New member - L5 herniated disc

[cmv]

Almost a year ago (12/2010), I woke up two weeks before Christmas with an intense pain in my back. I experience back pain before then but dismissed it as normal. In the year leading up to this I'd changed my sedentary lifestyle: I began jogging and took a couple strenuous vacations.

The pain that morning was unlike any I'd experienced earlier. After a day or two of trying to sleep slumped over a box, I went to a general care physician and was sent home with pain killers and anti-anxiety pills. In hindsight, I wish I'd gone to the emergency room right away. A couple days later it was clear things were not improving so I did just that.

For a couple of days I was an in-patient at the hospital but it was easier to get scheduled for an MRI as an out-patient. So I checked out, waited a couple days for that and finally got in for one and went over the results with a neurologist. My L5 disc had herniated towards the left side pushing up against the nerve and it was stretched like a rubber band. I checked back into the hospital as it was too hard to handle the pain. I was scheduled for surgery the Monday after Christmas but it just so happened my neurosurgeon was scheduled to work Christmas day and he convinced the administration to let him do the surgery Christmas day morning (there was some concern of the nerve getting damaged).

The surgery went well. I was and of course still am extremely grateful to have such a wonderful physician and neurosurgeon at the hospital. I no longer am a patient of the general practitioner. I've been working on getting back to normal. I did physical therapy and now take a Pilates twice a week.

Up until a couple weeks ago things seemed to be going very well. In the last couple weeks, it's felt like a much milder version of what happened almost a year came back. The way I describe it to friends is that it is similar to something biting your arm but you can't touch it. You can only try to shake it off but it just won't let go. I took vacation this week and I've spent my mornings in bed. After two days of that, I feel much better. But it is nerve wracking not knowing what is going on. I've scheduled an appointment to see the neurosurgeon.

I'm male, live in midwest of USA (Chicago), engaged to be married, mid-thirties and overweight (lost quite a bit jogging, gained back since - BMI 29.x). I'm here because I want to understand all my options long term and read about other experiences. I didn't get a chance to research things like I normally do before my surgery. Since then, I've been preoccupied with getting back to normal. But now it's clear I need to be an informed patient and I'm hoping I can work on that here by reading other experiences. Thanks for reading my story.

[trkdoc714]

Welcome to SPS. I hope you're able to get the information you need from the archives and discussion threads. A lot of the membership has been down the same road and are eager to help others in need.

Let me know if I can help. That's why we're here.

Good luck,

Bob

[Badgolfer]

Almost a year ago (12/2010), I was scheduled for surgery the Monday after Christmas but it just so happened my neurosurgeon was scheduled to work Christmas day and he convinced the administration to let him do the surgery Christmas day morning (there was some concern of the nerve getting damaged). The surgery went well.

Can you provide any more details on the surgery? Was it a discectomy? Did they add anything to the space?

It is not uncommon to see a discectomy or similar surgery be a temporary fix and not a permanent solution. Do a 'key word' search here and read some of the other examples. So it is possible that you have a similar problem again and need more radical surgery. Fortunately there are now a lot of options for you to research from Artificial Discs to Fusions. And, as you have already learned, not every Dr has your best interest in mind so make sure you are comfortable before you agree to the next more radical step.

Dan

[cmv]

It was a discectomy and nothing was put in place of the removed portion. I am embarrassingly uneducated on the details and terms. I'm working to resolve that. I'm reading the threads brought up by that search -- thanks!

I'm glossing over one part of my story. I hesitate to write it but in the interest of sharing my exact experience I will. The original doctor sent me home with Valium and Xanax. I've never taken anything like either of those before. With the extreme pain and sleep deprivation I didn't manage to dose myself correctly. I kept waking up, taking more and then slumping over a large box that happened to be in my apartment. The ER operated under the assumption that the amount I'd taken was going to cause fatal organ failure. So I spent some time thinking I was going to die and trying to explain that while I could dose myself accurately taking Ibuprofen I could not do the same later on with Valium and Xanax. My pain estimate was also in disagreement -- I understood 10 as the worst I'd experienced so I estimated somewhere around 6-7 when it should have been 9+. There was no permanent organ damage and apparently my pain threshold is/was out of whack.

[Justin]

Hi CMV,

I just wanted to welcome you to the Spine Patient Society.

You'll have plenty of "material" to read here, especially in the Patient Education link at the top of the SPS Forum. The collective knowledge of Spine Patients from around the world is quite impressive (and immensely helpful for those struggling with spine issues and/or facing spine surgery).

I wish you the very best and don't hesitate to contact me via private message, email, etc. if you have any questions.