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What Causes Pain In The Extremities While Having A Cervical Herniated Disc?

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Posted on Wed, 27 Jul 2016
Question: yes i have bulging disks in neck and back with significent bone spurs in both areas abd are experiencing arm snd leg pain. surgery is required but dealing with insurance problems. pain management dr has me on norco 10s and morphine er 15mg. the pain is so severe i cant sit, stand, or lay down for extended period of time. every time i have uncrontable pain i get told to go to er. been so many times that i cant keep doing this and its not the hospitals job to keep pain under control. its a viscous cycle and i want it to end. the norcos doesnt work if my pain scale is always a 10. the meds they give me at er is dilaudid and that brings my pain down to where the norcos work efficiently. when i mention that to pm dr he tells me thats only for cancer patients. i feel sorry for the people who have cancer but i have the same amount of pain they probably do. i may not have an expiration date, but im dying every day because i can't work anymore and have to have help getting dressed every day. i hade no life because of this and its my pm drs job to give me the right medication so i can at least have somewhat of a quality of life. i am not a drug seeker, just looking for answers why i cant get the proper meds to keep me out of er. please help me
doctor
Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (4 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Needs TENS, Ultrasound therapy

Detailed Answer:
Go there.

Thanks for the query.

I understand your concern for this problem that you face.

Do you have any tingling or numbness in the lower limbs?

Any weakness of the lower limbs?

Usually narcotics need frequent dose escalation due to tolerance.

Have you tried various modes of physiotherapy like TENS, Ultrasound, SWD etc.

They have been known to reduce muscle spasm and improve blood supply to the lower back muscles and provide great relief.

Kindly do respond to my queries for me to be in a better position to help you.

I hope I have answered your query.

I will be available to answer your follow up queries.

Regards,

Dr. Aashish Raghu
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Priyanka G Raj
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Aashish Raghu (41 minutes later)
i already have tens unit and had seceral epideral , injections. i have shooting pain down both arms and legs and fell 2days ago because my legs went numb. it is documented that i have bone spurs in neck and baxk pinching nerves. had physical therapy and it made it worse.i also take muscle relaxers and prednisone that works half the time. the pm dr and back doctor both agree i need surgery but do to insurance i have to wait. why cant they give me the meds that work until i have surgery. ive had acupuncture, the jesus shot and everything else they offer. why is it so difficult for them to give me medications that work
doctor
Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (12 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Need for surgery only

Detailed Answer:
Usually when there is weakness, surgery is highly indicated.

You must get the surgery done and not depend on drugs for cure.

Narcotics is the last possible medication that can be tried.

Regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Aashish Raghu (2 hours later)
yes i understand that the surgery is the only way to fix my problem but right now in the meantime i have to rely on and take medication. i dont like having to take all these narcotics for pain because of possible liver and kidney damage and the possibility of addiction. i dont want to go through that. im only 47 years old and im used to working everyday and now im confined to my recliner still in pain. i cant sit, stand or lay down without having pain. i understand more than an any other person living with chronic pain because i now live with my best friend and she is an RN. i thank god for putting her in my life because she understands what a person goes through everyday who has chronic pain because thats the kind of people she takes care of everyday at her job. most people who have never had chronic pain has no clue what a person goes through everyday. she knows about the mood swings, depression, anxiety and everything else a chronic patient goes through everyday. she tries to keep me positive and doesnt take it personal when im having a bad day and yell and scream at her over simple stupid things because she knows the true me before this started. every dr ive seen she has been there and when they start trying to bs me on what they can or cant do for me thats when she chimes in. i dont tell the drs shes an RN until they say something that she knows is wrong because she works with drs and has been an RN for a long time. I went and seen a young Dr once and he wasn't correct on something and she called him out on it. She wasn't rude or disrespectful to him but the next morning I got a call from his office telling me she wasn't allowed back in their facility. I've had Medicaid for several years and they did nothing. She put me on her insurance bcbs and I started getting the help I needed and the proper drs and the surgeon wanted to do one last test before surgery. I was scheduled to have a discogram on back to pinpoint exactly which disks were pinching nerves and where the bone spurs were pinching nerves. He asked me what I wanted fixed first, neck or back and I told him back so I could sit or lay down without pain. After the discogram was scheduled she was offered a better job with more pay with less hours. I can't blame her for that but when she did I lost the blue cross blue shield and at her new job she has to wait a period of time before she gets her insurance and puts me on. It shouldn't matter what insurance you have to get the proper help but it does because Medicaid wants to take their time on reviewing my case and approving referrals and things like that, but when I had bcbs the drs were lining up wanting to help me. Now I'm back at square one with more pain than I started out with. The Medicaid Dr sometimes wants to help, especially at the er but when I look online at my treatments at er, the drs are getting denied and not getting paid and I have the proper paperwork that states what's wrong with me and what I need to fix it. Why am I having problems getting surgery when I have surgeons stating on paper that I need that to get out of this chronic situation?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (21 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Passion management with facet joint injection and nerve root blocks

Detailed Answer:
You can try Facet joint injection toon and local nerve blocks for pain relief. Do have a word with your Pain Management specialist in this regard.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Aashish Raghu (12 hours later)
the nerve blocks were discussed but that really doesnt fix the problem. i , dont want my nerves blocked because if there is pain i want to feel it because if i damaged any more discs in back or neck i wouldnt be able to feel it and could put myself in a worse situation. what if i had nerves blocked in my back and i had another disc bulge or herniated i woulfdnt feel it and the disc could cause more bone spurs and it could paralize me for life. thats what scares me about the nerve blocks. nerve blocks would be like pain meds that just mask and cover up the problem. i appreciate your feedback and would like more, thank you
doctor
Answered by Dr. Aashish Raghu (34 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Facet joint injections

Detailed Answer:
You can try Facet joint infections. They will help
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Aashish Raghu

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Practicing since :2011

Answered : 5482 Questions

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What Causes Pain In The Extremities While Having A Cervical Herniated Disc?

Brief Answer: Needs TENS, Ultrasound therapy Detailed Answer: Go there. Thanks for the query. I understand your concern for this problem that you face. Do you have any tingling or numbness in the lower limbs? Any weakness of the lower limbs? Usually narcotics need frequent dose escalation due to tolerance. Have you tried various modes of physiotherapy like TENS, Ultrasound, SWD etc. They have been known to reduce muscle spasm and improve blood supply to the lower back muscles and provide great relief. Kindly do respond to my queries for me to be in a better position to help you. I hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer your follow up queries. Regards, Dr. Aashish Raghu