SCIATICA Losing mobility is a pain.

[powderbrake]

About 18 days ago I started to experience sharp pain in my lower back, left hip, and left leg. I had an MRI last Wednesday and will see the Doctor on the 3rd of April. "Getting old is not for sissy's". I cannot stand more than a few minutes and can only hobble around using a cane or a 4 wheeled walker with a built in seat. Not being able to lift/carry my shooting gear out to the range is driving me nuts. The thought of someone carving on my spine is of great concern to me. Sorry to rant about this but putting/posting my worries seems ease my mind.

perry42

Sorry for your pain, but I suggest you wait until you hear the feedback from your doctor. The surgery for herniated disks is different than that for stenosis. I also recommend a second opinion. Orthopedic surgeons attack the problem a bit differently than a neurosurgeon.

I suffered sciatica pain off and on for 40 years, then a neurosurgeon said "I can fix that in 45 minutes". Well, it took an hour and a half, with a 1" incision, and I have been pain free ever since. It's possible that you could also be pain free.

 

[gambleone]

Tater hangup , decompres

Get yourself one of those Teter hang ups . Decompress your spine . What I did /do.

Inversion table, I have one & they do help, but it depends on
your own particular diagnosis. Have to try it & see if it helps.

 

[22BRGUY]

"Getting old is not for sissy's".
perry42

The understatement of century.
Best Wishes

 

[T-shooter]

About 18 days ago I started to experience sharp pain in my lower back, left hip, and left leg. I had an MRI last Wednesday and will see the Doctor on the 3rd of April. "Getting old is not for sissy's". I cannot stand more than a few minutes and can only hobble around using a cane or a 4 wheeled walker with a built in seat. Not being able to lift/carry my shooting gear out to the range is driving me nuts. The thought of someone carving on my spine is of great concern to me. Sorry to rant about this but putting/posting my worries seems ease my mind.

perry42

I had similar problems several times in my life. My opinion is not to go under the knife if there is any other option. In my cases, I waited it out and it went away after a few months and never came back in years. The only drug that worked was Ketoprofen (Orudus). It used to be available over the counter but was recommended in 12.5 mg doses which did nothing. the doctor gave me 75mg doses and it worked great. God what a feeling. The first time in a couple months with zero pain. The effects wore off after 4 hours. I did notice that after a short while I could reduce the dosage down to the 12.5 mg and it worked equally as well as the larger doses.

Good luck, I hope it gets better on it's own. Backaches are no fun. Funny to hear people say, "An little ache wouldn't keep me down." They don't know what they are talking about! I have had to crawl through the house before because I could stand the pain to stand up.

 

[spitfire_er]

In my professional opinion, I would seek out a good Chiropractic doctor. With acute pain such as yours, if you can find a DC that is good, they can ether help with your pain, or give very sound and conservative advice on which direction to go before having surgery, or start on a regimen of drugs. Fix the issue, then do PT to strengthen if needed.

Some people need minor care, some need drugs, and some need surgery. I would start on the conservative side and work your way into more aggressive options, if the conservatives ones don't work. I'm a believer of all forms of medicine, but start simple and work your way into more aggressive options.

P.S. if you need surgery, get a neurosurgeon, not an orthopedic surgeon.

 

[Downhill]

Had same problem, sciatica resulting from ruptured discs at L4 and L5. Tried PT, chiropractor, core strengthening, diet and anti inflamatories. Completely ineffective. Finally went to neurosurgeon and got it fixed. Main issue is to remember I no longer have a 20 year old back.

 

[Jimmy James]

Have plantar fasciitis (again) and for the last 2 days what sounds like sciatica from all the above. Quickly approaching 60. Aches and pains are a bitch. I just bought another 500count bottle of ibuprofen. Lots of good advice here. Now if I can just find a good doctor to go with the good advice. At least my GP is quite conservative when it comes to surgery.

 

[fx77]

If U can wait it out, it can resolve provided U do not have significant neurological compromise or bowel and bladder dysfunction...all a matter of how much time U have and how severe and debilitating is the pain...


http://thejns.org/doi/pdfplus/10.3171/foc.2002.13.2.3

 

[SG4247]

Had my first back surgery at 30 years old. This was mostly from athletics, wrestling, football and working on cars.

Wow, that was over twenty years ago, boy have the procedures improved!

Take Cymbalta for the residual sciatica, it works very well at blocking nerve pain down my legs. I am still grumpy, so it didn't help my attitude at all....

When I get in bad shape, I go get a Tramadol injection down at the local urgent care, and I am back on my feet in hours. WORKS VERY WELL. I can only get one injection every six months.

I would not hesitate to get a microdisectomy today, as I know six or eight people that have had good results with it.

 

[perry42]

THANKS for all the input. I have purchased an inversion table but will see what the DR says about my problem before using it. I have been relatively pain free for 75 years and hope that this ailment can be resolved and trips to the range can resume.

perry42

 

[370bc]

Had a ruptured disc in 09. I began my recovery by sleeping in the fetal position on the biggest lazy boy recliner I could find. Awhile later, I bought a Giant cypress bicycle that had shocks & disc brakes that made me sit with my back straight. That really helped. I then started to do more swimming at the health club. First thing in the morning yoga stretches and the use of a foam roller and the inversion table. All of this adds about 15-20 minutes every morning. It's not the end of the world for me. As a scaffold builder, climbing around like a monkey helps to keep me more loose, approaching the big 5-9.
Don't be afraid of trying the local massage clinic. My back is like my barrels. I try to listen to what it's trying to tell me of what it needs. And Ice, ice ice and more ice. The heck with the meds! (If possible).

 

[fredo]

Acute pain is your body telling you: STOP something IS WRONG!
Taking pain meds to squelch the message does not address the cause...

Been down this road as well, after having ruptured L4-5 discs and falling to the ground in agony from the searing pain. IMHO, the more intense the pain, the clearer the message to STOP and figure out what's gone wrong.

Your body is a machine. If a machine starts squealing, do you put earmuffs on to hide the noise? Or, do ya STOP, immediately and see where the noise is coming from?

Find a good Doc, get damage assessment. Then, get a 2nd assessment.

If at all possible, avoid those pain pills! Let your body tell you when it's OK to regain mobility, and commence therapy.

Same for surgery, especially if it requires any kind of cutting /fusing/ etc. if nerve impingement is from a misalignment, then keeping that neural pathway open is all that's needed.
If you've developed bone spurs/arthritis, that's another story which may need surgical cleaning up. But I'd still only entertain that option as a last resort.

Stretching, yoga, inversion, Chiropractic, are all good ideas. Start slow and listen to your body. There is 'good' pain that you'll experience during therapy, work thru it! If/when the crippling pain comes, STOP...

Again...Pain pills and surgery as a LAST RESORT. In short, get yourself in the best shape you can, before even thinking of going under the knife. Might very well could be that an aligned & strengthened core with less extra pounds carried takes care of much of the problem...

Give your body a chance to heal itself. A stationary bike will allow you to elevate heart rate, build up those big, fat burning leg muscles, and stretch/flex the lower back...all at once. And the movement is very low impact on your joints/spine...

Strengthen your core muscles, they directly support your spine! If your spine is compromised, strong core muscles allow for an enhanced support system.

I don't wish that searing pain on anyone...it's terrible!
Best of luck!!! Be more scared of those pain pills, than anything...they are the DEVIL.

 

[urbanrifleman]

Be careful with Tramadol its an synthetic opioid and can get addictive.

Uh yah!!! Not a good idea.

Acupuncture. Physical therapy. Stretching. Not drugs. Ask me how I know!!!

 

[js2013]

Wish you the best and hope you get "lucky" like I did. Over the years I saw 5 different docs and got 5 different opinions (one wanted to fuse a bunch of my vertebra together). Did the exact opposite of what 4 of the docs said. It took a long time,had to push through the pain and it was intense, but it healed. Wish you the best.

 

[TRA]

The scare tactics being spread around about Tramadol are way overblown. The facts are any medication,, exercise, invasive surgery, and being snapped and cracked around by a Chiropractor all have consequences. Things can go wrong and you can carry the pain or damage for life. I know a few guys that got talked into having the microsurgery done as an outpatient and within 30 days they were back having a more serious repair done. My dad had over 10 major spinal surgeries. I had one and my Neurosurgeon said I could have had 8-9 more if I insisted. I roughed it with drug Therapy and it's been 40yrs. There's good days and bad days. I have yet to meet someone who found the magic cure. You broke it you have to live with it. Chiropractors can be dangerous, surgery can be dangerous, med's can be dangerous, but can be reversible in most cases. There is no totally safe cure for nerve pain. AND.... all of the treatments will involve drugs of some sort. Do your homework and make wise choices.

 

[spitfire_er]

The scare tactics being spread around about Tramadol are way overblown. The facts are any medication,, exercise, invasive surgery, and being snapped and cracked around by a Chiropractor all have consequences. Things can go wrong and you can carry the pain or damage for life. I know a few guys that got talked into having the microsurgery bone as an outpatient and within 30 days they were back having a more serious repair done. My dad had over 10 major spinal surgeries. I had one and my Neurosurgeon said I could have had 8-9 more if I insisted. I roughed it with drug Therapy and it's been 50yrs. There's good days and bad days. I have yet to meet someone who found the magic cure. You broke it you have to live with it. Chiropractors can be dangerous, surgery can be dangerous, med's can be dangerous, but can be reversible in most cases. There is no totally safe cure for nerve pain. AND.... all of the treatments will involve drugs of some sort. Do your homework and make wise choices.

Malpractice insurance for chiropractors is about 1-2% of what surgeons pay if that tells you anything about how safe they are. Most surgeons have their hospitals pay their 5-6 figure malpractice insurance whereas DC pay their own usually.

 

[rjtfroggy]

I have had back pain with sciatica since 1978 ( first time I ruptured L4-L5) held off for ten years then couldn't stand so I had my first surgery. Lasted seven years and then had my second which lasted 3 months and had a third with a fussion. Then I went almost 12 years before it started again and since 2008 I have had 5 more surgeries all with screws and rods and am now fused from tail bone to L3. One thing I can tell you is the pain has never gone away for more than the length of the hospital stay ( their IV meds work wonders until they stop it.
I can assure you I've tried it all even to the point of having to go cold turkey off the pain meds (not fun). The one thing you need to know is that once you hurt your back it will hurt to different degrees forever.
As I right this I am pondering whether or no to have C6 repaired or not and I guess the deciding factor will be how bad it gets after I start shooting again in a couple of weeks.
My first doc told me " you will know when it is time to have surgery don't rush it." That is the advice I've followed for the past 30 years and I am passing it on to you now from experience.

 

[GerryM]

After 4 surgeries i still have a lot of pain.
PT is the way to go , don't let them cut your back Unless there is a spinal cord injury.
a lot of the time surgery only makes it worse. Pt and swimming work the best and moist heat Hot showers etc.

 

[Ggmac]

After 4 surgeries i still have a lot of pain.
PT is the way to go , don't let them cut your back Unless there is a spinal cord injury.
a lot of the time surgery only makes it worse. Pt and swimming work the best and moist heat Hot showers etc.

Same here 4 failed surgeries . DO NOT GET CUT , unless you have tried all options. Lose weight , stay mobile , don't get cut . No matter what the Drs say . Tell them your broke with no insurance and see what they say .
Too many of my friends were persuaded by who the Dr worked on , NFL , NBA etc . Now they still have pain plus scar tissue pressing on the nerve .
Stay mobile , no matter how you do it . Ice , heat , tens , chiropractic, acupuncture, etc .

 

[Geno C]

I bulged a disk last June. In August a chiropractor completely ruptured it. I couldn't hardly walk. Needed help getting up out of bed or off the ground. MRI revealed the extent of the damage. Multiple injections into the site did very little to nothing. I was only sleeping about 1-2 hours a night because of the pain.

Microdiscectomy surgery almost 4 weeks ago. Pain has been reduced 95% I've been taking it easy on lifting and PT twice a week.

Now that you have the MRI to show you what it is, wait until the Dr can tell you what is the cause in order to find the path to reducing the pain.