seeking a good diagnostic physician
From: mm (sbpuddycat@aol.com)
Thu Nov 6 06:11:40 2003
Hi,
I have suffered from unbearable pelvic, lower back and left hip pain for
thirteen years, subsequent to a traumatic childbirth in which I
sustained a fourth degree tear and a severe injury to the sacroiliac
joint.
I have been through a number of bogus diagnoses and at least an equal
number of interventions to try to gain relief from pain and restore some
quality of life. The last year and a half has been invested in
prolotherapy injections, which seemed to be helping for awhile, but I
have had a severe relapse in the last few months.
My symptoms include relentless muscle spasm of the pelvic floor, left
piriformis, left psoas and quadratus lumborum muscles; hypermobile left
SI joint, hypomobile right SI joint; unexplained vaginal bleeding; and
severe dysmotility issues.
I have been to Mayo Clinic, where I was underwhelmed by their pelvic
pain expertise. I have consulted James Carter, M.D. in Mission Viejo,
who is active on OBGYN.net -- for a gynecologist he has good breadth of
knowledge of pelvic pain issues, but not a lot of depth of knowledge or
the cross-disciplinary experience to deal with a complex issue of the
sacral plexus.
Can anyone suggest a diagnostic center of excellence or a physician, be
it a surgeon, an OB/GYN, a physiatrist, a gastroenterologist or some
speciality I haven't yet considered who has the ability and the interest
to discover what is going on with my body? My physical therapists and my
pain neurologist are suggesting that it's time for me to have a morphine
pump implanted, but I am loathe to take that step until I know exactly
what is wrong with me, a question that has never been satisfactorily
answered.
I have had four MRI's, most recently a pelvic and lumbar. They always
come back completely clean except that this time Tarlov Cysts were noted
at S2-3 on both sides. The radiologist who read the report claims that
these cysts cannot be creating problems like what I am experiencing. I
have researched the cysts and there are people who believe these cysts
do indeed cause symptoms like mine, however I have never heard of anyone
with cysts as small as mine being an issue. Therefore, I continue to
seek input.
I did have surgery for endometriosis many years ago. A laparoscopy
shortly after my symptoms began yielded no strong suggestion of a
recurrence, although I have always wondered whether there might be any
possibility of endometriosis or adhesions between the colon and the
psoas muscle on the left side, given the constant spasm of that muscle.
I would appreciate any guidance anyone could offer.
I live in southern California but would travel anywhere if I had reason
to believe there was someone who could help me.
Thanks,
--
mm
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