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I'd like to tell u about myself. I'm Irish, living in Dublin. A little over 6 yrs ago I slipped on a wet floor and twisted myself in the fall. Dreadful pain developed at the back of my waist at the time and then progressed to my neck, shoulders and legs. I went from one doctor to the next, had every scan and x-ray available done and was told that there was nothing wrong with me, that I was imagining things and suffering from depression) until I ended up with an excellent physiotherapy who persisted with me and eventually through her I went to a very caring Pain Specialist who was the first to believe me. He carried out nerve blocks in my lumbar area. When he got as far as T12 he said that he could not go any further or he could puncture my lungs. At this stage I was 3yrs and 7 months in excruciating pain. I often wished I would not be here in the morning, couldn't sleep or socialise, struggled into work and cried for most of my days and felt very foolish. When people asked what was wrong I had no answers. Eventually my pain specialist said that I could not go on the way I was and that he would like a collegue of his to see me. He sent me to the U.K. to a neurosurgeon to be assessed for a spinal cord stimulator and when I got there with my scans this specialist told me that he thought I'd a fracture. He arranged for more scans and 3 days after my return I had a phone call to tell me that I had a fracture at T12. I was absolutely gobsmacked and felt I'd won the lotto I could not wait to get on the operating table for the surgery which was carried out 3 weeks later. To repair the fracture the surgeon had to insert a metal rod and 2 screws, the likes u would not see on a building site!! I then had to address my neck which was causing me dreadful headaches and numbness in 2 of my fingers (It was felt that I had whiplashed my neck in the fall). Eight months later I had more surgery and had 2 Bakcages inserted at C4/C5 & C5/C6. The difference this made was unbelievable. I still get odd headaches and pain in my right shoulder but nothing like what it was before. Five months later again I had L4/L5 removed and had a links prosthesis inserted which is a type of mobile disc. I do not have a fusion here. While I do believe my surgeries were successful I still have chronic pain as my spine has been irritated for a long time and I'm on a lot of medication and may still have a certain amount of pain for the rest of my life. All I can say to anyone like me is to try and persist. When a person is in chronic pain they are very vulnerable and are not able to fight back. Dont let the medical profession fob u off. I learned the hard way because prior to this I never had reason to attend a specialist and never thought a doctor would be unable to tell me what was wrong, I thought they had all the answers. Listen to ur own body. It's hard to keep going but if I had not hung in there and luckily found a solution I would not like to think where I would be today. Hopefully my story even though it may seem longwinded may help other people to keep going and not to give up. Kindest regards, Yvonne Yvonne has been kind enough to offer anyone interested to e-mail her.. |
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The Surgery:The Week Before * The Day Before * The Day Of * In The Hospital * Going Home * Let's Talk Pain * Home Again! Other Areas:Created and Maintained by Leslie Davidson.
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