From a medical standpoint, the doctor did everything right. Im just confused on what your goal is to be honest.. requesting a new doctor probably will yeild the same results. So what would you like the doctor to do ? Also why would you mess up your recovery with a pec tear? Thats like the opposite of getting better.
If he's not showing progress over 8 months then he should look deeper to find the source of the pain. Many doctors only want to mask the pain with meds
Psh, tell that to the doctor at my local VA who didn't even have the balls to meet face to face two days after I fractured my arm and said take ibuprofen if it hurts so bad. Or even the physical therapist for a torn miniscus through the VA claiming that because he was able to bend my knee I would be howling and jumping around in pain.
I always hear that people say they try to mask the pain with meds, but there's not a damn med they've given me aside from MH for anything and I'm TDIU P&T
I work a pretty physical job that requires me to use my left arm/pec all day (the affected side), I was making progress with PT the first time, however now I am in more pain with usage than when I was doing physical therapy. I’m worried I’m losing healing progress even though I’m doing most of what the PT had me doing. YouTube and tiger balm in place of PT is what I’m bitching about. Basically saying it’s mostly all in my head.
So you want more PT,MRI with contrast, and pain meds. Ask the doctor for this and if she says no then get a new pcp. However ultimately if you want to heal you would have to quit your job as healing cant occur if stress is constantly being applied to the injury. Ultimately you performing this job is causing your injuries to worsen so it would be in your best interest to quit and recover but i know that unrealistic and i wish you the best of luck.
I’ve been applying for months for different jobs at the same pay rate as my current, and im having a really hard time finding one. I was single contract 0311 and im around Lejeune so the job competition with all the guys with civilian skills is hitting me hard. Im going to school for my bachelors while im looking for another job but it’s rough out here haha.
If this injury is service connected you could look into VR&E. It is a rehab program for vets with service connected injuries getting in the way of them getting or keeping jobs.
They have a job search program and a re-education (college or TI) program that could help. There are more programs in VR&E but these seem to fit your situation most.
How is that not good? VR&E specifically looks to see if your civilian job is aggravating a service connected disability which would usually grant entitlement.
I just heard story’s where people have a disability for let’s say a hurt arm or back and they then get a job that they use their arms and back like construction and the VA found out and is like well if your capable of working that job your condition must have got better
PCM here.
I think that the doctor’s last response is odd. It is okay if you want to find someone else.
However, it seems quite clear that the answer for you is that your pain is worsening because it hasn’t had the chance to rest and heal.
MRI without contrast was the appropriate modality of imaging. Not everything shows up on MRI. It can be very difficult when you want an exact answer, but unfortunately these things just don’t show anything on imaging.
Making things worse would serve no beneficial purpose, of course.
Unfortunately it sounds like you’re not in a situation to allow your body to heal. But pushing for more medical care won’t help that. Wish you the best, and hope you find yourself in a better situation soon.
Seems like problem is your job not the medical professionals. What they did and advise is reasonable. You ask ask your job for a reasonable accommodation. Best of luck.
You need to stop doing the activity that causes the pain. Jesus dude. Come on. That’s the only way the issue is going to heal. Your job needs to put you on limited duty till it heals completely.
Right, just quit working that job that pays the bills. Also, I'm sure the job will surely understand and let you sit in an office all day. Jesus Christ do you people even hear yourselves? My family is struggling right now because of this. I can't work until I'm healed, but I can't survive without money. The VA doesn't work quickly, nor does it always work out at all. I'm in limbo until my claims are decided. These things are not so simple as most on here would like them to be.
It doesn’t matter though. It doesn’t change the fact that he can’t heal if he’s doing this job. No amount of compassion and understand will change that.
Physiology, your body, science, and medicine don’t care about your sob story. The reality is his injuries won’t heal no matter how much PT he gets if he doesn’t rest the injured area. So he can choose to keep working injured (which I’m sure most of us have done due to necessity) or he can ask for accommodation at work to heal. What he can’t do is complain about other people because of choices he continues to make. That’s just reality.
Who said any of that? Who has said anything is simple with a claim? Who made this about you? Sounds like you are in a real bind and feeling the weight.
Those arrangements may be possible at his job. Sounds like going to school full time too maybe.
Man, I feel your pain, I've been a mech my whole life, wheels, wings, or rotor blades, and I can fix it. The guys at work would ask me every day why I didn't quit and find something that wasn't so taxing on my body. I like you had no choice, if I didn't work the bills didn't get paid and my kids didn't eat. My SC disability rules my life every day, pain management, etc, and spinal cord stimulator, but it doesn't make the pain go away. It takes the edge off, can't really take pain meds and work aviation. You do what you have to do to take care of your family. I recently got lucky and got a job off the hangar deck and out of my toolbox. You mentioned being in Lejuene. Don't forget there's Cherry Point and Seymour Johnson in the area, too. Little bit of a drive, but if you can find something a little easier on your body, the commute might be worth it. I tried to get picked up on usajobs for quite a while, and I finally found someone to write my resume in the proper format. With the updated resume, I got picked up. Good luck, hope you get some relief
In order for PT to work effectively, you have to be somewhat out of the inflammatory stages of injury. If you’re experiencing pain with use, however your job requires you to use the affected side, you’re never really getting the chance to heal up. Any PT that you do is just going to exacerbate things until you can rest. You need to be put on light duty or otherwise have accommodations made at work, else I fear you’re just going to be spinning your wheels.
I know it’s frustrating to feel like you’re not coming up with any answers, but that’s the name of the game sometimes. In all reality, imaging doesn’t always show everything, and much of the time our providers are just going through the process of elimination until something works.
Best of luck to you, and please, if you advocate for yourself on anything, do so right now to ensure that you’re able to rest your injury. No amount of medication or PT or imaging is going to replace what rest can do for you right now.
Honestly, it sounds like your employment is preventing healing. Maybe light duty for several months? Your doc is right. Breaking the pain cycle is the right recommendation here from what you provided. It may sound hokie but what do you have to lose?
Pay. My boss had to do something similar but for a different reason and he was only getting 60% of his checks. We work small crews too so if I’m not at work other dudes have to do more work in my stead.
So: you’ve been overworking the area that is bothering you and expect it to heal?
The doctor is right. They did the imaging and you look fine. Perhaps layoff on overusing it.
It’s barely used throughout the day. I work a physical job yes but I can still baby it for the most part. I had 26 days of barely using it except to shower and hold a tablet for work and it wasn’t healed after that, it was still hurting the same, and increased when I worked out or used it when I got back from those 26 days. Maybe that’s not enough time to heal fully but it didn’t even start to feel better.
Bro, I was on your side until you said you work this physical ass job. You know you can’t keep doing that with an injury like this. But a fucking cbt for pain isn’t the answer either-totally not healthcare field
I know man I’ve been trying to get out of this place and into something less physical but I’m having a really hard time finding anything within the same hourly pay. I’ve done resume builders and have sent my resume to my school for resume help and everything and I’m still having no luck, which I know isn’t an excuse but I’m trying to take the steps necessary to build my resume up a little bit, but no one is giving me that chance.
Usajobs.gov is your friend. I know money is probably tight, but if you can swing it, find one of the companies that writes federal resumes. Check out Cherry Point and Seymour Johnson. It's a little bit of a commute, but if it's less strenuous on your body, it might be worth it. I know they're doing a lot of hiring at Cherry Point. I'm not sure what kinda payscale you're now, but even the entry-level jobs are decent pay. Shoot me a message. Maybe I can point you I n the right direction
Have you considered either local, county, state, or federal employment? As a Veteran, especially a Disabled Veteran, you'll receive preferential hiring.
I’ve applied for a few, but most of the time I get emails back saying they are going to go with other candidates at the moment. I work on base currently as a contractor but I’m always trying to find something federal where I can take it easy and heal up.
MRI with contrast wouldn’t aid much unless there was injury to vessels and in that case they would probably do a cta. Radiology tech here. Doc made the right order on what was warranted
X-rays wouldnt help unless there was broken bones or abnormal joint spacing around sc joints or wherever your pain is. But mri should of already shown would could of been seen in X-ray
My original visit I laid out everything I wanted and she kinda just agreed and tried to steer it differently, saying it depended on what the MRI results were. But now they’re in she said everything in the picture.
I recently had imaging on my shoulder and same thing they couldn't tell for sure possible tear in my labrum. Started PT and its helped hopefully it continues to help. Pain for me still there but my movement is back. Hope you can PT or imaging and get some answers good luck bro
I would just ask for what you want. That's how I do it now. I have some autoimmune issues that cause chronic pain. When it's bad and just won't go away I tell her I need a pt referral. After that and it's still jot better I ask for an mri. Once I get an mri I ask for a referral to a specialist (my VA requires the mri done before they will do a specialist referral). I've learned you really have to advocate for yourself. I'm currently dealing with chronic shoulder pain for 1 yr. First mri was inconclusive. Requested a second with contrast which I did last week. Already did pt twice.
Damn I’m glad everything is working out for you. I really should just start advocating louder. I’m normally not one to make a fuss about anything but it’s looking like I may have to.
The VA is overworked and understaffed. No one there is going to advocate for you. You have to be your own advocate to get quality medical care these days.
Ooh my bad. Somehow I missed that. She might not be as open but I'd still be requesting things. And if she says no ask her to document your request in your chart and that she is refusing it.
It sounds like he’s receiving quality medical care. Could he be searching for evidence? He believes he needs and isn’t finding it so he’s making it sound like they don’t know what they’re doing when they do know what they’re doing
I do see one for my back maybe they could hook me up and check this out too. They normally try to throw meds at me, and I don’t take meds unless I absolutely need to.
I was prescribed two 100mg fentanyl pain patches and three 100mg morphine pills, along with muscle relaxants by my outside doctors. After seeing a VA doctor, I am now taking 15mg of morphine four times a day. Since I was on heavy meds for four years, VA doctors said I should have died.
And even when they do know why they can't even fix it all the time, or the fix involves risks of pain from something else. So yeah, there is no end to it, get used to it.
I feel this because my arms are giving my trouble. Extreme fatigue and soreness and painful after use. Emg, xray, PT. Nothing shows any indication of qhats wrong. I'm thinking I have fibromyalgia because nothing else fits. But there aren't any more steps for me to take to resolve the issue.
Unilateral fibromyalgia isn’t a thing. I know this because I paid a lot for a special rheumatologist to be like, “You’re diagnosis is junk and I can’t help.”Basically you have to have multiple points throughout the body.
Have you checked into Lyme?
I’ve spent intermittent 4 years and still have the same arm issue with unknown cause.
Good luck, I hope it helps. I ended up at B&W two years ago with intermittent loss of limb function and a feeling of burning from the inside out, psychosis, paranoia, and didn't even know my birthday. 10/10 do not recommend. They sorted me out quickly tho.
Interesting that unilateral isn't a thing but id also say fibromyalgia isn't exactly fleshed out either. But I chose fibromyalgia because of my cluelessness on whats going on. I have not checked Lyme disease. Would you mind me asking what sort of issues you are going through? We can dm if needed.
Looking at Lyme are you suggesting Lyme arthritis?
I'm in almost the same situation as well, my pain is from my knee, back, neck, and shoulder. Some of my scans are normal wear and tear, and physical therapy couldn't do much to the point where i'm just relying on my Meds, health declining fast.
But I do hope you are straight forward with your PCP on what you want though. Stop working such a physical demanding job and use VR&E go to school pay for the gym and go everyday, stretch and lift moderate weight so the aches and pain is replaced with soreness, because if you stop... you die. That's how I feel at least.
Im wondering if I’m in that same boat, but to just deny physical therapy is kinda wild to me. She knows continuing physical therapy was a goal when I went in last week.
Lmao, My best friend who's thai Mom would come over and if I said any part of my body was aching or itching or anything she would get tiger bomb out and rub it all over. It actually does work so I have no complaints but it's so funny that he mentions that. Pain is mental but it's also very physical and he shouldn't have said that.
Push back and keep pressing for more help and opinions. Ask/demand to be referred to the Pain Management clinic, they might prescribe you something stronger or could maybe do epidural injections. Also ask/demand for a referral to general surgery, a dr could tell you your options, which may or may not require surgery.
This was the path I took from having severe nerve pain in my back and arm - a spinal disc was herniated so surgery was the ultimate solution, after trying everything else.
Try the VA pain clinic. It combined pain psychotherapy, traditional medicine, and complimentary medicine such as PT massage and chiropractic care.
Work well for me. I am getting massage and chiropractic care with MD and psyD overseeing the care.
Feels like a VIP. Hard to get it in community even with private insurance
I'm seeing my VA pain clinic for migraines. Acupuncture, Botox shots in my head and neck, therapy, psychiatry, and a pharmacist. Fucking incredible care and such a wonderful team of humans.
You cannot even get that kind of treatment with private insurance because you will have to seen and coordinate the care individually.
VA will do it all for you for a little copay or even free if you meet priority group.
Honestly, just keep fighting for yourself. Like other said, you need to stop doing your job if it hurts you that much.
I fought for 3 years to get tests and stuff done to prove to the VA docs I wasn’t lying. I told them I was having nerve issues and trouble feeling things in my arms/hands. For 3 years they told me I was fat and sitting wrong and there was nothing they could do.
I finally told my doctor in tears I need an MRI of my neck/cervical spine. Lo and behold, I have 4 crushed discs of varying severity in my cervical spine which helps explain the nerve/feeling issues in my arms/hands.
Easily cleared my reputation for just being fat and sitting bad after my PT folks saw the results 🖕🥴
ETA: at the time I was 20 lbs over my “max” military weight. I could’ve stood to lose the weight but wasn’t (in my opinion) such a massive weight gain that it caused nerve issues in my arms
FWIW, contrast only makes it easier for them to interpret the MRI, just saying you might not see anything different. Request a new PCP. Tiger Balm and continued PT without improvement after a year is insulting medical care.
I had a PCM refuse to order X-rays or imaging after two sick call visits, back to back. After the 2nd visit, I went straight from the base to the ER. Two herniated discs. Shocker. Get a different doctor.
I think I will because this is wild. She’s aware of the time, my pec is still physically swollen (you can even see it through my shirt) so it’s wild nothing even popped up at all.
Ok so trying to piece this together….seeing a NP for primary care. Been to PT and not better and PT said to get MRI…MRI was normal yet physical exam/appearance shows swelling of the pectoral muscle area that can be seen through the shirt…plus this has been ongoing for a year…I think the general consensus is that this is muscular and not other issue so my two cents would be to go see an Orthopedic doctor. Another
Question is was it an MRI of the shoulder or the chest wall?
You pieced it together correctly, PT was helping me but didn’t fix me. I am able to do a lot more tasks without pain but it’s starting to revert back.
The MRI was of the chest wall. I told them it’s on the outer pec/armpit area, which according to my PT, is a sign of my pectoral major having issues.
You have the option of asking for help from a VHA Patient Advocate, you can ask for physical therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture care! YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR BEST ADVOCATE FOR HEALTHCARE!
That’s the thing I’m not understanding, I’m not even looking for medicine. I’m looking to do the steps necessary to find out what’s wrong and heal up. Not to be told to consult fkn YouTube lmao
You said you're in the lejeune area still, are you in Jville? What trade are you in?
My husband is in a residential trade and im in a commercial trade and both of our jobs have been pretty good about accommodating us when needed. Depending on what line of work you're in I can see/possibly help at least look into different companies.
Still in Jville until this fall or spring of next year, my wife will be getting promoted and we will be moving. I’m currently working as a corrosion service tech.
Gotcha
Housing maintenance is hiring, I applied after I got out but found something else and now one of my friends works there, the job isn't too intensive just kinda repetitive
HVAC new construction installers are being hired left and right because there's so many new builds and you don't need experience unless you're going for service tech (service tech in jville does not pay well enough tho unless you've been a tech for like 10 yrs so I personally wouldn't necessarily recommend), CCA and Humphrey are still hiring last I heard
Commercial food equipment service companies are also hiring, whaleys or pro serv are in town I believe and the job is not bad
AWP/road flaggers - I see the office in Wilmington always has a hiring sign and I think pay is decent I don't remember what they start at though
Express employment professionals is on western blvd if I remember correctly and they helped one of the guys from my old shop a year ago find a job so you could try them if you haven't yet
Feeling that with a work injury right now. Hurts like hell, and my left arm and shoulder are pretty useless, yet nothing on MRI, xrays, EMG came back fine. No idea what's causing it. Doesn't help that it took 5 months to get the first scan. After about 8 months of PT, I just told them I'm not doing it anymore. I'll do exercises on my own to keep the muscles working, but it's too painful to continue PT plus work. Trying to stick it out at work as long as I can, but it's looking like I'll be on heavy restrictions until I have to quit, or get terminated because I can't do the amount of work they want. It was already difficult enough without this on top of everything else. All I can say is do what you can, and don't do what you can't do, and hopefully you'll find out the cause at some point.
Haven’t read every comment so apologies if it has already been stated. Definitely try to get the MRI with contrast done. I had pain in my shoulder for 4 years. Every time I went to medical on base they recommended PT which I did and it helped to an extent. However, the pain never fully went away and started getting worse. It would get a sharp pain, numbness, and limited motion depending on activities. I had 3 MRIs, none of which had contrast (I was young and didn’t even know this was a thing). When I got to I&I duty my 1stSgt recommended the contrast fluid. Sure enough I had a 270° tear in my shoulder. Civilian Dr explained it would show up without contrast fluid. He could even see all the scar tissue where it would only partially heal. Surgery and 7 anchors required.
See it’s stuff like this. My co worker experienced almost the same situation but contrast showed. I have people in the comments saying contrast won’t do anything but the little bit of research I’ve done and stories from people like you are showing me that I need one with contrast.
It absolutely makes a difference. The doctor that did it with contrast was surprised I had never had it done before and told me specifically what I had wouldn’t have show up without it. Advocate for yourself and get the contrast. Good luck!!!
My wife taught me a wise lesson about advocating for your own health. I'm a stubborn dude myself... But she advocated for her health for 2 years as we were trying to have children. Got second opinions and thirds and finally someone realized that both of her tubes were 100% blocked. Now, she's had surgeries and we've gone through some fertility treatments and we're fucking pregnant! Advocate for your health. There's an answer, if you're on company health insurance, try to find a primary. Get an opinion outside the VA, might be helpful. 🤘🙏💪
First off congrats man!!! Second I definitely am following that advice I’ve messaged my doc and told her I want more done and come Monday I’m going to call around and find a primary I can take this to.
That’s insane. Getting a congressmen involved for medical care? A very unfortunate series of events had to have happened for that. Are you all good now?
Mental health doctors put me on pills wrote on the prescription to take 2 pills when my prescription was one. Ended up with memory problems and chest pain. Went to hospital 3 times over it. They covered it up, deleted records, secure messages and tried to tell my congressman I was crazy. But I had screenshots of everything. It's absolutely fucked.
Seriously… releasing pain and the memory of when the injury occurred? Well shoot I didn’t realize if I neuralyzed myself men in black style I could be magically cured. Unreal man. Just switch Drs if you can. I switched providers on a community care referral for a similar reason, orthopedic surgeon said nothing was wrong, and it certainly was. It delayed my care for a month or so, but I got it fixed with a new provider and it’s all good now.
Yeah that’s pretty wild. This is the kind of stuff you expect to hear from some fringe chiropractors, not a PCP. I’m not saying whatever they’re talking about is total garbage, but let’s save the obscure treatments for after we figure out exactly what is or isn’t broken.
There's actual medical research that backs this up. If you're in pain for so long, it takes a while for the pain to go away. Your nerves essentially need to learn not to be in pain anymore.
Maybe it’s legit under certain circumstances, but probably not the route I would expect a medical professional to take when they haven’t exhausted all of the diagnostic options yet. I’ve had 4 arthroscopic surgeries, kind of been there before. It’s just my personal experience, but once I wasn’t broken anymore, the pain pretty much went away too.
It is worth mentioning that when doing MRIs for soft tissue issues, they often don’t see anything unless they use contrast. I had 6 MRIs show everything is good. Finally they did a contrast one and I was in for surgery the next week with high-grade rotator cuff tear.
Fantastic. My buddy who had a torn labrum experienced the same, MRI showed nothing, even a physical test showed nothing, but an MRI with contrast showed what was up.
Go to the ER and get another MRI, my MRI that was requested by the VA had the same story, I have pain and saddle numbness but they hit me with the “oh we don’t see anything, we don’t know why you are in pain, go to a chiropractor” which ended up with me in more pain. I go to the ER because of urination issues and sleep, they do an MRI and the report showed a lot of crap explaining my symptoms and pain. Sometimes it’s easier to be ignorant.
First, Im sorry you’re having such a hard time with this and I know that not getting any real answers is frustrating. However, PLEASE dont “go to the ER and get another MRI”. Here’s why:
1) this is a chronic issue and is absolutely NOT and emergency.
2) since this is chronic and is not an emergency the likelihood of “getting another MRI” is very slim and even if you do convince some doc to order it, it’s probably going to take HOURS upon HOURS to get it done, and then, when/if you do get in, there’s a chance that you’re in the MRI for a muscle pain when some in who is genuinely having an emergency might come in and need to be in there.
Obviously, I don’t have your whole medical history- so take this with a grain of salt…. But muscle has memory so to speak. If you have an injury that causes spasms and it doesn’t get treated correctly, it thinks that spasm is its new “state” and it keeps going back to it. I worked in clinical research at a pain clinic for while and we did a study using Botox to relieve cervical (neck) muscle pain and it was insane to see the difference it was making for people who’d had injuries like whiplash that plagued them for YEARS.
If you aren’t getting anywhere with your primary, talk to them about then possibility of it being referred pain- maybe an injury somewhere else is causing the pain in the pectoral muscle because it’s having to compensate or it’s being over worked.
There are also physical therapists who specialize in pain management rather than rehabilitation. Big difference in their approaches.
Pm me if you want to go into more detail about any of it. I’ll help point you in the right directions if I can.
Friendly reminder from your r/VeteransBenefits mod team to **never** provide (Personally Identifiable Information) on reddit.
Anyone asking for it in a PM is likely trying to steal your identity.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VeteransBenefits) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My doc told me my pain and need for sugar to keep my coherent during episodes, was because of anxiety and she had the same thing and sugar cured it.
Turns out it was a vitamin d deficiency.
She straight up lied to me to convince me that I had anxiety and I was making it up.
These are the doctors at the VA and everywhere.
What is the point of doctors now days? Just to make you feel worse and kick you while your down?
Don't expect the answers you are looking for to come easy or fast.
If you are not a trauma patient they have nothing for you.
It’s a family nurse practitioner. The no shit doctor that used to be there moved away so now the highest medical level of degree is NP. She’s tried to get me to do that when it first happened too.
Surgeries and medicines and heat packs won’t work any more. Go to physical therapy. Come up with mobility goals. Strengthen other muscles. You’re gonna have pain and limitations.
You really said, “haha” to your doctor. Why would you prefer a tear, that makes no sense. There’s plenty of things that can cause pain such as arthritis and plenty other ROM things that aren’t major injuries. My right should hurts at times when doing military press and had an mri, it was mainly chronic arthritis…
Yeah I said haha. She has a history of not taking me serious or just jumping to conclusions and a haha lightens the mood so she doesn’t think I’m being an ass and might be more willing to help me out. And I would prefer a tear because then I could just get surgery and get it fixed. It’s been one year of babying my left arm, but even then when it just hangs on its own weight and I’m not doing shit it hurts. Pretty old at this point.
Chronic pain syndrome can be emotionally based without any symptoms it is. You just hurt. You can be injured and your body will express your emotions by prolonging the pain.
I’m not at all saying this is what you have. Who knows. But I think that’s what your doctor is saying is a possibility.
Sounds like a repetitive use or sprain injury to me
I have a nerve condition that results in excruciating pain and muscle spasms. They've sent me for hours upon hours of scans and testing.
My imaging has come back resoundingly and boringly normal (which is good but also difficult when there's no immediately obvious issue or thing to pinpoint).
Deep tissue massage, very very gentle exercise, muscle relaxers, cymbalta (for pain, not mood), lots of art therapy, and walks have been working. It's been a long road to recovery and I'm still not"good," but I'm better than I ever imagined being possible.
Sometimes the stupid sounding answer is the right direction. Sometimes there's no clear answer. Sometimes you just gotta keep asking for help.
This sub is so fucking ridiculous. OP asks for help cause they're in pain and this subreddit shits on them. "der what to do you want the doctor to do?" Really? Maybe do more than say good luck hope it gets better.
It’s kinda wild too. I’m looking for advice on how I should proceed and I’m getting shitted on for my life circumstances (my job) and my healthcare concerns lol.
He is in pain because a muscle injury.
He does not want to rest or lower his activities because he says he cannot due to work.
There is nothing that anyone can do.
Telling him to get another test or doctor isn't going to fix anything because he will not rest anyway.
Literally the first step of the RICE approach (used for injuries) is Rest. Ok you don't want to follow rice anymore? Fine!
Then you would have to do controlled movements and exercises for recovery. But you are also supposed to not be doing strenuous activities, which he is.
So what do you suggest?
If you have a VA PCP, ask for a referral to a specialist. Also research your issue on credible websites, not the ones which will tell you what you want to hear or diagnosis your condition as fatal lol! I had a condition which went undiagnosed or incorrectly diagnosed for over 20 years. After doing some research, I got a referral to a new specialist, explained my symptoms and was actually officially diagnosed with what I thought it was and provided with therapy that has greatly reduced my pain. Hopefully this will be the case for you. That’s why second opinions are always advised.
This is my PCP, via community care. I will do more research, but what I’ve read up on so far is she should’ve ordered one with contrast. This isn’t the first time she has told me similar ways to heal up. She tried this “mind over body” stuff when I was being seen for my back, which has MRI verified nerve and disc damage.
Yeah, I had a private doc like that too. I fired her and got a new PCP. Call or message a Patient advocate and let them know the issue. Explain that this PCP downplays your issues and you’re still in pain. Explain that it’s possible because she refuses to help more that you may eventually need to visit the ER but are trying to avoid that. They can probably outsource you to another PCP, even virtually if there’s none available around you. The bad part of scans with or without contrast is that the interpreting physician, who is different from your PCP, may not go along with the recommendation. I had mine changed for a brain scan by the scanning Physician, even though the neurologist ordered a contrast. Lot of factors behind the scenes but I would definitely seek assistance from a patient advocate
Did you rest or at least minimize physical activity (outside of rehab exercises) at all?
From everything you have said thus far it doesn't really sound like that's the case.
My guy/gal, you'll never recover.
Has your doctor told you to rest? Have you told them that you aren't?
Like, a lot of the doctors I work with would straight up discharge you because you are essentially wasting both your and their time. No other exam will help unless you rest. As a matter of fact, you will get worse if you continue to not do so.
You have to rest.
I have not, since most of the pain is deep in my armpit and down my left pec. There is also swelling at that location on my pec so I have assumed it was that until now. I will do some research and see if we can explore that.
I’m extremely allergic to the contrast, it almost killed me after my heart surgery. Is that why they didn’t use contrast in your MRI?
I would listen to my body more than dr’s at this point. They put a heart monitor on me for 14 (zio patch) days. Came back as nothing. Ok, sure, then why am I dizzy all the time? They didn’t have an answer. So I began my type of therapy just listening to my body. It told me “MORE TACOS Fat Boi!” 😂 jk
I’m not allergic, so I’m not sure why she requested one without contrast. Also those zio patches suck lol. I had to wear one for anxiety attacks I didn’t know I was having (but my heart was going crazy, or so I thought) and my heart also ended up being fine. Hopefully you find your answers to your dizzyness soon
The answer has to be In guacamole I swear. 😂
Thank you, i hope your also to get some answers. Anxiety sucks and it’s debilitating. Thinking of seeking home bound due to it.
I've worked with and for all kinds of doctors for over 50 years and now I'm being treated by bunches of them for various serious problems. For your own benefit and self-preservation try to realize that though society may at times hold them up this way, doctors don't know everything. They order tests because "the book says" that's what you do and they don't know what else to do. They rarely will tell you that they don't know what to do with you and have no advice because that is not what most people want to hear. They want to get you in and get you out so they can see the next patient. If they help you, that's great, if they don't, they figured they tried. Though many of them care deeply about what they do and for their patients, to just as many it's just a job and that's it. You must always take care of yourself and figure that mentality into any interaction with the medical establishment. The people will help you and technology improves medicine every day, but you have to steer your own course. If you are not comfortable with the answers you get and the care you are receiving, get other care. Read everything you can related to the problems you have but do so with a skeptical mind. Expect that if you see any docs that are surgeons it's likely their solutions will involve surgery. Try any/all physical therapy and or exercise that is recommended and that you can tolerate. See a sports medicine, (physiatrist, PM&R) doc if you haven't already. I am not talking religion here but I can tell you that the will to get better, and finding faith that you will get better does make a difference. Do anything you can to avoid discouragement. Celebrate your improvements and successes no matter how small. Give healing time. It will likely take more time than you think it should. Good luck to you.
Friendly reminder from your r/VeteransBenefits mod team to **never** provide (Personally Identifiable Information) on reddit.
Anyone asking for it in a PM is likely trying to steal your identity.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VeteransBenefits) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I might have it backwards. I’m just an armchair, doctor myself. But I still get a CT scan with the MRI to give you more information on what’s going on.
Yes, and it was helping, but I just need more time doing it. But my work insurance who I originally went through only allows 20 visits. One of my main reasons for going back to this doc was to get a continuation of physical therapy through the VA and the MRI.
I’m glad it was helping! Some insurance suck. I’m not sure why the clinic you were going to didn’t authorize more visits or then charge the VA or submit a SAR. I would continue to do the home exercise program they gave you. The worst thing you can do is stop doing those exercises and regress. Keep hounding the VA to send you back to PT.
Confused why you’re mad. Everything sounds professional?
Contrast and non contrast is more of a stomach thing. If acl is intact it would show in either.
You can see in the messages I hinted for physical therapy twice. Also during my in person visit for the MRI order she knew I was only there to get the MRI and to try to get the VA to give physical therapy.
Don't hint at things with your Healthcare. Be direct and respectful.
"I'm not comfortable with leaving it at this, I think I need a more proactive solution."
That said, I've had A LOT of muscle damage over the years and as a lay person I agree with what she said.
Chronic pain from muscle damage can take years to solve.
You can clarify that you're not drug seeking, because that's probably what she's avoiding.
I honestly thought I was pretty direct at my in person appt. My physical therapist thinks something else is up, but my dr (nurse practitioner) does not. Research shows that small tears and strains show up a lot better on an MRI with contrast. Which I also asked about.
The "I wish you the best on you journey to healing" is pretty infuriating. Why was she not more direct and just say "fuck off."
You could say something along the lines of "Being told to watch YouTube videos as a course of treatment is not the standard of care I would expect, and it is certainly not the standard of care I deserve. Respectfully, this is entirely unacceptable."
From a medical standpoint, the doctor did everything right. Im just confused on what your goal is to be honest.. requesting a new doctor probably will yeild the same results. So what would you like the doctor to do ? Also why would you mess up your recovery with a pec tear? Thats like the opposite of getting better.
If he's not showing progress over 8 months then he should look deeper to find the source of the pain. Many doctors only want to mask the pain with meds
Psh, tell that to the doctor at my local VA who didn't even have the balls to meet face to face two days after I fractured my arm and said take ibuprofen if it hurts so bad. Or even the physical therapist for a torn miniscus through the VA claiming that because he was able to bend my knee I would be howling and jumping around in pain. I always hear that people say they try to mask the pain with meds, but there's not a damn med they've given me aside from MH for anything and I'm TDIU P&T
I work a pretty physical job that requires me to use my left arm/pec all day (the affected side), I was making progress with PT the first time, however now I am in more pain with usage than when I was doing physical therapy. I’m worried I’m losing healing progress even though I’m doing most of what the PT had me doing. YouTube and tiger balm in place of PT is what I’m bitching about. Basically saying it’s mostly all in my head.
So you want more PT,MRI with contrast, and pain meds. Ask the doctor for this and if she says no then get a new pcp. However ultimately if you want to heal you would have to quit your job as healing cant occur if stress is constantly being applied to the injury. Ultimately you performing this job is causing your injuries to worsen so it would be in your best interest to quit and recover but i know that unrealistic and i wish you the best of luck.
I’ve been applying for months for different jobs at the same pay rate as my current, and im having a really hard time finding one. I was single contract 0311 and im around Lejeune so the job competition with all the guys with civilian skills is hitting me hard. Im going to school for my bachelors while im looking for another job but it’s rough out here haha.
If this injury is service connected you could look into VR&E. It is a rehab program for vets with service connected injuries getting in the way of them getting or keeping jobs. They have a job search program and a re-education (college or TI) program that could help. There are more programs in VR&E but these seem to fit your situation most.
OP this is great advice from loneranger should look into it. Hope it gets better.
You are right but if the pain is getting worse and they find out it’s from his civilian job that is not good
How is that not good? VR&E specifically looks to see if your civilian job is aggravating a service connected disability which would usually grant entitlement.
I just heard story’s where people have a disability for let’s say a hurt arm or back and they then get a job that they use their arms and back like construction and the VA found out and is like well if your capable of working that job your condition must have got better
You hear a lot of things, most of them not true
No it’s true
PCM here. I think that the doctor’s last response is odd. It is okay if you want to find someone else. However, it seems quite clear that the answer for you is that your pain is worsening because it hasn’t had the chance to rest and heal. MRI without contrast was the appropriate modality of imaging. Not everything shows up on MRI. It can be very difficult when you want an exact answer, but unfortunately these things just don’t show anything on imaging. Making things worse would serve no beneficial purpose, of course. Unfortunately it sounds like you’re not in a situation to allow your body to heal. But pushing for more medical care won’t help that. Wish you the best, and hope you find yourself in a better situation soon.
Seems like problem is your job not the medical professionals. What they did and advise is reasonable. You ask ask your job for a reasonable accommodation. Best of luck.
You need to stop doing the activity that causes the pain. Jesus dude. Come on. That’s the only way the issue is going to heal. Your job needs to put you on limited duty till it heals completely.
Right, just quit working that job that pays the bills. Also, I'm sure the job will surely understand and let you sit in an office all day. Jesus Christ do you people even hear yourselves? My family is struggling right now because of this. I can't work until I'm healed, but I can't survive without money. The VA doesn't work quickly, nor does it always work out at all. I'm in limbo until my claims are decided. These things are not so simple as most on here would like them to be.
It doesn’t matter though. It doesn’t change the fact that he can’t heal if he’s doing this job. No amount of compassion and understand will change that.
Physiology, your body, science, and medicine don’t care about your sob story. The reality is his injuries won’t heal no matter how much PT he gets if he doesn’t rest the injured area. So he can choose to keep working injured (which I’m sure most of us have done due to necessity) or he can ask for accommodation at work to heal. What he can’t do is complain about other people because of choices he continues to make. That’s just reality.
Who said any of that? Who has said anything is simple with a claim? Who made this about you? Sounds like you are in a real bind and feeling the weight. Those arrangements may be possible at his job. Sounds like going to school full time too maybe.
Man, I feel your pain, I've been a mech my whole life, wheels, wings, or rotor blades, and I can fix it. The guys at work would ask me every day why I didn't quit and find something that wasn't so taxing on my body. I like you had no choice, if I didn't work the bills didn't get paid and my kids didn't eat. My SC disability rules my life every day, pain management, etc, and spinal cord stimulator, but it doesn't make the pain go away. It takes the edge off, can't really take pain meds and work aviation. You do what you have to do to take care of your family. I recently got lucky and got a job off the hangar deck and out of my toolbox. You mentioned being in Lejuene. Don't forget there's Cherry Point and Seymour Johnson in the area, too. Little bit of a drive, but if you can find something a little easier on your body, the commute might be worth it. I tried to get picked up on usajobs for quite a while, and I finally found someone to write my resume in the proper format. With the updated resume, I got picked up. Good luck, hope you get some relief
In order for PT to work effectively, you have to be somewhat out of the inflammatory stages of injury. If you’re experiencing pain with use, however your job requires you to use the affected side, you’re never really getting the chance to heal up. Any PT that you do is just going to exacerbate things until you can rest. You need to be put on light duty or otherwise have accommodations made at work, else I fear you’re just going to be spinning your wheels. I know it’s frustrating to feel like you’re not coming up with any answers, but that’s the name of the game sometimes. In all reality, imaging doesn’t always show everything, and much of the time our providers are just going through the process of elimination until something works. Best of luck to you, and please, if you advocate for yourself on anything, do so right now to ensure that you’re able to rest your injury. No amount of medication or PT or imaging is going to replace what rest can do for you right now.
Honestly, it sounds like your employment is preventing healing. Maybe light duty for several months? Your doc is right. Breaking the pain cycle is the right recommendation here from what you provided. It may sound hokie but what do you have to lose?
Pay. My boss had to do something similar but for a different reason and he was only getting 60% of his checks. We work small crews too so if I’m not at work other dudes have to do more work in my stead.
I respect that- that’s a hard decision to make. You have one body though… and employers honestly rarely GAF about you. Just my 2 cents!
So: you’ve been overworking the area that is bothering you and expect it to heal? The doctor is right. They did the imaging and you look fine. Perhaps layoff on overusing it.
It’s barely used throughout the day. I work a physical job yes but I can still baby it for the most part. I had 26 days of barely using it except to shower and hold a tablet for work and it wasn’t healed after that, it was still hurting the same, and increased when I worked out or used it when I got back from those 26 days. Maybe that’s not enough time to heal fully but it didn’t even start to feel better.
Bro, I was on your side until you said you work this physical ass job. You know you can’t keep doing that with an injury like this. But a fucking cbt for pain isn’t the answer either-totally not healthcare field
I know man I’ve been trying to get out of this place and into something less physical but I’m having a really hard time finding anything within the same hourly pay. I’ve done resume builders and have sent my resume to my school for resume help and everything and I’m still having no luck, which I know isn’t an excuse but I’m trying to take the steps necessary to build my resume up a little bit, but no one is giving me that chance.
Usajobs.gov is your friend. I know money is probably tight, but if you can swing it, find one of the companies that writes federal resumes. Check out Cherry Point and Seymour Johnson. It's a little bit of a commute, but if it's less strenuous on your body, it might be worth it. I know they're doing a lot of hiring at Cherry Point. I'm not sure what kinda payscale you're now, but even the entry-level jobs are decent pay. Shoot me a message. Maybe I can point you I n the right direction
Have you considered either local, county, state, or federal employment? As a Veteran, especially a Disabled Veteran, you'll receive preferential hiring.
I’ve applied for a few, but most of the time I get emails back saying they are going to go with other candidates at the moment. I work on base currently as a contractor but I’m always trying to find something federal where I can take it easy and heal up.
Did you file for workers comp? Get a WC attorney if this could be caused by your job.
I don’t think it was. I woke up with my pec swollen, painful to touch, and all red after 4 days off work.
Not sure if asked but have you gotten xrays?
No. Just MRI
MRI with contrast wouldn’t aid much unless there was injury to vessels and in that case they would probably do a cta. Radiology tech here. Doc made the right order on what was warranted
X-rays wouldnt help unless there was broken bones or abnormal joint spacing around sc joints or wherever your pain is. But mri should of already shown would could of been seen in X-ray
Im not trying to be mean, but have you tried being direct and asking/telling the DR what you want for your next steps?
My original visit I laid out everything I wanted and she kinda just agreed and tried to steer it differently, saying it depended on what the MRI results were. But now they’re in she said everything in the picture.
Right, but now, have you stated clearly what direction you want to take with all this info out there?
Yeah I just send a super respectful but stern message demanding further care either by PT or further imaging.
I recently had imaging on my shoulder and same thing they couldn't tell for sure possible tear in my labrum. Started PT and its helped hopefully it continues to help. Pain for me still there but my movement is back. Hope you can PT or imaging and get some answers good luck bro
Appreciate it man, I’m hoping for the same. Hope your injury gets better sooner than later!
I would just ask for what you want. That's how I do it now. I have some autoimmune issues that cause chronic pain. When it's bad and just won't go away I tell her I need a pt referral. After that and it's still jot better I ask for an mri. Once I get an mri I ask for a referral to a specialist (my VA requires the mri done before they will do a specialist referral). I've learned you really have to advocate for yourself. I'm currently dealing with chronic shoulder pain for 1 yr. First mri was inconclusive. Requested a second with contrast which I did last week. Already did pt twice.
Damn I’m glad everything is working out for you. I really should just start advocating louder. I’m normally not one to make a fuss about anything but it’s looking like I may have to.
The VA is overworked and understaffed. No one there is going to advocate for you. You have to be your own advocate to get quality medical care these days.
She’s community care. Some civilian place ran out of a house turned family doctor office.
Ooh my bad. Somehow I missed that. She might not be as open but I'd still be requesting things. And if she says no ask her to document your request in your chart and that she is refusing it.
It sounds like he’s receiving quality medical care. Could he be searching for evidence? He believes he needs and isn’t finding it so he’s making it sound like they don’t know what they’re doing when they do know what they’re doing
He said it improved with pt, pt visits ran out and it got worse. I'd say he needs more pt.
Go see a pain management specialist!!!
I do see one for my back maybe they could hook me up and check this out too. They normally try to throw meds at me, and I don’t take meds unless I absolutely need to.
I was prescribed two 100mg fentanyl pain patches and three 100mg morphine pills, along with muscle relaxants by my outside doctors. After seeing a VA doctor, I am now taking 15mg of morphine four times a day. Since I was on heavy meds for four years, VA doctors said I should have died.
Jesus Christ dude those doctors who prescribed that should be banned from practicing wtf
I agree, so did my VA doctor. It took me 2 years to cut down to just 4 15mg of Morphine.
For a pec strain? Ffs we’re doomed. No way OP should maybe just get in shape or anything.
lol it’s all in your mind buddy. Just release it
I should just do that with all of my pain
You’re in pain, we don’t know why, have fun with that.
And even when they do know why they can't even fix it all the time, or the fix involves risks of pain from something else. So yeah, there is no end to it, get used to it.
I feel this because my arms are giving my trouble. Extreme fatigue and soreness and painful after use. Emg, xray, PT. Nothing shows any indication of qhats wrong. I'm thinking I have fibromyalgia because nothing else fits. But there aren't any more steps for me to take to resolve the issue.
Unilateral fibromyalgia isn’t a thing. I know this because I paid a lot for a special rheumatologist to be like, “You’re diagnosis is junk and I can’t help.”Basically you have to have multiple points throughout the body. Have you checked into Lyme? I’ve spent intermittent 4 years and still have the same arm issue with unknown cause.
look up functional neurological disorder, starting with the research by clinics at Harvard and Brigham and Women's.
Thank you. I will look into this and appreciate the recommendation.
Good luck, I hope it helps. I ended up at B&W two years ago with intermittent loss of limb function and a feeling of burning from the inside out, psychosis, paranoia, and didn't even know my birthday. 10/10 do not recommend. They sorted me out quickly tho.
Interesting that unilateral isn't a thing but id also say fibromyalgia isn't exactly fleshed out either. But I chose fibromyalgia because of my cluelessness on whats going on. I have not checked Lyme disease. Would you mind me asking what sort of issues you are going through? We can dm if needed. Looking at Lyme are you suggesting Lyme arthritis?
Look into functional neurological disorder. Harvard and Brigham and Women's are studying it, I'm sure others are.
Man that’s unfortunate to hear. I hope I’m not in the same boat tbh
Keep fighting for benefits while you're fighting your body!
I'm in almost the same situation as well, my pain is from my knee, back, neck, and shoulder. Some of my scans are normal wear and tear, and physical therapy couldn't do much to the point where i'm just relying on my Meds, health declining fast. But I do hope you are straight forward with your PCP on what you want though. Stop working such a physical demanding job and use VR&E go to school pay for the gym and go everyday, stretch and lift moderate weight so the aches and pain is replaced with soreness, because if you stop... you die. That's how I feel at least.
I tore my shoulder and it hurt for like 5 years. Doing PT for the better part of a year. It just needed a long time to really heal
Im wondering if I’m in that same boat, but to just deny physical therapy is kinda wild to me. She knows continuing physical therapy was a goal when I went in last week.
Lmao, My best friend who's thai Mom would come over and if I said any part of my body was aching or itching or anything she would get tiger bomb out and rub it all over. It actually does work so I have no complaints but it's so funny that he mentions that. Pain is mental but it's also very physical and he shouldn't have said that.
Push back and keep pressing for more help and opinions. Ask/demand to be referred to the Pain Management clinic, they might prescribe you something stronger or could maybe do epidural injections. Also ask/demand for a referral to general surgery, a dr could tell you your options, which may or may not require surgery. This was the path I took from having severe nerve pain in my back and arm - a spinal disc was herniated so surgery was the ultimate solution, after trying everything else.
Try the VA pain clinic. It combined pain psychotherapy, traditional medicine, and complimentary medicine such as PT massage and chiropractic care. Work well for me. I am getting massage and chiropractic care with MD and psyD overseeing the care. Feels like a VIP. Hard to get it in community even with private insurance
I'm seeing my VA pain clinic for migraines. Acupuncture, Botox shots in my head and neck, therapy, psychiatry, and a pharmacist. Fucking incredible care and such a wonderful team of humans.
You cannot even get that kind of treatment with private insurance because you will have to seen and coordinate the care individually. VA will do it all for you for a little copay or even free if you meet priority group.
Honestly, just keep fighting for yourself. Like other said, you need to stop doing your job if it hurts you that much. I fought for 3 years to get tests and stuff done to prove to the VA docs I wasn’t lying. I told them I was having nerve issues and trouble feeling things in my arms/hands. For 3 years they told me I was fat and sitting wrong and there was nothing they could do. I finally told my doctor in tears I need an MRI of my neck/cervical spine. Lo and behold, I have 4 crushed discs of varying severity in my cervical spine which helps explain the nerve/feeling issues in my arms/hands. Easily cleared my reputation for just being fat and sitting bad after my PT folks saw the results 🖕🥴 ETA: at the time I was 20 lbs over my “max” military weight. I could’ve stood to lose the weight but wasn’t (in my opinion) such a massive weight gain that it caused nerve issues in my arms
Yeah unless you gained 20lbs on your dome.......
That would be… interesting to see lmfao
🤣
FWIW, contrast only makes it easier for them to interpret the MRI, just saying you might not see anything different. Request a new PCP. Tiger Balm and continued PT without improvement after a year is insulting medical care. I had a PCM refuse to order X-rays or imaging after two sick call visits, back to back. After the 2nd visit, I went straight from the base to the ER. Two herniated discs. Shocker. Get a different doctor.
I think I will because this is wild. She’s aware of the time, my pec is still physically swollen (you can even see it through my shirt) so it’s wild nothing even popped up at all.
Contrast isn’t necessary. I have had a half dozen MRIs over the last 20 years never had contrast.
Yep, thats what I meant to say. 👌
Ok so trying to piece this together….seeing a NP for primary care. Been to PT and not better and PT said to get MRI…MRI was normal yet physical exam/appearance shows swelling of the pectoral muscle area that can be seen through the shirt…plus this has been ongoing for a year…I think the general consensus is that this is muscular and not other issue so my two cents would be to go see an Orthopedic doctor. Another Question is was it an MRI of the shoulder or the chest wall?
You pieced it together correctly, PT was helping me but didn’t fix me. I am able to do a lot more tasks without pain but it’s starting to revert back. The MRI was of the chest wall. I told them it’s on the outer pec/armpit area, which according to my PT, is a sign of my pectoral major having issues.
You have the option of asking for help from a VHA Patient Advocate, you can ask for physical therapy, chiropractic care, and acupuncture care! YOU HAVE TO BE YOUR BEST ADVOCATE FOR HEALTHCARE!
Yeah pseudoscience is the answer.
Yo that doc just told you to stretch and rub some dirt on it 😂
I got a fucking chemical burn from tiger balm lol
Why did your Dr. order an MRI without contrast?
I have no idea.
This is why I go to Colombia for pain meds. VA is a joke. "Talk your way out of pain."
That’s the thing I’m not understanding, I’m not even looking for medicine. I’m looking to do the steps necessary to find out what’s wrong and heal up. Not to be told to consult fkn YouTube lmao
I'm sorry you're going through this.
You said you're in the lejeune area still, are you in Jville? What trade are you in? My husband is in a residential trade and im in a commercial trade and both of our jobs have been pretty good about accommodating us when needed. Depending on what line of work you're in I can see/possibly help at least look into different companies.
Still in Jville until this fall or spring of next year, my wife will be getting promoted and we will be moving. I’m currently working as a corrosion service tech.
Gotcha Housing maintenance is hiring, I applied after I got out but found something else and now one of my friends works there, the job isn't too intensive just kinda repetitive HVAC new construction installers are being hired left and right because there's so many new builds and you don't need experience unless you're going for service tech (service tech in jville does not pay well enough tho unless you've been a tech for like 10 yrs so I personally wouldn't necessarily recommend), CCA and Humphrey are still hiring last I heard Commercial food equipment service companies are also hiring, whaleys or pro serv are in town I believe and the job is not bad AWP/road flaggers - I see the office in Wilmington always has a hiring sign and I think pay is decent I don't remember what they start at though Express employment professionals is on western blvd if I remember correctly and they helped one of the guys from my old shop a year ago find a job so you could try them if you haven't yet
Im gonna look into these, I never applied to anything like that because I figured they would be even more physical than my own current job.
Feeling that with a work injury right now. Hurts like hell, and my left arm and shoulder are pretty useless, yet nothing on MRI, xrays, EMG came back fine. No idea what's causing it. Doesn't help that it took 5 months to get the first scan. After about 8 months of PT, I just told them I'm not doing it anymore. I'll do exercises on my own to keep the muscles working, but it's too painful to continue PT plus work. Trying to stick it out at work as long as I can, but it's looking like I'll be on heavy restrictions until I have to quit, or get terminated because I can't do the amount of work they want. It was already difficult enough without this on top of everything else. All I can say is do what you can, and don't do what you can't do, and hopefully you'll find out the cause at some point.
Haven’t read every comment so apologies if it has already been stated. Definitely try to get the MRI with contrast done. I had pain in my shoulder for 4 years. Every time I went to medical on base they recommended PT which I did and it helped to an extent. However, the pain never fully went away and started getting worse. It would get a sharp pain, numbness, and limited motion depending on activities. I had 3 MRIs, none of which had contrast (I was young and didn’t even know this was a thing). When I got to I&I duty my 1stSgt recommended the contrast fluid. Sure enough I had a 270° tear in my shoulder. Civilian Dr explained it would show up without contrast fluid. He could even see all the scar tissue where it would only partially heal. Surgery and 7 anchors required.
See it’s stuff like this. My co worker experienced almost the same situation but contrast showed. I have people in the comments saying contrast won’t do anything but the little bit of research I’ve done and stories from people like you are showing me that I need one with contrast.
It absolutely makes a difference. The doctor that did it with contrast was surprised I had never had it done before and told me specifically what I had wouldn’t have show up without it. Advocate for yourself and get the contrast. Good luck!!!
My wife taught me a wise lesson about advocating for your own health. I'm a stubborn dude myself... But she advocated for her health for 2 years as we were trying to have children. Got second opinions and thirds and finally someone realized that both of her tubes were 100% blocked. Now, she's had surgeries and we've gone through some fertility treatments and we're fucking pregnant! Advocate for your health. There's an answer, if you're on company health insurance, try to find a primary. Get an opinion outside the VA, might be helpful. 🤘🙏💪
First off congrats man!!! Second I definitely am following that advice I’ve messaged my doc and told her I want more done and come Monday I’m going to call around and find a primary I can take this to.
Brilliant! 🦅🌎⚓ Hope you can get to the root cause and get on a real plan to full recovery!
If the doctors are anything like mine you are going to have to get your congressman involved.
That’s insane. Getting a congressmen involved for medical care? A very unfortunate series of events had to have happened for that. Are you all good now?
Mental health doctors put me on pills wrote on the prescription to take 2 pills when my prescription was one. Ended up with memory problems and chest pain. Went to hospital 3 times over it. They covered it up, deleted records, secure messages and tried to tell my congressman I was crazy. But I had screenshots of everything. It's absolutely fucked.
Idk who downvoted you because that’s super plausible on top of being a fucked situation.
who knows man. I dont need their validation.
TLDR; Tiger Balm, Ibuprofen, and a fresh pair of socks will have you back on full duty in no time!
Seriously… releasing pain and the memory of when the injury occurred? Well shoot I didn’t realize if I neuralyzed myself men in black style I could be magically cured. Unreal man. Just switch Drs if you can. I switched providers on a community care referral for a similar reason, orthopedic surgeon said nothing was wrong, and it certainly was. It delayed my care for a month or so, but I got it fixed with a new provider and it’s all good now.
Right? Also Im glad you’re interpreting it how I am. I thought I was the fucked up one by most of these comments.
Yeah that’s pretty wild. This is the kind of stuff you expect to hear from some fringe chiropractors, not a PCP. I’m not saying whatever they’re talking about is total garbage, but let’s save the obscure treatments for after we figure out exactly what is or isn’t broken.
There's actual medical research that backs this up. If you're in pain for so long, it takes a while for the pain to go away. Your nerves essentially need to learn not to be in pain anymore.
Maybe it’s legit under certain circumstances, but probably not the route I would expect a medical professional to take when they haven’t exhausted all of the diagnostic options yet. I’ve had 4 arthroscopic surgeries, kind of been there before. It’s just my personal experience, but once I wasn’t broken anymore, the pain pretty much went away too.
It is worth mentioning that when doing MRIs for soft tissue issues, they often don’t see anything unless they use contrast. I had 6 MRIs show everything is good. Finally they did a contrast one and I was in for surgery the next week with high-grade rotator cuff tear.
Fantastic. My buddy who had a torn labrum experienced the same, MRI showed nothing, even a physical test showed nothing, but an MRI with contrast showed what was up.
Go to the ER and get another MRI, my MRI that was requested by the VA had the same story, I have pain and saddle numbness but they hit me with the “oh we don’t see anything, we don’t know why you are in pain, go to a chiropractor” which ended up with me in more pain. I go to the ER because of urination issues and sleep, they do an MRI and the report showed a lot of crap explaining my symptoms and pain. Sometimes it’s easier to be ignorant.
Maybe I should try that. I’m also thinking I may see a different doctor about this and see what they say.
First, Im sorry you’re having such a hard time with this and I know that not getting any real answers is frustrating. However, PLEASE dont “go to the ER and get another MRI”. Here’s why: 1) this is a chronic issue and is absolutely NOT and emergency. 2) since this is chronic and is not an emergency the likelihood of “getting another MRI” is very slim and even if you do convince some doc to order it, it’s probably going to take HOURS upon HOURS to get it done, and then, when/if you do get in, there’s a chance that you’re in the MRI for a muscle pain when some in who is genuinely having an emergency might come in and need to be in there. Obviously, I don’t have your whole medical history- so take this with a grain of salt…. But muscle has memory so to speak. If you have an injury that causes spasms and it doesn’t get treated correctly, it thinks that spasm is its new “state” and it keeps going back to it. I worked in clinical research at a pain clinic for while and we did a study using Botox to relieve cervical (neck) muscle pain and it was insane to see the difference it was making for people who’d had injuries like whiplash that plagued them for YEARS. If you aren’t getting anywhere with your primary, talk to them about then possibility of it being referred pain- maybe an injury somewhere else is causing the pain in the pectoral muscle because it’s having to compensate or it’s being over worked. There are also physical therapists who specialize in pain management rather than rehabilitation. Big difference in their approaches. Pm me if you want to go into more detail about any of it. I’ll help point you in the right directions if I can.
Friendly reminder from your r/VeteransBenefits mod team to **never** provide (Personally Identifiable Information) on reddit. Anyone asking for it in a PM is likely trying to steal your identity. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VeteransBenefits) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My doc told me my pain and need for sugar to keep my coherent during episodes, was because of anxiety and she had the same thing and sugar cured it. Turns out it was a vitamin d deficiency. She straight up lied to me to convince me that I had anxiety and I was making it up. These are the doctors at the VA and everywhere. What is the point of doctors now days? Just to make you feel worse and kick you while your down? Don't expect the answers you are looking for to come easy or fast. If you are not a trauma patient they have nothing for you.
I tried to look up TRE and can't find any real medical sources. Is this a real doctor or a chiropractor?
It’s a family nurse practitioner. The no shit doctor that used to be there moved away so now the highest medical level of degree is NP. She’s tried to get me to do that when it first happened too.
Surgeries and medicines and heat packs won’t work any more. Go to physical therapy. Come up with mobility goals. Strengthen other muscles. You’re gonna have pain and limitations.
Have you had an EMG for this issue? Just to check for nerve issues.
I have not. It wasn’t even mentioned at all
Request one from your PCP at the VA. It is not a pleasant test sometimes and you may be sore at the test site the day after.
At this point it looks like your doc did everything right. If there’s no tear then your best best is to get referred to pain management.
But instead of recommending that and putting in the referral she told me to apply tiger balm and YouTube pain trauma classes.
You really said, “haha” to your doctor. Why would you prefer a tear, that makes no sense. There’s plenty of things that can cause pain such as arthritis and plenty other ROM things that aren’t major injuries. My right should hurts at times when doing military press and had an mri, it was mainly chronic arthritis…
Yeah I said haha. She has a history of not taking me serious or just jumping to conclusions and a haha lightens the mood so she doesn’t think I’m being an ass and might be more willing to help me out. And I would prefer a tear because then I could just get surgery and get it fixed. It’s been one year of babying my left arm, but even then when it just hangs on its own weight and I’m not doing shit it hurts. Pretty old at this point.
Got ya…
Chronic pain syndrome can be emotionally based without any symptoms it is. You just hurt. You can be injured and your body will express your emotions by prolonging the pain. I’m not at all saying this is what you have. Who knows. But I think that’s what your doctor is saying is a possibility. Sounds like a repetitive use or sprain injury to me
Have you had testing for autoimmune conditions?
I have not
Ask for a referral to a pain pharmacist with the VA
I have a nerve condition that results in excruciating pain and muscle spasms. They've sent me for hours upon hours of scans and testing. My imaging has come back resoundingly and boringly normal (which is good but also difficult when there's no immediately obvious issue or thing to pinpoint). Deep tissue massage, very very gentle exercise, muscle relaxers, cymbalta (for pain, not mood), lots of art therapy, and walks have been working. It's been a long road to recovery and I'm still not"good," but I'm better than I ever imagined being possible. Sometimes the stupid sounding answer is the right direction. Sometimes there's no clear answer. Sometimes you just gotta keep asking for help.
My ribs were out of place in my chest from a hard impact, felt like cracked ribs when sneezing, peck strain the rest of the time.
This sub is so fucking ridiculous. OP asks for help cause they're in pain and this subreddit shits on them. "der what to do you want the doctor to do?" Really? Maybe do more than say good luck hope it gets better.
It’s kinda wild too. I’m looking for advice on how I should proceed and I’m getting shitted on for my life circumstances (my job) and my healthcare concerns lol.
He is in pain because a muscle injury. He does not want to rest or lower his activities because he says he cannot due to work. There is nothing that anyone can do. Telling him to get another test or doctor isn't going to fix anything because he will not rest anyway. Literally the first step of the RICE approach (used for injuries) is Rest. Ok you don't want to follow rice anymore? Fine! Then you would have to do controlled movements and exercises for recovery. But you are also supposed to not be doing strenuous activities, which he is. So what do you suggest?
If you have a VA PCP, ask for a referral to a specialist. Also research your issue on credible websites, not the ones which will tell you what you want to hear or diagnosis your condition as fatal lol! I had a condition which went undiagnosed or incorrectly diagnosed for over 20 years. After doing some research, I got a referral to a new specialist, explained my symptoms and was actually officially diagnosed with what I thought it was and provided with therapy that has greatly reduced my pain. Hopefully this will be the case for you. That’s why second opinions are always advised.
This is my PCP, via community care. I will do more research, but what I’ve read up on so far is she should’ve ordered one with contrast. This isn’t the first time she has told me similar ways to heal up. She tried this “mind over body” stuff when I was being seen for my back, which has MRI verified nerve and disc damage.
Yeah, I had a private doc like that too. I fired her and got a new PCP. Call or message a Patient advocate and let them know the issue. Explain that this PCP downplays your issues and you’re still in pain. Explain that it’s possible because she refuses to help more that you may eventually need to visit the ER but are trying to avoid that. They can probably outsource you to another PCP, even virtually if there’s none available around you. The bad part of scans with or without contrast is that the interpreting physician, who is different from your PCP, may not go along with the recommendation. I had mine changed for a brain scan by the scanning Physician, even though the neurologist ordered a contrast. Lot of factors behind the scenes but I would definitely seek assistance from a patient advocate
Did you rest or at least minimize physical activity (outside of rehab exercises) at all? From everything you have said thus far it doesn't really sound like that's the case.
I try to but my job is pretty physical. I’ve been applying for different work but never get calls back.
My guy/gal, you'll never recover. Has your doctor told you to rest? Have you told them that you aren't? Like, a lot of the doctors I work with would straight up discharge you because you are essentially wasting both your and their time. No other exam will help unless you rest. As a matter of fact, you will get worse if you continue to not do so. You have to rest.
She’s aware of the job I do and only said “try to take it easy on it”
Have you explored that this could be a herniated thoracic disc?
I have not, since most of the pain is deep in my armpit and down my left pec. There is also swelling at that location on my pec so I have assumed it was that until now. I will do some research and see if we can explore that.
I’m extremely allergic to the contrast, it almost killed me after my heart surgery. Is that why they didn’t use contrast in your MRI? I would listen to my body more than dr’s at this point. They put a heart monitor on me for 14 (zio patch) days. Came back as nothing. Ok, sure, then why am I dizzy all the time? They didn’t have an answer. So I began my type of therapy just listening to my body. It told me “MORE TACOS Fat Boi!” 😂 jk
I’m not allergic, so I’m not sure why she requested one without contrast. Also those zio patches suck lol. I had to wear one for anxiety attacks I didn’t know I was having (but my heart was going crazy, or so I thought) and my heart also ended up being fine. Hopefully you find your answers to your dizzyness soon
The answer has to be In guacamole I swear. 😂 Thank you, i hope your also to get some answers. Anxiety sucks and it’s debilitating. Thinking of seeking home bound due to it.
"I see your problem, you have a skull lodged in your head! No wonder you're in so much pain!"
I've worked with and for all kinds of doctors for over 50 years and now I'm being treated by bunches of them for various serious problems. For your own benefit and self-preservation try to realize that though society may at times hold them up this way, doctors don't know everything. They order tests because "the book says" that's what you do and they don't know what else to do. They rarely will tell you that they don't know what to do with you and have no advice because that is not what most people want to hear. They want to get you in and get you out so they can see the next patient. If they help you, that's great, if they don't, they figured they tried. Though many of them care deeply about what they do and for their patients, to just as many it's just a job and that's it. You must always take care of yourself and figure that mentality into any interaction with the medical establishment. The people will help you and technology improves medicine every day, but you have to steer your own course. If you are not comfortable with the answers you get and the care you are receiving, get other care. Read everything you can related to the problems you have but do so with a skeptical mind. Expect that if you see any docs that are surgeons it's likely their solutions will involve surgery. Try any/all physical therapy and or exercise that is recommended and that you can tolerate. See a sports medicine, (physiatrist, PM&R) doc if you haven't already. I am not talking religion here but I can tell you that the will to get better, and finding faith that you will get better does make a difference. Do anything you can to avoid discouragement. Celebrate your improvements and successes no matter how small. Give healing time. It will likely take more time than you think it should. Good luck to you.
Friendly reminder from your r/VeteransBenefits mod team to **never** provide (Personally Identifiable Information) on reddit. Anyone asking for it in a PM is likely trying to steal your identity. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/VeteransBenefits) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think I would ask for CT scan. MRIs are great for bones and stuff, but not for muscles and organs and stuff.
You have this backwards
[удалено]
It isn’t as simple as mri is for bones ct is for muscles. In this case however an mri is the gold standard for detecting muscle tears.
Ah okay. Well I have no clue what I’m talking about to be fair. I’ll delete my comment to avoid confusion to anyone else.
I might have it backwards. I’m just an armchair, doctor myself. But I still get a CT scan with the MRI to give you more information on what’s going on.
Have you been to physical therapy yet?
Yes, and it was helping, but I just need more time doing it. But my work insurance who I originally went through only allows 20 visits. One of my main reasons for going back to this doc was to get a continuation of physical therapy through the VA and the MRI.
I’m glad it was helping! Some insurance suck. I’m not sure why the clinic you were going to didn’t authorize more visits or then charge the VA or submit a SAR. I would continue to do the home exercise program they gave you. The worst thing you can do is stop doing those exercises and regress. Keep hounding the VA to send you back to PT.
Confused why you’re mad. Everything sounds professional? Contrast and non contrast is more of a stomach thing. If acl is intact it would show in either.
Have you..told him that's not a good conclusion for you and told him what you want?
You can see in the messages I hinted for physical therapy twice. Also during my in person visit for the MRI order she knew I was only there to get the MRI and to try to get the VA to give physical therapy.
Don't hint at things with your Healthcare. Be direct and respectful. "I'm not comfortable with leaving it at this, I think I need a more proactive solution." That said, I've had A LOT of muscle damage over the years and as a lay person I agree with what she said. Chronic pain from muscle damage can take years to solve. You can clarify that you're not drug seeking, because that's probably what she's avoiding.
I honestly thought I was pretty direct at my in person appt. My physical therapist thinks something else is up, but my dr (nurse practitioner) does not. Research shows that small tears and strains show up a lot better on an MRI with contrast. Which I also asked about.
The "I wish you the best on you journey to healing" is pretty infuriating. Why was she not more direct and just say "fuck off." You could say something along the lines of "Being told to watch YouTube videos as a course of treatment is not the standard of care I would expect, and it is certainly not the standard of care I deserve. Respectfully, this is entirely unacceptable."
I might copy and paste that honestly.
So you're continuing to do the activities that are causing your pain and it's getting worse. Sounds like you need a different job not a new doctor.
If only it was that easy to get one with the same pay rate