I suffer with Arachnoiditis, as you do, and have done so since the year 2006. I was in an automobile accident in July of 2003, and because of it, have been through 2 cervical disk surgeries, 1 lumbar disc surgery, a myelogram, and many, many, more than I can remember, epidural, steroid injections, in addition to other various spine and nerve tests and x-rays. One, or more than one, of the above things, injured my arachnoid layer and caused my Arachnoiditis diagnosis by Dr. Antonio Aldrete, one of the leading experts in the field.

My husband and I, along with the results, films, and/or disk of every test, x-ray, or other procedure done, and every doctor's visit with its notes, met with Dr. Aldrete from 9:00 a.m. Until 5:30 p.m. That particular day, with only a 15 minute break during that time.

He went over every detail, no matter how small, of every note, every x-ray, and any other information I, and he, had obtained, discussing whether or not I had Arachnoiditis and why I did or did not. A few weeks later, I received a 40 page report about my condition, how I needed to handle it, things that I could do to help or hinder it, or in other words, anything that would help me in talking to my doctor's that I would see, dealing with it on a daily basis myself, and how I could deal with the condition throughout the coming years. I also received a book he has written, 'Arachnoiditis: The Silent Epidemic'. It is a little deep and sometimes hard to understand, but when I came to those parts, I would type that particular phrase into my search engine, and it would help me understand more about what I was reading. His website isI am not sure if he is still practicing, as he is advanced in years, but he is very, very knowledgeable about this disease and at one time, would willingly answer any questions you might send to him about your condition. If you have any questions for me, I would be more than happy to try and answer them although I am by far, no expert in this field.

The Spangle Maker Rarlab on this page. I do have to deal with the pain and other symptoms associated with it, and totally get how nice it is to talk to someone who understands what you go through and cares about the fact that you do. My email address is bargainmom10@live.com.

Arachnoiditis: the silent epidemic. Published by Futuremed Publishers, Denver, and the Arachnoiditis Foundation. Read the full text or download the PDF.

Feel free to contact me any time you need a friend or shoulder to lean on when it comes to this horrible diagnosis and disease. Hi Theresa, I have arachnoiditis also. Not much fun is it. Unfortunately I also have a gene in my liver that processes out narcotics before they can help much. If you live in the Sacramento area of California you can contact the UC Davis pain management group to see if they can help you.

Also, there is a Stephens Pain Management group that I go to and they are very aggressive in treating conditions like ours. I wish you the best of luck in finding help. It's out there if you can find a compassionate doctor who hasn't been put out of business by the DEA. Regards, painguy10.

I just joined after finding this website, which never showed up in all the years I had searchedodd, that. Anyway, I was wondering if any are still here who have AA? It is my husband who has had it for years, after an injection that was sloppy. With the new regulations and fear-mongering concerning opiods, he and others have been shifted over to a pain management group, wherein began the difficult process of moving him off the meds that worked for seven years to ones that don't do so well. The process continues and the pain management group wants to 'improve' his condition by moving him over to Cymbalta and Tramadol and weening him off the Exalgo with occasional Horizant (both Extended Release) thus getting all their patients off morphines. He cannot take Oxycontin because it significantly increases his blood pressure. The pain management group, which is associated with our major hospital actually had to research AA to find out what it entails and is now researching treatments for it that do not employ opiods.