Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Curval on June 29, 2007, 01:43:31 PM
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I've had my ruptured disk since 1997/8.
It will go into spasm on me every six months or so. When it's bad I walk around almost doubled over and am completely unable to straighten up. The pain is pretty extreme at times.
I've been told previously that I was a good candidate for a diskectomy, but my last MRI showed that the goo that protrudes into my spinal nerves has susided quite a bit and that a disectomy is no longer recommended. That was 2 months ago.
The day before yesterday I coughed and immediately knew that I was about to have another episode. Sure enough it has gradually gone into full spasm.
My doctor is now suggesting disk replacement surgery.
I'm interested to hear if anyone else has had this done.
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Ouch, hope you heal, Curval.
I was fortunate enough to have a good nurse in an ER room once when I was 19 years old, and pulled all the lower back muscles..she gave me some advice: "Never lift more than you're capable of" (no brainer)"Always use your legs to lift with, never your back" and "Strengthen your buttocks and stomach muscles to prevent back injuries".
I've been fortunate and I've practiced what she preached to me in 1979.
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Only broken bone I have ever had so far at 34 years old, is a broken clavicle (collar bone). That was when I was 3. I've had a ton of sprains where Dr's sat in awe as to "How in the hell did you NOT break a bone?!" Lucky I guess.
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I had an L5-S1 microdiscectomy. The disc had been herniated for about 6 years and had adhered to the sciatic nerve root, so every time I bent or twisted at the waist, the disc pulled on the nerve root causing muscle spasms and shooting pain down my leg.
The surgeon recommended a fusion since there is little actual flexibility at the L5-S1 disc anyhow, but he also offered a discectomy as a less invasive option so I took the discectomy.
It was successful in the sense that I am no longer crippled, however the disc is not entirely stable there and I still have some pain. The surgeon said that the inevitable scar tissue in the area would probably give me some pain for the rest of my life. But it's a success because my quality of life is greatly improved even though occasionally it goes out and really hurts bad for a day or two.
Looking back on it, I still don't know if a fusion would have been a better idea. Overall I think the results of a fusion would have been better but it would have had more potential negative impact on my career. As it is, I have some pain but I still have my job too.
Disc replacement is pretty new, but supposedly it can be pretty effective. Discectomy can be effective too but it may lead to instability and you might end up having to follow it with a fusion. Fusion can be successful but it's also not a 100% solution and it also increases the chance of injury to the discs right above and below the fused one.
I think the current research says that if you can rehab out of the crippling pain, your overall success and satisfaction of the treatment is statistically about the same as if you have surgery. Of course, if rehab doesn't work and you must do something to get back the quality of life you want, then you gotta pick a surgical solution. Just realize that there is a huge variety of results. You might end up pain free for life, and have no further complications or injuries. Or the surgery might not work, you might injure more of your back, and you might end up on a painkiller drip for the rest of your life. So you have to aim for a satisfactory quality of life and do whatever you have to do in order to achieve it. But very few outcomes involve 100% removal of pain or complete "fixing" of the problem.
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Thanks for that eagl
L5 S1 is the same disk for me. Interesting that you say this:
"The disc had been herniated for about 6 years and had adhered to the sciatic nerve root, so every time I bent or twisted at the waist, the disc pulled on the nerve root causing muscle spasms and shooting pain down my leg."
Mine's been just slighly longer than yours. The last MRI showed that the protrusion had shrunk back and that all things considered I was getting better. That's why the surgeon said he would not perform a discectomy at this stage. He then mentioned that it could be a fusion type issue, just as you describe. Leftover scar tissue was another alternative.
In my case my flareups last about 4 or 5 days. 3 of them involve me walking around like an eighty year old man and grunting and groaning with every step.
After a couple of weeks I am basically okay but never ever fully comfortable sitting down. I have to be careful about lifting everything, as Rip mentioned but I am able to play golf etc. (In fact I have become a much better golfer because of it. I never try and crush the ball when I hit anymore.) I always have pain but have learned to deal with it fairly well.
If I could just be relieved of these episodes and still have some pain that would be fine.
I am waiting for a return call from someone who was in my predicament about a year ago and he did a disk replacement in the UK. I go to the same doctor who referred him so I'm very interested in what he has to say. I know he is very positive about it.
On the other hand I was told about someone else who had it done in Germnay by a very well respected doctor there and it was initially a success. Now he has either blown another disk, or the one that was replaced is messed up. He's worse now than he was before.
It's a tough choice.
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I've got 2 blown disks between the L3 and L5. The surgeon said there was no guarantee that even with successful surgery and fusion that I'd have less pain than I do now. At this time I take it easy and also take Aleve (Naproxin Sodium) every day. So far it's working. When things get to the point that its starting to spasm, I up the naprosin to prescription levels, basically double the dosage. I can do most anything I want but I have to limit carrying weight or lifting. Curiously the surgeon told me that it isn't an injury type of thing but a degradation over time that does this. Either way it hurts like hell and has been causing nerve damage in my right leg.
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I'm in the same boat as Mav. I have 2 bad discs that can get very painful. My doc won't prescribe me squat for it because I won't have the surgery. I'm leary of having my spine fused.
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Two of my lowest discs are "broken". Busted lowest disc 6 months ago while weight lifting. Busted it again yesterday and I am feeling pretty pissed now.
Sitting is hell and the spikes of pain it shoots down onto my left leg... OUCH! Feels like someone poking hot nails into my arse/lower back.
The surgeon recommended operation a while ago, but I tried to get it working again without it. Well, everything seemed to go fine so far but yesterday I managed to break it again THE SAME WAY I DID IN FIRST CASE! !"¤!#¤"#½&/%¤&#¤
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The lady has her 3rd and 5th discs ruptured at earlier points of her life... Now she has some massage for it, but it seems to ease her back for a day or two when she gets some...
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I spoke to the guy about the replacement surgery. He recommends it 100%. Before it this guy had written off doing any sports and was becoming a serious potato. His L5 S1 disk would pop out on him if he stepped off a curb wrong or wrenched it even slightly. He and his wife were planning on having kids and it was this fact that led him to try the operation. He wanted to be able to pick up his kids and play with them.
He began by having rigourous physio therapy to strengthen his stomach and his lower back muscles. That lasted 6 weeks.
The surgery was done from the front of his stomach. Much like an appendix incision was made and his guts moved off to the side. Apparently doing the op from the front greatly reduces the chances of a mistake near the spinal cord.
He said the first 48 hours afterwards were extemely unpleasant but that five days later he was sent home. For 6-8 weeks he was not allowed to pick up anything heavier than 5 lbs. He was back at work in 4 weeks albeit sitting in a lounge chair for two of those.
He is now an avid golfer and fisherman. Before the op he had stopped going out on his boat and was looking to sell it because he couldn't handle the wave bumbing his spine about. He admitted that it took him about three months in total before he would put any kind of strain on his back but that now, 2 years later, he doesn't give anything a second thought...but obviously won't lift anything that would risk a problem. Real heavy stuff...not suitcases etc.
I'm going to get myself out of this episode and start my own rigourous physio for a few months to strengthen my stomach and back. Once the summer is over I may consider this surgery. I need to check with my insurance company though...to ensure I'm covered, but I'm fairly sure most if not all will be.
No way am I getting anything fused and a disectomy is pointless based on the last MRI. Looks like it is replacement or nothing. The guy is going to provide me with all of the necessary materials and I will do my own research before thinking about having it done.
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Good luck.
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GL Curv!
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Coincidentally, my wife's back went into spasm only yesterday. Not the first time but this seems worse. She is was virtually immobilised until the Doctor we called out (80 Euro)gave her a painkilling injections and some muscle relaxant. The Doc suspects a prolapsed disk but that remains to be seen. I hope not but the experiences related here could be useful.
I have had back problems for 25 years but luckily it's only muscular. I went into spasm like my wife just getting out of a car with no prior warning. Anyone who doesn't have back pain doesn't realise how debillitating it is. It never really goes. Those of you out there without back pain don't know how lucky you are.
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Originally posted by rpm
I'm in the same boat as Mav. I have 2 bad discs that can get very painful. My doc won't prescribe me squat for it because I won't have the surgery. I'm leary of having my spine fused.
I am leery about it as well. The meds the Dr. prescribed were naproxen sodium in 440 gr tabs. That is nothing more than Aleve at double dosage. When I finished the pills I went back to normal amounts of Aleve. I get it in the generic formulation, wallyworld or costco. It is listed as Naproxen with sodium in smaller letters. Same exact stuff as Aleve. When I have a bad episode or feel a strain coming on I double it to 2 pills in the morning and evening. This maintains the pain at a far more tollerable level. Try it and see what you think.
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I take 200mg ibuprofen every morning. On a day to day basis, this is about 90% effective (ie. on 9 out of 10 days, I do not have back pain that causes me to restrict my activities). The most effective drug for my back pain was actually soma (a muscle relaxant) but it's harder to get than other muscle relaxants that don't seem to do much for me, plus I can't fly when I'm taking muscle relaxants so I don't even ask for them. When my back acts up, I just increase the ibuprofen dose immediately to near the max dosage (800mg 3 times a day) and spend more time stretched out on my back on a firm surface (carpeted floor works fine) to help get things aligned again.
Swimming helps a lot and the competitive style strokes I use are great for back and abdomen strength. The only problem there is finding the time to swim for 30-60 min when I'm already exhausted from work. Flying 2-3 times a day in 100+ deg heat in the T-37 over the course of a 12 hour work day is exhausting even to people in top physical shape, and sometimes it's tough to find time to do that plus get to the gym or pool.
I should probably find a decent massage therapist but I just don't seem to have the time.
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They give me percocet and diazapam as well as an anti inflamatory meloxicam.
The first few times I had these meds I have to admit it was quite enjoyable. The buzz from the first two was a great one and I only needed a few days to pull through a spasm. I flew AH really well during those few days. ;) Now though I just want to be done with all the pills. It puts me into a fog while I'm on them and last night I actually took one too many of the percocets (just because I really was in agony) and ended up hurling up the nice dinner the wife had made me.
I'm fed up with the whole thing.
I'm still in bad shape today. Instead of being outside with the kids on a rare beautiful weekend I'm going to be stuck inside lying down. Work is going really well with lots of new business coming in giving us the ability to hire some more people. This back is making a great situation a nightmare because I am sitting at a desk most of the time. Nowadays longer than ever. But it is taking its toll on my back.
Luckily it isn't as exhausting as flying fighter planes. :) I have no excuse that I cannot find the time to do the necessary exercise. I don't have a pool but my father and sister do, so I think there will be a ton of swimming in my immediate future. Both of them live within walking distance of work as well.
Mission impossible will begin as soon as I am over this spell. Getting me back into shape.