A couple of years ago I suffered a back injury from an industrial accident. I took myself to the…read moreER, and what ensued was more than a year of specialists and doctors and hospital visits. My pain branched out to my entire right leg, parts of my left leg, my whole back, my neck, head and arms.
In detail I saw a series of 3 orthopedic doctors, 2 neurologists, 2 neurosurgeons, 2 pain management doctors, and had 3 ER visits; all for my back pain. My entire back was imaged via X-ray and MRI. I was scanned from cranium to pelvis. Nothing was reported that even began to explain my problems. Nada. Zip... And so my diagnosis was ever changing between doctors. I was told I had anyhing that seemed to stick: Fibromyalgia, Pain Amplification Syndrome, Myofascial Pain and Disorder, Stretched Nerves, Degenerative Disc Disease, Depression Induced Pain, etc etc etc.
With "diagnosis" in hand, I went through an accumulated total of 3 months of physical therapy, prescribed rest, acupuncture, dry needling, regimented stretching, chiropractic treatments, trigger point injections and massage, active release therapy, massage, TENS units, and a litany of medication.
Every doctor I saw eventually gave up, stopped returning my calls, or offered me a handful of pills to shut me up. I am young, and I thought I would have to start collecting disability and live on pain meds. My back hurt all over, there was hardly anything I could do anymore. Sitting was painful, driving was unbearable, standing was far worse, and a good night's sleep was a fleeting memory. My leg hurt just like sciatica, starting first in the foot and working its way up. It would go into painful spasms and twitch, sending waves of pain all over my body. I developed neck pain and headaches, pain that radiated down my arms and numbed my fingers, and my heart began to have issues from all of the stress and lack of sleep. My hair was turning grey or falling out. My personal relationships suffered immensely.
I couldn't live like that anymore, and seeing as how my other doctors were not helping me, I decided to try Prolotherapy. I was in luck because Dr. Parikh's office was relatively close to me.
I visited Dr. Parikh's office in April of 2016 for my first session of Prolotherapy. I had done my research on Prolotherapy, and was already at ease with my decision because of the excellent communication I had with the doctor via Email prior to committing. Before treatment he did a very thorough exam, far more thorough than my initial evaluations with all the other doctors. Also, knowing that the doctor underwent this treatment himself and benefited from it was very reassuring. I am sure none of my other doctors would ever touch the pills or take the kind of injections they prescribed me!
It wasn't until after the 4th session that I noticed a change in my pain. When I was once unable to walk around a store to buy groceries, I was buying food for myself, I was out on my land, pulling up 6ft+ plants and working on my truck again, up and down on my knees for short periods. I still didn't have the stamina I needed to keep this up, but this was obvious evidence of an improvement. It was after my 9th treatment that I started to see great strides in my recovery, every week I was improving little by little. By the 11th treatment I was finally able to move on from just prolotherapy to strength training and massage therapy, and I continue to improve through those two modalities.
I still have a long road ahead, but thanks to Dr. Parikh and his treatments I feel confident that I will only have a short time left of dealing with my current level of pain - no longer does it feel like it will "last forever". Also, if my pain ever gets bad again, I am going straight back to Dr. Parikh. No other doctor I have been to has ever shown as much consideration for their patients well being as he has. If you hurt and are getting no answers, consider seeing Dr. Parikh.
