Herniated Dics, Activity and Pain Meds

Hi,

I have a herniated disc and am on a variety of pain medication including dilaudid (long and short-acting) and lyrica. I was wondering whether anyone else has experienced a severe herniated lumbar disc and what alternative they went through.

I have been doing Physiotherapy for almost a year now and have had slight improvements although I am still living with severe pain. Now, I don't want people around me to know that I am "sick" because I like to entertain a certain image, especially professionally where you need to be strong to get ahead.

Has anyone gone through Physiotherapy or an alternative that healed your herniated disc? Did you take meds and do you still need them?

Also, has anyone gone through surgery and can tell me what the surgery, the healing and their remission has been like and whether they have side effects from the surgery.

Thank you very much for reading this and for the help and support you can provide. I have explored all the options I could think of and need new ideas and information from people who have lived with the pain.

Em

Oye! So sorry to hear of your situation! I personally don't have back problems, but my bf has had a disk removed ... probably 15 yrs ago. He also is a chiropractor and a physiotherapist so IMO he knows a lot about the back.

He was in chiro school when his disk exploded after years of having a herniated disk and because of his school and connections he was able to see one of the top surgons who removed the disk. He says it was the best choice he ever made ... but that he didn't really have much of a *choice* as he spent 3 days on his dorm room floor unable to move prior to the surgery. From what I understand, if things go wrong you don't get a second chance.

He expects that he will probably need another surgery at some point in the future, but right now he's doing fabulous. He does keep himself in very good shape now however - about 8 yrs after his surgery he started to run and lost about 50 lbs. He does a lot of core exercises and if he would point to one thing that made the biggest impact post surgery it would be doing core exercises. He now does the Ironman every year and runs ultramarathons, and he certainly would not have been able to do this if he did not get the surgery. He is not on any medications for his back.

I also have had herniated discs for years and tried pt, pain meds, and other things with little success.  Recently, it was so bad I couldn't walk for more than a few minutes and could not stand up straight.  My family convinced me to see a chiropractor since my mom had some good luck with herniated discs in her neck at this place.  I was very reluctant because I had seen two other chiropractors years ago and had more pain from them than good.  However, I am about 7 weeks into treatment with the chiropractor and I can walk for an hour again and will probably be able to be back in the gym doing weight machines by next month.

If you decide to try a chiropractor, make sure you go to one who doesn't believe in no pain no gain.  You need gentle to start.  I have only been manually manipulated once by these guys, otherwise they use a machine that sends out sound waves at a certain frequency to gently nudge the bones back into place without sending my body into other pain as my muscle memory is forced to change too quickly.

Also, if they have and use something called a "vertitrack" that puts your spine into traction while you walk so it can get the benefits of movement without the jarring of every step it has been immensely helpful.  I only use it while at the doctor and only for 2 sets of 15 minutes (I come back in between so they can increase the traction), so it isn't something you would permanently wear (thankfully since it looks terrible).

Best of luck to you!  I know how terrible constant pain can be.

In January 1990 I broke my tailbone for the second time, which led to a bulging disk in my lower back.  I was in quite a bit of pain for the next 6 months from sciatica.  My MD was useless (he gave me atevan, a form of valium).  I saw a chiropracter and an acupuncturist for the next 6 months to deal with the chronic pain, was able to continue working, took only ibuprofen for the pain.  In early June, the disk herniated (I felt it go), my chiro was totally clueless that something had changed, my acu took one look at me, said this is now beyond my scope, you need to see a neurosurgeon.  She referred me, I had an MRI one day and a hemi -laminectomy the next.  I was walking the day after surgery, home from the hospital 2 days later (I was only 33 years old and relatively fit), pain free and back at work by the end of July.  I was med free before I left the hospital.  My take home messages:

• Find a medical adviser that has a clue about you and the condition.  My MD and chiro were useless, my acupuncturist was great.  I in no way mean to imply that all MD and chiros are useless, or that all acus are great, but that you need to listen to your gut and your heart and keep looking for an adviser that will listen to you and knows their own limitations.
• Backs are complicated, and there are many ways for them to fail.  Everybody on earth has had something they call back pain, they are not experts on what might be wrong with you, so don't expect good advice from your friends, relatives, or acquaintances (or posters on an internet forum).
• If you can, take an adviser who is not in pain with you to all your medical conferences.  Someone like a partner, sibling, parent, or close friend.  They will be your advocate, they know you, and they will help you to remember to ask questions.  If you can't take an advocate, at least make a list of your symptoms and concerns so that you get the most out of each consultation.
• Try to get a clear understanding about what you are feeling during/after normal life activities.  Does rest make you feel better?  Does movement make you feel better?  Can you stand upright at all?  Does ice help or hinder?  Discuss these issues with your medical adviser.
• Try to get clear with yourself about the continuum from discomfort to mild pain to acute pain.  When my condition was chronic, I varied from discomfort to medium pain.  Once my condition went acute, I was in extreme pain and literally couldn't get from bed to the bathroom without help, and couldn't lie in bed without narcotics.
• If your condition is chronic, no matter how uncomfortable you are, you may not be a good candidate for surgery.  Once it is acute, it will probably be clear to both you and your medical adviser that surgery may be the only option.

Best of luck, it is no fun dealing with back pain.  Just so you know, the neurosurgeon told me my chances of having another bout with back pain were exactly the same as the general population, not greater or less.  The very best way to prevent another occurrence (for me) is to maintain core body strength and to walk regularly, and to avoid sitting for long periods of time, especially in the car.  Our bodies were not designed for chairs, they were designed to either be moving or lying down.  I have been careful about these issues for the past 19 years, and I have no problems whatever.  So, healing is possible!

My herniated, and bulging disks are in the neck.

I know how awful back herniation are I had a freind on Duragesic for his sciatica.
Dilaudid is very strong, what you are taking and that sounds like its barely doing the trick.  I hope you can find a better way to deal with this, sorry I haven't any suggestions.  (the fentanyl patch-duragesic helped my freinds back pain with PT)
Good Luck!!

Thank you everyone for your kind advice! I am going for another MRI and seeing the surgeon for a follow-up and see what he recommends now...

I did one full year of physiotherapy with chiropracy (?) and, although it has helped, I am still always in pain and unable to do much...

I have to say that this is the most debilitating experince I have faced and it is very hard to be a 26 year old who feels like I'm 86... But I'm still hoping that I'll be able to enjoy life again and start doing the things and sports I always loved.

In the mean time, I'll get back at those mild core exercices and cross my fingers!!

Thank you for your help and support. I'm back at counting calories and getting back in the groove of things  :)

I totally feel your pain (literally), superem. I am 24 with 2 herniated discs in my lower back, was injured 5 weeks ago, and will be seeing a neurosurgeon tomorrow. My main concern is that this is a workman's comp issue, so I'm hoping this guy knows his stuff. I've found it very hard to count calories since my injury, but I'm jumping back on with a metaphorical spring in my step. This whole process has been so stress full, though. My heart goes out to you when you say you are "a 26 year old who feels 86". My grandmother, in all seriousness and out of kindness, asked me if I wanted to use one of her canes. Keep your head up, superems, and all of you out there dealing with difficult health issues. Find a strong support system, and keep smiling!

Hi firenurse,

My injury was also a workplace injury and, judging by your name I can guess that you also work in a Hospital. I initially saw the Hospital's physio who gave a wrong prognostic and his recommendations got my injury to progress further.

So now, almost 3 years later, I am starting to give up hope. I gained weight recently and don't really give a damn that much anymore. I haven't gained that much anyways I guess. But it's hard to feel positive when things aren't improving.

The thing that helped me the most was Physio. I started a year and a half after the injury (with a new physio) as soon as I got the right diagnosis. It took just over 6 months to start seeing some improvements. Unfortunately, they cut the visits just before the 1 year mark so those improvements are now fading.

I really hope things get better for you. You caught it early and you're young too so you have all chances to recover quickly.

I see the surgeon soon. I don't want surgery at all cost. I hope they have a plan B for me (i.e. more Physio).