[FReepaholic]

How did this end up in News/Activism?? I had it in the Opinions/Questions area??

Sorry.

[RichardW]

I've had this problem for 13 years. Comes and goes. I live with it.

[f.Christian]

Traction might help...a soft uneven mattress is bad.

Sleeping on the floor can straighten your spine back.

If it isn't too serious it could correct itself.

Do you have the sciatic nerve problem...pain going into your leg?

[Clara Lou]

I've been through this. Cortisone didn't work on my problem. I was in horrible (the worst) pain-- it put childbirth in the shade. I had surgery. Turned out that my herniated was about a micron from rupturing, which would have meant permanent nerve damage. Now I have NO pain-- zip. No disability whatsoever. =-)

[Spyder]

There are all sorts degrees of disc herniations, from bulges to full-blown extrusion - but usually not bad enough to require surgery. If you start getting persistent numbness or even worse weakness or bowel or bladder dysfunction, the surgery becomes more of an option if not mandatory. If there is neurological damage (the weakness, the bowel/bladder dysfunction) the longer you let it go, the less likely you'll be to get return of function.

Consider asking for a physical therapy referral. Sometimes a few exercises and advice on lifting and sitting techniques are all that's necessary. Traction works for some people... not all.

[LSAggie]

My brother-in-law had the endoscopic discectomy on his L5 last month. The operation was at 1:00 in the afternoon and he was released that evening. He said the pain was gone, and he just had a small bandage covering the wound. He was very happy he had it done. BTW, he lives in Salt Lake City, and the operation was done there. Good luck with whichever option you choose.

[libbylu]

Physical therapy. i had one L4-5 couldn't stand up straight for a while. if you have just seen that doc and he is talking shots and surgery, go to another doc, at least get referred to PT....cured mine and i promise you won't be sorry if you don't have surgery (now sometimes it is necessary but PT first)

[Dog]

You live with it.....I herniated a disk .......L1.... you just have to rest it...

[RJCogburn]

Does the disc impinge on a nerve?

Steroid injection is the first option usually. Surgery can be considered if steroid injections fail. So your doc is suggesting the standard approach.

I trust you have had MRI or other imaging to confirm and define the problem. Endoscopic discectomy is more widely available than you suggest. The benefit is that it is a very small incision with little involvement of surrounding tissue. The downside is the operator has somewhat less visualization of surrounding structures, so it is not an option for everyone. You would want an opinion of someone who has done the procedeure several times.

Even without endoscopic discectomy, many surgeons, particularly neurosurgeons do sort of "mini" surgical discectomy and many peole , probably most, are able go home the next day.

Good luck.

[HockeyPop]

I imagine it was disclosed by way of an MRI or CT scan. A myelogram is also emplyed whereby an amipaque dye is injected and then films are taken to determine the exact location of the affected disk. Make sure you get a neurosurgeon who is well regarded. A disc is like a jelly donut; the outside is a cartiaginous material enveloping a gelatinous material. The disc itself acts as a shock absorber and a fulcrum of sorts about which the spine rotates. Trauma, whether acute or repetetive of sufficient force and direction may cause the disk to bulge and is referred to an intra-discal herniation or bulging disk. The ramifications are that when the disk bulges it may bulge into the space normally occupied by the nerves emanating from the spinal cord which go through a tight space known as the neuroforamina. This will result in pressure on the nerve. Pain varies in degrees and left uncheck may lead to atrophy, especially to the areas of the leg which the particular nerve feeds. The herniated disc occurs when the jelly pops out of the donut. It exudes and again this gelatinous material known as the nucleus pulposis may compress the nerve. The most resourceful methods of alleviating this condition is to remove the jelly by excising it through surgery. This can be done by an ortho or a neurosurgeon. My preference is the latter. Ask your doctors about laminectomies and dicectomies. The latter is less intrusive and there are techniques whereby the "jelly" can be sucked out by needle with correspondingly less trauma. I hope for your sake it is a compensible injury ;~)

[shetlan]

Two years ago, my then 23 year old daughter had a papaya enzyme injection at Jackson Hospital in Miami Florida. (L-5 herniated disk.) Dr. Brown was the surgeon. She traveled in India 6 months later, and teaches ballet. No pain. 80% chance of full recovery.

Apparently, this procedure is used quite a lot in Canada.

[HockeyPop]

The endoscopic procedure involves sucking out the "jelly" and is not the most resourceful method in that often times all the jelly isn't removed permitting free floating fragments to eventually calcify and cause you problems later on. The laonger you hold out and the older you become, risks increase anytime one undergoes general anasthesia.

[Ben Hecks]

I had the same problem - pain became so severe that I couldn't even crawl. MRI showed particles of the disk in contact with nerve bundle. I elected to have surgery which was very successful....the MRI allowed the surgeon to perform the procedure with minimum trauma and I went home the next day. Proper rehab is important but I emerged with full movement and no pain. Every case is different but surgery worked wonders with my problem. I wish you the best.

[Argus]

I found that acupuncture works really well at relieving the pain and restoring mobility, but it's possible that your problem is worse than mine. Definitely get a second opinion before surgery, though.

[onedoug]

I worry about turning into a paralleloman. It usually straightens out by mid-morning with some good stretching. But sometimes when I wake up in the morning and see what looks like two of me standing there, I get scarred. For God's sake, one's enough.

[Brownie74]

The doc says the next step is cortisone shots and if that don't work then surgery.

Cortisone shots won't help any. I had to have L4-L5 replaced. As a result I now have pain in my right hip, a burning sensation in my right hamstring, and numbness in my right leg. That's L5-S1, pain radiating into the right lower extremities as a result of the surgery.

I would recommend that you not have surgery unless your doctor says it is an absolute must to prevent nerve or spinal cord damage. Good luck.

[jettester]

Tony, I had herniated discs at the L4 and L5 which required attention. I went to a Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon (he treated many of the pros in Southern Calif.) who was very wary of surgery except as a last resort. My injuries were the result of a rear-end car accident where I was stopped at a light and this dizzy dame was rushing to the airport and forgot to stop.

After about 4-5 years of P.T. and medicine, I couldn't take the pain any longer. The doc gave me two options: the percutaneous discectomy or fusing the area. He advised the first and that's what we went with. I checked in at 6:00 am as an Outpatient, given a spinal blocker and prepped for surgery. The procedure lasted roughly 45-60 minutes and recovery about 30 minutes. They wheeled me back to the room and within an hour regained feelings in my legs - enought to walk around. The doctor came in and had me walk around and it was the first time in those 4-5 years that I had no pain.

It is important to keep up the excercises and the weight off, but I have had no complications from the procedure. There have been a few times that I have overdone it and put myself in bed for a day or two, but nothing that shouldn't be expected for being stupid.

I hope this helps and if you need more info, please drop me a note.

[Ten Megaton Solution]

Go to WEBMD.COM and see what sort of professional advice you can get for "herniated disc".

I believe a "discectomy" entails extracting the damaged disc entirely and permitting the two adjacent vertebrae to fuse.

But don't fool around, get professional opinions, not ours.

[Balata]

Bump for later response.

[Arlis]

Tony:

I'm 57, had three back surgeries, last in '92, and I'm doing great. Will take a book to tell you all. No one can tell you what the path to take except a top notch surgeon. Stay away from orthopedics....they are bone butchers.....GET the best neurosurgeon you can find. A tennis buddy of mine had an ortho mess up w/3 surgeries in 12 months for simple ruptured disc and now he's in a wheelchair for life.

Been through every type of therapy you can think of. First herniated disc in '80 a chiropractor (quack to me then but no more) helped me to health....right side.

2nd herniation in '88, different disc, left side, no chiropractor could fix it, nor osteopath. Laminectomy (open back surgery) fixed it. Was back running - albeit slowly after 6 weeks. Back to 3 mile runs in two months.

Pain came back 4 years later. One of the only docs in the nation doing the arthroscopic bit tried, but couldn't do anything. Had to have 2nd open back surgery in '92. Was scar tissue from surgery #1 on one side of the nerve, and calcified bone growth pressing on the other. This can happen. Many reoccurences of scar tissue causing problems in the future. FOLLOW DOCS ORDERS TO A 'T'. Every case is different, that's why there is no set path, and you need the best neuro you can find. Get referrals. I've seen the cortizone work for some...all depends...too many variables. Sometimes even an MRI and Myleogram can't tell them exactly what the cause and severity is (friend is radiologist)

I'm fine now, lift weights 3x/week, run or Nordic Track 3x/week. Get in shape. Most back problems are a result of being out of shape, even tho I was running when my first injury happened, I had slacked off a lot and wasn't in top shape.

God bless, may the Lord lead you and heal your back - one way or another.