Low back pain is the most common condition seen in disability evaluations, so it helps to have an organized approach. RU-vid channels with useful information on spinal disorders: / @drbriansuthespineguy / @nabilebraheim
I prolapsed my L3 and L4 about 12 years ago, it took me many months to just be able to walk properly, and now aged 64 my back has never been right, it moves between low-grade pain very manageable with good mobility to high-grade pain and trouble with dressing, and washing, I have pain through my hips and pelvis with bad sciatica. PS I do not take painkillers and I think I have become used to pain, and I often say to my Wife, if I could hand this pain over to someone who has no experience of pain they would probably be in hospital.
These video's are great because they give us an insight into why these questions are asked of us so that we can better relay our feelings. I know I am not able to no longer work and that can give you a sense of privilege where I didn't feel the need to get into detail explaining my issues as if everyone knows I'm not faking it or everyone can see my issues when they cant. I now know how important the detail is, thankyou
to add on to my comment.. the MRI showed I had some herniation and bulging in my L2-L5 discs but liek i said its mild pain but I wake up everyday in tremendous pain and really dont want to be addicted to painkillers and have that mess up my liver which I am already diagnosed with fatty liver disease. so im a mental and physical wreck right now..
I got diagnosed via an MRI and X-Ray with Levoscoliosis and maybe Berlotti Syndrome but its very mild but ive been in pain ever since November and Ive been going to Physical Therapy since January. I had to finish PT on my right knee which the kneecap was injured a month prior to my back and it was hard to walk up and down the stairs. I still have that pain along with my back now. My X-rays on My knee showed no damage but its very hard to bend down using my knees as my back hurts a lot and I cant pick up heavy things. I can barely pick up anything beyond 5-10 pounds right now. I think with my MRI and X-rays on my back and my X-rays on my knee I think that I should be approved for SSI or SSDI along with my medical records showing the pain that Im in along with my medical records from my Physical Therapist. Im not sure on my mental illness since Ive had anxiety and depression since I was 17 but over the past 4 years it has gotten worse and Ive bounced around therapists and psychiatrists and been pretty much on different medications which might have made it worse as well. I cant focus or concentrate much at times especially at my last 2 jobs which made me very angry at I lashed out at my girlfriend and my family and friends at times and I got written up a few times at my retail job. I was disrespected by the manager at my retail job because they didnt care about my mental illness and scheduled me for long hours without breaks or even help from supervisors and I complained to HR and it took until AFTER I quit for things to get done. After I got my caregiver job, some of the symptoms went away but re-emerged last year during my time with my client and after the client's insurance expired I lost my job and I became more angry and depressed because I didnt know what to do with myself and my finances were going down quickly. I couldnt get a job because there was nothing to my liking or i was not qualified. I also got sciatica while working at my retail job during the time I was there at times and was in and out of the ER due to panic attacks and tremendous pain/myalgia. My anxiety and depression has gotton worse and Im in constant fear almost everyday with how Im going to live with barely any money. My mental and physical conditions are getting worse and even if im goign to my doctor appointments, I just dont see myself being able to concentrate or work without pain for at least a year so thus why I applied back in January and awaiting a medical and phsycial exam. my case is at 27% processed but Im hoping and praying the exams can get done quickly and if i have to speak to a judge about my ailments I hope that goes quickly as well because I dont got much time left and I hate waiting as it is. I just hope by september I can get approved because I dont know what else to do after that.
I wish my doctor would be as thorough in figuring out why/where my chronic pain comes from as thoroughly as this doctor seemingly is with dismissing chronic back pain. I'd love to figure out why i have the pain I do so I can find the most effective way to treat it. Doctors and even specialist don't seem to have the time to do a thorough examination. Something else I think about, is also how someone may be capable of appearing "okay" initially, but as enough time goes by, the person may develop more/ severe pain. I think many (speaking for myself, even) act as "imposters" of being "okay" and "doing well" bc that's what was ingrained in us. I know I at times, consciously and subconsciously present as though I'm "doing better" than I actually am in front of my dad and others I view as more superior/intimidating. In relatively short spurts I would appear fairly well, but given enough time, I'll be seriously struggling.
I have a question...what if you were born with a genetic disorder/disease/syndrome that is rare; (meaning most doctors;if not ALL doctors that you have seen in your life up until this point )have never heard of what you were born with or if they have heard of it they know little or nothing about it and you are possibly the only patient they have ever treated with the said genetic disorder so they actually aren't able to effectively treat that patient and they either don't or wont refer you to someone who can treat you? And furthermore everytime you go in for your next appointment they dont really remember you no matter how many times you have seen them(And you have been seeing them for YEARS...and yes I know Drs have 100s of patients) and they don't even remember you discussing your situation with them at all on NUMEROUS occasions!!! And when a person comes in for an assessment from you for determining wether or not they should qualify for disability benefits and they tell you about the genetic disorder they are born with and you haven't ever heard of or you know very little about their genetic disorder and there is LITTLE to NO history available for you to look at from their doctors because they didn't know anything about it/had never heard of it...and they didn't try to do any research into it themselves or failed to refer them on to other doctors who could help them or they failed to do anything because they just forgot or just didn't care enough to do anything?
I am in my 70s and have rare causes for back pain, in addition to degenerative discs and joints. An MRI for my back showed dural ectasia and a small iliac artery aneurysm. Further CT showed 2 more small aneurysms, which were followed yearly. Dural ectasia and aneurysms are both seen in connective tissue disorders, which became, at age 60ish, my new diagnosis. .Then, in 2020, I had pain between my shoulder blades, a BP of 70/30. It was dissecting ascending aortic aneurysm, which was repaired, followed 2 months later by more upper back pain and an endovascular repair of the rest of the thoracic aorta. I have a CT yearly, as the entire remaining aorta is still dissected. So sometimes, the hoofbeats can be a few zebras mixed in with the horses!
They removed two large lipomas out of my lower right side of back the pain was unbearable and even worse when touched or pressed on. After one was removed pain was still present so they removed another one just above that one pain was still present. Then they decided to do an MRI and found out that my l4 and l5 are slipped and pinching the spinal column I think that's the correct turn. I tried to sleep with a wedge but I have many many more issues than that I am a certified medical assistant but not anymore since the brain damage was caused during surgery of my liver transplant I did pass 4.0 with honors on all my courses so I do know a plethora of medical terms. I did not know until you said it that that could be detrimental to my case
Ok I have a question I have a herniated disc in my back between L5-S1 and Stenosis between L4-L5 and L3-L4 and tares between L4-L5 and L3 -L4, L5-S1 it hurts when i lean forward or backwards or if i step off the lower rung of a set of stairs so I am am confused about you explanation of symptoms
I have back pain which radiates through my buttock and down my leg. I presume it to be sciatica, but it could just as easily be pain which radiates from my buttock into my leg and back...or does it rafiate from my knee up into my buttock and down my calf.??? Hell sometimes it starts in the calf and works its way up. Its really, really difficult to explain pain. Basically it hurts to walk
Yes because a patient would not have an understanding of what radiant means! I'm sure as everyone knows the word radiant is used and understood in more than just medical use from doctors. Hey doc I have a stove that has water lines that run through it it is producing radiant heat up through my walls or floors would I need to call a home builder to ask if he could explain that to me? Or would it be safe to say I know what I'm talking about. I think you think people are idiots I'm sorry that's what I get from you.
He thinks we're ignorant as dirt so if we use medical terms we obviously memorized a script. 🙄 On the other hand, if we don't describe our symptoms well he'll say there's nothing there. At least he's showing us what we're up against.
Oh my gosh your so helpful i wish i could see you as dr i have a weird problem with fkank pain well both sides since i was 15 a horrible burning tightness in low back sides and bottom of my feet i have gave up on drs help nothing takes it away thirty years now in 56 and having paralysis when walking standing more than a 1 minute I have to lay down not sit to get it to a tolerance level i can bare please help any suggestions i have Nerve impingemt in sacrum but not that far back to childhood how can a 15 years old have severe flank pain with no injury for thirty years im in agony please respond any info is greatly appreciated 😂😂😂
Sounds like sacroilitis. Could be ankylosing spondylitis. Could also be you're just one of us who have a nerve that goes through the muscle instead of around so severy time the muscle is tense your life sux. See a rheumatologist and/ or orthopedist. Imaging will tell.
@nineteenfortyeight6762 First time I've heard of how you mentioned the nerve. I got (and still have) pain in my sacro area. My right side especially feels like it's "pinching" near where my dimple is. I can usually feel the pain traveling. I have to shift my weight so often. Sometimes I'll be standing in line (for example the post office) and will have to bend forward and basically touch my toes just to temporarily relieve some of my pain. I can't live w/o my heating pads. They don't really help the pain, but they kind of distract myself from the pain. I'm so tired of being in pain. It definitely affects my mental health and contributes to SI.
It also feels like the right side of my hips sits higher than my left. Since my mid teens I've even had to get my pant legs hemmed at different lengths bc of what I believe is a leg-length discrepancy or something.
