My boyfriend of 6 years started getting crippling back pain. He dosen’t have any insurance. I know some really great people and Spectrum Diagnostics gave us 2 CT Scans for free (so nice). He found out that he has 4 herniated disks in his lumbar region. Present day- he has been on Vicodin for almost a year and now his doctor is cutting him off cold turkey. We can’t afford physical therapy w/o insurace and we try to do yoga together (dr’s orders) but he can’t move the next day- i actaully saw him cry (in 6 years, this was only the 2nd time i seen him cry) Does anyone know anything that might help him? I am at the end of my rope?!?
Posts Tagged Herniated
Herniated Disk Pain Help?
Feb 27
I injured my back about a year ago in a dance class. My right leg was extended behind me at about a 90 degree angle when what felt like an explosion on the left side of my lower back occurred. Immediately following the injury, I was unable to bend forward, back, walk, sit, move… This lasted for about a week and mobility slowly increased. I continued dancing as best I could for the remainder of the year and took the summer off. September rolls around and I’m sill in significant pain, especially when dancing (which is my major in school.) Pain is increased when bending forward and backward. Feels like my back is on fire and occasionally runs down my left leg. I had an x-ray and bone scan in September. Bone scan showed nothing and the x-ray showed some narrowing disc space. After fall quarter, I had an MRI done at home. The doctor said that I had a severe disc herniation and put on prednisone for a couple of weeks along with some physical therapy. I’m back at school now and have been referred to another sports medicine doctor here. He says the MRI is pretty standard. Minor bulge, but everyone has it. The pain seems to only get worse. It is definitely affecting how I dance…its hard when you can’t bend over. I’m not quite sure what I can do…or what I should do. Any suggestions? Please help.
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?
Ok here’s the deal, I’m 23 years old (I’ll be 24 this December) and I had an MRI about a month ago, found out that I have a herniated disc in my lower back. Here’s my problem, I’ve always had back pain but it’s just never been this severe and I use to always see the chiropractor. I’m just upset since this is my 3rd week off of work, the pain is still in my hips down into my left leg, sometimes my left toes and at night when I try to sleep the pain is just 10x more severe. I don’t want surgery this young in my life, physical therapy seems to make it hurt worse and I don’t really know any other at home remedies? Anyone else have this problem with some suggestions? I tried putting the vinegar into my bathwater to drawl the pain out but now I’m itching like crazy since I forgot I’m allergic to vinegar. Forgot to mention, I have a heating blanket I sleep on at night but even with it being on the lowest setting sometimes it still gets too hot. I tried the IcyHot and that only lasts for so long. Plus the doctor gave me percosets (oxycodine) and I don’t like taking them unless I just hurt that bad which is why I’m on here trying to find an alternative. Help, please? 
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
Let me just start off saying that I also have scoliosis and have had back issues for the past 15 years. I had pain so great last summer that radiated down my leg into my toes that I went to physical therapy 3x a week and popped Vicodin and muscle relaxants like crazy. Well, it’s back and its been almost two weeks. I’m in agony and I have a two year old that I am home with all day. It’s been very hard to care for her plus limp around in pain. Is there anything that I can do at home to help without having to call the doc? I don’t have anyone to watch her during the day to go to PT and I’m trying my best to avoid it so I’ve been starting the exercises that I was shown a year ago…it helps for awhile, just so the pain is tollerable, and then starts in again. HELP!
I Have Both Degenerative Disk Disease As Well As A Herniated Disk. Some Days Are Worse Than Others.?
Feb 7
I have had the steroid injections, I have been through physical therapy, and I take the medications that are given to me. I have seen two seperate neurosurgeons and they keep sending me for MRI and X-rays. Then they say it isn’t surgicially necessary at this time. But my question is how do they know when it is time if they aren’t the ones in pain? Is anyone in the same boat that I am? And who wants to get addicted to Vicodin and Soma and still not get relief.
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 was recently diagnosed with a severely herniated disk in my neck. I’ve tried physical therapy, no help. I want to avoid surgery at all costs. Anybody out there have a similar experience they can share? I am in so much pain, I hate this!
My lower back has been hurting for the past 8 months. I started going to a chiro thinking it was because of our mattress. Well the pain kept getting worse and I was bearly even able to walk. I finally went to the doctor. He told me I have a herniated disk. He said it was small so he wanted to treat it with physical therapy first. Are there any other options aside from surgery I mean?