Well, I went to my pain mgm doc today and had a long talk about everything. I was somewhat astounded at what he told me. When they did the surgery they discovered that my DDD (degenerative disk disease) was more advanced than what the MRI showed. Essentially, the arthritis is pretty bad and is compounding everything. Doc told me that they did not mention this to me post op because he was concerned that this affect my mental outlook on this in a negative way. Being that he knew about my addiction concerns, he didn't want me to feel as if there was no hope...
He did mention to me that he was rather impressed at my determination to end my cycle of dependence on opiates. Going two weeks without pain meds so soon after surgery was "impressive".
We went over the x-rays and MRI and the results told him that while the procedure was somewhat of a success, the arthritis and swelling is putting a great deal of pressure on the surrounding nerves.
He put me on some stronger anti-inflamitories that should help with the swelling.
He mentioned that I was a good candidate for a spinal TENS implant that would block the pain signals. Only problem is I simply can't afford it. I have insurance but I'd still hve to pay a few grand out of pocket. So, I'm going to be saving up for that and perhaps by summer I can afford that. As far as taking the pain meds, I will have to take them until I get the spinal implant. My doc told me that he and I will work together with that to insure it doesn't get out of hand. He put me on extended release pain meds. That's important to me because the instant reales stuff hits me hard for 30 minutes and I'll be pain free for a couple of hours. But then the meds wear off a couple of hours before my next dose. That makes me want to take more before it's time.
So, for now I'll be taking pain meds but it will be monitored heavily by my doc (per my request). Once I can afford the implant, the doc said he would work with me to detox and get off permanently.