Bad Back
 

Who has one, and what was/is being done about it?

I hurt my back when I was much younger. Mid 20's, I think. Lifting something with my back instead of my legs, and something popped. Probably a disc. A couple of days of pain, and it healed, and life goes on.

Fast forward to my 40's. Tried to catch a minibike that was falling off a trailer. I lunged sideways and caught it, but my back popped again. Took slightly longer to heal, but eventually it did. A couple years ago I strained it getting ready for camping, and it really hurt for several days. As in, take drugs for it. I NEVER take stuff if I don't absolutely have to.

This year, end of school party for the kids. One kid decides that parents make good sitting targets for the Nerf guns. I decide to take them on instead of taking fire. Held off 4 10-year-olds sporting semi auto Nerf rifles with only a single shot pistol. Twisted wrong bending to get a dart. That night I was stiff. Following day I hurt, but could move, slowly. Day after that I went out on the front porch to sit, and stayed there for 3.5 hours because I couldn't get up out of the damn chair. Week or so later I can move fine, the back doesn't hurt, but the sciatica has started. Intermittent at first, but progressively getting worse. I tell my doctor about it, but it's a minor ache; I don't even take anything for it. We decide on a wait and see strategy.

Well, as the summer went on, the pain got worse. Not the back, that doesn't hurt at all. It's the sciatica: a dull, burning ache in the middle of the butt cheek, with radiating pain running down the back of the leg. One side only. Not really bad for the most part, but it's constant, never ending, with occasional stabbing pains when I bend. Like having a hangnail for 3 months that doesn't heal, and then gets caught on things. Started losing sleep & gaining weight. My blood pressure was rising with the weight gain, not good.

Doctor puts me on Meloxicam, an arthritis medication. First week was wonderful. Felt better than I had in at least a month. Second week, pain is starting to come through in spite of the drug. Tonight, week three, pain is back. Doctor and I have discussed surgery (which he had himself 8-10 years ago), and I think I may have to do it. I do not like the odds.


So, who here has had any back problems. How severe, what was done about it, and did it solve the problem? Anyone her have any kind of back surgery? Therapy/chiropractor or other treatment? What do you do to manage constant pain?

I've been fortunate, in that I had some pretty bad sciatica that eventually got better by itself after about 3 months. It wasn't constant though - just after about 15 minutes of sitting, then gone after walking around for a while. If yours is anything like I had, but all the time, I can't imagine living with it for even a day or two.

A guy I work with has had the full-time variety for a couple months. He just finished 5 or 6 sessions with a chiropractor in the last 2 weeks, and he swears it's much better.

My personal preference is for anything before surgery. But my younger brother has had spinal surgery twice in the last 5 years, and it's unlikely that he'd be self-propelled without both.

I realize this has been kind of a non-answer, but I've used a chiro in the past for more minor stuff, and it seemed to help some. I would try that before going the surgery route- especially if your insurance will cover it(Paging Joe Perez!).

I'm currently in physical therapy for 2 herniated discs. Doing my best to avoid surgery, but I spend a lot of my day sitting and that's not good for me at all. Coupled with a hour long commute and all of my cars have a clutch pedal, I'm having a bear of a time healing.

I've been using the McKenzie institute techniques in the last few weeks to try to heal myself, and it's helping quite a bit. I would highly recommend checking it out.

Lower back (L5-S1) and two neck discs, courtesy of Martin-Baker.

The lower back was a bear, went through serious bouts for 5 years. In the end, I was on crutches for 6 months with a numb leg and a legit handicapped sticker. Utter misery. Had surgery at the VA and it was really successful. That was 18 years ago.

The neck discs I just deal with. They don't really bother me that much -- get shoulder and arm pain sometimes. Track driving used to aggravate them, but since I've been wearing a HANS I haven't had problems.

My recommendations:
1. Aleve is a great OTC anti-inflammatory. I take it often. Much better than anything else OTC.
2. EXERCISE. REGULARLY. Walking or jogging. Best thing for your back is to strengthen the posture muscles. The challenge is to do enough to help yourself but not so much that you re-injure. During the 5 years that I really had issues, I fought this battle constantly. Sitting really is the worst.
3. I've never tried a chiropractor. Spinal decompression works. There are clinics that do it. I own an inversion table. If I get a flare up, I'll use it and it helps the recovery.

Surgical procedures have advanced a lot since I had mine. Still, it doesn't sound like you are quite at the point of needing it. It doesn't work for a lot of people. I think it worked well for me because I was young, otherwise in good shape, but had suffered a really specific injury. A lot of people's backs are just degenerating because old age sucks. Surgery doesn't work well for them.

My immediate recommendations

Take Aleve
Get an MRI, not an x ray.
Physical therapy.
Core exercises are always good.

If it's strictly sciatica dealing with the butt/hip area, then please read this. There are exercises that use large hard foam rollers that you roll over on your butt/him that fucking hurt like hell while you're doing them, but really really help.

I had fairly bad sciatica for a few months (the kind you explained where you bend over to put your shoes on in the morning while it's tight and it feels like someone's sticking a Kabar in your spinal cord.) My girlfriend is a pilates instructor, has these rollers and she forced me to do this. It looks gay as hell, but it cured me of reoccurring sciatica. And did I mention my god it hurts when the roller rolls over the spots? If it doesn't hurt, you're doing it wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...in+relief+foam


If it truly is a back issue, then I'm sorry, I have no value to add to this discussion. I have a friend who's had a herniated disk for 10 years or more by now and he's just had to deal with it. Weight gain, constant paint, etc. Not sure if surgery is an option or not, but I know he probably doesn't have the money for it.

I've also heard this is a really good book for back pain suffers.

For me, hip and upper leg stretches works pretty well to keep everything under control. Core strength is also a big help. As has been mentioned before, sitting all day at a desk can be really hard on your back.

I have been to several chiropractors, some had no effect and others were awesome. the key is to find a good one. Of the two that I had the most success with, one went to Palmer Chiropractic school, and the other practiced what is called ART therapy. Might be worth looking into.

There is a big difference in the results you will see between a good chiropractor and a bad chiropractor. I had a ruptured disc and after a few weeks of spinal decompression it improved significantly. The jelly like fluid from within the disc leaks out and impinges upon the nerves running out to your extremities. It can eventually heal and the jelly eventually desiccates and shrinks away to nothing. The gentle bouncing decompression that the chiropractor will do on your back will help to draw the pressure off of the disc in a way that a static hang will not. It also helps to rejuvenate the disc. A static hang can cause the muscles to go into tension sometimes so be careful with that.

Ibuprofen or Aleve will assist in reducing the inflammation in the nerves in a way that simple opiate pain medicine will not. The two, pain medicine and ibuprofen, can be used together without harm if needed.

Take over the counter magnesium supplements as a natural muscle relaxant with no ill effects. Roughly 250% of the RDA every day will keep the excess muscle tension to a minimum and help things to heal. If you start to experience a loose stool condition than ease back on the dosage a little bit.

Mostly it takes proper therapy, care, and time. In some cases it may require surgery, but like you, I see that as a very last resort because of all of the things that can go wrong. If you ask a man who is holding a knife how to fix something he is going to say with a knife because that is what he knows. If you ask a man who is trained in stretching and pushing components back into place then he will suggest the method that he knows. Second opinions are always in order when discussing the possibility of surgery.

And core strengthening is very helpful.

I had a back injury years ago that would pop back up years later. Pretty much, I lifted a steel door over my head at my old job, and something popped. I'd be fine for months, and it would randomly come back. Sharp, staggering pain in lower back/ hip area. I haven't had it come back in any way ever since I got an inversion table.

Okay, so the "strengthen the core" thing keeps coming up. No one says how.

Imagine this: you're sitting at your desk, and have been for about an hour. You need to get up to go check something, and using your left leg to push away from the desk causes pain. You ignore it and stand up, which causes further pain (all of this is in the back of the thigh).

You then get handed a piece of paper which you must sign. In bending over the 5-10 degrees needed to sign that piece of paper sends shooting pain into your butt cheek. You are prepared for it, but even so it is severe enough (think charley horse type pain) that you involuntarily stiffen. It is just enough to be noticeable by people around you, who wonder why you are jerking around like a puppet on strings. Several have commented on it.

So, how the hell am I supposed to strengthen anything without sending myself to the hospital? I couldn't do a sit-up right now unless it was do or die, because it hurts like hell to move like that.

I'm on daily aspirin, moderated by the fact that 2 types of NSAID are not good for your GI tract. Tylenol helps, but raises blood pressure, so it's a last resort. Aleve does nothing for this pain. Motrin barely touches it. I'm on the meloxicam, because I tried to be a hero last night and go off it. Pain was so bad wife offered to take me to emergency room if I wanted. Since they can't really do much for me, I declined. I took the damn pill first thing this morning.

Throughout all this, my back does not hurt in the least little bit. No aches, no catching, no strain at all. Every bit of it is in my butt/leg, which means something is pressing on that damned nerve. I'm beginning to feel a little bit unhinged.

So, next step seems to be therapist and/or chiropractor. How do I find a good one, and how can I tell if they are or not, never having a baseline to compare? No one here has been to one, so no personal recommendations from coworkers.

As a back pain sufferer for over 30 years, and if it hasn't been said already, carrying extra weight can contribute to a lot of back issues. It doesn't have to be extreme either, just enough to make for a bad conformation (i.e. poor night sleep) on most mattresses. Spending a third of your day with poor spinal positioning causes aggravation. Often it's that vicious cycle; start the day already in pain (or just not 100%), and it's all down hill from there.

ymmv

EDIT: regarding the cycle; I found if I stopped the continuum of constant minor insults to my back (as well as the majors, of course) by being hyper vigilant with posture and proper support, I was able to quit pinching the nerves, minimize any inflammation, and therefore allow the muscles to quit involuntarily constricting in sympathy. This allowed for things to relax and 'stabilize' again. A little anti inflammatory thrown in doesn't hurt. Once you're restored to a more pain free state, then it's a matter of being smart, learning what your triggers are, and avoiding them like the plague. Sounds trite, but for me the best way to avoid back pain recurrence is just basically to not let it get started.

With this:Treat Your Own Back by Robin McKenzie | 9780987650405 | Paperback | Barnes & Noble

Seriously. The shit works, but it's a time consuming process. Expect to keep doing the exercises for at least a year. The whole point is to slowly strengthen the muscles, centralizing the pain and isolating it. It's a lot of stretching, and a lot of repetition but I've made huge progress in the 6 months I've been doing it.

I had a herniated disc in my lower back when I was 22-23 (bad sciatica, I could barely walk), went to a non-crazy chiropractor (the place was also a sports rehab type place). Forget what it was called, but they put me on a thing that stretched my back for 15-20 minutes twice a week, and had me do some yoga every day (lay flat on the ground on your stomach, then raise your upper body on your arms like you're doing a push-up but keep your pelvis on the ground). It's cleared up and I haven't had any problems since. However my grandma kept trying to tell me that any chiropractor that didn't recommend surgery was a quack.

This is the main one I do on a daily basis. Sets of 3 while doing controlled breathing. According to my therapist, it helps to stretch the surrounding muscles and center the spine for other exercises. Some days it can be a real bitch, but it does seem to be helping. I can actually tie my own shoes now without wincing.

I suffer from chronic low back pain due to a mountain bike accident about 4 years ago. I ended up with moderate to severe spinal stenosis due to herniated discs at my L4-L5 (8mm herniation), L5-S1 (6mm herniation) locations. (See picture below)

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410460457

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410460457

The pain was very bad at first. I'd say I lived with a 8/10 on the pain scale for the first 6 months. I was lucky because it was localized and I didn't have sciatic pain. I tried 3 months of traditional basic physical therapy, chiropractor visits (3 per week), exercise etc. Nothing seemed to help back then.

The next step was an oral steroid (cortisterol) which seemed to nudge things in a direction that allowed me start re-habbing it. My ortho surgeon suggested we try a series epidural steroid injections (3 of them). Those made me feel excellent at the time but as the third one wore off I developed some rather crushing sciatic pain.

This left me in a defeated state. Pain levels had gotten down to about a 3-4 daily with spikes and random back spasms that could only be fixed by staying on my back for 3-4 hours with my feet elevated. I ended up liquidating all of my mountain bikes (created the funds to buy my miata so not all bad) and just going into poor me mode.

I ended up finding a rehab clinic that took a full service approach. They did traditional PT, traction PT, massage therapy and chiropractic. They would do all of this in a circuit 3 times a week in about 90 minutes. This seemed to have some help and got me down to a 1-2 daily with minimal setbacks. The traction therapy was the biggest part of this. They used this crazy table with this harness setup that pulled you apart like a midevil torture machine. Worked like a boss.

This brings me to about 2 years into my injury. Still no surgery and I don't go to PT any more. I've developed a routine of streching, icing and exercise that keeps me healthy. It's still a constant issue that I live with every day. Below are a few things that have helped over time, hopefully they can help you.

Foam Roller - This is my savior. Much of your back pain is coming from you compensating with other muscles. Strecthing those muscles out and getting mobility everywhere you can will be huge in overcoming this. I've tried many foam rollers over the years and this one in particular is an asshole. It is bar none one of the most painful things I do to myself but it's the most effective by far. Man up and get the one I linked. It's way too firm at first but once you get used to it you'll take it with you wherever you go (even traveling).

Ice packs on ice packs on ice packs - Any time I feel iffy I ice my back down. I like to get it so cold that my skin almost hurts to touch. This is huge.

Good bed - I bought a temperpedic mattress a few years ago. Worth it's weight in gold. The worst part of this thing is that it has spoiled me and I hate sleeping anywhere but home.

Exercise - It all matters. You're not going to be able to do anything with your low back muscles most of the time. So you need to find ways to work other parts out while that heals. Squats are huge, IT band stretching is huge, quads, glutes. Basically anything that gets used to support your low back is a big deal.

OTC anti inflammatory - Aleeve as mentioned but be careful with alcohol use, very bad for your liver/kidneys/stomach. I use advil on days where I need smaller windows of relief or something like that. Make sure not to get in a trend of taking it every day on end... taking some time off will re-invigorate it's effectiveness.

Everyone is different. 4 years later I'm not the man I was at 27. I'm still able to downhill ski at 80%, mountain bike at 80% etc etc. But i'm fragile. Some times spending 2 days working on my car is some times enough to send me into an episode.

The reality is about twice a year I'll throw it out. At first it was huge blowouts that left me bed ridden for days. Now with the strengthening I put in I'm never down for more than 1 day or just a few hours max.

Patience, persistence and protection are your ways through this. Feel free to PM me any time for my phone number if you need more descriptive help. :party:

Went for a brisk walk today downtown. No choice, I had an appointment with a lawyer (wills, PoA forms for me & the wife) and we had to walk a few blocks from where we found parking. And, I seem to feel just a tiny bit better tonight because of it.

Exercise is going to be my first line of attack. Because I am not going to get my ass outside as the weather turns colder, I've decided an elliptical machine is the way to go. I'd try treadmill, but I get terrible shin splints from running. Problem is, I don't know the first thing about them. Any advice on buying one?

I also ordered a couple of books to read based on recommendations posted here.

Brisk walking on a treadmill will be better than the elliptical. The problem with the elliptical is that the hand motions keep you from working the posture/balance muscles, and that's what you really need. As you really start building up the mileage with walking, you can gradually transition to jogging/running. Your body needs time to adapt to jogging/running. That's what the shin splints are, you're jumping in before you're ready.

One thing I forgot to mention . . . back brace. When you're really inflamed, they help tremendously. Use it to help you get over episodes, but not all the time. Again, the point is to strengthen and transition to your own posture/balance/core muscles.

Roger my story is similar to yours as regards the progression of my back problems. I first injured it in my early 20's while playing football. It got better with time and was able to lead a normal active life all be it with occasional flare ups.

In my early 40's the L5/S1 disk bulged by 14mm causing severe sciatica and foot numbness which persisted for about a year. During this time I continued working a physical job and playing sports but life became difficult to bear due to the pain so microdiscectomy surgery was performed. The results were immediate and profound. The sciatica pain dissapeared and nerve sensations returned to my foot, life was good.

Unfortunately, as the surgeon had predicted, after a few more years the disc herniated again. I now have a peek disc and a titanium cage (and a button :)). Recovery from the second surgery has been tougher as there are some lingering sympathetic nerve side effects. That said I now can lead a relatively pain free active life again. I was reluctant to undergo surgery as it is a drastic step with an uncertain outcome but in my case I didn't see there was an alternative.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1410506630

I would agree, use sparingly. Also I have had luck with a TENS unit. That is something you can use while you are sitting at your desk at work.

I also wouldn't recommend an elliptical. I've tried to use the ones we have in our gym at work, and any time I am on it for more than 15 minutes my sciatica starts bothering me again. It's the only time it ever does anymore. Lately I've been sticking to the bike for cardio, there's probably better things for core exercise though.

I had the trifecta.

A dislodged disc, eventual rupture, and torn pieces finding their way into random nerve bundles.

I hurt myself a lot over the years, and that was payback.
Shooting pain. Collapsing on the floor for no apparent reason.
Not being able to sleep, wash my face, brush my teeth, get a cup of tea all by myself.

Doc said immediate surgery. That, or I would have to deal with the possibility of losing my left leg.
He said I did not even have two days to think about it.
I went clear across town to see another specialist. He said the same thing.

I returned to the first hospital I had been to.
The surgeon is known to be a very skilled one in Turkey.
I asked him when I could expect full recovery. He said whenever I felt like after surgery. Very confident guy.
So, I booked a ski trip three weeks after the surgery, and told him about that. He said I would be OK.

He came to the room and made me get up after the surgery (once the meds wore off - I was groggy as hell). I was done, I were to do my own packing, and be off..

Feeling normal again after such pain and "resignation from life" for lack of a better word. That was, well, alien.
I rested for a few days at home, watching movies and stuff, and took off to the mountain when the time came.

Exactly three weeks after the surgery, I was carving the hell out of wind-packed snow on the Kusaklikaya face of the Uludag resort.

Never looked back.

Long story shortened:

Bought an elliptical machine, took it back after discovering it was too tall for my basement. Tried daily walks instead.

Pain has gotten worse, and I am now taking the meloxicam and twice daily doses of Tylenol. I now also have a visible limp, in spite of trying to hide it. Follow up Dr. appointment was today, and MRI has been scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Surgery seems to be in the cards, just a matter of timing.

Tylenol's worthless. Aleve is what you want. Did you get a back brace?

Regardless, good luck. Lower back issues suck.

Spinal Stenosis and Degrading Disc Disease over here. As well as bulging and compressed discs (formerly).

Beat it all with weightlifting and stretching. I've taken up powerlifting now. I have zero lower back pain at this point. Who would have ever thought that routinely picking up 400+lbs off the floor would be the key to my recovery.

Best advice I can give it to start isolation and compound weight training and completely stop all forms of excessive walking, jogging, running and impact cardio. Stretch every morning, too.

OP, or anyone interested, feel free to PM me for a basic guide to back/glute/hamstring and core strength. You body needs to be able to carry and support itself and, unfortunately, the lower back & posterior chain are severely neglected by most people. This is the price we pay for walking on two feet.

I normally charge for routines but my MT home slices get the first one free.

Compressed disk when I was 21 lifting a transmission. At 32 bent over to put a hook up a charger to the Miata battery, went to my knees and could barely walk for a month.

Got 2 shots of Cortisone in the spine...not fun. Better, but have to take anti inflammatory meds once in a while. Need more core strength but I keep finding better things to do with my time.

L4 and L3 I think is where mah disk is bulged.

MRI was yesterday. Today, simply walking is becoming painful. Whatever is going on, things are getting worse, and very fast. It's all I can do to roll out of bed in the morning, and just getting up out of my chair is painful. Sneezing or coughing nearly brings me to tears. Pain in the butt and leg is constant now.

Something needs to be done, and done fast before I O.D. on OTC painkillers.

Damn bro, wish I could help you out. What you are describing was me last March. I'm finally mobile, but going to physical therapy twice a week, and still in pain. It's actually hard to tell if the pain is less, or I've just gotten used to it.

Have you been recommended to a physical therapist?

No. Dr. told me last time that he didn't think that would help. Not sure why.

This morning, pain has moved down to the ankle instead of back of the thigh. If the doc doesn't call me today, I'll call in. Meanwhile, off to work.

Compressed disk courtesy of Sikorski. I returned from a medivac mission in Iraq during which I carried the 300lb love child of a silverback and the Iowa State Fair's award winning hog, and I could barely draw breath. Luckily, there was an Osteopath at the base medical clinic and he performed some black-magic alignment ritual on me. I had been seeing a chiropractor for some time before, but this dude actually straightned me out for quite a while.
Has your doc mentioned flexoril? It didn't do much for me personally, but I know some people that have been helped by it.
Viperormiata is absolutely right about power-lifting. It will hurt like hell at first, but squats and deadlifts with perfect form will do wonders for strengthening up your supporting muscles.
I also use biofreeze sometimes when I get a flair up.

Flexeril is for muscle pain. Trust me, this has nothing to do with muscles, it is strictly the nerve being pinched. Stretches, exercises, etc. do nothing for me, except to make it worse. Until the pinching is resolved, nothing else is going to help.

Strengthening the back will be post op to prevent reccurence, I am certain.

Flexoril is a nervous system depressant much like xanax. Not much good for anything other than being a sleepy vegetable for me. For being productive I needed different options.

But it's usually usually caused by an avalanche of contributing factors, so saying one med does nothing may not be entirely accurate. From whatever insult, the nerve gets pinched, the muscles automatically/autonomously constrict in sympathy, and of course inflammation is always added to the mix for good measure as well. It's been my experience that unless you relax the muscles AND deflate the inflation AND address the physics of the nerve pinch, it's unlikely you'll find relief.

:2cents:

Dr. just called. MRI has confirmed it is a herniated disc on the right side. S1 impingement of the right sciatic nerve bundle.

Surgical consult is being set up, and receptionist will let me know tomorrow where to go. Surgery will follow, probably within the week. Doc said that this type of thing is either outpatient or one overnight, and has a very high success rate.

Things have come a LOOONG way since I had this done at the VA.

Especially in the private sector. I hear they even use metal tools now.

Ha! Obamacare will fix that. VA for everyone!

Haha! Take THAT liberals! Enjoy cutting all of your meds in half so the hospital can save $.01.

I had the surgical consult today. We discussed the MRI, which clearly shows the pinched nerve, the swollen part right after that, and the things that are doing the actual pinching. It is a combination of a herniated disc, what looks to be either a bone spur or a bit of cartilage and a very, very swollen nerve bundle. The NSAIDS are apparently not helping much, so they are switching me over to another drug in the meantime. Gabapentin, which ironically is also used to treat restless leg syndrome. I have been asked to back off the Tylenol a little if possible.

There is no question that nothing short of going in and cutting away the disc herniation is going to help. There is a “mild right-sided neural foraminal stenosis”, which means the right side of the L5 vertebral canal is slightly irregular, but that in itself is not a problem, and he won’t mess with that unless it looks like he has to. He told me that he is glad I didn’t try a chiropractor, as that could have caused major problems. The nerve is definitely “tethered” (meaning it can’t move like it’s supposed to), and that is the cause of the sharp pain spikes. The pinched part is causing the aches.

He stressed that this is a very simple procedure. The risks are, all combined, “less than 1%, max,” and you (meaning me) should not worry about them. He said recovery will be less than a week (but take a week off anyway), and I would feel better immediately. They will make me stay in the hospital overnight, because he uses general anesthesia, and that’s the rule. He said he does not operate under partial/local, but did not explain why. I don’t care, I have no problems under general.

Unfortunately, surgery will be at least 3 weeks out, as he is booked solid. They may be able to squeeze me in on the 27th or 28th. In the meantime, I need some blood tests (clotting, platelet count) and a full physical beforehand. Actual surgery will be less than half an hour. He goes in, snips away the disc, allows the nerve to slip back into it’s proper place, and they staple me up. The only thing he would not guarantee is that there would be no residual numbness afterwards. He said no pain, but being compressed like it is, the nerve itself may have suffered damage. I am to take it as easy as I can until the surgery to avoid causing any more damage if there is any. He stressed that this was merely a disclaimer, and I may (then corrected to “probably”) would have no ill effects, but he wanted me to be prepared. Since I have had no numbness to date, the probability is still extremely low.

He said my biggest concern will be to stick to the post-op routine even though I feel better. Secondary herniation usually occurs with the first couple weeks because patients don’t give their back muscles time to strengthen properly. There will be little to no post-op follow up, but I should look into that whole “strengthen the core” thing. He also said that having a stronger back would probably not have prevented this, and it looks to be more degenerative than injury related. As in, you’re getting older, take it easy on your back.

I will have no limitations or restrictions whatsoever afterwards. Whatever activities I want, providing I give things time to heal.

Nurse practitioner is Ms. Susan Smith Susan O. Smith - Our Team - Neurooncology - Specialties - Neurosurgery - University of Rochester Medical Center
Surgeon is Dr. Webster Pilcher Webster H. Pilcher, M.D., Ph.D. - Patient Care Profile - University of Rochester Medical Center

As you can see, neither one is a slouch, and I suspect Dr. Abbott is pulling some strings for me.

Good luck.

The degenerative part worries me a bit. Those are the types that often don't have that much success or have re-occurences (as opposed to a 20-something Naval Aviator punching out of an F/A-18). We are getting older. Sigh.

Good luck. I'm glad you finally found the cause, and that surgery is relatively simple. Keep us posted.

Surgery has been scheduled for November 3rd. Three weeks is an eternity when you are in pain.

Wish you the best of luck. I keep coming back in here to see if you've gotten better yet.

Best of luck next week Roger, I am sure all will go well.

Thanks. I will post results as soon as I can.

This week has been bad, pain wise. Not sure if it's actually getting worse, or I'm becoming more sensitized and/or more of a wuss. At any rate, I am now on Norco, which is the replacement for Vicodin (less Tylenol per tablet) just to sleep at night.

Looking forward to this like it's a Disney vacation.

:bowrofl:

At least you still have your sense of humor. You'll be feeling better soon.

Today is the day. No food since midnight. No liquids since 7:30. Have to be there by 11:30, surgery is scheduled for 2:00PM. I'm going to be pretty hungry in another 7 hours. I hope they give me some sort of pain meds, or I'll be clawing the paint off the bed rails by then. I have been on a pretty steady diet of Norco for the past week or so.

Hopefully, this topic can be closed after one more update.

Good luck brother, I hope it works out for you. Back problems really are the worst. I may have permanent damage to my sciatic nerve now due to the delays at the VA.

Everything went according to schedule. Until surgery. What was supposed to take less than half an hour took over an hour. There was a lot more to cut away than the Doc expected.

Pain afterwards was really bad, and walking from the gurney to the bed was agony, even still partially under. I couldn't get comfortable at all, and the nurses finally gave me a second jolt of narcotics and put me out. Except for that, I didn't sleep much. Asshole in the next bed insisted on watching the damn football game, and every whistle woke me up. Hospitals are noisy places, and most sleep was actually drugged exhaustion. There was even a fire drill in another wing, which they insisted on announcing over the PA. Turns out some dimwit went out a fire door for a smoke.

Left today at 11 AM, and went over to vote. I am mobile, but only as much as before. More places it hurts, although the actual sciatica is lessened. The incision area aches, because they have to push the muscles out of the way, stretching them. They are sewn back into place, and I can feel it. The surgeons expressed concern over the amount of swelling in the nerve, and said it was a matter of time before it goes down. I was told to be out at least 2 weeks, maybe more. No lifting, bending twisting.

So far, all told I think I am doing pretty well for 24 hours. I only take 1 Percocet at a time, about every 3.5-4 hours. Also on muscle relaxers, stool softeners and most of the rest of the stuff I was on. I am off one of my BP meds, and blood pressure is well down into the good numbers range (100 over 65, resting).

Once again you all lose, because bastards like me are way to hard to kill.

Walks are helping, and I'm up to just about a mile a day. So far, so good.

This morning, I was debating going back to work next week. But, I can't drive while taking narcotics, so I decided to not take my 7:00AM dose. Stupidly, I didn't take anything else instead. Fell back asleep.

And, woke up in horrible pain at 9:00. It was all I could do to get out of bed to get to the pain medications (Percocet) in the bathroom. Spent an hour hobbling around and moaning like a zombie. Now, 2.5 hours later, the pain is mostly gone, but I can feel that residual ache where it was the worst. I don't think I am going in next week, but I also don't know how I am going to operate at all without taking these meds.

I went through that after the surgery on my hand, when I had six metal rods sticking out through my skin. Went home the first night, chose not to take the narcotics before bed since my whole arm was still numb from the nerve block and I had no idea how bad it was going to be.

Woke up the next morning in quite literally the worst pain I have ever experienced. I was in so much agony that my girlfriend got out of bed to get me drugs and promptly fainted and collapsed on the floor just from hearing me and thinking about what I was going through.

Take the drugs. Take it easy.

Aaron, luckily the nerves can heal after being compressed, all be it slowly. Looking at the MRI image it is easy to why the pre op pain can be excruciating.
In my case it took around 3 months before the strength returned to the foot and calf on my right leg. During this time there were strange sensations, pins and needles, burning etc.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1416166710

Roger, good to hear you are up and about. I found walking the best way of accelerating the healing process.

In the words of the surgeon, post op, healing would be "glacial but steady". He saw no permanent damage, but of course they really can't tell for sure. Mine was compressed pretty much like above. So far, no weakness or numbness, which is a good sign.

Felt good enough yesterday to spend some time in my shop. All the moving around I did was too much, and I'm paying for it today. They told me the hardest part would be to continue to take it easy even after I felt better, and now I know why.

Well, I guess this is the end of the story. Today I had my post-op consult, and they cleared me for "limited duty". Got the signed paper to prove it. The only real restriction I have is 25-30# lifting limit. She (nurse-practitioner) told me that they only expect me to be at 50-60% by this point, and I feel I'm well past that. I am supposed to go for one session of PT to learn the exercises, and then do them on my own. So, unless I do something stupid, I should be good to go.

Good news!!

Oh, one thing I forgot. She did that reflex test where they whack you with the little rubber hammer. Very poor reflex in the right ankle; she said it may come back, maybe not. No big deal, unless it gets worse. I thought she just wasn't hitting me as hard as my doctor does it. At any rate, I'm not going to sweat it.

After 9 hours at the office, I can feel the stress on my back because of trying to maintain perfect posture. I take it as a sign I need to strengthen the core muscles.

A big thanks to everyone who offered support, advice and their own experiences. It's a huge help. Not too surprisingly, my mood has improved immensely since the past weekend. I guess I was stressing out more than I would admit to myself.

Don't get sappy on us ya big pussy, lol.

Truthfully, I was a bit concerned about whether you would make considerable improvements after the surgery. So often they didn't go well back in the day.

Ugh this thread brought a couple spontaneous twinges in my spine. 2 compression fractures in my neck and 2 in my lower back from gymnastics/mountain biking.

I'm fine most days but occasionally it just says "fuck you" and I can't get out of bed for a couple days.

I have to be very careful lifting flour sacks at the bakery.

Follow-up:

7 months after surgery, and the pain is back. Not as bad (no sharp, stabbing pains), but it's there. Little toe is aching; feels like a cramp, but it's constant. Getting worse in spite of me being ultra careful not to lift too much, do too much twisting, etc. Sleep is broken because it wakes me up.

Second surgical consult has been scheduled (6 weeks out!), and I am hoping for a better resolution this time. Three months ago things were going great. Some indications are that it's scar tissue, and it may be removed arthroscopically.

A customer of mine decided against traditional surgery for a spinal problem and instead went with the laser treatment and the recovery was quick and virtually painless. Traditional surgery would have involved going through the throat area and the recovery would have been weeks. The laser deal came in from the back and went through a little hole in the bone and zapped the jelly that came out of the disc and cauterized the rupture, etc. and I don't know what else. She was fine the next day.

Check into it as an alternative since the first guys didn't get it quite right. Even if they do get it right, conventional surgery has a much longer recovery time.

Well, after consulting with three different doctors, the game plan is to inject steroids in my back, hoping that will help the nerve to heal. Procedure is set for Monday. If that doesn't stop it, another MRI will be scheduled, and possible surgery. Doc mentioned lasers as an alternative, but the injection is first (less invasive).

In other news, my abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA) is growing, which is not good. Yet another ultrasound (my 4th or 5th one?) is scheduled for the 11th of August. If their fears are confirmed, it will only be a matter of time before surgery to install a stent. Docs all seemed more concerned about a life-threatening situation than my minor pain. Go figure.