Surgery required!
Hello, I am new here today.
After suffering with Sciatica for the last 5-6 months, I have been diagnosed with a single prolapsed disc which is so far out it is beyond natural repair. Combined with the severity of the pain (which has ranged from just annoying to sheer crippling) my Consultant says there is no other option but to operate.
This will mean being in hospital for only 2 days where they will remove the disc with keyhole surgery and by the time I get home I am assured there will be no pain and my life will be back to normal.
The reason for my post is to ask if anyone else has had this operation and if they can let me know just how succesful it actually is. I have been told of a remote risk of paralysis if it all goes wrong which is quite scary!
Other than my question - I have tried so many pills and painkillers on my route to recovery and I think that I have found a combination which has eased my pain at least enough to enable me to get dressed in the morning! I have been using 2 x Nurofen Plus and 2 x Anadin Extra about 3 or 4 times a day. Also I have religiously spent up to an hour everyday lying on a flat floor with my knees pointing to the ceiling (Alexander Technique). This has helped to relieve my sciatica symptoms enough to allow me to function normally - the pain does not disappear but it does become manageable.
The consultant said that after the operation I will be able to throw all of my painkillers away. I will post again when my appointment comes through and keep you up to date when the operation takes place.
Hi There
Another new member, just joined today. I have a prolapsed disc, the problem happened in 2003 when I experienced severe pain in my right leg and it got worse and worse to the stage where I was crippled ,and eventually could not walk - the pain was unforgetable. One morning I woke up and I could not get out of bed and also vommitted with the pain. My husband got me into the car and to the doctor, I was then reffered to another doctor - who speciallises in orthapedic problems and he told me I had a prolapased disc, and put me on 14 tablets a day, he told me to lie on my back for 8 weeks, after two days of votmiting up the tablets I was brought in by ambulance to the hospital where I spent two weeks. I was on morphine and and a drip and was pretty bad. My right leg was numb and I could not feel my foot. My neighbour who is a physiotherapist visited me and tried to help me move from the bed. She spent time trying to lift my leg slightly and two weeks later The surgeon passed the leg raise test - I was sent to the Physiotherapist in the hospital and she told me she viewed my CT scan and I should have been sent to the operating table!! I had spoke to alot of people who had the operation and some say it is successful and others say that they still were in pain after the operation. Surgeons had said to me that if you remove a disc it weakens the disc above and it is better to recover through swimming, and excercise which is what I did - I am now a lane swimmer - took lessons and I recovered through excerise and surrounding myself with positive people, I life a great life now, work full time and only get small pains in my right leg, I am not sure if this is of help to you, but at least I feel 5 years later that if it happens to me again surgery would only be a second option
l have a pro lapse disc l also suffered from sciatica l got ill last year in february the numbness in my leg not able to walk the doctors wanted to do the operation l refused l tried physio but it did not help me at all l was unable to walk an in so much pain then l tried the cupping therapy after the first treatment l felt so much better l am better now i dont take tablets l get the treatment done once a week the lady gives me massage for forty five minutes an then puts the cup on my skin for 15 minutes it is good for your blood circulation.l know how you guys feel but if you can avoid the operation then do so the cupping therapy really does work an gets rid of the pain.
Cure ..Prolapsed disc...
Hi All,
i am Tinku from india,i thought i will post my story so that it may be a help to all who is sufering from pain from prolapsed disc..The cure that i had is through HOMEOPATHY...i was under a doubt if it would work and my advise is always go to a certified professional rather than buying it from some websites..
i am 28 and am overweight,may be bacause of sitting and working for long hours ,had started with disc prolapse 4-5 months back,i had swelling at the back and the pain was so severe that i cannot stand up straight and my body started twisted to the right side.i had taken to a hospital ,they gave me some physiotheraphy and opted for a surgery ,but later it started getting a little better that they told to wait and watch.i started getting better ,but not in a proper way .Because i could not extend my leave any more i got discharged.
Things were almost the same as before ,in the evenings i was having fatigue in my muscle that i could not stand straight.meanwhile one of my collegue had a prolapse due to an accident .His cousin was a homeo doctor and he started getting better when he had the medicine.i also decided to try homeo.
i can say that the effect is a kind of magical .within a week i got releaved from the pain for say about 95% and within another weak the bend started getting a lot better ,now its been more than a month and my legs started getting the strenth back,i can say that i am 99% normal now.i am not sure how and why it works..but it really do..
i am planning to do an MRI and would update with it once i have it..
Cure...
Hello, I am one of you
First time I had prolapsed disk half a year ago. MRI showed it as L5/S1. Even so it was unforgettable pain for about a week , I gradually recovered from it without surgery. After two weeks I was able return to work with some residual pain in my buttock. At that time I found this forum. Thank you all, for you advises and suggestions that you share here. I posted couple of my suggestions as well somewhere on this forum before. I think that people who experienced this excruciating pain understand how important it is for somebody to get a bit of information to handle such an event.
Half year later it happened to me again. I should mention that during this six month period I had some little pain on came and go basis. But not the last time. This time it came and worsen and worsen
. to the point that I was not able to stand and had to crawl to the bathroom on my four. This time recovery is not so fast and easy as it was before. I spent two weeks in a bed. Now four weeks already passed and I still have some pain that prevents me from normal functionality. What is encouraging about current situation that it looks like I found the way to get better slowly. Hope one day Ill be pain free again.
Below is what I am doing to recover. Hope youll find it useful and helpful.
I met a coworker who also had a prolapsed disk before. He shared his experience and even a book and lumbar support that he used during his recovery. He used McKenzie Method during his recovery. All the additional information about this method can be found on optp.com. I bought a book on this method from this site and now doing first three exercises from it. I can say that it works for me. And a lot that is written in that book makes a lot of sense for me. Hope that new knowledge will help me to avoid this pain in a future. If you can not buy it I can post the exercises descriptions here. In addition, I started using Emu oil and mixture of camphor, cajeput, menthol and eucalyptus oils. If you google it you can find the benefits and properties of this oils. I did the mixture by myself from pure essential oils. It seems that these also help me reduce the pain and move toward recovery. I am also trying to eat fresh pineapple every day, since it also has anti-inflammatory properties.
Good luck to all of you in your recovery.
Hi All,
i am Tinku from india,i thought i will post my story so that it may be a help to all who is sufering from pain from prolapsed disc..The cure that i had is through HOMEOPATHY...i was under a doubt if it would work and my advise is always go to a certified professional rather than buying it from some websites..i am 28 and am overweight,may be bacause of sitting and working for long hours ,had started with disc prolapse 4-5 months back,i had swelling at the back and the pain was so severe that i cannot stand up straight and my body started twisted to the right side.i had taken to a hospital ,they gave me some physiotheraphy and opted for a surgery ,but later it started getting a little better that they told to wait and watch.i started getting better ,but not in a proper way .Because i could not extend my leave any more i got discharged.
Things were almost the same as before ,in the evenings i was having fatigue in my muscle that i could not stand straight.meanwhile one of my collegue had a prolapse due to an accident .His cousin was a homeo doctor and he started getting better when he had the medicine.i also decided to try homeo.
i can say that the effect is a kind of magical .within a week i got releaved from the pain for say about 95% and within another weak the bend started getting a lot better ,now its been more than a month and my legs started getting the strenth back,i can say that i am 99% normal now.i am not sure how and why it works..but it really do..
i am planning to do an MRI and would update with it once i have it..
Hello,
I am new member and when i came across your felt a ray of hope.Can u please give me the details of the doctor so that i can take my sibling.Please help me,it is very urgent.
Thanks in advance.
Hi everyone, I am a newbie here and confused about how to post, I am in an awful situation at the moment and could do with asome advise... I have always had back problems but it got worse in 2004 after the birth of my son.. he was a fertility baby andwas premature and the pregnancy was a nightmare.. however after my back got worse and I have 2 herniated of prolapsed disks which bulged into the spinal column.. one of them is now shriveled up and is practically bone on bone, I was offered surgury to remove L5 and L4 but turned it down due to risks.. I have just found out I am 5 weeks pregnant a total shock as no fertility sort and not planned, so Iam so worried about what could happen I am already in so much pain and unsure if I carry another child will I end up worse, which would be no good to my son... I have High Blood pressure and am 39 years old, I had several other complications throughout pregnancy and waters broke at 28 weeks, Just wondering if anyone has had, similar and if there are any risks, I just dont want to be in hospital again... can anyone help!
Hello,
I was diagnosed with disk prolapse L5S1 and sciatica. Tried accupuncture, osteopathy, but still in lots of pain. I've just found out I'm 2 weeks pregnant, and feel pretty much like you when you wrote this message.
What did you do? How did your pregnancy go?
Hope well...
Basil1 I have same as you, although mine has been ongoing for 10 years now. Can you provide me with links to purchase of the book you mention?
Prolapsed and Cauda equina -painful!
Hi All. I was so glad to stumble upon like minded individuals who unfortunately suffer in the same manner as myself who truly understand the issues of severe back conditions.
Ive read as many of the posts as I can, and yet still have no clear answers to the question of , will I ever be cured or even helped to live a moderately normal life state of life in the future.
Im a 42 year old male. Who eats well, and has always tried to stay in good shape. I believe I first damaged my discs about 20 years ago when weight training without a support. I felt a searing sharp pain during a squat thrust like Id never felt before in my lower back. I awoke during the night to find my right leg had no feeling apart from tingling and excruciating pain in my lower back.
Over days I nursed it and eventually the worst of the pain subsided. Little did I know I had changed my life forever from that moment on. I then lived constantly with nagging lower back pain and occasional bouts of disc prolapse. I hobbled around almost in tears at times putting up with the pain and staying off work when I had no choice but to rest in bed. This went on for years.
I visited my doctor at the time but was only prescribed pain killers and dicofenix.No specialist was offered in those early years of suffering. I have since seen 3.
Subsequently I was involved in a minor car accident, when I was rear ended in a car park. This brought on sciatica and sever spasms in the same lower back area as before to add to the constant pain. From then on, the bouts became more frequent and more severe. About 4 or 5 times a year now I have a relapse which basically cripples me and takes a few weeks of rest and medication -muscle relaxants, pain killers, ice packs and stomach cramping anti-inflammatories to get me on my feet again.
I have been sent to various specialists all who have had a slightly different opinions about my condition that has only added to my mistrust and confusion as to what exactly is going on in my back.I was told about 4 years ago to expect paralysis in 2 years because the disc damage was so severe. I have had one MRI scan which revealed two prolapsed discs one actually pressing on the cauda equina.I have been strongly advised to get myself to a hospital if I go numb around my groin and lower areas. This, fortunately has been narrowly avoided thus far. Specialist advice has ranged from keep doing what Im doing.e.g. Pilates, medication excercise etc, and avoid an operation until I can not feel my legs.To an offer of an operation (stabilization operation) pins in the spine and partial disc removal, but with limited success and high risks involved of paralysis.
As I write this, Im in the middle of another bad relapse and severe pain is making tyoing this almost impossible. But I wanted to hear from others about their own experiences or successes with finding a real cure
. I am currently wearing a tight lumbar support, have taken pain killers every few hours, muscle relaxants, anti inflams and even devils claw- natural anti inflams. Any attempt to walk is excruiating.A cough or sneeze feels like a hammer fist to my back and my spine is currently contorted into what resembles a hard formed 'S' shape. I stand up and get around only with the help of two walking sticks.
A week ago I run a 5 k race and felt reasonably fine? Apart from a stiff back and the usual daily pain.
I know by now that only when the spasms ease will the pain start to drift away again. So far this year I have spent half a much anticipated holiday in the hotel bed because of this and may also miss a close friends wedding. I recently started a light jogging routine after further advice on strengthening my back. I enjoyed this immensely, but now fear this new hobby will also have to be shelved. The issue is slowly starting to take over and ruin my life.It is very difficult to stay positive when a condition wont even let you be you.
I was wondering if anyone out there can shed any hopeful light on this for myself and others who may also be suffering to this extent.
Thanks in advance, and thank you for the forum.
Hi Powderace
I really feel for you and know exactly what you are going through, as will many members on this site.
I am guessing that you have seen NHS specialists thus far and would recommend getting an opinion from a recommended private specialist if possible. I emphasise 'recommended' because even private specialists can get it wrong, as I found out two years ago.
I would have thought that it would be more dangerous to leave you until you have no feelings in your legs, than to try to do a surgical procedure now as far as the risk of paralysis goes.
I am on day 9 following an operation that I had via The Spine Foundation based in Cheshire, and would recommend Martin Knight as a first point of contact. I had a long way to travel to see him and I was basically 'crippled up' because of the journey, but I would do it again.
I was also at risk of losing the use of both legs and the use of my bladder, and had been on an NHS waiting list since January. As I got worse and still had no appointment I decided to bite the bullet and see Martin Knight.
This time around my problem has been present for two years, due to the negligence of a private specialist I saw two years ago who told me to 'work through the pain' and that I would be offered a spinal fusion when the pain was constant. This guy did not send me for an MRI scan but based his opinion on x-rays alone, suffice to say that my problem was much worse than either of us knew and got worse over time.
I now have a 12 week recuperation period to see whether my problem is completely sorted, or whether I need further surgery at another level, but I know that I am in capable hands.
Please, please push for more advice/treatment. Unfortunately it is a battle that you have to fight at a time when you will probably be feeling low.
I hope that you find some relief and some answers to your problem.
Maz
Hiya Powderace
Please take mad-maz's veiws seriously, because I know he is right!
I have also been operated on by Mr. Knight, and am 18 months post-op having had my sciatica 'completely cured' during a 3 hour cuttting edge, minimally invasive, endoscopic, laser spine surgical procedure.
Go to his web site at www.spinal-foundation.org and read everything on there, after you have finished, if you need more information, please don't hesitate to seek further confirmation from us on this forum.
For research purposes, other similar 'treatment specific' web sites are:
www.bonati.com
www.laserspineinstitute.com
www.microspine.com
Best wishes
SPINELF
three discs in pain and frustrated!!
I have been experiencing terrible pain in my back over the years but last October my pain began to worsen. I would get to wednesday and couldn't get out of bed my partner having to carrry and put me to the loo! this continued and began to get worse i was taking time off work (i'm a teacher). I was taken in the night to hospital where i was left on a trolly and given every drug known to man....when i could at last stand i was sent home. I saw doctors at my surgery who simply gave me more drugs including amtriptaline and diazapan both sending me into a haze. I saw physio specialists who simply turned me away and a doctor who said why did i need an MRI scan how would that help? I felt like no one was listening to me. However, my physio was so concerned that she got me an MRI which showed three prolapsed discs scoliosic and and arthritis. I paid privately to see an apparent specialist in this area who simply asked how much i weighed when i was 21!! I turned my knee around when i was 24 in a trampoline accident and as a result my spine has taken the toll!
He recomemded no surgery as he said it would make my back stiff- weight loss and the pain clinic of which i would have to wait 4 months to see. I feel so lost with this pain as it is so erratic one day i will feel ok the next terrible. When it gets too bad i take oromorph but i hate the stuff (how anyone can take this recreationally is beyond me) i am left with scars on my legs as it makes me itch like mad!!!
I feel guilty that i have missed so much work and am even contemplating giving up ...i dont know if my back can cope with this demanding job..i also drive an hour to work! I am seeing a chiropracter in Bournemouth who is worth her wait in gold. She doesn't crack and crunch and uses an hollistic approach. However, despite this i still have bad days and just turning over or getting out of bed is an ordeal ....What should i do ? Do you think i should get a second opinion?? and how long does this last ...I am swimming every other day for an hour which is helping. Do you think i should get another opinion??
Spine Elf
Hi
Just for the record I am female 😀
Maz
Hi Maz, Spinelf, forum members
Thank you for the kind and helpful advice, and I will indeed check out the links and the said specialist. I presume you had to pay privately for this treatment when you say "bite the bullet" ?.... You are right, in that the only specialists I have seen so far have been NHS.They have usually contradicted one another only adding to my fears and confusion about any possible treatments.Eg one said about another that "I shouldnt listen to those types of specialist as they just like to get the knife out and operate as quick as possible. These sorts of comments from so called professionals, has done nothing to inspire my confidence in the medical profession, along with my on going basically untreated pain.
I am managing to stand up a little more today without the sticks as much. The spasms have eased a little and Im not so spaced out on my natural endorphins.
I have agreed to try and return to work this week on the understanding that I can be allowed to move away from my desk to stretch frequently. They havent been so accommodating regarding this I am sad to say. I had to drop to part time hours because of this condition and its unlikely I will ever be able to work full time until -If ever- I get my back sorted. This obviously affects my ability to pay for any private care/treatments and I will have to bare this in mind when looking into your advice. I can no longer afford to keep paying £7.40 for each prescription they write for me (sometimes x3) and have opted mainly for co-codamol and volterol over the counter. I did recently ask for another MRI to at least see how the condition is today and help me decide my next move, and also if it had gone any worse( as it feels as though it has) but the GP refused, saying there was no point as the last one 3+ years ago is sufficient.
Sorry Mad!
Hi
Just for the record I am female 😀Maz
Sorry Mad, I knew that!! LOL
Here's the 'S' I owe you!! 😀