Pinched nerve, how can I fix it?

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I'm in so much frickin pain right now and this is the 3rd day it's been going on. I've got this nerve in the top-left vertebrae of my neck that's been damaged for years, and usually it gets pressed on a bit and gives me general neck pain. But now the nerve is just stabbing, sending huge pain through my neck, shoulder, and head. It's like there's a knife stuck in there, it hurts so friggin bad and I just wanna make it stop.

I've already tried taking 75mg pregabalin, 500mg acetaminophen, 200mg celebrex, 300mg tramadol, and 600mg ibeprophen. With all these the pain is, at best, slighty more bearable (probably just because it's numbed my brain, not the pain). But the painkillers aren't stopping the actual nerve from being pressed and sending this very direct and acute pain through me.

I've also tried ice packs which help while they're on, but in a few minutes the area thaws and the pain is right back. I've been taking a hefty dose of cyclobenzaprine ("flexeril" in my area) every night but obviously muscle relaxants aren't the answer since it's making no difference.
I also went to the chiropractor yesterday but it hasn't done a thing.

Frigging hell I'm running out of ideas here. Somebody suggest something please!

[Mississippi Steve]

Make an appointment with you friendly neighborhood neurosurgen. I had a herniated disk (L4/L5) that was incredably painful....the only thing that kept me semi functional during the day was flexeril and fiorinal.... at night it was meprozine and flexeril. I had the surgery....the first couple of days after was pure hell, but after 2 weeks I was back to normal, and 6 weeks after surgery, I was pain free, and back to work full on with no restrictions. That was 4 years ago... have not had a problem since.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

I don't actually have a slipped disk though, they've done x-rays and MRI's on me and found they're all fine. That, and surgery on the neck is extremely risky because of all the important nerves around there. They won't do it unless it's an emergency. I'm planning to pester my doc (yet again :rolleyes: ) for a cortisone injection, but I really need something that can help me right now.

[Blindman0v0]

I find when I've gone to a chiropractor it takes about 2 days for the realignment to kick the pain level down to a bearable level.

[Dr. Bloor]

Find a neurosurgeon. I put up with that sort of thing for a year. 6 years after the surgeon fixed it now. Pain free

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Find a neurosurgeon. I put up with that sort of thing for a year. 6 years after the surgeon fixed it now. Pain free


Actually I've seen a Rheumatologist, who referred me to the neurosurgeon, who referred me to the neurologist, who referred me back to my docs. They all seem to have a mutual concensus somewhere around the lines of "I dunno".


I did get my cortisone injection though, a couple weeks ago. It helped massively for about a week, but sure enough my pain has returned fully again. Ugh, and now that I'm finally almost completely off the tramadol (which I needed to quit because I was harshly addicted), the pain isn't covered up anymore and I'm back to my old pain-ridden self. But my plan right now is to stay off it, get my tolerance back to zero so I can get effective analgesia off smaller amounts and not be addicted (and thereby take days off here and there).

Frickin' useless medical science! :cursing: Where's Jesus and his magical healing when you need him?

[Dave Byrd]

Not all medical science is useless. You must realize that during your calmer times, right?

It certainly seems that you need to seek a consult with another type of specialist who can help you with the emotional aspect of your pain issues. If nothing else, it'd help you obsess less about what's going on.

[killerweed420]

All those drugs you're taking are about worthless. See if the dog can step it up to at least 20md of morphine.That'll take the edge off and then go back to the neurologist and get him to do his job and diagnose where the pain is coming from.Sometimes he have to beat them with a wet noodle till they understand you're really in pain.

[THClord]

Sleep on the side that hurts. This works for me. 95% of the time I don't feel a thing the next morning. But then again yours is much worse than any I've ever had.

BTW, don't do ice, it'll just make it worse later.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Not all medical science is useless. You must realize that during your calmer times, right?

haha, of course I do, I only meant useless for my particular problem. As Dr. Hibert said in the simpsons "oh medical science has done wonders for the front, but the back... that's a whole other story. You should see a chiropractor"
Homer: "Wait, don't you medical guys hate chiropractors?"
Hiberb: "Well that is our official stance, but between you and me; they're miracle workers!"

haha, if only chiropractors were miracle workers.


It certainly seems that you need to seek a consult with another type of specialist who can help you with the emotional aspect of your pain issues. If nothing else, it'd help you obsess less about what's going on.

Yeah I've definately recognized how much I need to stop obsessing over the matter. Endless hours of researching google scholar haven't turned up much (though I did get some interesting studies abotu collagen injections). I've discovered playing the guitar is a wonderful distraction.
I have considered going to a psychiatrist since I'm constantly worried about going into relationships, seeing as most people wouldn't want to be with me and deal with all my pain crap. But then I can't stay alone forever based on this, the thought (of a potential mate finding out) just scares me shitless.


All those drugs you're taking are about worthless. See if the dog can step it up to at least 20md of morphine.That'll take the edge off and then go back to the neurologist and get him to do his job and diagnose where the pain is coming from.Sometimes he have to beat them with a wet noodle till they understand you're really in pain.

Nah, tramadol in a high enough dose is pretty effective most of the time, it's just a matter of building up tolerance and morphine builds tolerance like anything else. But man, one time a friend got some morphine and gave me a pill, it was 3 or 4 hours of total relief. Like getting a breath of fresh air and relaxing for the first time, there's nothing like it. Unfortunately though I still won't go for it because I fear the addiction, tramadol withdrawal was hell enough.

And you're totally right about having to kick doc's in the ass, they won't offer any type of treatment unless you do the research yourself and pester them 10 times before they finally give it to you. I think there's a lot of stigma on a 22 year old guy who's fit and healthy-looking, they obviously thought I was just out to get high on meds for the longest time. Thankfully I've finally convinced them otherwise by pestering them 3x a week for any and all other treatments.



BTW, don't do ice, it'll just make it worse later.

That's an interesting claim. Do you know why it would make it worse? it seems medical professionals are always telling me to ice.


And thanks to all you guys (and gals) for the advice, I'd feel totally alone dealing with this if it weren't for all of you. + rep on me!:jointsmile:

[FakeBoobsRule]

Gandalf, I read a lot of your posts in the medical forum, both the ones that you ask for advice and the ones where you give advice, I gotta shake my head. The internet does not make one a doctor. Sometimes the advice you give in the medical forum is completely wrong yet you try so hard to make it sound like you are absolutely 100% correct. Yes there are stories about how doctors miss something and someone does a little research and finds something the doctor overlooks or missed or didn't know and they help their own cause but do you realize how few these are in the grand scheme of things? I will look up how many office visits there were last year later on but you make it sound like your doctors are bumbling idiots, that you are just as smart as them if not smarter. There is a reason why doctors go to school for 20 years and then a residency and don't get their degrees online.

[birdgirl73]

That claim about ice making things worse? Incorrect. Ice is precisely what my neurorsurgeon, his partners, and all my physical therapists are having me put on my neck and back to reduce nerve swelling, inflammation and back spasms after my diskectomy and fusion surgery, and it's a very tried-and-true approach. Heat might aggravate any nerve inflammation you're feeling (although heat would likely help relax the muscles that tense up in response). But ice is quite beneficial in relieveing and soothing irritated, inflamed, swollen nerve pathways.

Be very wary of going to a chiropractor. If you have a pinched nerve, a herniated disk, a disintegrating verterbral body, or some other as-yet-unidentified problem in there in your neck or upper back, the last thing you need is someone twisting your spinal column to extremes in either direction, attempting to "adjust" some imagined mis-alignment. That could result in your being paralyzed or receiving permanent spinal damage. Chiropractic care can benefit some people, but folks with serious neurological and spinal problems, particularly undiagnosed ones, need to be very cautious about putting themselves at further risk.

[MaryLane]

I have degenerative disc disease between something like my L1 and S5 vertebrae (or somewhere in my mid/lower back) which is causing sciatica. The pinaformis muscle that passes through your hip is also irritating the nerve. I went through 3 months of physical therapy which did practically nothing to help.

Right now I'm nearly pain free, even if I don't smoke, and you wanna know how I do it? Yoga and/or pilates. These two things on their own have done more to improve my health than almost anything else I've ever tried. I swear by yoga especially, though pilates really helps a lot too. When I practice these disciplines I can literally feel the nerves being soothed. It's crazy, but as the muslces and body stretches, I can literally feel the nerves trying to hurt, then they calm down and all the pain goes away.

It has been about a year since I've done either, and I can really tell the difference. I need to start again.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Gandalf, I read a lot of your posts in the medical forum, both the ones that you ask for advice and the ones where you give advice, I gotta shake my head. The internet does not make one a doctor. Sometimes the advice you give in the medical forum is completely wrong yet you try so hard to make it sound like you are absolutely 100% correct. Yes there are stories about how doctors miss something and someone does a little research and finds something the doctor overlooks or missed or didn't know and they help their own cause but do you realize how few these are in the grand scheme of things? I will look up how many office visits there were last year later on but you make it sound like your doctors are bumbling idiots, that you are just as smart as them if not smarter. There is a reason why doctors go to school for 20 years and then a residency and don't get their degrees online.

Man I'm not sure where you're getting this but I hardly think I'm an expert, nor do I think my doctors are "bumbling idiots". I do, however, think (from experience) that doctors have a tendency to settle into a quagmire of repetition when it comes to treatment. Since day one of my 5 1/2 years of pain I've had one referral to a rheumatologist, and a lot of painkillers pushed on me, and that's it when it comes to treatments offered to me.
I had to research about cortisone to finally get a cortisone injection, and it helped. I had to pester them about getting an EEG scan, after researching it. I had to pester them to get an MRI (which revealed my arthritic upper vertebrae), and the X-rays they ordered were only for my low back until I pestered them to get one for my neck (which revealed it was too strait in one point).

Now what is this crap that I try to sound "100% right"? In case you haven't noticed I've only advised people on what I've learned myself, and I've always been 100% open to having my opinion changed. Just look at the canker sore thread, you corrected me on the salt-water issue and did I yell "No you fucking idiot I'm right!"? No, I told you that was just from personal experience and asked for an expanation. In case you haven't noticed, I always ask for clarification when somebody corrects me on something so I can learn.

I don't think I'm smarter than my doctors, but I would think you'd have at least a vague idea of why I'd be frustrated with a system that offers me no treatment options. The issues I bring to them are based on researching information from other medical professionals who are smarter than me. And I'm not gonna take this chastizing bullshit from you because I take the initiative to get better and not just sit back and accept that some painkillers are my only option.

[birdgirl73]

The point FBR is making, Gandalf, is more than anything that no one needs to be giving out medical advice here. Not from personal experience or anything else. He and my husband are the two people here who are actually qualified to provide it, but you'll notice that they above all others don't do that and that, in the instances where they do provide medical information (and here I'm making a distinction between information and advice, diagnoses, or pharmacological information), they always word that information carefully, using qualifiers such as "probably" or "usually." That's what actual medical education teaches--for folks not to try to diagnose or provide others with advice based on simply their own experience or reading. Everyone is different. Everyone metabolizes medicines differently. Evereyone's physiology is different, and no one can be properly diagnosed or advised over the Web.

You do speak with great certainty and authority at times, whether you realize it or not. And particularly when it comes to providing information about medicines and pharmacology, you've got a lot to learn. Don't get me wrong. So do I. I'm at the beginning of my year-long course of medical pharmacology, and I won't be ready to prescribe medicines or give advice on such substances for at least two to three years after I complete that--not until I've had two years of clinical rotations and actual hands-on experience.

All we're saying is please refrain from providing detailed advice or recommendations to people. I know you mean well and want to be helpful, buit the greatest disservice we can do to the people here, to the people looking in from the outside, or to these boards themselves is to put this place at risk by crossing over that line and pretending to be neurological or pharmacological experts. We've had this discussion here many times with other members, including some who've earned themselves unexpected vacations by providing incorrect and/or dangerous medical information. We're simply trying to protect our members, the boards, and you by asking you to ease up. It's also my personal hunch that by encouraging you to chill a tad more on the advice, it may help you obsess a little less about your own situation and perhaps ease your own anxiety and distress.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Holy smokes I'm not banned yet....:wtf:


The point FBR is making, Gandalf, is more than anything that no one needs to be giving out medical advice here. Not from personal experience or anything else. He and my husband are the two people here who are actually qualified to provide it, but you'll notice that they above all others don't do that and that, in the instances where they do provide medical information (and here I'm making a distinction between information and advice, diagnoses, or pharmacological information), they always word that information carefully, using qualifiers such as "probably" or "usually." That's what actual medical education teaches--for folks not to try to diagnose or provide others with advice based on simply their own experience or reading. Everyone is different. Everyone metabolizes medicines differently. Evereyone's physiology is different, and no one can be properly diagnosed or advised over the Web.

You do speak with great certainty and authority at times, whether you realize it or not. And particularly when it comes to providing information about medicines and pharmacology, you've got a lot to learn. Don't get me wrong. So do I. I'm at the beginning of my year-long course of medical pharmacology, and I won't be ready to prescribe medicines or give advice on such substances for at least two to three years after I complete that--not until I've had two years of clinical rotations and actual hands-on experience.

All we're saying is please refrain from providing detailed advice or recommendations to people. I know you mean well and want to be helpful, buit the greatest disservice we can do to the people here, to the people looking in from the outside, or to these boards themselves is to put this place at risk by crossing over that line and pretending to be neurological or pharmacological experts. We've had this discussion here many times with other members, including some who've earned themselves unexpected vacations by providing incorrect and/or dangerous medical information. We're simply trying to protect our members, the boards, and you by asking you to ease up. It's also my personal hunch that by encouraging you to chill a tad more on the advice, it may help you obsess a little less about your own situation and perhaps ease your own anxiety and distress.

Well birdgirl I understand what you're getting at, so I'll ease up on the advice considerably. Honestly though all I ever wanted to do was help out whoever I can, I don't like to see someone suffer when I'm aware of a remedie to that suffering.
I'll assume from the general consensus then, that I was speaking with great certainty/authority in my tone. That was never my intention, I guess it's just the way I come off. I've had a tendency toward social ineptitude all my life as is, but I'm learning. I sometimes wonder if there's a spinkle of a my brother aspergers gene in me yet.

and fakeboobs, sorry to go off on you but I feel you have a very distorted idea of what I'm all about.

[FakeBoobsRule]

and fakeboobs, sorry to go off on you but I feel you have a very distorted idea of what I'm all about.
No, I think I have a good basic understanding of you and in fact, I expected a response like your first one as well as the second one. Believe it or not I'm in your corner in both your medical problems and relationship issues/problems/questions. In fact I spent many hours reading your posts as GoG and Mr. D before responding to this thread:

http://boards.cannabis.com/medicinal-cannabis-health/123351-anybody-want-give-shot-diagnosing-me.html

Notice in my second response I use those qualifiers Birdgirl was talking about like "you may....?" I continue to use them throughout the thread ("almost positive," "they might").

When I told you about the advice you give sometimes is wrong, it wasn't based just on the canker sore thread. Sometimes you give good advice other times you miss the mark completely. So the statement about the advice is sometimes completely wrong was based on more than just one thread or post, it is a trend. Some of these include heartburn, opiates, opiates in cough syrup, referred pain, etc. Some of those could have been avoided by not writing the posts in terms of absolute certainty. It may be something as simple as you are unaware of it or something deeper like ego stroking. It doesn't matter why, it matters that you do do it and I do feel your intentions are good.

You also do a lot of doctor bashing in many of your posts. You are free to your opinion but I don't think it is helping your own problems at all. You have bashed them multiple times in the past 2 days in this thread alone (beat with a wet noodle, kick in their asses, they just say I dunno know, useless medical science, etc). Here comes a Star Wars quote (was it Yoda?) Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering. Let go of the resentments and I think it may help you.

You also want your doctors to do more than push meds but when they had you doing physical therapy you complained about the cost and that you could do that all on your own (see above thread). So which is it? It seems that when they try to do things in some ways you want it but other ways you are objecting to it. Also, the way you dismissed it so quickly and said you could do the therapy on your own it kind of goes to the certainty talk. In the same breath I hear you often times say different things about how much pain meds you want and what kind (you just talked about the morphine was great but you don't want to take it and get addicted). It gets all so confusing keeping up with you and whether you want more or less pain killers.

So try to be open to constructive criticism as I'm not trying to chastise you but help you although it might sting a bit at first. We'll have a talk about Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and DABDA some other time! :thumbsup:

Also, please be more aware of how you word your responses to other members. :jointsmile:

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

[QUOTE] Some of these include heartburn, opiates, opiates in cough syrup, referred pain, etc.

How far back are you digging, I don't even remember a thread about opiates in cough syrup:wtf:. As for any opiate-painkiller talk, I've only touched lightly on these issues on the few facts I know, what "misinformation" is going on there? The hearburn thread, that was theory and I stated it as such, and I was fully open to correcting my theory, read it again. Anything to do with referred pain generally comes from my own experience and not even espewing medical science, but stuff that generally works (hot baths, anti-inflammatories, ice packs, yoga, etc.)



Some of those could have been avoided by not writing the posts in terms of absolute certainty. It may be something as simple as you are unaware of it or something deeper like ego stroking.

And that is why I said you missed the mark in your evaluation of me. I don't even know how you consider trying to help "ego stroking", I just genuinly wanted to help a few people out. Like I said, it may come off as absolute certainty, but I didn't intend it as such and I said I'd work on that. If I learn a fact, I state a fact. If that fact turns out to be wrong, I change it. When did I suddenly get labeled the egomaniacle nutcase?


You also do a lot of doctor bashing in many of your posts.

I express my frustrations with the medical system, I rarely "bash" my doctors. I have one that's really good actually.


You have bashed them multiple times in the past 2 days in this thread alone (beat with a wet noodle, kick in their asses, they just say I dunno know, useless medical science, etc).

- "wet noodle" not my quote.
- "kick in the ass", as in get them moving, make them do something. That's about the closest to a "bash" in this thread, and a relevant explanation IMO.
- "I dunno"... guess what, that's what they say. They haven't given me a good answer so far, what do you want me to say "the docs do know what's wrong with me" even if they don't?
- "useless medical science", followed by Jesus's magical powers.... come on man, it's a tongue-in-cheek remark. I wouldn't study medical science as a hobby myself if I actually thought it was useless.

Honestly FBR, you're turning molehill's into mountains.


Here comes a Star Wars quote (was it Yoda?) Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to suffering. Let go of the resentments and I think it may help you.

Haha, yoda, there's a philosopher we can all agree on:thumbsup:.


You also want your doctors to do more than push meds but when they had you doing physical therapy you complained about the cost and that you could do that all on your own (see above thread).
So which is it? It seems that when they try to do things in some ways you want it but other ways you are objecting to it. Also, the way you dismissed it so quickly and said you could do the therapy on your own it kind of goes to the certainty talk.

Physio barely helped, and yes I learned the excercises and practice them at home myself every second day, does it matter where I do them? Muscle-strength and flexibility really aren't the issue, I'm very strong and flexible from my excercises now and they're not fixing a thing. And seeing as I don't have $40 to spend every second day (or any money at all), all I'm asking is for another option. Or do I not deserve a second option because I'm not made of money?


In the same breath I hear you often times say different things about how much pain meds you want and what kind (you just talked about the morphine was great but you don't want to take it and get addicted). It gets all so confusing keeping up with you and whether you want more or less pain killers.

That was unclear? let me clarify. Morphine killed my pain, I took it once, I won't keep taking it because I don't want to be a morphien addict. I think that's a pretty sound health decision. Just because I said it worked once (and of course it worked) doesn't mean I want to get on it.


So try to be open to constructive criticism as I'm not trying to chastise you but help you although it might sting a bit at first.

I'm open to it, but I'd appreciate you not colouring me like an egomaniacle asshole who think's he's smarter than the whole world. Maybe you think so, but at least I know that's not the case.


We'll have a talk about Elisabeth Kubler-Ross and DABDA some other time! :thumbsup:

Ohhhh K, I've never heard of this but sounds interesting. If you ever make a thread I'll be happy to learn and, yes, not try to teach anything.


Also, please be more aware of how you word your responses to other members.

I'm always aware, albeit occasionally angry (not anymore) in situations like this. I think a good portion of both our problems is that we think and express in very different ways, and misinterpret each other. Anyway I can burry the hatchet if you can, I've still had a high opinion of you as a member overall.

[FakeBoobsRule]

I'm always aware, albeit occasionally angry (not anymore) in situations like this. I think a good portion of both our problems is that we think and express in very different ways, and misinterpret each other. Anyway I can burry the hatchet if you can, I've still had a high opinion of you as a member overall.
You're right, wet noodle wasn't yours.

I was not angry with you to begin with, believe me. Like I said I'm in your corner and if I wasn't trust me I wouldn't have spent hours reading your posts and offering you some suggestions in that thread on things that may help you. I also feel badly that your doctors are only "painting 3 sides of the room" when it comes to your pain (they are reducing it but you are still very uncomfortable is what that means).

We're cool. :thumbsup: