I had a traffic accident. It wasn’t my fault. Even the other party admits that. But the other driver’s insurance company won’t offer enough to cover the physical therapy and loss of work and all the doctor’s appointments and pain relief medicine. I don’t trust the huckster lawyers on TV that seem untrustworthy. I just want an honest lawyer who will get me a settlement that pays my bills. Any ideas or recommendations? Thank you for helping me. Janus

My husband was in a bad car accident about 2 months ago. Directly after the accident he had an MRI done, due to lower back pain. The MRI revealed 2 bulged discs and 2 protruding discs. We have seen about 4 doctors since then, trying to figure out what the next step is. He is in pain usually all day everyday. (He is currently taking ibuprofen and muscle relaxers.) He did about 2 weeks physical therapy only and then began seeing a chiropractor for adjustments also.

So far the only thing that gives him temporary relief are the adjustments. My question is: Does he need to continue physical therapy….(tens machine, aqua massage) or can he just do the adjustments? Also, what is pain management? So far the regular doctors have not wanted to prescribe anything for his pain other then ibuprofen. Some doctors say he will get better, others say he will deal with this forever. We are very confused and I am concerned about him. I do not want him to be in pain. Is looking into a pain management doctor the right thing for us to do? Should we wait and see what happens? what will they do for him that the regular doctors have not?

Personal Experience and advise will help. Thanks!

This is a loaded question/issue: I am 26 and I have chronic low back pain that is constant. I have had it since I was 14-15 years old, which I didn’t get treated until I was 22. My PCP ordered an MRI which I to an orthopedic surgeon and discovered I had/have Degenerative Disc Disease, one extra vertebrae and it is crooked. The DDD affects L3, all the way to S-1. I have been dealing with the pain for 5 years now, however, it has gotten significantly worse within the past year (nothing has changed with my lifestyle) so I went to my new PCP (mine retired) and they basically poo-pooed it. After the 2nd visit, the Dr. prescribed Hydrocodone which didn’t do much, then Tramadol which I had horrible side affects with no pain relief, then Norco which didn’t take the pain completely away but decreased substantially. When I ran out, I called the doctor to schedule a self-initiated check up, and informed the nurse I was out of the medication and needed a refill and had some general questions. The nurse called me back and said the doctor would not refill, would not see me for pain, and suggested I see a Pain Management doctor. She left me without pain medication and no doctor to see. I called the advice nurses, and they told me to call the patient advocate, which this woman called the Dr, and she had her call in pain meds (she agreed that was wrong) and the Rx I got was Tylenol 3. I took it just once and threw up within an hour, got a HUGE headache and it didn’t relieve my pain whatsoever. I called the office back and told the on call Dr. and she said she would leave my Dr. a message… I heard nothing. When I asked the nurse how to find a pain management dr, she said she could have my Dr. refer me to one, I agreed. The appointment was a month away! I since then, have nothing to take for my pain (which gets so bad at times all I can do is cry) I saw the PM dr and he looked at MRI films from 5 years ago, and I told him I have several new issues, and they are worse…he said no MRI would be approved by my insurance company because I don’t have nerve damage (tested my reflexes). However, he prescribed Neurontin which is an anti seizure medication, and Physical Therapy. I was curious about this drug and looked into it—I WILL NOT TAKE THIS! There was even a lawsuit against it for prescribing it for exactly what I have. I asked what am I supposed to take for my flare ups? Why won’t they prescribe what worked? He said the Norco wasn’t a good drug because it didn’t last…which I told him, I would rather take something as needed, rather than a daily commitment to a Neuro drug. How can he prescribe a drug that cut’s off pain nerves without a new MRI (there could be a new issue altogether) and send me to physical therapy which initially causes more pain and nothing to take for my pain? And if there is no nerve damage, why prescribe nerve medication?? What do I do from here? Why are these doctors refusing to prescribe what works? I don’t know what to do, I am in pain, and I can’t get the help I want.

My husband is deployed and during his deployment was injured resulting in 3 herniated disks in his back and nerve damage on his leg. The military is having him go through physical therapy over seas at a base close to his fob. The pt has not helped at all and now they chose to do a spinal block on him. They said it will take the pain away from what he is feeling until he can be home and see about possible surgery etc. My hubby emailed me and said they did the spinal, he’s okay but he has not noticed any difference in the pain or anything at all. He said the procedure itself hurt very, very bad and he also did say it can take a few days. Is all this normal procedure for the Army? Should they have even done that to him? Why isnt he feeling any pain relief yet? Why havent they sent him back home for surgery if they are saying he is going to need it? Does this sound strange or what!!
Is there anything I can do or need to be doing as his wife?
Thanks to all the answers. It was hard to pick a best answer because they all gave so much advice and they all were so caring. I really appreciate it so much that each of you all took the time to write a decent and caring answer to my question. It has not been easy having my husband deployed and I have faced so many challenges along the way that I never imagined I would have to face. Thanks so much and ya’ll pray for me and my husband.