L4-L5 herniated disc - Back Pain Update #10
Okay, so again, it’s been a while since I last put up a post. I’ll try to cover off everything since the last post back in March.
Okay, my thoughts on Piriformis Syndrome (which is what I was diagnosed with).
I think that I’ve had a disc rupture, it’s applied pressure to the nerve, and for months it was out of control… hence the epidurals etc. The spasims in my lower back, bum, and leg were basically left un-treated…. well I was using some anti inflammatories etc, but not much else.
I also admit that in the early days it was much worse, and I think much worse because there was more pressure on the nerve than there is today.
So I think over time, my body has slow reduced the size of the bulge. I think that part of that is to do with the cox technique (coxtechnic.com).
I think some of it was from getting moving again, pilates etc.
I think some of it is luck.
Now that the bulge has reduced in size (confirmed in MRI) the anti-inflammatories make much more of a difference.
So, I think the piriformis I was diagnosed with was wrong, I don’t think it was the root cause, I think that those muscles etc were very tight, and contributed to the pain, and when I started stretching and getting some relief, I was just relieving those muscles… I was much more comfortable I must admit.. but still, if I stand for 5 - 15 minutes, I’m in pain, and to me that’s pressure on the nerve from the disc…
I’d said in an earlier post that I’d gotten off of them (anti inflammatories).. we’ll I’m back on.. not all the time, but after a big night out, or after a day where I’ve been moving a lot.
I’m still restricted in my walking.. I’m thinking it’s probably around 8 - 10 minutes.. then I have to sit, or squat… only for about 30 seconds, and away I go again.
I rarely get spasims in my back, but when I do I get good relief from heat & ice packs… and a massage with some of that oil that get’s really
hot (axe oil, goanna oil etc) remember if you’re in acute pain, don’t use the heat, just the cold packs. Heat inflames the nerve more, and increases the pain.
I have no real pain sitting at work or at home, although if the chair is at the wrong angle, it just seems to put extra pressure on the nerve and I become very uncomfortable very fast (usually pain down the leg, and in the foot).. I figure this out very quickly and move to a different chair or position to alleviate the pain.
I definitely have times where I’m doing something, and I think for a second that I’m normal.. but usually there is some pain coming… this is why I’m considering the operation… I have come to the conclusion that you can put this off for years and years… and go nowhere.
Why waste another year of my life in pain… do all the research you can, make a choice, and get the operation done…for anyone reading this in a small town etc.. don’t let anyone operate on you that doesn’t do this particular type of surgery every day of week.. if they don’t do this operation ‘all’ the time, walk away.
It’s your back, and if they screw it up, you’ll suffer for the rest of your life.
That’s not to say if you get it done in a ‘big’ town you’ll be safe, but at least find someone who does it all the time, and ask for their statistics, if they refuse, chances are the stats are bad.. if the stats are good they’ll tell you.. that’s been my experience.
I have given up the pilates, and physio.. I continue to use a cox technic bed once a week, which seems to keep me in check… I can tell if I don’t go.
The anti inflammatories i’m back on are just Voltaren 25 rapids, although I must admit they still give me ‘issues’ in the stomach…. but compared to the back and leg pain… I put up with it.
I’m off of the walking cane, and get around pretty easy for short stints.. if it’s a longer stint like shopping I tend to cope if I have a shopping trolley to lean on…… that’s the coping strategy anyway, again, it’s not a way to live.. hence why I’m intending on having the operation.
If anyone’s got any other good tips about the operation side, let me know.
Cheers.
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