Anybody relate? (blown herniated disk L4-L5-S1)?

Question

How did it go for you? Story?

Just wondering who else out there deals with it. I blew a disk wide open 4 years ago. For 18 months I could not even sit down.

Answer 1

I went through all of the medical procedures including surgery. What I find helps me the most is deep tissue massage therapy. Nothing else works as well. I use very little pain medication. I still have problems sitting, but I've had this problem for twenty years and Am used to it. If you have access to a Jacuzzi I would recommend you use it every day. That's really going to bring down the pain.

if you have any further questions please let me know,
Billie77

Answer 2

First of all XRAYS never show soft tissue AKA herniated discs. They only show bone but they are cheaper to do so more often performed.l4, l5 and s1 herniations are serious, even if you have little or no pain. I WOULD NOT get a cortisone shot. They last about 3 days but the side effects can last a life time. They do weaken bones as the other posted suggested and they can introduce arthritis- I know scientists and docs and they have told me so- "Steriods are dirty drugs- MD." Why would you doubt if they XRay comes back clear- are you asking for drugs or something. An XRay, even without obvious inflammation does not mean you cannot have pain. Arthritis and stenosis can cause pain and both are hard to detect with any accuracy on an XRay. You are probably better off just giving this injury months to years to heal. I would use ICE and Advil and walk daily and eat well. If you have a pool and an upside down machine and an acupuncturist, these things can really help. Always try to go the natural way.

Answer 3

Wife had that and had a slip and fall incident which clashed them together and caused bone fragmentation at the location into the spinal cord. Lets talk 24/7 364 pain. She took Percocet every 3 hours AND wore an epidermal patch. She still cried in her sleep. After three years they didn't even work anymore, so surgery it was. Took four months to recover. Its been a year now and we know they did not get all of the bone fragments out and she is still experiencing some pain but nowhere near as bad. If she elects to have the surgery again they have to go in from the front and disembowel her to get to the front part of the spine.

Answer 4

I shattered the L5/S1 disc in 1981 & the 2 above are herniated. I had been playing volleyball at the time. I've had all the drugs & a TENS unit. Currently I wear a TENS unit, the fentanyl patch w/vicodin for breakthrough pain & occasionally a toridal (spelling?) injection (because of the patch, stronger medications are not recommended).

Since the whole thing started, I have had 3 kids and, until recently, was able to work full time. My own opinion is that the mental state and degree of "stubbornness" one has relates directly to one's recovery and quality of life.

Answer 5

Just got off the phone with a Dr. to give me the results of my MRI. I also have a herniated disk L4-5 - very painful! I had surgery on the C6-7 disk in my neck about 7 years ago for the same reason. I would do surgery again in a heart-beat. The pain was gone INSTANTLY after surgery.

Will you have surgery also? Or just do physical therapy? Good luck to you.

Answer 6

I hear you!!
I have had four back surgeries!!!! Been in a body cast. A back brace!!! Been confined to bed for so many weeks I can't remember them all.
My lower back L-4 L-5 L-6 T-3 and I can't remember the others off hand?? Probably more by now. I can rupture a disc by just rolling over in bed I have done that!!!
I am on oral morphine 60 mg every 4 hours for pain. I have a internal pain pump in my back that will put morphine directly into my back for the pain.
I am or was a nurse at one time. I got hurt on the job over 20 years ago and now I am disability. I hate being at home all the time. The money is terrible and the pain well I can't even talk about it!!

I recently had to go to the ER for severe back spasms. I had been to my pain doctor that every day and had new medicine put in my pain pump. The morphine that was in my pump was not helping. I was on 22 mg of morphine in a 24 hour period. If you don't know about pain pumps that is a lot!!!
Everyone kept saying I shouldn't be standing as much medicine I was on. Most people would be knocked out.
My doctor put me on morphine, Fentanyl and a nerve block of some kind I had never been on before!!

As I started to say I had to go to the ER for back spasms. They gave me some medication and sent me home. I went home and in about a hour or so I had to call my doctor to tell him I was hurting so bad I was throwing up and I couldn't hardly move my legs I was hurting so bad. I couldn't move my legs to walk!!

I have nerve damage from all the back problems!!

I was admitted around 9:00 pm that night and they put me on a morphine pump. I couldn't even stay in bed I was hurting so bad. I kept moving around the room with the IV pump attached to me. I would get in the bed then get up and walk for a few minutes I hurt so badly!!!! Finally I feel asleep and my husband went home.

I remember waking up still hurting so bad. I just wanted to die!!! I remember a nurse coming into my room around 1:00am telling I couldn't scream!! But I don't remember screaming???
The hospital called my husband around 5:30 am Sunday telling him he needed to come to the hospital as fast as he could. They had put me in ICU. I had stopped breathing and had to be placed on a Vent. This is a machine that will breath for you to keep you alive.

I was in a coma and having seizures!!! The doctors kept telling my husband they didn't know what was wrong with me. I had a total of 11 doctors looking out for me. My body was just shutting down the neurologist said. He told my husband that my back may have been hurting so bad that I just went inside myself.
Because my body couldn't stand being in so much pain???I was in a coma for 5 days.They told my husband in so many words they didn't know if I was going to make it or not!!!!
Finally my pain doctor stopped all the pain meds and the nerve block that was in my pump. He shut my pain pump off.
After 5 days I woke up and couldn't understand what had happened??? Still to this day I am very confused at times. I think I had a reaction to the nerve block?? That was the reason I couldn't move may legs and that is what stopped my breathing.
I was in the hospital for 19 days.
There is so much more I could tell you about back pain. One thing I need to say about this story!! Watch out what type of medicine you take for back pain. I truly think I had a reaction to the nerve block medicine.
I still have morphine in my pain pump but that is all. My pain well After being in the hospital and almost dieing I try to not get to upset when my back starts to really hurt bad!!!


Good Luck

Good Luck with your back!!