Comments on: 10 things you should try before you have back surgery on your herniated disc http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/ "A Herniated disc - My story" Fri, 05 Dec 2008 00:58:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Linda L4/L5 Microdiscectomy http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2842 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:52:04 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2842 Hi everyone - Suffered just like Texan for five weeks. Found a neurosurgeon to operate on Super Bowl Sunday-I could not take the pain for one more minute. I am glad I had the surgery but am totally depressed from the recovery. Stayed home for 3 weeks, went back to school as a high school teacher too early. I have constant moderate pain in lower back, top of left thight on the outside and occasional pain (mostly when lying down) on left front side of my shin. On sunday I threw myself into a swimming pool with a gravity belt and walked, jumped and stretched. I expected to come out of the water pain free but was again disappointed. Thanks for listening, any ideas. Hi everyone - Suffered just like Texan for five weeks. Found a neurosurgeon to operate on Super Bowl Sunday-I could not take the pain for one more minute. I am glad I had the surgery but am totally depressed from the recovery. Stayed home for 3 weeks, went back to school as a high school teacher too early. I have constant moderate pain in lower back, top of left thight on the outside and occasional pain (mostly when lying down) on left front side of my shin. On sunday I threw myself into a swimming pool with a gravity belt and walked, jumped and stretched. I expected to come out of the water pain free but was again disappointed. Thanks for listening, any ideas.

]]> by: L5/S1 Texan http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2090 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:45:53 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2090 What about steroids - oral or injected in outpatient mode? The pills work for me but I've only had one injection which didn't do much. Plus, needles give me the heebie-geebies. What about steroids - oral or injected in outpatient mode? The pills work for me but I’ve only had one injection which didn’t do much. Plus, needles give me the heebie-geebies.

]]> by: L5/S1 Texan http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2089 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:43:50 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2089 afterthought: ultrasound heat has proven to be absolutely the most helpful PT remedy. Too bad they are so expensive and/or you have to keep fighting with your insurance company to cover such treatment....sounds to them like a spa when actually it's a productivity booster! afterthought: ultrasound heat has proven to be absolutely the most helpful PT remedy. Too bad they are so expensive and/or you have to keep fighting with your insurance company to cover such treatment….sounds to them like a spa when actually it’s a productivity booster!

]]> by: L5/S1 Texan http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2088 Sun, 30 Sep 2007 07:42:05 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-2088 I will just say that, having had two herniated discs, and opting for surgery on one but not the other, there are cases for surgery. (1) as long as it's not fusion, surgery usually treats the 'bad spot' without causing neighboring vertebrae adjustments or outright problems, with adjjoining discs. This is because in recovery, you are concentrating on your core, not depending on any material in your back to give stability, so you end up strengthening your whole back and learning how to support the weakest link without help from other back muscles. (2) my choice to have surgery was not based on pain, even though it was the worst pain in my life, INCLUDING childbirth. I lost a lot of nerve function in my leg - couldn't feel parts of my leg, couldn't walk straight sometimes, and couldn't do simple things like hold a toe in place while someone pushed it down. I wanted to pursue PT, and did, but my dr said that when it comes to nerves, there is no guarantee that once it's unpinched, there is no guarantee it will come back. It's only theoretical that the longer the nerves are damaged, the more likely the damage is permanent. Conversely, it's possible that if you opt for surgery immediately, the fix won't work. Surgery will simply shorten the time that a disc is causing/continuing the damage. We set a 'due date' and I aggressively pursued PT, with really minimal results. I also consulted many doctors to be sure this wasn't just a slice-happy surgeon. All confirmed this mystery around nerve damage and recover. My surgery was succesful. A year later I reherniated the same disk plus one more, almost same pain evels, but no nerve damage or loss of muscle function. I've chosen to treat with PT, gentle cardio to get my weight back down, and never regretted it. I do deal with some level of pain every day and sometimes nothing but meds helps. However, I don't regret the surgery I did have - it did exactly what it needed to and most feeling and function in my leg are now restored. I just have to watch how I stand, and lay. I was interested to discover that the majority of patients opt for surgery AGAIN if they've had it. My dr started his speech with the assumption that I would want surgery and started talking about risks/rewards. I was well aware that even though my surgery went well, and I had a lot of relief and also support from family and work, it was a trauma on my body and I had a short bout of depression, problems maintaining the upward success trend, and weirdest of all, I've been a morning person all my life, I now can stay up very late, and tend to sleep until noon on the weekend, behavior I've always envied in others, but now that it's different, I long for my old quiet and productive morning time. So does my husband who is a night person too. :-) (3) Fusion surgery is the one I hear about that never goes right. I have never heard one story where they fix one disk and the problem just travels to the next one, and so on. I would never opt for that even if I was in pretty serious pain. (4) What bothers me is that spine doctors/orthopaedists tend to skimp on the meds, UNLESS you get a doctor who has also had herniated discs and/or surgery. They know you are not bluffing. The ones who haven't start questioning you about your med use, and talking about more holistic pain mgmt. This is all great, but sometimes nothing knocks out the sciatic pain like an Rx, and fast. I like to get on with my life if I can.. It's sad what the addicts and insurance companies have done to the ipharma ndustry to make it hard for those of us who are truly in pain, but managing it in regular phases using recommended doses, not going straight for the narcotic. I'm new to this board but not to the issue - looking forward to hearing more of you talk about your experiences on this topic. I will just say that, having had two herniated discs, and opting for surgery on one but not the other, there are cases for surgery.

(1) as long as it’s not fusion, surgery usually treats the ‘bad spot’ without causing neighboring vertebrae adjustments or outright problems, with adjjoining discs. This is because in recovery, you are concentrating on your core, not depending on any material in your back to give stability, so you end up strengthening your whole back and learning how to support the weakest link without help from other back muscles.

(2) my choice to have surgery was not based on pain, even though it was the worst pain in my life, INCLUDING childbirth. I lost a lot of nerve function in my leg - couldn’t feel parts of my leg, couldn’t walk straight sometimes, and couldn’t do simple things like hold a toe in place while someone pushed it down. I wanted to pursue PT, and did, but my dr said that when it comes to nerves, there is no guarantee that once it’s unpinched, there is no guarantee it will come back. It’s only theoretical that the longer the nerves are damaged, the more likely the damage is permanent. Conversely, it’s possible that if you opt for surgery immediately, the fix won’t work. Surgery will simply shorten the time that a disc is causing/continuing the damage. We set a ‘due date’ and I aggressively pursued PT, with really minimal results. I also consulted many doctors to be sure this wasn’t just a slice-happy surgeon. All confirmed this mystery around nerve damage and recover.

My surgery was succesful. A year later I reherniated the same disk plus one more, almost same pain evels, but no nerve damage or loss of muscle function. I’ve chosen to treat with PT, gentle cardio to get my weight back down, and never regretted it. I do deal with some level of pain every day and sometimes nothing but meds helps. However, I don’t regret the surgery I did have - it did exactly what it needed to and most feeling and function in my leg are now restored. I just have to watch how I stand, and lay.

I was interested to discover that the majority of patients opt for surgery AGAIN if they’ve had it. My dr started his speech with the assumption that I would want surgery and started talking about risks/rewards. I was well aware that even though my surgery went well, and I had a lot of relief and also support from family and work, it was a trauma on my body and I had a short bout of depression, problems maintaining the upward success trend, and weirdest of all, I’ve been a morning person all my life, I now can stay up very late, and tend to sleep until noon on the weekend, behavior I’ve always envied in others, but now that it’s different, I long for my old quiet and productive morning time. So does my husband who is a night person too. :-)

(3) Fusion surgery is the one I hear about that never goes right. I have never heard one story where they fix one disk and the problem just travels to the next one, and so on. I would never opt for that even if I was in pretty serious pain.

(4) What bothers me is that spine doctors/orthopaedists tend to skimp on the meds, UNLESS you get a doctor who has also had herniated discs and/or surgery. They know you are not bluffing. The ones who haven’t start questioning you about your med use, and talking about more holistic pain mgmt. This is all great, but sometimes nothing knocks out the sciatic pain like an Rx, and fast. I like to get on with my life if I can.. It’s sad what the addicts and insurance companies have done to the ipharma ndustry to make it hard for those of us who are truly in pain, but managing it in regular phases using recommended doses, not going straight for the narcotic.

I’m new to this board but not to the issue - looking forward to hearing more of you talk about your experiences on this topic.

]]> by: Natalie http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1975 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:50:12 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1975 Hi Matt, That's the site. I'm not sure if they supply directly to patients though. Cheers Natalie Hi Matt,

That’s the site. I’m not sure if they supply directly to patients though.

Cheers
Natalie

]]> by: Wolff http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1974 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:46:59 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1974 Hey, Thanks for the reply Natalie.. I'm assuming OPC's website is: http://www.opchealth.com.au/ If anyone else has any recommendations post them up! Cheers Matt Hey,

Thanks for the reply Natalie..

I’m assuming OPC’s website is: http://www.opchealth.com.au/

If anyone else has any recommendations post them up!

Cheers
Matt

]]> by: Natalie http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1973 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:38:49 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1973 Hi Chris, Glad you liked my article. It can be confusing whether heat or ice is best. Typically with any muscle strain or ligament sprain, you would apply ice for the first 48 hours and then switch to heat. In the case of disc injuries, the heat packs really help to lessen the associated muscle spasms which can generate extra pain and discomfort. Cheers Natalie Hi Mark, Have a chat to your treating therapist about suitable back braces. The braces I give to clients I usually order through a company called OPC who are based in Melbourne. Cheers Natalie Hi Chris,
Glad you liked my article. It can be confusing whether heat or ice is best. Typically with any muscle strain or ligament sprain, you would apply ice for the first 48 hours and then switch to heat. In the case of disc injuries, the heat packs really help to lessen the associated muscle spasms which can generate extra pain and discomfort.
Cheers Natalie

Hi Mark,
Have a chat to your treating therapist about suitable back braces. The braces I give to clients I usually order through a company called OPC who are based in Melbourne.
Cheers Natalie

]]> by: Mark & Jenny http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1972 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:22:30 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1972 Hi, You mentioned a back brace... is there an particular type you recommend... any websites? Cheers Mark Hi,

You mentioned a back brace… is there an particular type you recommend… any websites?

Cheers
Mark

]]> by: Chris http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1970 Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:03:20 +0000 http://www.mylifemytravel.com/wolff/2007/08/12/10-things-you-should-try-before-you-have-back-surgery-on-your-herniated-disc/#comment-1970 Hi Natalie, Great article... I wished more professionals would reach out to 'potential' patients through forums like these... this is where the real issues should come out and be discussed... Matt, have you thought of a forum? Also, I wanted to ask about the heat packs you mentioned.... I was recommended to stay away from heat pads when I was in real pain, as heat aggravates anything that is already inflamed? For instance when you see injured sports stars they always use ice packs.. not heat packs? Thoughts? Cheers Chris Hi Natalie,

Great article… I wished more professionals would reach out to ‘potential’ patients through forums like these… this is where the real issues should come out and be discussed… Matt, have you thought of a forum?

Also, I wanted to ask about the heat packs you mentioned…. I was recommended to stay away from heat pads when I was in real pain, as heat aggravates anything that is already inflamed? For instance when you see injured sports stars they always use ice packs.. not heat packs?

Thoughts?

Cheers
Chris

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