing a hybrid surgery one level fusion and one level ADR that was being approved by insurance companies for the most part. The patient might have to pay for the disc itself which cost $4,000 but this was much better in my eyes than paying $35,000 and being out of the country for 3 weeks.
So I found a patient advocate in Mark with Global Patient Network. He helped me get all my records to Dr Fabian Bitan in New York and I consulted with him later. Dr Bitan told me that at the time he felt I was a candidate for the surgery and that he was willing to do it once I was ready to go ahead with the procedure. I was not able to travel to New York until June as no one could care for my children here for two weeks so I had to wait until they were out of school.
In the meantime, I continued going through pain management. One of the things I found that really helped my chronic pain and sciatica was a radio frequency ablation. This is a procedure that is done under sedation where using guided imagery, the physician goes in and burns certain nerves coming out of the disc spaces. This can stop the pain response from going to the brain. It can take anywhere from 6 months to one year to start to grow back so a person can get long term relief from sciatic pain with this. This helped me for a period of about 10 months before I noticed that type of pain coming back again
However, since there were several components to my pain generators, the pain management physician had to use a combination of treatments in order for me to be able to even function during this time.
Image courtesy of kwest19 at stockxpert.com
Blog Catalog Women's Health
One was surgery in Germany I found out that many other people that were in the same boat as me were mortgaging their houses, emptying out 401K's, their savings, taking out loans, etc to finance their way to Germany to have one of the worlds most renowned spine surgeons do the procedure on them. Dr Rudolph Bertagnoli was one of the first surgeons in the world to do this procedure and has done thousands of them over the past 25 years. He takes patients from all over the world on a cash payment basis. Surgery in Germany is considerably less money than it is here. At the time after the money exchange it came out to be around $35,000 for the surgery, trip and stay there. Unfortunately our finances could not stand the additional burden at the time. Now I think back and wish that maybe we had taken the plunge. Of course hindsight is 20/20. I was considering this but it was last on my list due to the financial burden.
I also found out in the meantime that there was a surgeon here in the US that was performing a hybrid surgery one level fusion and one level ADR that was being approved by insurance companies for the most part. The patient might have to pay for the disc itself which cost $4,000 but this was much better in my eyes than paying $35,000 and being out of the country for 3 weeks.
So I found a patient advocate in Mark with Global Patient Network. He helped me get all my records to Dr Fabian Bitan in New York and I consulted with him later. Dr Bitan told me that at the time he felt I was a candidate for the surgery and that he was willing to do it once I was ready to go ahead with the procedure. I was not able to travel to New York until June as no one could care for my children here for two weeks so I had to wait until they were out of school.
In the meantime, I continued going through pain management. One of the things I found that really helped my chronic pain and sciatica was a radio frequency ablation. This is a procedure that is done under sedation where using guided imagery, the physician goes in and burns certain nerves coming out of the disc spaces. This can stop the pain response from going to the brain. It can take anywhere from 6 months to one year to start to grow back so a person can get long term relief from sciatic pain with this. This helped me for a period of about 10 months before I noticed that type of pain coming back again
However, since there were several components to my pain generators, the pain management physician had to use a combination of treatments in order for me to be able to even function during this time.
Image courtesy of kwest19 at stockxpert.com
Blog Catalog Women's Health
Monday, August 25, 2008
Massage Techniques for Chronic Pain
Therapeutic Massage:
This has been used for hundreds if not thousands of years and started in the Chinese, East Indian and Thai cultures as far as we can find in research. There are Hawaiian, Swedish, and other types of massage as well that are valuable for different issues. Today I want to talk about the types of massage I feel are more valuable for acute and chronic pain. These are my opinions only from my experience both as a practicing massage therapist for four years and as a chronic pain patient for the last eight years.
NMT- Neuromuscular Therapy is at type of massage that incorporates the use of finding trigger points for muscles that are either knotted or tight. The practitioner puts pressure on these points causing them to release. When this takes place the tense, tight muscles relax as well. This can take pressure and compression away from a nerve, releasing it. I have seen real results with this technique for sciatic pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, thoracic outlet syndrome and other issues.
Acupressure Massage-This type of massage works with the Chinese acupuncture points and instead of putting needles into the points, places pressure on the points for a number of seconds until you feel a release of the points and pressure. This in the Chinese tradition releases Qi or the life giving energy and allows the body to heal itself. This type of massage is very beneficial to relieving pain and it also gives the person a feeling of well being and energizes them as well.
Deep Tissue Massage- This type of massage concentrates on working on deep tissues and releasing any strictures that exists in the muscles. They also work on scar tissue and fibrous tissues that can cause friction or restricted motion between the muscles, tendons and joints.
Image courtesy of stockxpert.com
All three of these types of therapy can be very beneficial for anyone who is experiencing acute or chronic back pain, neck, shoulder, or leg pain. It can be used for other problems as well.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
And The Beat Goes On............
By this time, it was late October 2005. I was physically,mentally and emotionally exhausted. I did not know what to do or where to turn. The only options that I had at the time were to give in to the surgeons here and have a 2 level lumbar fusion or pay out of pocket $53,000 to have a 2 level ADR done since insurance would not cover it.
My pain was constant I was seeing a pain management doctor trying one protocol after another. All the injections, pain medications, steroids and aggravation just seemed to be like trying to put a band aid on an arterial bleed. I would get a bit of relief usually temporary but nothing seemed to work for long. In the meantime the chronic back pain and sciatica plus the leg and foot pain was really taxing on me!
I think I got almost as much relief from some alternative therapies such as using moist heat and ice alternating them, neuromuscular and deep tissue massage, acupressure and acupuncture, herbal therapy and MSM. These things were all a big part of my life at that time and again today!
For people who are not familiar with some of the terms above, I am going to explain several of the alternative methods in detail in my blog tomorrow. So stay tuned!
My pain was constant I was seeing a pain management doctor trying one protocol after another. All the injections, pain medications, steroids and aggravation just seemed to be like trying to put a band aid on an arterial bleed. I would get a bit of relief usually temporary but nothing seemed to work for long. In the meantime the chronic back pain and sciatica plus the leg and foot pain was really taxing on me!
I think I got almost as much relief from some alternative therapies such as using moist heat and ice alternating them, neuromuscular and deep tissue massage, acupressure and acupuncture, herbal therapy and MSM. These things were all a big part of my life at that time and again today!
For people who are not familiar with some of the terms above, I am going to explain several of the alternative methods in detail in my blog tomorrow. So stay tuned!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Spinning My Wheels!
So I visit my new spine surgeon in Texas and I learn that I am a good candidate for the new ADR procedure! Hooray, right? Well yes until my insurance company decides that they indeed do not cover it now due to the fact they consider it "investigational" at that time. Now try to get them to explain what this means and the difference between that term and experimental is like trying to pull hen's teeth and my grandma would say!
I spent the next four to five months in constant severe back pain working on legal appeals to get my surgery approved. Even though the device was FDA approved at that time, insurance companies were still reluctant to cover it. This made no sense to me as from a financial standpoint, ADR cost half what the two level lumbar fusion cost. From a physical standpoint, most people were back to work within six to eight weeks as opposed to a three to six month wait for normal function after a fusion. The chance of causing further damage to the spine was a huge concern for me as well!
I researched, sent truckloads of paperwork to the insurance company and spent hours on end calling their representatives and my medical case manager which was a huge joke! What I found out is this. The first appeal is judged worthy or not by the in house medical director at the insurance company. This can be any kind of doctor. In my case it was an OB/GYN. Now how can someone in that field decide if I need this surgery or not? Well they tell me the "next" appeal level will be "independent". Yeah, right! The insurance company decides who does this appeal and "pays" the doctor that does the assessment. In my case this was a orthopedic doctor. His report had several errors and I was furious when I got it. I found out, through an oooops at the insurance company that this doctor was local to me.
I politely got on the phone and called his office to see what his field of expertise was. I figured well if he knew better how to take care of me than the other 8 surgeons I had seen and consulted with, I would give him a whirl. I asked about an appointment for my low back issues and was told he does shoulder surgery! HUH??? I then said well I am confused he did an evaluation on me for my insurance company and I thought he was an "expert" in this area. You are telling me he doesn't even treat spine patients? So, so much for an "independent" evaluation! Personally I cannot believe that anyone who is paid by the insurance company will be particularly sympathetic to my plight as they would like to get further referrals. I also found out later insurance executives get HUGE bonuses for saving the company money by denying procedures such as this.
My third and final appeal was sent with a letter describing all the "travesties" that they had put me through and that I was appalled that someone who had no knowledge of up to date procedures or treatment in this field could evaluate my situation thoroughly. This time after another 30 days, the cut off for them to approve or deny appeals, I was denied again by a neurosurgeon.
By this time I was exhausted both physically and mentally. I contacted the representative at my husband's employer to see if anything else could be done since our policy is self paid by the company. I was told I could appeal to them to get the funds for the surgery even though the insurance had denied it. I had 30 days to do this. I received all the forms to turn in for this on the 31st day so that was a bust!
Chronic pain takes its toll on your physically and mentally to say the least. Fighting with insurance to get medical treatment just adds to the frustration and angst that I had to go through. My life revolved around this issue and it was sad to say the least that I could not live or enjoy my family due to all this!
More tomorrow!
Images courtesy of Pocheco at stockxpert.com
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Feeling Like A Hamster On A Wheel
For the next several months, I felt like a hamster on a wheel. I was prescribed one medication after another, tried physical therapy which made my problem worse, and as each week went by, my life changed more and more. Chronic pain takes its toll on your not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Each day I would wake up and wonder if I had the energy to get through the day. I never knew from one day to the next if my back pain would be such that I could not work or take care of my family. To say I was frustrated and angry is an understatement! I had worked in nursing for over 15 years prior to becoming a massage therapist and I was truly saddened to see how medical care had become what I considered a farce in most cases. Doctors want to pat you on the head, tell you it will be OK and hand you a pill, hoping you will not come back! When you do, its lets try this test or that, only to be told there is no hope for you other than major back surgery that you do not want to have. And, who could blame me after my previous experience? Chronic pain management seems to be almost nonexistent here in the U.S. and even the programs that are available are not the best.
I did hours and hours of research to find that there are more people in the same situation. Many suffering with chronic back pain, more than I would have ever dreamed of. I found support groups and information on new treatments that I would have never found if I had not taken a proactive approach to my own medical care!
One of the most important and absolutely fantastic support groups for people with chronic back pain and considering surgery is The ADR Support Group. I met many people there who were just like me. Sick and tired of crappy treatment at the hands of surgeons who either were not knowledgable of the new treatments for spine care or just did not care. Unfortunately, most surgeons seem to have the bedside manner of a toad so if you are looking for someone to be caring, this is not the place to find it!!!
I also found out about a new surgery that looked very promising for those suffering chronic back pain called Artificial Disk Replacement. This type of surgery had been done for over 20 years in Europe with very promising results. The beauty behind this type of surgery was that it required much less recuperation time than a lumbar fusion did. Lumbar fusion is the "standard" here in the US for problems like mine.
ADR as it is called does not place stress on adjacent disc levels that can cause them to herniate or degenerate in the future like fusion can. ADR has been successful according to the studies done in Europe when doing multiple levels. The success rate of fusion goes from 80% at one level to a less than 25% success rate when doing multiple levels.
So, armed with this knowledge I approach my family physician about this new surgery. Luckily for me, her brother was an engineer and had actually worked with the artificial discs development in this country. She told me that if I wanted to pursue this she was OK with it.
I found a surgeon in a well known and reputable spine center in Texas that had worked in clinical studies doing over 100 of these procedures and made an appointment for consultation. Now I am in Tennessee, so we braved a 12 hour car ride to go see this surgeon. Before I went that far I had called my insurance company to be told this procedure was "covered". Otherwise I would have never made the trip!
Image courtesy of redbaron at Stockexchange.com
My journey continues tomorrow!
One Day At A Time
For most people including me, living with chronic pain means never knowing today what tomorrow will bring. This makes it very hard to make plans to do most things. This can be really frustrating especially in our hectic lives of today. So what can we do about this? Simply, I now live one day at a time. I take on what I can for that day and try not to worry too much about what I did not get accomplished.
A little background on me, I discovered in 2000 that I had a herniated disc in my lower back. I managed to get by with conservative therapy and exercise for some time. I would have some flare ups but by far I lived my life pretty much as I had in the past. In 2003, while walking from a parking area behind my workplace, I caught my toe in a broken piece of pavement and fell hard on my knees.
The jolt to my back was significant. I was in much more pain after that and the back and sciatic pain was constant. I tried what had worked before to calm down the situation but there was very little improvement from these methods. I had an MRI and found out that the herniation was much worse. It was impinging on the sciatic nerve. My family physician told me at that time that I needed to see a neurosurgeon quickly as the herniation could cause loss of bladder and bowel function or paralysis if it got any worse.
The surgeon recommended a laminectomy. I had that done and felt better for approximately 4 weeks. I then stood up one day felt something go pop in my back and was in horrible back pain. I called the surgeon and was seen the next day. It was so bad I could barely sit up or stand. I had to lie on my side with my legs bent at a 45 degree angle to get any kind of relief. Then I had to get further MRI's to be told they could not see a reason for my pain. I had not herniated again.
My pain levels were intense for about 2 more weeks. I was scheduled to go back to work as a massage therapist after two months post op. There was no way I could work full time in this pain. I had to cut my massage practice down to 2 days a week and hope and pray that I would be able to take care of my clients those days.
The medical mill as I called it continued for the next few months. I was sent to another surgeon for a second opinion concerning my chronic pain issues, after my original surgeon basically ignored my problems. My family physician was a major blessing for without her at that time I would have had a break down of some sort.
Several surgeons refused to see me outright as I had not been treated by them. I finally got the second opinion, and was only seen for that purpose. He basically said I can't see what is really wrong with you but I think it will be better in 2 months! What the heck??? How did he know I would be better if he could not even tell me what my problem was?
This started my journey to find a competent doctor to help me with my chronic pain issues as well as do a ton of research on back pain, back surgery, new methods of treatment including pain management, and the options that were open to me at that time.
I will continue my journey on my next blog post.
A little background on me, I discovered in 2000 that I had a herniated disc in my lower back. I managed to get by with conservative therapy and exercise for some time. I would have some flare ups but by far I lived my life pretty much as I had in the past. In 2003, while walking from a parking area behind my workplace, I caught my toe in a broken piece of pavement and fell hard on my knees.
The jolt to my back was significant. I was in much more pain after that and the back and sciatic pain was constant. I tried what had worked before to calm down the situation but there was very little improvement from these methods. I had an MRI and found out that the herniation was much worse. It was impinging on the sciatic nerve. My family physician told me at that time that I needed to see a neurosurgeon quickly as the herniation could cause loss of bladder and bowel function or paralysis if it got any worse.
The surgeon recommended a laminectomy. I had that done and felt better for approximately 4 weeks. I then stood up one day felt something go pop in my back and was in horrible back pain. I called the surgeon and was seen the next day. It was so bad I could barely sit up or stand. I had to lie on my side with my legs bent at a 45 degree angle to get any kind of relief. Then I had to get further MRI's to be told they could not see a reason for my pain. I had not herniated again.
My pain levels were intense for about 2 more weeks. I was scheduled to go back to work as a massage therapist after two months post op. There was no way I could work full time in this pain. I had to cut my massage practice down to 2 days a week and hope and pray that I would be able to take care of my clients those days.
The medical mill as I called it continued for the next few months. I was sent to another surgeon for a second opinion concerning my chronic pain issues, after my original surgeon basically ignored my problems. My family physician was a major blessing for without her at that time I would have had a break down of some sort.
Several surgeons refused to see me outright as I had not been treated by them. I finally got the second opinion, and was only seen for that purpose. He basically said I can't see what is really wrong with you but I think it will be better in 2 months! What the heck??? How did he know I would be better if he could not even tell me what my problem was?
This started my journey to find a competent doctor to help me with my chronic pain issues as well as do a ton of research on back pain, back surgery, new methods of treatment including pain management, and the options that were open to me at that time.
I will continue my journey on my next blog post.
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