was: I want everyone's opinion - now my experience

[Guest guest]

Jennette,

For all who read the following....it is VERY long but it gives you a good

idea of what I have been through. I have reaaly good at keeping a log file of

everything that has happened since my fall.

Here's a brief overview of my life changing injury that has left me in horrible

pain…each and every day….every passing moment of every hour. In February 2007 I

was working for the Federal Government and without going into all the boring

details I will cut straight to the point. I fell 27 feet and though I am lucky

to be alive my horrible nightmare of pain started the day I had this horrific

fall. I was left paralyzed in my legs for a little while after the fall but

when paramedics arrived they were able to straighten me out which helped me to

regain feeling and control over my legs. I injured T6/T7 protruding 3mm into my

spinal canal, T11/12, and the worst was L4/L5. I tried all of the non-surgical

treatments that the doctors would authorize (PT, LSI and Facet injections, TENS,

etc..) . Ultimately I went through surgery to remove the L4/L5 disc and in its'

place they used the Prodisc TDR (Total Disc Replacement). Up until I had the

surgery I was in excruciating pain that traveled down both legs and into my

feet. I also experienced the horrible lower back pain and also constant

tingling in portions of my feet. Within two days of having the disc replacement

surgery my pain had been reduced from a constant 6 to 7 pain scale down to a 3

to 4 pain scale. I did lose a lot of the feeling in my feet and portions of my

calves but this is to be expected when you consider the complexity of the nerves

at the location where the disc was removed. I was EXTREMELY happy and was in

the process of getting my life back. I went through a strenuous work

conditioning/hardening program and after just 6 weeks post surgery my surgeon

lifted all light duty restrictions and sent me back to full duty without any

work/light duty restrictions. Two weeks after the surgery I stopped taking the

Oxycodone, Oxycontin, muscle relaxers and I no longer needed medication to help

me sleep at night. It was like a nightmare of pain had finally come to an end

and I could finally start living my life again, taking my kids on outdoor

adventures, playing ball with my kids, living my life to its' fullest with my

children and wife. I lived this newfound life full of joy and happiness for the

next four months till one day in November 2008 when I was sitting on the ground

and my legs went numb. I had immediate flashbacks and horrifying memories of

the pain that was still so fresh in my mind. I was able to shake off the

numbness and regained feeling in my legs. Two days later when I woke up for

work one morning the nightmare surfaced with a vengeance and the pain came on

like a freight train hitting a brick wall. From then till now the pain has

become progressively worse and I am having to take those HORRIBLE pain meds

again. I had 4 months of false hope and now my life has been turned upside down

all over again. My 4 dear children just do not understand why their daddy is in

so much pain and why I cannot live the life they have dreamed of and only have

fond memories of. It breaks my heart to see my children suffering because of a

work injury that I had no control over…a work injury that was deemed no fault of

my own and one that could not have been prevented other than me not being in the

wrong place at the right time. I have again been through so much

testing….abnormal EMG, MRI after MRI showing bad discs and loss of height in the

discs above and below my artificial disc, LSI and FACET injections, etc…. All

of this to find out that the artificial disc is causing all of this

pain....causing my body to have an inflammatory response to the artificial

disc….stress on the discs above and below the artificial disc and much, much

more. To compound the situation T6/T7 is causing horrible pain radiating out

from my middle back and excruciating pain in my middle back. I was sent in for

an emergency MRI because I had lost feeling in my middle back. The Orthopedic

Spinal Surgeon who consulted with my on an emergency basis stated that yes this

is causing the horrible pain but there is nothing they can do because operating

on T6/T7 is very risky since they have to go through the chest cavity. Unless

it causes life threatening symptoms he stated there is not a surgeon who would

risk my life to try and fix the disc. URGGGGGGGGGG….I am in tears as I type

this email knowing that I do not have much hope for the pain in my legs or back.

To alleviate some of the pain in my legs the orthopedic surgeons and second

opinion surgeons are recommending that they take the artificial disc out of my

L4/L5 and fuse me from S1 to L2. This sounds easy enough except it is another

extremely risky surgery that not many surgeons or neurosurgeons have had

experience with.

So, as you can probably tell from my email, I just want to be able to talk

with others who know what this pain is like. As you hear time and time

again….this kind of pain cannot be understood or even imagined unless you have

been there to feel it. Just knowing there is a wonderful group of people who

have shared this pain gives me some hope and time to get my mind off of this

horrible situation. I guess if I was all alone and did not have the most

wonderful wife in the world and 4 of the most incredible children it might be a

little easier to deal with.

POST SURGICAL NIGHMARE and BUTCHERING by SURGEON

On March 22, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. I went in for the start of my SCS Spinal Cord

Stimulator trial surgery. Surgery at 12:30 p.m. and ended somewhere around 3:00

p.m. I awoke from the surgery with some discomfort as expected but some suttle

surprises. To my dismay the orthopedic surgeon had installed the permanent

SCS paddles which were around T8/T9. Since I have 4 younger children at home

it was decided to keep me overnight in the hospital to give me some quite time

to start the healing process. The surgeon stated the surgery went fairly

well but he had to make a few holes in my spine for the paddle to fit properly.

Around 9:00 PM that night I started feeling a good bit of discomfort in my back

which the nurses said was normal and they administered some IV pain meds.

Around 2:00 in the morning is when things went all wrong. I woke up with

excruciating pain in my middle back and had a HORRIBLE banding of pain that went

from near where the paddles were and wrapped around my middle section. It was

like a horrible hot knife that was being stabbed around my ribs. The pain was

15 to 20 plus on a 10 pain scale. It was so bad that I was banging my head

against the wall, pacing from wall to wall and could not get comfortable. The

pain was so bad that they called the on call surgeon who said to give more IV

pain meds. About an hour or two later I was able to lay down on a hard couch

type bed in the recovery from and with some Zanex I got about an hour or two of

broken sleep. Next morning pain had subsided a bit but my heart rate was over

145 BPS and they could not get it down. After lots of pain meds they were able

to get it down around 110 BPS. Next day pain was a bit better so they

discharged me from the hospital. I still had horrible pain banding around my

chest, lost feeling in my left side, abdomen, and my testicles & groin. Loss

off feeling in groin causued me to have to urinate by gravity since I could not

feel the urine flow. Pain got worse at home that night and I started urinating

on myself and hand not had a bowel movement in two days. I got about 2 hours of

broken sleep that night only getting a bit of comformt on a hard couch in the

living room. Around 6:00 AM I woke up with the most excruciating pain I have

ever felt in my life….pain banding around my ribs and horrible pain in my

t-spine area of my back. I tried to get up off the couch and collapsed to the

floor in pain. Could not move or get up from this excruciating pain banding

from the middle of my back around my chest, urinating on myself and still hand

not passed a bowel nor felt a need to have a bowel movement. Paramedics were

called, Blood Pressure was 186/116 due to pain. My wife said I was screaming

louder than she thought was humanly possible. Was taken to the hospital by

paramedics with morphine drip to control the screaming/pain. Surgeon ordered a

CT Mylogram with die. Was in so much pain they could not get me to lay flat on

the table. Docs decided to put me on constant IV Morphine and then Dilaudid. I

was giving so much pain meds I do not recall many of the events (My wife is

dictating). Surgeons took me in for emergency surgery. Performed double

laminectomy at the area where the ortho placed the SCS Leads. I still do not

know why but surgeon is being very reluctant to share information. He removed

to huge pieces of bone from around T7 thru T9 and also for some reason went

ahead and installed the permanent SCS battery, etc....all of this with a consent

form that I do not remember signing or my family being informed. I woke up with

TOTAL Amnesia which they attribute to the incredible mount of pain and stress

that my body had been subject to. Still no feeling in my groin, scrotum, lower

abdomen, and left side. A day or two later they discharged me from the

hospital even though I was still having the bad banding of pain from mid back

around ribs in front. Next day pain got so bad (Pain banding again) that I

went in to see my pain doc. He took one look at me and said that there was

something horribly wrong and due to me urinating on myself and no bowel movement

for over a week that he thought I was in spinal cord compression distress.

Hospital only 10 minutes away but he demanded that I be taken by ambulance to

hospital. Admitted again, and was placed under General Anesthesia for CT

Mylogram (due to my pain and inability to lye flat). Ct Mylogram showed some

flattening of my spinal cord and neuro states nerve damage. States that the

pain banding may last for a few years and may never go away.

Now we are in October and things are even worse. Still have intermittent

loss of bowel and bladder function, loss of feeling in my groing area, horrible

banding pain around my chest, right leg intermittently going paralyzed...the

list is just TOOOOOO much to go on about right now but I wanted to give everyone

a history from the experpts of my log files and the files that my wife has

dictated.

[Guest guest]

Jennette,

For all who read the following....it is VERY long but it gives you a good

idea of what I have been through. I have reaaly good at keeping a log file of

everything that has happened since my fall.

Here's a brief overview of my life changing injury that has left me in horrible

pain…each and every day….every passing moment of every hour. In February 2007 I

was working for the Federal Government and without going into all the boring

details I will cut straight to the point. I fell 27 feet and though I am lucky

to be alive my horrible nightmare of pain started the day I had this horrific

fall. I was left paralyzed in my legs for a little while after the fall but

when paramedics arrived they were able to straighten me out which helped me to

regain feeling and control over my legs. I injured T6/T7 protruding 3mm into my

spinal canal, T11/12, and the worst was L4/L5. I tried all of the non-surgical

treatments that the doctors would authorize (PT, LSI and Facet injections, TENS,

etc..) . Ultimately I went through surgery to remove the L4/L5 disc and in its'

place they used the Prodisc TDR (Total Disc Replacement). Up until I had the

surgery I was in excruciating pain that traveled down both legs and into my

feet. I also experienced the horrible lower back pain and also constant

tingling in portions of my feet. Within two days of having the disc replacement

surgery my pain had been reduced from a constant 6 to 7 pain scale down to a 3

to 4 pain scale. I did lose a lot of the feeling in my feet and portions of my

calves but this is to be expected when you consider the complexity of the nerves

at the location where the disc was removed. I was EXTREMELY happy and was in

the process of getting my life back. I went through a strenuous work

conditioning/hardening program and after just 6 weeks post surgery my surgeon

lifted all light duty restrictions and sent me back to full duty without any

work/light duty restrictions. Two weeks after the surgery I stopped taking the

Oxycodone, Oxycontin, muscle relaxers and I no longer needed medication to help

me sleep at night. It was like a nightmare of pain had finally come to an end

and I could finally start living my life again, taking my kids on outdoor

adventures, playing ball with my kids, living my life to its' fullest with my

children and wife. I lived this newfound life full of joy and happiness for the

next four months till one day in November 2008 when I was sitting on the ground

and my legs went numb. I had immediate flashbacks and horrifying memories of

the pain that was still so fresh in my mind. I was able to shake off the

numbness and regained feeling in my legs. Two days later when I woke up for

work one morning the nightmare surfaced with a vengeance and the pain came on

like a freight train hitting a brick wall. From then till now the pain has

become progressively worse and I am having to take those HORRIBLE pain meds

again. I had 4 months of false hope and now my life has been turned upside down

all over again. My 4 dear children just do not understand why their daddy is in

so much pain and why I cannot live the life they have dreamed of and only have

fond memories of. It breaks my heart to see my children suffering because of a

work injury that I had no control over…a work injury that was deemed no fault of

my own and one that could not have been prevented other than me not being in the

wrong place at the right time. I have again been through so much

testing….abnormal EMG, MRI after MRI showing bad discs and loss of height in the

discs above and below my artificial disc, LSI and FACET injections, etc…. All

of this to find out that the artificial disc is causing all of this

pain....causing my body to have an inflammatory response to the artificial

disc….stress on the discs above and below the artificial disc and much, much

more. To compound the situation T6/T7 is causing horrible pain radiating out

from my middle back and excruciating pain in my middle back. I was sent in for

an emergency MRI because I had lost feeling in my middle back. The Orthopedic

Spinal Surgeon who consulted with my on an emergency basis stated that yes this

is causing the horrible pain but there is nothing they can do because operating

on T6/T7 is very risky since they have to go through the chest cavity. Unless

it causes life threatening symptoms he stated there is not a surgeon who would

risk my life to try and fix the disc. URGGGGGGGGGG….I am in tears as I type

this email knowing that I do not have much hope for the pain in my legs or back.

To alleviate some of the pain in my legs the orthopedic surgeons and second

opinion surgeons are recommending that they take the artificial disc out of my

L4/L5 and fuse me from S1 to L2. This sounds easy enough except it is another

extremely risky surgery that not many surgeons or neurosurgeons have had

experience with.

So, as you can probably tell from my email, I just want to be able to talk

with others who know what this pain is like. As you hear time and time

again….this kind of pain cannot be understood or even imagined unless you have

been there to feel it. Just knowing there is a wonderful group of people who

have shared this pain gives me some hope and time to get my mind off of this

horrible situation. I guess if I was all alone and did not have the most

wonderful wife in the world and 4 of the most incredible children it might be a

little easier to deal with.

POST SURGICAL NIGHMARE and BUTCHERING by SURGEON

On March 22, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. I went in for the start of my SCS Spinal Cord

Stimulator trial surgery. Surgery at 12:30 p.m. and ended somewhere around 3:00

p.m. I awoke from the surgery with some discomfort as expected but some suttle

surprises. To my dismay the orthopedic surgeon had installed the permanent

SCS paddles which were around T8/T9. Since I have 4 younger children at home

it was decided to keep me overnight in the hospital to give me some quite time

to start the healing process. The surgeon stated the surgery went fairly

well but he had to make a few holes in my spine for the paddle to fit properly.

Around 9:00 PM that night I started feeling a good bit of discomfort in my back

which the nurses said was normal and they administered some IV pain meds.

Around 2:00 in the morning is when things went all wrong. I woke up with

excruciating pain in my middle back and had a HORRIBLE banding of pain that went

from near where the paddles were and wrapped around my middle section. It was

like a horrible hot knife that was being stabbed around my ribs. The pain was

15 to 20 plus on a 10 pain scale. It was so bad that I was banging my head

against the wall, pacing from wall to wall and could not get comfortable. The

pain was so bad that they called the on call surgeon who said to give more IV

pain meds. About an hour or two later I was able to lay down on a hard couch

type bed in the recovery from and with some Zanex I got about an hour or two of

broken sleep. Next morning pain had subsided a bit but my heart rate was over

145 BPS and they could not get it down. After lots of pain meds they were able

to get it down around 110 BPS. Next day pain was a bit better so they

discharged me from the hospital. I still had horrible pain banding around my

chest, lost feeling in my left side, abdomen, and my testicles & groin. Loss

off feeling in groin causued me to have to urinate by gravity since I could not

feel the urine flow. Pain got worse at home that night and I started urinating

on myself and hand not had a bowel movement in two days. I got about 2 hours of

broken sleep that night only getting a bit of comformt on a hard couch in the

living room. Around 6:00 AM I woke up with the most excruciating pain I have

ever felt in my life….pain banding around my ribs and horrible pain in my

t-spine area of my back. I tried to get up off the couch and collapsed to the

floor in pain. Could not move or get up from this excruciating pain banding

from the middle of my back around my chest, urinating on myself and still hand

not passed a bowel nor felt a need to have a bowel movement. Paramedics were

called, Blood Pressure was 186/116 due to pain. My wife said I was screaming

louder than she thought was humanly possible. Was taken to the hospital by

paramedics with morphine drip to control the screaming/pain. Surgeon ordered a

CT Mylogram with die. Was in so much pain they could not get me to lay flat on

the table. Docs decided to put me on constant IV Morphine and then Dilaudid. I

was giving so much pain meds I do not recall many of the events (My wife is

dictating). Surgeons took me in for emergency surgery. Performed double

laminectomy at the area where the ortho placed the SCS Leads. I still do not

know why but surgeon is being very reluctant to share information. He removed

to huge pieces of bone from around T7 thru T9 and also for some reason went

ahead and installed the permanent SCS battery, etc....all of this with a consent

form that I do not remember signing or my family being informed. I woke up with

TOTAL Amnesia which they attribute to the incredible mount of pain and stress

that my body had been subject to. Still no feeling in my groin, scrotum, lower

abdomen, and left side. A day or two later they discharged me from the

hospital even though I was still having the bad banding of pain from mid back

around ribs in front. Next day pain got so bad (Pain banding again) that I

went in to see my pain doc. He took one look at me and said that there was

something horribly wrong and due to me urinating on myself and no bowel movement

for over a week that he thought I was in spinal cord compression distress.

Hospital only 10 minutes away but he demanded that I be taken by ambulance to

hospital. Admitted again, and was placed under General Anesthesia for CT

Mylogram (due to my pain and inability to lye flat). Ct Mylogram showed some

flattening of my spinal cord and neuro states nerve damage. States that the

pain banding may last for a few years and may never go away.

Now we are in October and things are even worse. Still have intermittent

loss of bowel and bladder function, loss of feeling in my groing area, horrible

banding pain around my chest, right leg intermittently going paralyzed...the

list is just TOOOOOO much to go on about right now but I wanted to give everyone

a history from the experpts of my log files and the files that my wife has

dictated.