Has anyone gotten a surgery/shots for a herniated disc

[Cyborg009]

So I've recently had a car accident where I had my car totaled and left me a bit banged up. I had a MRI done and it looks like I have two herniated discs in my lower back. My doctor told me that I could have surgery or steroid shots. But looking around online people who usually get the non evasive shots will normally see symptoms return again. I wanted to know if anyone else experience anything like this?

 

[TonyusMaxinus]

I had a herniated disc 2 years ago. Worst pain I've ever had. I had the shot and it didn't help me. I had micro-disc surgery and its like it never happened. It was life-ruining pain and I'm very lucky it worked for me. I haven't had any pain since like 2 weeks after the surgery. Good luck and I hope you get relief in what ever you do.

 

[THE210]

I've had several injections with varying results but the shots themselves were simple enough. I'm afraid of having surgery as bad results there can cause things to become much worse.

 

[Daria]

steroids, like a cortisone injection, are only temporary anti-inflammatorys. you may be able to go a few weeks or a few months without having to go get another one, depending on the drug, dose, and your body's physiology

 

[collige]

I didn't have a herniated disc specifically, but I have degenerative disc disease. I would recommend the cortisone shot; the procedure is quick and easy. Obviously, if it doesn't work, you should go get the surgery, but I can't see any benefit in going straight for a more risky, expensive procedure that might not be necessary.

My personal and medical opinion is that back surgery would be my absolute last resort in almost all situations.

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^ What he said.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

I had the option of surgery many years ago but the doc told me there was a tiny chance of being Incontinent if it didn't go perfectly and I noped the fuck out of that.

Ended up trying and failing to deal with the pain for a while and then slowly exercising, more specifically lifting weights, helped a lot. I'm not 100% but I can play sports now and I even played a couple of seasons of American football.

Of course that was after a few years of being totally useless and being unable to even put on my socks at times. Back problems are the fucking worst.

 

[Dalek]

I have to get the shots every 4 months. I wish I could get it more often...

 

[Emerson]

My personal and medical opinion is that back surgery would be my absolute last resort in almost all situations.

 

[Soliloquy of a Dogge]

Suffering from a herniated disc at the moment. It fucking sucks.

The epidural will be my first option but if the pain doesn't improve significantly soon I'm looking at surgery. I can't function.

 

[mattiewheels]

A steroid epidural shot completely saved me from feeling like a cripple from sciatica, with no significant pain in 4 years since. It's the best thing I ever did for the pain.

 

[ZackieChan]

Of course that was after a few years of being totally useless and being unable to even put on my socks at times. Back problems are the fucking worst.

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I had about a year of this. It was awful. Luckily, exercise and physical therapy has gotten be mostly back to normal. Wake up with pain/stiffness nearly every morning, though. Not bad enough for any kind of surgery.

 

[Cyborg009]

I can still function fine just long drives from sitting down too long or working out brings the pain. I think I'll do the shot first then we'll see how it goes.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

I had about a year of this. It was awful. Luckily, exercise and physical therapy has gotten be mostly back to normal. Wake up with pain/stiffness nearly every morning, though. Not bad enough for any kind of surgery.

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Yeah I never feel like my back is totally right but being able to play contact sports again was nuts. The funniest thing was I was able to play two seasons hitting and tackling people with no problem other than some stiffness but I put my back out flipping a tyre in training and was useless for a couple of weeks.

I'm too old for that now so am stuck with cricket but even that isn't safe, I smashed the shit out of a ball in practice and my back went again due a couple of weeks.

It sucks but it's better than the risk of surgery going wrong. I had a minor knee surgery a couple of years ago but I wouldn't let someone poke around near my spine unless it was absolutely the last resort.

 

[ZackieChan]

Yeah I never feel like my back is totally right but being able to play contact sports again was nuts. The funniest thing was I was able to play two seasons hitting and tackling people with no problem other than some stiffness but I put my back out flipping a tyre in training and was useless for a couple of weeks.

I'm too old for that now so am stuck with cricket but even that isn't safe, I smashed the shit out of a ball in practice and my back went again due a couple of weeks.

It sucks but it's better than the risk of surgery going wrong. I had a minor knee surgery a couple of years ago but I wouldn't let someone poke around near my spine unless it was absolutely the last resort.

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I occasionally make a wrong move during exercise that brings back the sciatica for a week or so. Sucks living with this.

 

[ISOM]

I've heard people who work out to strengthen their back and core muscles tend to have back pain disappear. That might help and as other said, back surgery should be a last resort.

 

[ThiefofDreams]

I got a shot once and the needle slid off my bone and hit an auxiliary nerve and made my body reflexively jerk almost completely off the bed.

 

[Eidan]

I had a cervical herniation two years ago. Easily the most painful thing I've ever experienced. It took time but I eventually got better. I'd say it took about six weeks for the pain and tingling to go away. By four months I was lifting like I used to, but severely weak in the part of my body that was hurt by the herniation. These days I feel nothing outside of the occasional crick in my neck that leaves me paranoid for a couple of days.

 

[exofrenon]

The past 2.5-3 months I have been under a lot pain on my lower back, that also extended to my right calf and foot. I had trouble walking, and around the house I walked like a 90 year old man. Easily the worst pain I have ever had.

I went to my GP a couple of weeks ago and they told me that I have a herniated disc (without doing an MRI exam), but it is not bad enough to do a surgery. They prescribed me some painkillers for a couple weeks (paracetamol + ibuprofen) and advised me to start physiotherapy to strengthen my muscles. Two weeks later and I still do not see any improvement.

Do you have any tips to share? I heard swimming might be good. but I do not think I am ready yet. Sitting on a chair for 8 hours straight at work is also not helping, so I try to make small breaks every hour to walk in the office, and I generally try to walk 30 minutes top once per day.

 

[gnarlyxcharlie]

The past 2.5-3 months I have been under a lot pain on my lower back, that also extended to my right calf and foot. I had trouble walking, and around the house I walked like a 90 year old man. Easily the worst pain I have ever had.

I went to my GP a couple of weeks ago and they told me that I have a herniated disc (without doing an MRI exam), but it is not bad enough to do a surgery. They prescribed me some painkillers for a couple weeks (paracetamol + ibuprofen) and advised me to start physiotherapy to strengthen my muscles. Two weeks later and I still do not see any improvement.

Do you have any tips to share? I heard swimming might be good. but I do not think I am ready yet. Sitting on a chair for 8 hours straight at work is also not helping, so I try to make small breaks every hour to walk in the office, and I generally try to walk 30 minutes top once per day.

Click to shrink...

Stretches. Lots of stretches. They're painful as fuck at first and you might cry but it was really all that helped me. I had to be helped out of bed for months but it slowly improved. Two years later and I don't feel quite as limber as I used to be but I'm back to skateboarding pretty heavily and I wouldn't be able to do anything like that with my disc as bad as it was. I got 3 rounds of shots as well although it's been well over a year since I've had them.

 

[exofrenon]

Stretches. Lots of stretches. They're painful as fuck at first and you might cry but it was really all that helped me. I had to be helped out of bed for months but it slowly improved. Two years later and I don't feel quite as limber as I used to be but I'm back to skateboarding pretty heavily and I wouldn't be able to do anything like that with my disc as bad as it was. I got 3 rounds of shots as well although it's been well over a year since I've had them.

Click to shrink...

Stretches are part of the exercises my physiotherapist gave me, but I also do some stuff on my own, mainly hanging from a pullup bar, completely loose, for as long as I can. This takes away the pain for a little while, but I think it is mostly because I don't walk while I am hanging.

 

[Junior Asparagus]

I'll echo what other people said. I had a herniated disc and was in so much pain that I couldn't stand up straight, walk, or sleep through the night at its worst. I had 2 cortisone shots and they helped somewhat. I didn't have surgery and wanted to save that as an absolute last resort, even though some people I know had it and it cured them. It improved to some extent and I tried all kinds of physical therapy, chiro, acupuncture, exercises--you name it. Finally, some combination of those + time healed me after about 2 years. Now I feel like 98% and I have returned to all of my softball, volleyball, hockey, etc. leagues. I still do my PT exercises daily in hopes of preventing anything like that happening again.

 

[gnarlyxcharlie]

Stretches are part of the exercises my physiotherapist gave me, but I also do some stuff on my own, mainly hanging from a pullup bar, completely loose, for as long as I can. This takes away the pain for a little while, but I think it is mostly because I don't walk while I am hanging.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, honestly for me, it just seemed like time was the best thing for it. Like I said, I hardly notice it anymore and don't remember the last time I had sciatica flareups

 

[pikachief]

My mother had 3 herniated discs she got from just getting dressed one day. She was supposed to stay in bed for 2 years and well she was in bed 90% of the day for 1 year not counting the 12 hour concert she went to lol

She's all good now though!

 

[TeenageFBI]

I have one or two "slightly herniated discs". I noticed when my arm/wrist/hand started aching and getting a little numb. I lost some range of motion in my neck too.

It was getting annoying enough that I was considering cortisone shots but about five months of physical therapy finally did the trick.

Those relativly minor symptoms really sucked. I can't imagine how people with real back problems manage.

 

[Cyborg009]

Well here's an update from me. I never got my hibernated discs treated with the shots since I would have to pay out of my settlement money. What sucks is I really got another herniated disc in my thoracic from doing squats. I can't even afford to get this shit treated anymore because I have to get another surgery. I'm now more broke than I ever was in college after all this bullshit.

 

[Stinkles]

I had a spine surgery after a massive disc lesion and a series of pretty significant and debilitating spasms - I have had a lot of epidural shots over the years and prior to the surgery they were the only thing that made a dent - post surgery the spas were reduced in frequency and intensity and sometimes steroid shots were enough to loosen up the spasms and associated muscle cramp and pain. Actual painkillers really didn't do anything so I just took Tylenol ER as a kind of placebo and a way to rigorize recovery.

If your exercises are causing disc problems you need to stop immediately and consult a sports medicine professional (and not a chiropractor - not you specifically but folks reading this with similar questions .) Someone who will do soft tissue MRIs and x-rays to see what is happening in terms of spondylosos and bone deterioration and so on) and diagnose it scientifically because the worst case scenarios include permanent paralysis.

My physical therapy includes serious exercise and core strength building but make sure you're getting good, solid advice with a sound medical basis.

 

[Deleted member 21339]

I don't understand your OP. Are you in pain? How recent was the accident? Have you tried physical therapy?

 

[Cyborg009]

I had a spine surgery after a massive disc lesion and a series of pretty significant and debilitating spasms - I have had a lot of epidural shots over the years and prior to the surgery they were the only thing that made a dent - post surgery the spas were reduced in frequency and intensity and sometimes steroid shots were enough to loosen up the spasms and associated muscle cramp and pain. Actual painkillers really didn't do anything so I just took Tylenol ER as a kind of placebo and a way to rigorize recovery.

If your exercises are causing disc problems you need to stop immediately and consult a sports medicine professional (and not a chiropractor - not you specifically but folks reading this with similar questions .) Someone who will do soft tissue MRIs and x-rays to see what is happening in terms of spondylosos and bone deterioration and so on) and diagnose it scientifically because the worst case scenarios include permanent paralysis.

My physical therapy includes serious exercise and core strength building but make sure you're getting good, solid advice with a sound medical basis.

Click to shrink...

Great suggestions, I'm pretty sure my most recent one was purely due to bad form after not working out for over a month because of the accident. I'll check out a physical therapist near my house that has extremely good ratings and do one a day session before thinking about going in for those shots.

I don't understand your OP. Are you in pain? How recent was the accident? Have you tried physical therapy?

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Not as much pain but I do feel it after working out, running or sitting for too long. The accident was during the first week of the year. And I my doctor told me to go to chiropractor which was a terrible idea.

 

[MAN_FLANNEL]

I had the epidurals done twice...first time I felt good for a day or so but the pain gradually returned by the end of the week. Second time did absolutely nothing once the local anesthetic wore off. Unless you're really fucked up I don't really see a reason not to try this to see if it helps.

My doctors wouldn't even ok a consultation with a surgeon as I was in my late 20s and in good shape (late 20s now). I couldn't even get them to prescribe anything for the pain. If I was older/unfit I doubt they would have been so reluctant.

I'm in constant pain but find ways to lessen it. Stretching and Chiropractor definitely helps but it never goes away. Eventually I foresee myself going in again in an attempt for surgery, but I can live with it for now.

 

[dyreschlock]

Currently suffering from a herniated disc, but geez... considering some of these responses, maybe it wasn't a full herniation. I mean, two weeks later I "ran" (really could only walk because of pain) a half marathon. I had a lot of pain, and went to the chiropractor almost every day for massages. After a month now, it still hasn't returned to perfect, but I can get in and out of my car without any pain.

The doctor never suggested shots or surgery. He just used his electronic staple gun to repair the damage, and then daily (now twice weekly) massages, both electrical and physical.

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

I figured now is a good time for me to chime in with my experience with a bulging spinal disc.

Almost 7 years ago I started experiencing sciatic pain and tingling in my left leg out of the blue. I got an MRI which confirmed a disc issue. It was never super painful, and only impacted my gait at its worst. I could always manage to loosen up my legs enough with walking to where I could then go running or do just about anything physical I wanted. The pain might be really bad a day or two later from soreness, but nothing I oculi the handle.

I eventually did some PT (meh), but had my most luck seeing a chiropractor who did some adjustments along with stretches that were more effective than what I did in physical therapy. I also did 2 spinal epidurals around this time, and after not too long my pain went away entirely, and I eventually even stopped seeing the chiropractor monthly.

Earlier this year, and a few kids later, the pain in my leg returned, but this time also with some pain in the lower back itself which was new. I dragged my feet on getting back into my chiropractor's office and started going in for adjustments. Well, two weeks ago after getting both acupuncture and a pretty intense massage the week prior, my back was in its worst shape ever. I could barely make it off the couch. After suffering for a few days tying to schedule something with my PCP, I eventually just went to the ER. They put me on a 5-day oral steroid program which actually helped a ton. I was bake to get referals and everything else sorted out eventually and get an epidural injection scheduled. Unfortunately, before then the oral steroids ran out and I then found I needed to be off even ibuprofen before getting the injection which added a delay. The upside was that the doctor felt confident that if the oral steroids helped that much, the injection should help even more.

I had the first injection on Monday, and honestly was hoping for more relief by now. He said it would likely be 2 days before it kicked in, but I've heard others say it can take even longer. While my pain level is down significantly, I had a lot of numbness in my left calf and toes, with the result of that being I can only walk around for a few minutes before my leg begins to feel sore and achy. At this point in time I'm just more tired of spending so much time laying down, and don't know if I should continue to rest, or trying and be more active. I have another injection scheduled in 12 days. Good times.

 

[Theef]

I messed up a disc pretty bad, hurt a ton for a while, started consistent exercise/stretching and no more pain!

 

[collige]

I had the first injection on Monday, and honestly was hoping for more relief by now. He said it would likely be 2 days before it kicked in, but I've heard others say it can take even longer. While my pain level is down significantly, I had a lot of numbness in my left calf and toes, with the result of that being I can only walk around for a few minutes before my leg begins to feel sore and achy. At this point in time I'm just more tired of spending so much time laying down, and don't know if I should continue to rest, or trying and be more active. I have another injection scheduled in 12 days. Good times.

Click to shrink...

I got a epidural on Friday and they said it could take up to 5-7 days to kick in. Hang in there.

 

[New Donker]

I had l4,5 herniate in a car accident. Went through a lot of PT and still consistently went to the gym 3-4 times a week, performing exercises that didn't aggravate anything.

Now I'm good as new! I would only do surgery as an absolute last resort.