Quote:
Originally Posted by gsxrken
Although more than 95% of folks with back pain do not need surgery, there is the few that can benefit. But you should give it six weeks or so before you even think about the S word.
I hurt my back lifting and a month later finally got an MRI and it showed a bulging disc pressing on the nerve. No one with a drill was going to go near my back! For literally six months I tried PT, swimming, injections, acupuncture and those electric stim pads to no avail. I was losing reflexes and movement in the left foot. Another MRI showed the disc has torn open and the innards were flattening the sciatic nerve in the foramen channel. No Ab crunches, which were impossible anyway from pain, were going to get that genie back in the bottle. A microdiscectomy removed the leaked out gel and relieved the nerve pressure immediately.
I stay in shape half out of fear of that white-hot nerve pain ever reoccuring.
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Would you mind sharing a bit of detail as to what was involved in the procedure you had done? done at a hospital or medical office? were you able to go home that day? drove yourself, or had someone take you home? what was recovery time like? Did you have a laminectomy done first, or did they go right to this procedure?
Reason I ask is I too am finding myself in a similar boat to you. I'm not yet 40, and have been dealing with this pain concentrated in my left leg for the past 11 months. I'm someone who didn't even keep Tylenol in my house, I just didn't get sick, didn't have any aches or pains a few days rest wouldn't take care of, so all this is very new to me. No specific incident set it off. I've had 3 serious car accidents in my life, 2 in the last 12 years, 1 about 4 months before this pain started. I work out, eat correctly, get enough sleep, drink alot of water (and not much else). At first the pain was on and off, felt similar to a strained hamstring. Easy enough, I've had those in my life (playing sports, etc). Took a few weeks off cardio, concentrated on push ups, curls...skipped the leg lifts and the running. By April, the pain got more frequent. Started taking ibuprofen, and it worked well enough. It would hurt more when I sat at a desk, less when I layed on my stomach. Laying on my back aggrivated it. By June, it got so bad that one night I couldn't even get myself out of bed to go to the kitchen for a drink....I literally was stuck in place. The slightest side to side movement put me in such agony...I literally had to crawl forward out of the bed and lay on the floor before I could get myself up. From then on, I started seeing a chiro. Pain got a bit better, posture got better, but it was short lived. At a certain point the chiro said there was nothing more he could do and suggested accupuncture. While I'm paranoid of needles I decided it was better than dealing with the pain. At this time I was also taking specific vitamins said to aid in inflamation and incorporating various herbs and spices into my diet that were also thought to help. Did 6 accupuncture sessions, and while there was relief, it only last a couple days at a time. By this point my ibuprofen intake was much higher, which in and of itself is completely unhealthy, regardless of the amount of liquids you consume. I couldn't take the dog for walks, I hadn't touched a weight in 4 months (since summer). Started using a TENS unit on the advice of a PT in December, it does nothing. As of this month I decided it was time to see an actual dr. Had my first appointment last week and he told me to go off the ibuprofen and changed around the vitamin regiment and put me on a single muscle relaxer at night that is doing nothing. Pain has never been worse. I couldn't run a simple errand for 30 minutes...tried it Thursday and yesterday with the same results..I was nearly in tears, almost drove to the emergency room. Made it home, layed on my stomach and within a few minutes, the pain increased, to the point of a very hot burning feel, and then poof...something "moved" (nerve, muscle knot, I don't know) and it instantly felt better. But I get up and try moving around especially outside where it's cold, it flares up within minutes. Sitting in the car used to be ok, now is virutally unbearable. New dr appointment with a new primary this week, but I want to be as educated as I can especially from people who may have gone through something similar. Waiting on the approval for the MRI, xrays didn't show much unfortunately (had that done during the summer after being with the chiro about 1.5 months)
Thanks in advance and apologies for the post length