Mom Still in Pain

My Mom is still having a very difficult time of it. The pain medications are just not helping enough and now she is taking medications to combat the effects of the pain medication. She has had several tests including x-rays which did not show a fracture. But she has severe degenerative disc disease and that contributes to this big muscle spasm she's experiencing.

At the last appointment they said they were going to refer her to someone who could give her an epidural injection. There were problems with that referral (somehow I got a call from a neurosurgeon) and now the primary doctor thinks there must be some other reason the pain is not getting better. Like perhaps a fracture that does not show up on an x-ray. So they want to do an MRI as the next step. Great idea, except that I couldn't get them to schedule an MRI before next Tuesday and today Mom says her pain is getting worse. Aargh!!

An occupational therapist visited Mom today and he agrees that she needs something done quickly. He's going to talk to a visiting nurse and see if they can pull some strings to get the MRI done sooner. I sure hope something works soon. No one should have to live their life in that much pain.