Making the most of my Orthopedic consultant appointment

[JeanieRotten]

Has anyone else had an Orthopedic consultant appointment for a trapped nerve and bulging discs?
Did the consultant give you some options for treatment as in medications, nerve root injections, spinal cord stimulator or even surgery?

After suffering with a trapped nerve in my neck for the last 3 years- plus with 2 bulging discs in my neck also, I've finally got an appointment to see an Orthopedic consultant. I really want to get across to this consultant just how having this condition has had a massive impact on my life.

I can't walk too far as this aggravates and brings on more nerve pain. I am getting pins and needles in my arms and hands. Day to day things, such as vacuuming, cleaning e.t.c leave me in a lot of pain for a couple of days. Wearing a bra is very painful too (despite buying a Zero Feel bra) as again, this aggravates the nerve pain. I could go on but you get the picture.
Physio hasn't helped a large deal but I still do the exercises I was taught so I don't seize up completely!

I am on nerve pain medication, as well as antispasmodic meds- not found another painkiller to suit- Naproxen helps but can only be on that for a short while.
I am just so sick & tired how this is still affecting my life, despite being told at the time of diagnosis it was an easy condition to treat (before I had an MRI that showed the disc issues and bone spurs)!
So please, any experiences you had when you got to see an Orthopedic consultant would be really helpful to me.

Not me, but my Mum. She has multiple disc collapses which were diagnosed 18 months after years of back pain. She was initially referred to a neurologist and then they referred her on to neurosurgery.
It is not an easy path nothing is without risk. She had lateral decompression of the lumbarsacral space in November 2016, but this did not resolve her cauda equine symptoms so she had a dorsal decompression on the same disc space in Jan 2017. She then suffered multiple microfractures of her sacrum which took the best part of a year to heal and tomorrow she is having a lateral decompression of L2-3 and L3-4.
She has taken pregabalin for early two years , naproxen for a long time and oromorph for the whole of 2017.
Each surgery is gut renching without them she will end up in a wheelchair with the surgery she may end up in the wheelchair.
If tomorrow is successful she will then need decompression of two thoracic spaces and finally if that is okay two cervical spaces.
My advice do not look for a immediate fix go listen very carefully and have a good long think before you make any decisions.

Thank you for sharing your Mum's experiences Lonecatwithkitten - she really has gone /going through so much and endured so much pain.
It is very sobering to hear of what treatment she has had and can see why you suggest to listen to the consultant, then think long & hard of what they have to offer. I know there's no one fit all answer or an easy path in which to follow for this type of condition.
Hope all has gone well with your mum's treatment today