Disc pinched nerves

[Sytes]

Lower area of back has two main nerves pinched by some disc...
I don't feel much on my right leg though my left hurts like a mother...
Went on for a couple months. My body has a higher level of tolerance for pain and Doc figured it was a simple PITA deal that would go away quick w/ PT or a bit longer on my own.
Not acting like a bad ass... I just don't have as much nerve feeling in areas from a prior accident. So I don't sense near the pain others might feel.
Tried steroids heavy for five days straight. Felt decent during though wore off.

MRI yesterday. Doc called today with the news. Said my higher tolerance disguised the issue the past few months.

So, I've been referred to a specialist...

Anyone?

 

[geetar]

Can’t offer any advice but thoughts and prayers are with you. Hope it gets better soon.

 

[Big Slick]

Sorry to hear of this. I had my L4-L5 fused about 6 years ago, I’m probably ready for more. It did not help with the numbness in your legs. Hope your Doc can help you out.

 

[Wallydeuce]

So sorry. It sucks, I know but go get it fixed. Then get in therapy and stick with it. If you have extra pounds, loose them. I didn't do any of the above and suffered for almost 8 years.

Pay attention to the professionals and fully recover before you get back to normal. It's doable. Best wishes to you and your family.

 

[PNWGator]

My doc said surgery is the last resort. Surgeries don’t always work and surgeries don’t always last. I rested, did PT, chiropractic care, light duty, back injections, etc, etc, etc. Finally was so broken and in so much pain that I had surgery. One night post op in the hospital. Two weeks bed rest. Two more weeks inside, no stairs and nothing heavier than a glass of water. Then nothing heavier than a gallon of milk. It’s a marathon. My surgery was 11 yrs ago and I am SO thankful and Blessed today for the surgical team and post op physical therapist that afforded their skills to enable me to have a healthy life going forward.
It’s a brutal journey. It’s a process. Find the right physician and therapists and surgeon if necessary and then remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint on the path to healing and good health.
Prayers and best of luck going forward.

 

[Dsnow9]

Lower area of back has two main nerves pinched by some disc...
I don't feel much on my right leg though my left hurts like a mother...
Went on for a couple months. My body has a higher level of tolerance for pain and Doc figured it was a simple PITA deal that would go away quick w/ PT or a bit longer on my own.
Not acting like a bad ass... I just don't have as much nerve feeling in areas from a prior accident. So I don't sense near the pain others might feel.
Tried steroids heavy for five days straight. Felt decent during though wore off.

MRI yesterday. Doc called today with the news. Said my higher tolerance disguised the issue the past few months.

So, I've been referred to a specialist...

Anyone?

I had something similar, herniated a disk in my lower back doing a tree removal. Continued to work for a year until it got so bad I couldn’t stand up straight for 20 yards after the 5 minutes it took me to get up from a chair. Somehow I was still able to climb trees daily and I actually get better doing that than sitting. high pain tolerance and will get better mentality.

I don’t know how much age plays into this but… one day it got so bad a chiropractor came up to me and gave me his card as I was trying to get out of a chair. I started seeing the chiro practice multiple times a week and then tapered off to every other week. I also got into a great physical therapist and did that as well.

I didn’t miss a day of work or hunting season but it was a long slow road back to full strength. I still see the chiropractor one or two times a month and am a lot smarter about how I lift things and work a tree. All those things older people told me to do when I was young, dumb, and invincible.

I would start with chiro and pt. If that doesn’t help then think about surgery.

 

[fishing4sanity]

Sorry to hear about this, is it related to your accident a few years ago? I'd certainly go see the specialist, or a couple of them. I was sure impressed with your physical therapy adventure back then, hopefully this ordeal will be better and quicker. Thoughts and prayers!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Good luck. My daughter's significant other had the nerve channel opening surgery and it went well for him. But if he doesn't work on keeping his weight down, he'll be in trouble again. My dad had multiple back fusions that really didn't do much for him. He was always at least 50-75 lbs overweight and never a big man to start with. That was the problem. A big pot belly pulling outward on the back = trouble.

 

[JustinsDad]

I feel for ya and it doesn’t help the pack outs. My L4-L5 is displaced 7 mm. I have 5 or 6 bouts a year with it where it hurts like hell. Non-force chiropractor helps some but I’m sure surgery will come at some point. I did a bunch of epidural injections but too much scar tissue to continue with those. I lost 40 pounds and that helped it a little. I’ve learned to stop when I feel that sharp pain stab me. I stop and lay down, let it rest the second I feel it and that seems to help more than anything.

 

[jt13]

Look into minimally invasive laser spine surgery.

I worked at a place called the Laser Spine Institute (LSI) in Philly over the summer one year. They specialized in herniated disc's and punched nerves. I drove the van to and from the surgical center to MRI facilities. They worked miracles.

Every single day I watched people hobble in on walkers or hunched over in pain and stroll out as good as new the next day. Lots if folks were in debilitating pain for decades and experienced total relief within 24 hours. It was pretty magical. The only unhappy customers were the people that found out they weren't candidates for surgery and got turned away.

People flew in from all over the country to get surgery. It seriously seemed too good to be true, but I got to watch it day after day for 3 months. I believe a series of law suits eventually shut that individual facility down but there must be another place that does similar kind of surgery.

 

[Otto Matic]

I've spent the last 30 years of my life fighting pain, but nothing like a pinched nerve. Egads!
Best of luck.
My grampa had a friend that a doctor treated for many years for ALS.
When his doctor went on an extended vacation, he sent him to another doctor. THAT doctor found three pinched nerves in his back and corrected the problem. By that time, his health had deteriorated but he did eventually learn to walk again.

 

[SAJ-99]

Lower area of back has two main nerves pinched by some disc...
I don't feel much on my right leg though my left hurts like a mother...
Went on for a couple months. My body has a higher level of tolerance for pain and Doc figured it was a simple PITA deal that would go away quick w/ PT or a bit longer on my own.
Not acting like a bad ass... I just don't have as much nerve feeling in areas from a prior accident. So I don't sense near the pain others might feel.
Tried steroids heavy for five days straight. Felt decent during though wore off.

MRI yesterday. Doc called today with the news. Said my higher tolerance disguised the issue the past few months.

So, I've been referred to a specialist...

Anyone?

That stinks. My reaction is the same as others - Get it done. The quicker the better. We don’t know exactly the severity, but a lot of stuff you can be up and about feeling great in 8 wks. Good luck.

 

[noharleyyet]

@Sytes, I hollered calf rope and had an L4 & 5 fused with a desiccated bone saddle 9 years ago. Was as per your symptomatic description and pain tolerance. Had a good sawbones in Dallas...5 hr procedure, walking same day, home in a couple days. Brace & walk/walk/walk. No sciatica since. Decompression/saddle reinforcement procedure in early spring...elk in fall. Harley ride to Taos in August.

400 lb squats are no mas.

 

[kansasdad]

It is amazing what you can endure pain wise, but this is your body's way of telling you that you aren't healthy. Glad that you are seeking professional advice. Second opinions with specialists can give you further options that weren't considered by the first professional.

In all things back/nerve related, one thing my orthopaedic (he's fancy, and likes to spell it that way) surgeon brother reminds me is this.......pain, numbness down the leg, all relative. Bladder and bowel control deficits are a medical EMERGENCY and you have 12-24 hours to deal with it before the nerve is toast.

 

[huronmtns]

Look into minimally invasive laser spine surgery.

I worked at a place called the Laser Spine Institute (LSI) in Philly over the summer one year. They specialized in herniated disc's and punched nerves. I drove the van to and from the surgical center to MRI facilities. They worked miracles.

Every single day I watched people hobble in on walkers or hunched over in pain and stroll out as good as new the next day. Lots if folks were in debilitating pain for decades and experienced total relief within 24 hours. It was pretty magical. The only unhappy customers were the people that found out they weren't candidates for surgery and got turned away.

People flew in from all over the country to get surgery. It seriously seemed too good to be true, but I got to watch it day after day for 3 months. I believe a series of law suits eventually shut that individual facility down but there must be another place that does similar kind of surgery.

Laser Spine Surgery is pretty much obsolete. Evaluating a spine surgery in 24 hours is only a temporary evaluation that the patient is still under pain control. There are a lot of new methods in spine surgery that are well beyond Laser surgery methods in the modern day. Your experience must have been a fair number of years ago.

 

[MarvB]

Sorry to hear @Sytes I have a fishing buddy that went through something similar. In addition to a few things prev mentioned (esp the weight loss) he also went to a chiro that specialized in one of those DRX9000 spinal decompression machines and also started taking a pilates/yoga class (yeah, I know...) and said he is slowly getting back to his college age flexibility. He still has to keep a close eye on what/how he lifts but is now back to chasing fish!

 

[OntarioHunter]

Look into minimally invasive laser spine surgery.

I worked at a place called the Laser Spine Institute (LSI) in Philly over the summer one year. They specialized in herniated disc's and punched nerves. I drove the van to and from the surgical center to MRI facilities. They worked miracles.

Every single day I watched people hobble in on walkers or hunched over in pain and stroll out as good as new the next day. Lots if folks were in debilitating pain for decades and experienced total relief within 24 hours. It was pretty magical. The only unhappy customers were the people that found out they weren't candidates for surgery and got turned away.

People flew in from all over the country to get surgery. It seriously seemed too good to be true, but I got to watch it day after day for 3 months. I believe a series of law suits eventually shut that individual facility down but there must be another place that does similar kind of surgery.

The demise of LSI is a disgusting sad saga. Shady behaviour at the top of that corporate ladder cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in punative damages. Hulk Hogan's ten million malpractice award was, relatively speaking, peanuts.

 

[Sytes]

All those things older people told me to do when I was young, dumb, and invincible.

This...
I believe he shared something similar to your symptoms. Herniated L(?) and some other local area. Unfortunately, he called while I was involved with an elevated work situation. I wasn't completely listening, rather briefly taking in the basics and off the call just as quick. He said expect the specialist to call this coming week to meet.

I lost 40 pounds and that helped it a little. I’ve learned to stop when I feel that sharp pain stab me. I stop and lay down, let it rest the second I feel it and that seems to help more than anything.

I'm 6'01" and pushing 235+/-#'s. I recall an earlier conversation with the Doc. Said I should aim for 200. Thanks. Back to diet. Sounds, from reading the comments, my workouts are entering a holding pattern.

is it related to your accident a few years ago?

He didn't mention a relation. I don't think it's related. My neck c6-7 break and nerve damage was at the lower neck area. Obvious something I'll share w/ the specialist though my initial thought, it's may be related to @Dsnow9 's comment about youth v age advice...

Had a good sawbones in Dallas...5 hr procedure, walking same day, home in a couple days.

Sure hope this is the case.
I'm still walking good at work.. work game face, etc. Seems to shoot the most pain from my lower back to my foot when I stand up from a chair.
It jolts pain while walking though I'm able to block that out mostly if I keep my mind occupied.

Bladder and bowel control deficits are a medical EMERGENCY and you have 12-24 hours to deal with it before the nerve is toast.

Thanks. I'll keep this in mind.

Thanks all for your well wishes and experiences.
I sure as he'll dont want a repeat!

I stop and lay down, let it rest

This seems to be my reprieve from the jolts.
By latter half of the day, it gets a bit rough to keep the body moving w/o showing signs of pain at work. Home? Another story... I'm a whining wimp with my wife. Hah! Even then she keeps telling me to take it easy. I find getting my mind deep into some form of work helps... even then, it eventually breaks me.
For my other accident by the later half of the day, laying down is heaven! Same with this. Nice to have a means of relief.

Thanks for everyone's input. Greatly appreciated!

 

[jt13]

Laser Spine Surgery is pretty much obsolete. Evaluating a spine surgery in 24 hours is only a temporary evaluation that the patient is still under pain control. There are a lot of new methods in spine surgery that are well beyond Laser surgery methods in the modern day. Your experience must have been a fair number of years ago.

About a decade or so ago.

I believe that it was working for the vast majority of folks that had procedures done. I dealt with lots of folks that were coming back in for long term follow up evaluations as well. I'm sure you're right about technology passing it by however, a decade is a long time in terms of medical advances.

The demise of LSI is a disgusting sad saga. Shady behaviour at the top of that corporate ladder cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars in punative damages. Hulk Hogan's ten million malpractice award was, relatively speaking, peanuts.

One shady thing I personally observed everyday was what were basically sales associates overselling the surgery to people that were fringe candidates or not candidates at all to get them to come in for consultations. Those folks often came from crazy far away on their own dime. The sales people got bonuses for the number of people they could get to come in for consults

 

[robsev]

I have 3 compressed discs in my lower back. It really bothered me - I couldn’t drive 50 miles without having to stop and get out and walk around. My daughter told me to try this stuff. It’s amazing. It’s a little spendy but to me it’s well worth it. I drove to Texas this spring - put on about 1000 miles in a day and felt great. You can buy it on Amazon, or go to www.hempbombs.com. They just came out with an extra strength formula. Can’t wait to try it out.