I am at 28 female with a large C5-C6 disc herniation that is deforming/twisting my spinal cord, causing intermittent pain, numbness, loss of ability and shaking in right arm, and constant pain in my neck and shoulders. I was in a rear-ender on vacation in Hawaii 5 months ago which is what we believe caused this since I never had any symptoms before and they started 48 hours after the accident. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I have tried everything, and until recently every doctor I have been too has pushed me off to another doctor. This doctor finally ordered and MRI and says he only sees this leading to one thing, permanent problems or surgery but he was willing to try an epidural steroid injection to reduce the swelling and in turn hope to take the pressure off the spinal cord. We did that and there was slight relief but nothing noteworthy. I see my doctor next week and I know what he is going to recommend. But I have a lot of reservations with surgery; does anyone have a good story to tell? Everything I read about is people complaining that it was a terrible decision. I am young and the thought of something going wrong and disabling me for life is terrifying, weighing that with the current issues with what I already know I can handle is difficult. Also, I come from a family of addicts and they keep pushing narcotics on me like candy, and soooo many people with neck and back injuries end up hooked on these pills I can’t have that. I know being young has the benefit of being able to heal faster and adapt better but it also means I have a lot longer to live with the negative effects too and I am still proving myself and building my life up I don’t have a support structure around me to allow me to not be self-sufficient.
How long is the recovery, are you ever back to normal?
How long before you can return to work, I work a desk job and was recently promoted; I cannot take more than a week off of work for at least a year. Also I go to college which starts here in 3 weeks and I can’t take any time away from that.
This doctor was supposed to be the never recommend surgery doctor he doesn’t even perform them he is a pain doctor and so I know he won’t benefit from me having this done so I trust he genuinely doesn’t think I have much option. Still I just have a lot of questions and reservations.
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