Reply Melza
Hi
Keep going. Sorry you are suffering. It will not go on forever it will change. Try googling breathworks. Pester the living daylights out of the NHS team!
Seems to be a bit of a theme here. We are paying our taxes and guess what; fundemental members of our services such as firemen, doctors and policewomen and NHS workers are not helped. After all the spin and billions spent on health this makes me sick. I could go on at some length but shall spare you all.
No one really takes the pain and anguish made by prolapsed disks seriously.
Try to keep your spirits up.
Day 4
Hi Guys,
Things are going ok. Back is still sore but can move about easier. Right leg pain still there a little bit but only if i do too much.
Good things are i can sit down, lay next to my wife in bed, walk for more than 5 mintues.
Things i am not sure of: How much should i be doing? i am doing my exercises and have been doing a couple of 10/15 min walks a day. The rest of the time i am resting or just pottering about the house. Is this too much or too little. I do not want to do too much and set my self back.
One more thing how long does it take for the nerves to settle down with regards to pain?
Olli
Reply Melza
So sorry to hear of your difficulties, and oh, the irony of the NHS who are unsympathetic.
My rheumatologist was most unsympathetic when i first saw him and thought i was messing him about because of my age (apparently it is unusual to have disc prolapses in younger people), i was 27 when my problems began.
I have had my first surgery last October, which was unsuccessful so am facing 2nd time surgery.
I really hope things get better for you, and am also glad you found this forum where people really do understand. I used the information in this forum to decide to go ahead with my surgery as i was really worried about the risks.
It good to know people sympathise and can offer really good advice.
Take care of yourself, and God bless. 🙂
Reply Olli
Hi Olli,
Glad the recovery is going well, it is a lengthy one i'm afraid. I was advised by my surgeon that it takes up to a full year to get the full benefit of the surgery.
In regards to the physio, i was given 3 lots of exercises to do daily. 10 reps of each exercise 3 times a day (thats 90 reps a day!) I was exhausted!
Its good that you can sit down so soon, i could not sit at all for at least a month.
I was told by my surgeon to find a good balance between rest and moving around.
I did what i could but when i felt the pain was getting bad i knew i had overdone it and so rested.
So i guess just do what you can, but comfortably.
Good luck with the rest of your recovery 🙂
Reply Olli
Hi Olli
Chill out and do sweet bugger all for the first week except the minor simple physio they gave you. The second week I pottered about a bit more and on the third week managed a five hour gentle stroll in the peak district. Basically listen to your body and do it in tiny chunks. No medals for being a hero and pushing yourself here. Do not push yourself too hard!
The kick boxer I was in hospital with , in for a second, reckoned that walking widths in deep water a few weeks after the op was good. I shall try this.
I read an article by a surgeon that reckoned that you should do ne real exercise for six weeks; this is my plan.
Three weeks after op and I return to work tomorrow! After three months off will be a bit of a shock. I cant wait to be back in work - I know this makes me sound like a sad git but I am sure some of you can relate to this.
All the best to you who are struggling and suffereing out there.
Rod_1
Hi,
Cheers mate, its hard not knowing what to do:confused: i am resting a lot but i also do my exercises and i do like getting out and walking a bit. I think i will keep it at this level this week things seem to be ok. I have my first rehab session next week so i will see what they say.
Good luck at work mate, i am not planning to go back for 6 weeks and then it will be light duties no house fire's for me just yet.
Keep in touch.
Olli
Back to Work
12 Weeks after injury I am back to work. Thanks largely to a big hearted surgeon who operated on me quickly and a family who supported me. I have returned 3 weeks after op and as I am not doing a physical job feel fine. I wish those of you who are still suffering and waiting for surgery all the best. I have had such good luck compared with some who are posting that it makes me feel guilty. All I can say is keep going and dont let things get you down, push your GPs and surgeons and keep your belief going. An amount of pain and stiffness is there but nothing really.
For what its worth I think one of the major risks to these conditions is depression. Luckily I did not suffer from it but can easily imagine that if it had dragged on it might have. I do not think that disc related injuries are taken seriously enough, at the end of the day they affect your ability to work which in my book is serious.
I am not a political person but reading these accounts makes me furious.
A recurrent theme is that GPs seem not to authorise an MRI scan and associated referral early enough. I know they are expensive but they are the only way to know what is wrong, anything else is pure guesswork and assumption. Most of us work and pay tax and all of us in the uk have every right to expect treatment via the NHS in a timely manner. You have a right to request a referral from your gP; they need a good reason to refuse.
For what its worth to others reading this, I think if you can afford it ,an initial private consultation with a neurosurgeon can help. You simply need to ask your GP for a private referral. I also believe that without being rude we need to be a little pushy with the medical profession as things can get left and delays incurred. The initial consultation with a neurosurgeon was £260 and the scan is about £800. The op costs between £5 and £7.5K privately, though thank heavens I did not have to pay.
I shall to your relief shut up now and leave the forum and wish you all good health and all the best with whatever treatment you are receiving.
Rod
Hi All, Firstly i would like to say to rod very good luck on yr quick recovery, I,m 2day on my 3rd month of my operation,having 2 disc,s done.I,m worse now than i was b4 my op. I can,t do much at all, I used to work full time but now can,t, I do try and do a bit extra everyday,but within 10mins i have to sit down and rest for quite a while. I personally think that i have nerve damage as i was left waiting for this operation for over 2yrs, ( AFTER MY MRI )i have seen my surgeon (NHS) and he tells me i,m not healed yet? Is anyone else like this and can you tell me what i do next, do i suffer and pump myself up with tablets or do i go and see my gp about(which i know they,ll not do anything with being under the surgeon). I can,t yet stand striaght up i end up bending forward and walking like a duck. My sex life and social life are now at a stand still, I,ve put 2and a half stone on.Soz for going on just need to know if anyone else in the same situation as me.. Also left leg not the same. thanks for taking the time to read my thread.I would appreiciate any comments good or bad.I now walk permantly with a walking stick,i,m only 46
Hello Sandy04, I am so sorry you are still suffering after so long, a bit depressing for me really after yet another sleepless night trying to control nerve irritation in my legs. And why do my legs burn up so much! Spent the whole night cooling my legs down and taking god knows how many pills. Seems most of us are left in a really bad situation that is pretty well destroying our lives....and all because of system! Are there enough of us to start a campaign? Not sure how much of this I can take and it seems I have to wait at least 6 months for the op...doesn't bear thinking about.
Like you I'm not working (heading for state benefits) putting on weight and spending every single day working around pain. Not good enough when medical professionals have a remedy (hopefully) at hand.
Wish I could help you Sandy04, good luck.
having a bad day
Hey guys,
Had my MRI scan last week, and have tried to find out when i will be seeing my surgeon again.....(I have to travel 10-15 miles to get to the hospital as due to privatisation of our orthopaedic services, my local hospital do not perform spinal surgery nor hold clinics)
I had to be taken home in an ambulance after my first op as the physio's, OT therapists and nurses were not happy for me to travel home all that way in a car!
With a prolapsed disc or disc(s), haven't had my results yet..... i'm sure many of you know how painful and uncomfortable it is travelling in a car for too long, and i have had to make this journey many times, and have to again!
Have been told it will be another 5 to 6 weeks anyway, until i get to see him again. 😡
Anyway, just fancied having a litte rant cos the pain is really getting me down.....i will bugger off and shut up now!
Thanks for listening! 😎
So so sorry to hear about so much pain. Keep badgering away at them. Trouble is medics think back pain doesn't kill you so everything takes forever.
I found with car travel that sitting in the passenger seat and putting my seat as far back as possible helped - couldn't sit upright, pain was so bad I just wanted someone to put me down.
Hi Sandy04. Have you gone back to your GP to ask for more physio? That might help. try to get moving a bit more. If I don't do my exercises everyday then I hobble around like I need a zimmer, if I do them then I'm out walking and cycling - no one would know I'd had anything done!
Good luck and keep hassling, its the only way you get anywhere.
I was given physio when problems first started, they put me out of action for 2 months. I saw another physio who told me I had probably been given the wrong exercises....I'd suffered an inflamed sacral (something) joint. Massive muscle spasms have stopped now that I don't do exercises, following physio advice. I wonder if age makes a difference here, I'm a 'mature' lady with dehydrated discs, not a chance of them slipping back into place which is what they were trying to achieve. What amazes me is how symptoms for slipped discs vary, and I only found that out on here. The worst of my discs is causing 'severe stenosis' which looks really scary to me but doesn't seem to bother the consultant. Our 'consultation' was so brief you would think he was simply offering to change my light bulb!
After a year of sheer torture I conclude that it would have been so much better if I'd been hit by a car, I would have been treated as a priority then.
Day 10
Hi All,
Sorry to hear that some of you are still in bad pain, i did a 7 month stint of it and wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Also if you can go private do it the NHS is crap i was luckly to get a quick operation but only because the nerve to my bladder was being pinched other wise i think i would still be on a waiting list.
Anyway after 10 days all is good. I have no pain in my left leg and just a little in my right leg but this only comes on after i have done my 30 minute walks. My legs are still tight and i need to build the strength up in them again, i had my first rehab session the other day with my physio and she says i am doing well and should have me in the pool in a couple of weeks:). She has also given me some more exercises which is good some of them are a little hard at the moment but once the tightness in my legs goes the exercises will be much easier. I am happy with the results and i cannot tell you how it feels to be out of pain and be able to do things normaly again. I cannot believe that 10 days ago i had an operation and now i can do 2 30 min walks a day, sit down and eat rather than having to lay on the floor and best of all i can lay in the same bed as my wife which i haven't been able to do since my wedding night back in February.
If anyone is thinking of having an operation do think long and hard about it as there are other ways that can help. I think though if you are finding life hard and have been in pain for a long time then look into it because the longer you do leave it the worse it might be with regards to nerve damage.
I will update you again soon
Olli;)
Reply Olli
Hi
Well done. I am chuffed that it has worked out. I am still at work but this weekend have had shooting pains in lower back- nothing compared with before the op but sobering. I think this was because I did not do the minimal NHS Physio I was given. Still I can get into work.I am going back to the physio with a vengence.
What is amazing is how all the codeine in the world doesn't touch nerve pain.
Keep going and believing in the recovery because positive thought is half the battle.
It is good to come out the other side and am really pleased for you.Well done.
To all out there that are still suffering keep going and keep your belief in your recovery. Things can work out as Olli's account shows.
Rod
Rod_1
Hi Rod,
The physio i see is the physio for a pro rugby club. she basicly told me that i am going to be doing exercises for the rest of my life to keep the pain at bay.:eek: I am ok with this as i like going to the gym. You are going to have to find time in your day to do the exercises to make sure your everything is strong enough to get you through the day. Also if you have total come off the pain killers this can be hard on your body because it has had a back up plan of sorts.
I am sure you will be fine just don't over do things and get yourself strong. You are only weeks out of an operation you are doing well to go back to work.
Keep in touch
Olli:cool:
P.S. Tramadol is a better pain killer for nerve pain. I gave up on codiene is rubbish.