What Do I Do?

[TLaff]

I have had a triple cervical fusion 2 years ago and for the past 6 months I've been getting headaches that i believe turn into migraines practically daily now.

The only thing that seems to help is lying down and after i am back in an upright position the pain starts again and gets worse as long as i am upright.

I have seen the emergency room a few times and my primary at the VA a few times and he sent me to pain management for examines. They did not even want to see my more recent paper work or questionnaire they provided me and then they called and said they want to do traction on my neck and have my primary give me med to help me sleep. My primary originally told me he wanted me to go to pain management to see if i could get on strong pain medicine and i feel i'm being jacked around. I have recent paperwork from my outside orthopedic doctor that I have chronic thoracic pain and stenosis in my neck and another doctor stating i have chronic pain in my lumbar a annular tear. I am so stinking depressed with the pain i often think of suicide all the time but I'm afraid of going to shrink and telling them that because im afraid they may lock me up. I suffer from headaches into migraines daily, thoracic pain constantly and especially when walking and constant lumbar pain with pain radiating down to my feet.

ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE before you see me in the obituaries????????????

[jbasser]

I have had a triple cervical fusion 2 years ago and for the past 6 months I've been getting headaches that i believe turn into migraines practically daily now.

The only thing that seems to help is lying down and after i am back in an upright position the pain starts again and gets worse as long as i am upright.

I have seen the emergency room a few times and my primary at the VA a few times and he sent me to pain management for examines. They did not even want to see my more recent paper work or questionnaire they provided me and then they called and said they want to do traction on my neck and have my primary give me med to help me sleep. My primary originally told me he wanted me to go to pain management to see if i could get on strong pain medicine and i feel i'm being jacked around. I have recent paperwork from my outside orthopedic doctor that I have chronic thoracic pain and stenosis in my neck and another doctor stating i have chronic pain in my lumbar a annular tear. I am so stinking depressed with the pain i often think of suicide all the time but I'm afraid of going to shrink and telling them that because im afraid they may lock me up. I suffer from headaches into migraines daily, thoracic pain constantly and especially when walking and constant lumbar pain with pain radiating down to my feet.

ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE before you see me in the obituaries????????????

Ask for a neck brace that actually holds the weight of the head off the neck. This will give some relief.

Next, you need meds for the pain. Migraines are not easy to cope with. The Brace should help you until you find permenent solution.

I have same problems as you.

J

Edited August 23, 2010 by jbasser

[john999]

See the shrink. Can you get pain meds from the outside. The VA pain clinics are pretty awful. Do you have any medical insurance? Try to get on SSD and medicare. The VA has a formulary that is out of the 19th century when it comes to pain. I am surprised they have not put you on that awful long acting morphine or methadone. You will need TNT to get your colon to move.

[Testvet]

long hot showers a hot tub help I use the floating noodles in the pool to hang from to take the stress off my 3 herniated disks in my back that seems to provide the best relief when it comes to chronic pain nothing really seems to help I have been on perocets since Dec 2002 after an MRI proved to my primary care doc that I really did have problems with my back in March 1994 I had a operation on L5/S1 and I had good results until May 2000 when I re-injured my back at the Postal Service of course they lied about it and claimed I hurt myself playing with my new born grandson at home they said they over heard me telling a co worker about it and denied my workers comp claim (at the time I was injured my daughter had taken my grandson and moved 3 months before to Virginia and they weren't even in the state of Georgia in May 2000) but Postal Supervisors have lots of practice at lying about workers comp claims

the VA doc once she established I had a verified injury to my spinal system she was willing to write the narcotic prescription and she stayed for about 3 years and so after she left all the subsequent docs have been reluctant to cut off the meds since the surgeons refuse to operate on me due to my severe cardiac disease I haven't driven since Sep 2000 so my addiction to pain meds is a moot point I can't drive anyway so who is it really hurting if I stay in a medicated fog all the time? My wife doesn't care and she is my primary care taker and without them hell just shoot me the pain is unbearable they made the mistake once of not refilling them on time and I had to go cold turkey I called the Director of the VAMC and asked him why with my extensive cardiac problems did they make me go into detox at home and not in the hospital were they trying to kill me? I got a phone call about 30 minutes later from my primary care doc and he asked me to never call the Director again if I ever had a problem I was to call and leave a message with the clinic RN for him that was what 3 years ago, I haven't had a problem since then.

the pain clinic to me seem to be more of a pain in the azz than anything else and they seem to try and use the cheapest meds they can to treat veterans even percocets aren't that expensive the way the VA buys them from low bidder but they seem to love the cheaper morphine products which make me ill

pain is a %^&*&(_**) plain and simple and even the paid meds just seem to cut the level I am always in pain but with the meds I don't feel like killing myself or anyone else without them I honestly don't know what I would do I hope you find a decent doc to treat you and in the VA system that can be hard to do good luck