Doctor is Writing Me Off

[soreback]

Hi I am writing this to find out what I need to do.
It all started 10 months ago when I was injured on the job by way of lifting heavy objects.
The ic. Excepted my claim for wc. But I still hired an attorney to watch out for my best interest.
Now I have been through 90 days of pt. that did nothing and then 3 steroid injections with little relief and then l5-s1 disectomy that was done in November 18th 2011.
The surgery did not take my leg and back pain away and has made my lower back hurt the more.
The doctor is now put me back to pt. And on the 29th of this month is going to make me have a FCE. Test to set me at MMI.
My attorney has asked for a second opinion before the surgery but Ic. Denied this so now that we are at this point he has requested another opinion and they said yes to this.
What I wonder is has anyone been down this rout and what can I do to get them to fix the problem with my back as this doctor is just going to write me off I have much wrong with my lower back more than just herniated disc.
This is my report after surgery.
l3-l4 there is a diffuse disc bulg which appears symmetrical. There is mild ligamtum flavum hypertrophy and mild central canal stenosis. There is slight contact with both decending l4 nerv roots. There is moderate bilateral forminal stenosis with contact to both exiting l3 nerve roots.
l4-l5 There is a diffuse disc bulg which appears symmetrical. There is mild to moderate ligamentum flavum hypertrophy.There is moderate to sever facet arthropathy bilaterally. There is mild central canal stenosis. There is mild bitateral foraminal stenosis. l5-s1 There has been interval right-side discectomy and facetectomy currenty there is a diffuse disc bulg wich is asymmetric to the left with foraminal predominance. There is sever left and mild to moderate right fomanial stenosis.There is mild central canal stenosis.
Impression:
Post-surgical change on right at l5-s1,as above. The dominant finding at l5-s1 at this point is significant left side foraminal stenosis which appers sever,contacting the exiting l5 nerve root.
Degenerative disc disease also noted at l3-l4and l4-l5as detailed above.
So what will I need to get this taken care of and have any of you had this to happen to you?

[BvIA]

Degenerative disc disease also noted at l3-l4and l4-l5as detailed above.
So what will I need to get this taken care of and have any of you had this to happen to you?

There is no 'cure' for DDD/Degenerative Disk Disease... this condition begins at about age 25 to 30 or so...even though you may never have presented symptoms, work injury can be cause to aggreviate. This is commonly referred to as CT/Cumulative Trauma injury...continued heavy lifting.

At the end of the day... you'll have permanent restrictions on your daily life activities including the possibility of having to find alternative employment.

DDD occurs in about 80% of the working population... most commonly attributed to the "aging process".

[soreback]

Yes and what about the disc bulges and stenosis what causes these to happen all this is related to hard heavy lifting and should be under wc.
It has been a long road with it going on for 10 months now with nothing but pain and lack of sleep worrying about all this i do not even want my family to come around me it has made me so grumpy and irritable to be around.
It just seems it will never get any better.

[BvIA]

Yes and what about the disc bulges and stenosis what causes these to happen all this is related to hard heavy lifting and should be under wc.

That IS your injury... or rather, the injury caused the bulges... that is what you are being treated for. Or should be. There are no 'pre exisiting' conditions in WC... we are taken or presume to be "as is" when hired.

If you have exhausted the treatment options, you'd be a "chronic pain " patient, your Dr should refer you to a PM/Pain Management facility or clinic. There you would be provided counseling services if necessary to learn how to deal with your pain, hopefully without the need for significant pain medications. The drugs too often cause depression along with the pain.

Talk to your Dr about a referral.

It has been a long road with it going on for 10 months now with nothing but pain and lack of sleep worrying about all this i do not even want my family to come around me it has made me so grumpy and irritable to be around.

I hate to tell ya this, but you are just beginning... many posters here are long term pain management patients... I've been in PM since 1997.

[soreback]

Wel this is all going to be based on the FCE. test results from what i understand and i do not even know what all the test is.

[SteelMagnolia]

Soreback, technically an FCE is called a Functional Capacity Examination. It is supposedly used to measure your residual ability and/or what your physical restrictions are. (More in reality it is a F***'ed up Clowns Exam!) Many IC's use this as a tool to get the therapist doing the exam to make statements that may or may NOT be true, such as patient does NOT seem to be fully exerting, not trying, not working with his/her best effort, etc... There are some therapists that administer these exams that are descent and honest and will write his/her report exactly as to what you can or can not do.

Be very careful when you do that FCE that you DO what you can but do NOT let anyone bully you into causing yourself more injury. YES you should attempt each and every activity that you are asked to do, just do NOT go beyond anything that causes additional pain. Tell the tester when you are at your limit and STOP the activity and move on to the next one. Even if you need to take a rest break let the tester know this and have him/her find you somewhere to get comfortable for a short time so you can resume the exam. Make sure you do your level best and put forth an honest effort. To do otherwise will only hurt you in the long run.

IF you are being sent for this on an honest basis, yes that does actually happen, the FCE should test your strength and endurance with things as simple as walking, stair stepping, on up to lifting heavy weights. Again just do NOT attempt to go beyond what is within your comfort zone and end up hurt worse than you already are.

Good Luck to you.

[trmjones]

Soreback,
I have spinal issues too and had an FCE after surgical intervention that was not successful in relieving all my pain. Dr. MMI'd me even though I was still having issues just like you. I done by best on the test because you should or like SteelMagnolia said they will make statements that can hurt you in the end. I have been dealing with my situation going into the third year now. Chronic pain has caused me to go into deep depression and I have anxiety attacks all the time. I have extreme limitations from the FCE test. I took a lot of breaks and let the tester know when my pain was getting worse. I ended up having to take my pain medication in order to finish the test and they noted it. Once the Dr. MMI'd me and my pain did not improve my lawyer got the IC to get me into a Pain Management Clinic with a Dr. who has told the IC that I am not at MMI. You will have degeneration with the normal aging process but once an injury happens degeneration speeds up. If you believe there is more to your injury you may need to have an IME in order to review your records and examine you. I will be going to see if a judge can help me get the medical care that two independent doctors agree that needs to be done in order to help me. I pray that you get better and find the help that you need. It is a tough road but my Psychotherapist is trying to help me continue my fight to get the care I need but also accept the situation with my physical condition. The pain clinic has LCSW's that can help you as well if you go. Good Luck!

[soreback]

thank you all for your advice seems not much left to do put what the ic and doctors say to do kind of at there mercy till the end of all this.

[soreback]

well they sent me to another doctor today for a second opinion and he said the same as the first doctor and is sending me back to the first doctor.
I am still in pain after 8 weeks of therapy and now the new doctor has recommended work hardening therapy and 1 injection then fce. test plus pain management never mentioned any of the problems in my reports said he was not willing to do a fusion surgery and said good luck.