Wellness

[sydsgma1]

My self diagnosis was correct. I have a bulging disc between L4 and L5. I will have an epidural injection next Friday and hope that will help a lot.

[LindaLatte]

Fingers crossed that it works Barbara!

[conlt]

On 12/6/2014 sydsgma said: My self diagnosis was correct. I have a bulging disc between L4 and L5. I will have an epidural injection next Friday and hope that will help a lot.

I have that diagnosis constantly. My L4 remains torn and leaks fluid on the nerve so daily I have pain. My L5 is bulging and has herniated. I also have 2 bulging cervical discs. I have had it very, very land in the ER bad. I always have numbness in my right toes. I took Advil daily for years but had to stop because it raised my blood pressure and fluid retention. Now, I take 2 regular Aspirin a day and this helps with the inflammation. I also take Andrew Lessman's Fish Oil and Glucosamine Chondroitin and I think this also helps. For the last 3 years, ever since my worst exacerbation I take 1 Flexeril at night. If I have problems and stay home, I can take up to 3 Flexeril a day. I wish you well, this pain is horrible. Some people cannot believe that I am not on disability but I am not, I have learned how to control the pain, work with it, when I have a problem, I know to rest laying down, not sitting. I also try not to sit for long periods of time or on hard surfaces. The PT told me to walk around every 15 minutes so I try and do this. Just take a break from my work and walk down the hall or something. I do have Tramadol if I need it and take that every once in a while. I have been suffering with this since 2001 and it is no picnic. I do stay fairly active but my only real exercise has to walking or I rebound. I do use the weight machines in the gym to strengthen my core, legs, and arms but I am very careful. Losing weight if you are overweight also helps.

[hckynut]

How was it diagnosed? I hope this helps with your pain. For me they were never effective, but they do help many.

[hckynut]

"conlt"! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx If a disc is really ruptured ann as you say: "leaking", why not have this disc surgically removed? Don't make sense to me.

[HappyDaze]

I have this exact same thing and physical therapy was the only long-term help I've gotten. As long as I keep up on my exercises that they have me do at home, I don't have the sciatica issues. Keeping my core strong and healthy is a must. I never got injections since that doesn't really fix anything and I am all about fixing and not masking. Just my personal preference. I have gone a couple years now without sciatica pain and before that, it was pretty constant.

[conlt]

On 12/6/2014 hckynut said: "conlt"! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx If a disc is really ruptured ann as you say: "leaking", why not have this disc surgically removed? Don't make sense to me.

At the time of that exacerbation with the MRI results they did not recommend surgery. The L4 is torn and will always be torn leaking fluid. The L5 was herniated at the time. That time was really scary because the pain went on for about 3 months. Back in 2009 I had a herniated cervical disc and my right arm was so weak the Neurologist insisted that I needed surgery the next day or so or I would lose all function in my right hand and arm. I want to Shands University of Florida to see a Neurosurgeon and he recommended PT(not all surgeons jump to do the surgery). I am lucky enough to know and work with many Manually Trained PT's and I went from May to August but the herniation resolved and I was able to strengthen my Arm again. Just an FYI, the therapist told me to never tilt my head back because I could herniate the disc again. In discussions with my primary physician (who has had 4 back surgeries) his point to me is "avoid surgery as long as you can". I do, I have pain daily but most days can get it under control with the regimen I described above or if not, I take a Tramadol. I try and walk as much as I can as this helps too. I think I have learned how to live with it and control the pain as much as I can. I will know if I have an injury because the pain is severe. Good luck to anyone with Disc problems.

[hckynut]

On 12/7/2014 conlt said:

On 12/6/2014 hckynut said: "conlt"! Xxxxxxxxxxxxx If a disc is really ruptured ann as you say: "leaking", why not have this disc surgically removed? Don't make sense to me.

At the time of that exacerbation with the MRI results they did not recommend surgery. The L4 is torn and will always be torn leaking fluid. The L5 was herniated at the time. That time was really scary because the pain went on for about 3 months. Back in 2009 I had a herniated cervical disc and my right arm was so weak the Neurologist insisted that I needed surgery the next day or so or I would lose all function in my right hand and arm. I want to Shands University of Florida to see a Neurosurgeon and he recommended PT(not all surgeons jump to do the surgery). I am lucky enough to know and work with many Manually Trained PT's and I went from May to August but the herniation resolved and I was able to strengthen my Arm again. Just an FYI, the therapist told me to never tilt my head back because I could herniate the disc again. In discussions with my primary physician (who has had 4 back surgeries) his point to me is "avoid surgery as long as you can". I do, I have pain daily but most days can get it under control with the regimen I described above or if not, I take a Tramadol. I try and walk as much as I can as this helps too. I think I have learned how to live with it and control the pain as much as I can. I will know if I have an injury because the pain is severe. Good luck to anyone with Disc problems.

conlt,

Thank you for your reply. My best to you will dealing with this.