I have had 2 herniated disck in my L 4&5.I have done physical therapy ,heat and cold,shots,pills,stimulation,The shots worked the best but after 3 series they cant no more.I hate to have surgery but my weight has gone up and up cause my activities of walking especially hurt so badly.Any advice on any of this?
Posts Tagged Discs
I have 2 herniated discs “6.5″ and “5.5mm” which is large for herniated discs. I wanted to know if anyone knows of anyway i can help to heal these discs without surgery. Its been about 2 years now and Ive tried physical therapy and I also did spinal decompression, with little pain relief. So if anyone out there knows of anything that might help please let me know. Because I don’t want to have back surgery because they fail more then 50% of the time. Also i forgot to mention that im only 19!
Thanks again
-Aaron
I have had two herniated discs in my lower back for nearly two years now. In the beginning, my MD just ordered an X-ray and said “it doesn’t look too bad…it should heal on its own in about 6-12 months”. Well, he was dead wrong. I insisted on an MRI, which he eventually complied with. It was a good idea on my part. It showed much more clearly the pretty serious damage to the discs, especially one of them. When the MD saw the films, he referred me to a pain management specialist for further treatment. Well I have been with this man for about 9 months, with, I am very sorry to say, NO improvement in my condition. I have had three injection procedures done. The first was a ‘trigger point injection’, the second was a ’steroidal injection’ and the one I just had about 6 weeks ago, was called a ‘facet injection’. Of all of them the facet injection offered me ’some relief’ for about two weeks, but then it went away completely, and back to the way it always has been…very painful and limiting. I am getting very frustrated and concerned. Now he wants to do a procedure on me called a ‘discogram’. I have done some research on this, and don’t really like what I read. There are more risks with this than the injections, it is more invasive, and I am not sure if I should go ahead with it. He seems to think it is the logical next step. I DO NOT want surgery, if I can avoid it, as even though there are people who DO come out of back surgeries well, a lot DO NOT. I am not on any painkillers, because my MD is very gun shy about prescribing them, even though I feel my condition(and pain) warrants it. I have never had any problems with addiction issues, but he is worried about that, maybe too much so.
So what do you think about this ‘discogram’ procedure, for those who know what it is, and especially those who have gone through it. Was it worth it? What was the next step after you had the discogram? Surgery? Or other procedures? Is there anything else left? I have gone through physical rehab, but it helps little. I am only 46 and I am really getting sick of it, and want relief, even a little.
Please give me your thoughts about this procedure, risks vs. rewards, what you might do if in my situation, and any other thoughts you may have about herniated disc issues. Thank you.
I have a herniated disc in the C4/C5 region and a bulging disc below it. I have tried physical therapy, acupuncture, ice packs, heat packs – but nothing seems to relieve the pain. Any suggestions?
Help. I’m a college student who has tried everything from pain management to chiropractic to orthopedic to physical therapy.
hello, im tired of eating percocets, lyrika and not seeing any improvement in relation too the levels of chronic pain and or the condition of the discs in my back.. in my doctors words, you are going too be on pain meds too get through each day as long as your quality of life is concerned… and i agree with the dude… ive had all treatments for back pain, all but invasive surgery which im against as it generally creates a need for more surgeries… ive had 15 epidural injections, years of chiropractic treatment ( intermittent of course).. physical therapy, traction, dmx table treatments, more pain pills, and no improvement!
now, rather than sit on my *** and eating percocets, then up too oxycontin, then up too fentanyl ( they want me on that now… i say no).. why cant i go and hit the gym, like try too exercise and get in some kind of cardio shape? im tired of not exercising, when 3yrs ago i was hittin the gym regularly… i know i cant go in an slam barbells around etc.. but im wondering why the hell cant i get some cardio and just ease into it slowly? if i have pain issues, i can tough it out… i just dont want too sit around and let my body go to hell! if i can hack the pain, should i work out? please dont say, ask your doctor.. they dont care! they just say walk a few miles blah blah…. thats not gonna get me in shape.. im not saying i wanna hit the weights, im just saying with my back injury,how much should i allow it too hinder my goals… working out was my favorite thing too do, i competed in boyduilding etc.. i want to exercise… too me not exercising it like death… i dont wanna waste away on meds and live with this back injury like its an excuse to be inactive…. im in pain al the time no doubt but does that mean i should allow the rest of my health too slide as well? any advice? ive seen some pretty bad disc injuries on some folks in the pro bodybuilding world and they get surgeries etc.. and bounce back? am i missing something? do i need a new doctor? what the hell should i do? i just wanna get back in the gym…. slow and easy… carefully….thanks
I have a torn rotor cuff and carpal tunnel, but the overall pain was never this bad. And now my hand and index finger is tingling, in fact the index finger has gone numb and burns badly. My PCP is offering Chiropractic or Acupuncture as treatment options. BTW, physical therapy was tried repeatedly and only aggravated the conditions.