Re: Request regarding my sciatica.

Foxxee · ‎10-03-2014

"The pain has been excruciating and complex."

Why do you say you can't go to the Level 2 center? What you have is a treatable medical condition. How is it there is no ER for people like you?

Are you sure you can't go to either one? Maybe, you could call both, tell them your problem, ask for suggestion which one to go to.

I'm thinking with excruciating pain and symptoms you describe, I wonder if you may have something more going on. I have had sciatica, nothing like you describe.

You SHOULD NOT be expected to live with excruciating pain without treatment. I encourage you to go.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

@Foxxee wrote:
@sfnative

"The pain has been excruciating and complex."

Why do you say you can't go to the Level 2 center? What you have is a treatable medical condition. How is it there is no ER for people like you?

Are you sure you can't go to either one? Maybe, you could call both, tell them your problem, ask for suggestion which one to go to.

I'm thinking with excruciating pain and symptoms you describe, I wonder if you may have something more going on. I have had sciatica, nothing like you describe.

You SHOULD NOT be expected to live with excruciating pain without treatment. I encourage you to go.

@Foxxee

To answer your question, there's one Level 1 trauma center which receives "Trauma cases only." Then there's the other Level 1 center which receives "Sick cases only." "Sick" means heart attack, stroke, diabetic crises, respiratory distress, etc. I did go to this E.R. last fall when I bashed my right foot really bad. The x-ray showed about 100 micro fractrues in my foot. They gave me 10mg of oxycodone and sent me home!!! My doc asked me why I went to the ER! Hello!!! She's looking at the e-ray with all of those tiny fractures and she' asking me...

If I still lived in San Diego and had my docs at Scripps, I wouldn't be in this pickle.

If my guess is correct, I believe the disk at L4-5 is totally herniated and L4 is sitting directly on top of L5, thereby trapping the sciatic nerve at its origin. The scans will tell us what we need. Heck, plain films will tell us of gross misplacement and loss of entire disk space, so Monday will get me going in some direction. One complicating and causative factor here is that I had a total herniation, a work injury in 2011, and had to have a cage fusion and lamenotomy, with rods, screws, etc. at L5-S1. When all was said and done, I was told that typically and per textbooks, clinicians always watch the level above, as that level can become unstable. This happens to be the level I believe to be problematic at this time.

To make matters worse in this current situatuation, I'm unablle to take anti-inflammatory medications (my kidneys). My PCP has given me an rx for a prescription pain killer, which isn't even touching this nerve pain, which is not at all unusual. I'm just having to wait things out until the ball gets rolling on Monday.

Thank you for your kind thoughts and concerns.

sfnative · ‎03-10-2010

@vsm wrote:
Oh my, Rebecca -- it sounds unbearable. Yes, my prayers are with you and will remain with you. This is way too long to have to wait for help, which I hope will begin on Monday with a strong anti-inflammatory after your tests. My ortho surgeon prescribed meloxicam, which gave me some relief while I awaited my first epidural. I encourage you to ask that an anti-inflammatory be prescribed for you pending the results of your tests, so that you can hang on until you have whatever procedure you need. Just know that you will get through this. Please put yourself first -- make a pest of yourself if you have to. You will get through this.

@vsm

Yes, if only I could take Mobic, as I know it to be a rather stron anti-inflammatory, which would probably help me right now. However, I took Mobic for 12 years, because I have chronic migraine (35 years of the same migraine), only to discover that Mobic had done a number on my kidneys, so I cannot take any anti-inflammatories ever again. My great logg.

And, yes, I will make a pest of myself. To tell you the truth, if I could tolerate a trip on a plane, I would have flown to San Diego to see my ortho spine doc several months ago. Problem is I can't even bear any more than 10 minutes in a car at present. I was the laughing stock of our lunch group on Thursday, when, after sitting much too painfully and for too long without getting up and walking around, I then tried to get back into our car. I couldn't! I really need my Cadillac back!!! Long story short, I ended up in the back seat of a friend's car. Everyone outside the car wanted to either push my bum or push my feet to get me in. I was in so much pain, I just asked them to please leave me alone and I would scooch myself into th car. Once in with my legs straight out and on the seat, somehow someone got me buckled in. Now I just need to get to the doctor's office to see the NP on Monday. Phew!

HiLo · ‎03-10-2010

My friend had treatments done by an acupuncturist. She said it took several treatments but it has been about 4 years since and she never has had another problem.

Skyegirl21 · ‎03-20-2010

Hi Rebecca, You should avoid leaning forward for now, that is the position that pushes the discs out of alignment and presses on the nerves. Making beds, gardening, etc may all be causing problems. Stop anything forward leaning for now.

For the pain, Get the doctor to prescribe Gabapentin (generic, not pricey). When I ruptured the L4-5, my sciatica was excruciating, and nothing helped. It was exactly as you described. The pain was so bad I think I didn’t sleep for 3 weeks... but I had no other symptoms other than intense pain.

Then he gave me Gabapentin. With that drug, you taper up slowly to your final dose, and that worked like a miracle. Gabapentin or (other drugs in that class) are specifically for nerve pain, which is harder to treat than other bodily pain.

You could also ask or research the McKenzie method for back pain. My PT follwed that protocol, and That helped me tremendously also. This all happened years ago, and with education and care, I have had no more problems since then. I wish you relief soon. Skye-

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

I will offer my communion for the next month for those suffering from this condition. May God relieve your pain, and restore you to health

Montana · ‎03-09-2010

@sfnative

Have you tried CBD oil? There are several online articles about CBD oil and pain management. Some are quite technical. The one below is not:

1Snickers · ‎03-19-2016

@sfnative I’m sorry about your pain, and hope you can find some help soon!

I’ve had some similar nerve pain probably due to a stress fracture in the spine. It comes & goes but it’s nothing like what you’ve experienced.

My friends have bursitis and do stretches. I do them also, but it’s hard to stretch when you hurt! Take care & praying for you!

Still Raining · ‎03-30-2014

There are indeed two Level 1 trauma centers in Portland - OHSU and Legacy Emanuel.

As part of their licensing requirements there must be certain specialists on-call including neurologists. In addition they also must treat cases of lower acuity. They also accept life flight. No one can be turned away for payment issues.

Neither is designated trauma versus sick. Although I think Legacy is Level 1 for pediatric cases in spite of OHSU having Doernbecher.

Might be worthwhile to check again.