Currently I follow over 300 patients who have fibromyalgia related to a disc problem in the neck plus a disc problem in the lower back. The postoperative pain persists at the same disc level, adjacent disc level, or both. MRI, CT, etc. If the pain has not been relieved by surgery it may be arising from the same disk, a different disc, or both. Discography, properly performed, may be the test needed to fully document the diagnosis, but is usually difficult for the patient to obtain.
Most patients suffer with an associated depression at one time or another.
Each patient has pain and each has a unique set of circumstances involved in his or her decision making. Those with failed surgical procedures on the spine tend to be more disabled with pain and require more medication for pain control. Surgical cure is possible. The patient has an improved understanding of the nature of the problem when the underlying diagnosis is correct. Fibromyalgia mayresolve in the upper body or the lower body and remain the same in the other area.