My results from the MRI I had on Wednesday.
Explains why I can’t sit for longer than about 5 minutes in either the car or a chair without pain screaming down my leg. Getting referred to an orthopedic MD that specializes in spines. Been in pain for 6 weeks, and in PT for 4. Very depressing.

Oh that's awful!!! I'm so sorry!!

So you'll see a specialist soon? Hopefully that will be helpful!

Owwwww. Fellow sufferer with low back issues. But yours seems worse, and may need a surgical solution.

Well that sucks, jodi. I'm really sorry. Had my share of back problems from a bulging disk when I was in my 30s. Some tai chi-like exercises and making sure I recognize my body's fatigue level so I stop before the pain kicks in has worked for me.

Hugs...

I had a herniated disk at L5/S1 when I was 30. I went from being totally fine with no sign of back problems at all to being unable to walk without a significant limp and my entire left foot being numb in the span of about 12 weeks. There was no pain reliever that was able to touch the pain (and believe me, they gave me ALL the good stuff....I'm honestly surprised I didn't get addicted to something) - it was excruciating. I couldn't sit, couldn't lay down, couldn't sleep, and spent most of the day crying because it hurt so bad (I totally understand why people in chronic pain want to kill themselves -- it was THAT kind of absolutely unbearable pain.) When I finally got in to see a specialist, he said that based on how fast my symptoms had come on and progressed, I would soon lose bowel and bladder control if I didn't do something immediately so I ended up with surgery (a lumbar microdiskectomy) and it was the greatest thing ever. I woke up from the surgery and even though my back was tender from the surgery, the sciatica pain was just instantly and completely gone. I felt so much better immediately that I was basically sprinting laps in the hospital hall the night of my surgery. I know that doctors often like to be conservative with herniated disk treatment and start with PT and shots, but I am so grateful for that surgery. Everyone I know who went the PT/shots route has periodic episodes where the pain comes back and they are out from work for a week laid up on the sofa....I've been (knock on wood) fine ever since. What I'm trying to say is don't fear the surgery if it comes to that.....

Good luck - hope you feel better soon!

Jodi, that sucks.

I hope you feel better soon.

Sounds awful.

I know there are newer treatments that work much better than earlier ones. I hope that whatever treatment is fast, safe and effective.

so sorry that you are dealing with this... back issues are so difficult.

I was never in the numbness category, only pain.

Mr wtg had lumbar disk (L4-L5) problems back in the mid 1970s. Nerve compression caused extreme pain and numbness in his leg. His surgery was considered state-of-the-art because his incision was only three inches long. He was in the hospital for three days.

A friend had similar surgery a couple of years ago. Incision was tiny and she was home the next day. The doctor had released her the same day as the surgery but because she lives two hours from Seattle where she had the procedure done she and her sister decided not to drive that distance in the dark.

Hang in there!

Ouch. I hope you get relief soon.

I’m able to get relief flat out on my stomach or back, though I still feel a weird buzzing in my leg. I have the numbness that comes and goes, it’s pins and needles that starts all the way down in my foot. Walking usually helps, but standing in one spot makes it worse. I managed about an hour on my feet at our art opening last night. I managed a couple of hours on Thursday helping hang the show (I didn’t lift anything) probably because I was moving around more. We had an appointment with the medicare insurance agent that took an hour and a half, and I ended up on her floor part way through because I could no longer deal with the pain standing and sitting. (That was the best advice from this group ever, btw - finding an independent insurance agent.) I got a supplemental plan through the company we have insurance with now, and the cheap drug plan but it doesnt start til April 1st.

Jodi, I hope you can find a course of treatment that will give you pain relief and healing. Here's hoping for a complete recovery.

Big Al

Oh my, Jodi, I'm so sorry, it sounds just awful!!

jodi and i have already talked about this, but there is an alternative now to surgery on these spinal cases--regenerative medicine. I was just treated in this manner myself in early January.

there are a lot of quacks practicing this method, and it isn't covered by insurance, but if you find a legit practitioner it is so much better than surgery.

luckily we have a legit practitioner in my town (of all places!) he uses Platelet Rich Plasma, injecting the spine with platelets from your own blood. It's like stem cell therapy, which you may be more familiar with.

The degenerated tissues regenerate with this new blood.

In the past, this doctor has referred me for surgery (my knee replacement) when he considered me not a good candidate for PRP, and he is scrupulous about exhausting every option covered by insurance before resorting to PRP, so I trust him to do what's best for the patient.

He told me if I have surgery (stenosis, compressed discs, muscles that no longer functioned, radiating pain and neuropathy) I will never ride again.

So far, the results have been brilliant, but I won't see the full effects for months.

PRP can be used instead of surgery to repair knees, rotator cuff tears, arthritis, etc.

Jodi you won't get in to see him before April anyway. May as well call for a consult now. And glad to hear that you got good counseling on Medicare. Which plan did you end up with?

Mine was at L4/L5. At times I was unable to walk. One doctor said no to surgery and had me in bed on my back for a week. No improvement.

So I had the surgery and the relief was immediate and permanent. I was sorry I had waited so long.

J