Question
My sister was in a car accident 3 years ago.  A man pulled in front of her.  Impact 1: she t-boned him. Impact 2. she bounced off and went into a ditch nose first and was unconscious for a short amount of time.

She has had two surgeries to try to correct her problems which seem to revolve around C7. The problems being excruciating pain emanating from the neck and down the arm.  With each successive surgery the pain has only increased.  

A year ago she had the second surgery; fusion and a plate and four screws were put in/around C7.

As soon as she awoke from the second surgery she was in the same and worse intense pain - she says over and above the regular surgery pain.

Since that time she has been taking triple doses of the narcotic pain reliever, multiple times per day.  Her b.p. went up and through the roof, she believes because of the pain factor.  Now she's on blood pressure medication.  In all she takes over 370 pills per month for pain and pain related problems.  She still remains in horrible pain.

Due to her desperation to get out of this pain, she hasn't been the best of patients.  Since the pain does not go away with surgery, therapy, or chiropractic visits, she's been getting more hysterical.  With the new doctors she's seen, she starts talking about negligence/malpractice and the like.  Neither are going to become a reality - but she thinks threatening people will force them to fix her problem.  Id est:  she shoots herself in the foot, multiple times.

Due to the aforementioned problem, which I believe is due to her pain, desperate state of mind combined with all of the narcotics, most places take a step or two back and say "We can not help you."

Her desperation gets worse, and it's now to the point that this entire family believes it is affecting her psychologically - to the extreme.

She's able to function at work, for the most part.  After work she is exhausted, takes drugs, sleeps.

She says her arm is in heavy heavy pain 24/7.  She said her neck feels like her head is going to fall off of it.

Before the last surgery she could at least lay down and get some relief.  Now there is no way for her to get relief unless she is knocking herself out on drugs.

We have an appointment at a reputable Atlanta, Ga medical center next Friday, Aug 24th.  The Dr. from last week said he can see no reason for another surgery.  This doctor along with a couple of other doctors have said her fusion looks great.  Other than one screw being slightly off this last doctor said he can see no problems with the plate or fusion.

She had another mylogram, that do not show anything that would be causing this pain.  She's had the nerve tests performed again, with nothing major coming to light.  Carpal tunnel was ruled out too.

The doctor last week referred her over to a neurosurgeon, for a second opinion.

If this neurosurgeon says no surgery, no remedy - she will literally fall apart because she's at the end of her rope due to enduring this pain for so long.

Our family is now almost as desperate as she is to find a way to help her.  Pain management has not worked.  Therapy has not worked.  Chiropractic visits have not worked.  Although I do not know if she followed these all the way through the process - the time she did give to it gave her no relief.

I am the one going to the next appointment with her - and I would be grateful for some help with knowing what to do if this surgeon says he cannot help her.  Where do people go when they're in this much pain and are getting no relief and taking way too many drugs?  She really is going off the deep end mentally - to be honest she's going insane with pain.

This is a person who has always been naturally quiet.  She's always been into crafts, knits, reads, cooks, and such.  This injury and the resulting endless pain has completely altered her personality.  Fighting for survival would more than likely do that to anyone.

Is there any one who can help?

Answer
Hi Susie,

I see this all the time, surgery usually makes spine problems worse. If it where up to me they would be banned unless absolutely necessary because scar tissue proliferation ends up creating more problems that existed in the past.

She is a candidate for neuro-electrical implant to control pain. This is an implant that can be tweaked to a specific frequency to stop pain signals from getting to the frontal lobe. No drugs, no pain. Ask the neuro to get it started. It's kinda like an internal TENS unit. Other options include RF guided nerve ablation which cuts the nerve that is sending the signals. Your new neurosurgeon should bring these options up, if he gives you a blank stare, let me know and I'll personally take care of the referral to the appropriate specialist. There is no reason for this cycle to continue, you just need to find the right tool for the job. Sometimes that takes a bit of luck by inquiring on websites such as this. I hope this concludes and solves any future worries regarding endless suffering.


Sincerely,

Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com