Hello Jms,

Welcome to this forum and the great people who post and try to help others.

It HURT to read of the pain that you have been through and are still going through.

You say you have been to your doctor. From reading your post it seems you have been to only one doctor. Would you be so kind and let us know if he is a PCP (GP) doctor, or a spine surgeon? Thanks.

Also, you mention about having x-rays and CT scans of your back. Have you also had MRI images of your back?

I can feel your pain when you talk about sitting, standing and also laying down. I'm there too, though 50 years older than you.

I have not had the injury that you have, so I hope others that have had a similar injury will give you their thoughts and experiences.

I'll await your reply to my questions.

Regarding pain management - I have one FANTASTIC PM doc. He has been able to help me and keep me away from the knife.

Take care. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

RichT

RichT, thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post!

Yes, I have only seen one doctor so far, but I will hopefully see a different one soon. I had an MRI done when I was admitted into the hospital after the accident in 2003, but I haven't had another one done since.

I really had not even thought about seeing a PM doctor, but that might be an option for me to look into. I can't seem to find any products to help with thoracic back pain, obviously because it is not as common of a problem as lower back pain.

Hello Jms,

Thanks for responding to my questions.

You stated you have only been to one doctor. Is he a PCP, neurologist, spine surgeon, or??

Jms, I would recommend that you search out the best neurologist/spine surgeon in your area. Speak to those you know and find out which spinal specialist (with MD after his/her name) that they thought highly of and which ones they did not like. If you have a professional sports team in your area, call up their office and ask which spinal surgeon they use for their players. Call your local hospitals and ask those you speak with which of the spinal surgeons they would go to if they had back pain.

THEN select the doctor at the top of your list and make an appointment with that doctor. Next make an appointment with the doctor next in line. It is always a good idea to get a second opinion.

I'd suggest that you wait with seeing a PM doc until after you have seen two spine speciallists. AND after you have had a new MRI at the recommended organization of the doctors you will have seen.

I hope this helps a bit.

Let us know how things progress for you.

RichT

You mentioned T6-9 were fractured. Did they fuse these together or left them to repair on their own? My wife fractured T3-5 and they at first only did minor wiring together of the pieces and they did not fuse, causing more and more problems. About 15 years ago she went to Dr. Marshall at UCSD in San Diego, CA, and he went in and permanently fused the three together with hardware and donor bone. She now has vertially no problems, leading a very normal live. ( no drugs) She had her auto accident when she was 18, and this last surgery when she was about 35. She is doing quite well considering the severity of the damage. The surgery was quite major, but the fact that the Thoracic area doesn't move a lot fusing it doesn't limit much.
I was browsing this web site for some of my own minor back problems and saw your article. I hope this helps, and I will check back in in the near future.

DonC