Slipped disc advice on a couple of things, please ...

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duncan32

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Thanks! Nice to hear a good story on this sort of thing. At the moment, my life is what can only be described as appalling. Trying to keep my spirits up for the sakes of my wife and young children.

Duncan
 
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Hello,

Please could someone give me some advice / personal tips:

I have a prolapsed disc L5/ S1 impacting on the right S1 nerve root.:confused::eek:

I have had this for just under 5 months now and the pain is just about controlled by 2 x 500mg paracetomal four times a day. When I say controlled, I am in a world of pain from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed, but at least I can go to work (kills me so much to drive to work for twenty minutes). It has got a lot worse in the past two weeks and I have taken advice from keydoc and am now going to up my dose to this:

7am: 1 cocodomal, 1 paracetamol

11 am: 1 x ibroprufen

3 pm: 1 cocodomal, 1 paracetamol

7pm: 1 ibroprufen

11 pm: 2 cocodomal

middle of night if wake up: 1 x ibroprufen

Ok, first of all, does this sound a good plan for my meRAB? I really need to control the pain, and currently I suppose from 7pm until 7 am I am taking nothing at all (as I have maxed out on the 8 paracetomal you're allowed in a 24hour period), so it will surely help.

Second question, does anyone have any feedback on the injection that you get into the spine to relieve the pain (I think it's steroid? massive pain relief though that is "supposed to last for a few months"). I am due this in three weeks.

Lastly, I am also about to go on the waiting list for an operation, and I sense that this is going to be the only thing that ultimately fixes me. So, would appreciate anyone's personal stories on an operation to remove the prolapsed part of the disc, if that makes any sense!>

Anyway, thanks for reading, thanks for anyone who replies.

Duncan
:)
 
I have to say that it is a lot stronger than ibuprophen. Advil, etc is a joke when it comes to disc pain!!! Its not an inflammatory pain, its pinched nerves. Also, be weary of all of this Lyrica and its sisters, makes you out of it and depend on it too. Muscled relaxers, tramadol or percocet works a lot better. If you have surgery then are put on a nerve medication like Lyrica or neurotin, then why even have surgery. Follow your body, you can tell. Your strongest drug will be your mind!!!!! Believe me!!
 
Ok, might ask about that then when I see the spinal surgeon next Tuesday. I don't understand this sentence "be weary of all of this Lyrica and its sisters, makes you out of it and depend on it too" I haven't heard of this? I must also say that today I felt like death warmed up because of the pills I am taking, so have binned them out of fear that they are messing me up and I am just going to see if I can cope with the pain with ice packs and lying down whenever it overwhelms me. I felt so sick and my head felt like my brain was boiling, and I was really spaced out, went to sleep for five hours solid, which pleased my wife and kiRAB on a Sunday afternoon! :dizzy:Know what you are saying about the surgery, but I fail to see how I can get better without it? How is my disc going to fix itself to anything other than something so fragile that the slightest over extertion will put me back to square one? Sorry to keep posting further questions, but I feel that a week away from seeing the surgeon, I am blessed to have sturabled onto this website and people who understand what I am going through.

Thanks again.

Duncan
 
>>>>>>> Hi Duncan. I do not know what kind of dr. you are seeing but I wonder if you have gotten a second opinion? I think it's always very important to do that before undergoing surgery. Spinal surgery should be the last option once everything else has failed to help.

As for the injection you are speaking of, some people get good relief, others get minimal relief. In other worRAB, it varies from person to person depending on many factors. I am worried that your doctor is implying "massive" pain relief when that may not be the case.

Your medications also seem strange to me. That's a lot of acetameniphine to be taking and all but one of them are OTC which likely do no good at all. Please seek out a second opinion from a spine specialist.

Carol
 
Hello,

Well, I might have mispelt before, so here we go (with boxes in front of me!):

paracetamol 500mg

co-codamol 500mg (contains codeine phosphate and paracetomal)

ibruprofen 400mg

I hate the fact that I am taking 10 or 11 tablets EVERY DAY, really worries me to be honest. They are over the counter. Tramadol? Is that prescription then? How good is it and how many do you need to take a day for it to work then?

Thanks for the reply.

Duncan
 
Hi there!!! I know your pain, I had chronic pain for over 2 years from a degenerated S1 L5 disc. I did receive the facet joint injections, but they didnt work. Then I got the epidural injections (all SterioRAB) and they did help, but only temporary.

I just had ALIF disc replacment with fusion and posterior pedical screws 17 days ago. I decided to go for the gusto after the injections did not work. I would highly recommend trying the injections however before considering the surgery. They can really help and some people recover from the pain after them. But for those that do not like myself, surgery is the next step. I decided to just get the full surgery instead of messing around with the little ones.

I do feel good too. Every day is getting easier. I have not had much help either. I am a 40 year old single mother of a 2 year old little girl and I have done it pretty much on my own. The first week is important to have help however.

I bought a shower stool, a grabber that has saved my life and a few other medical home devices that really help. I feel that the proper brace is very important!!!!

Hang in there and dont let all of the scary posts get you down. We have all experienced these pains and agonies, but if you stay in the right frame of mind, you can do it!!!

Get the steriod injections and go from there. I have a pain mangement doctor for the injections and an orthopedic surgeon for the rest.

Good luck!!!!
 
Hang in there...The injections may cure your problem and if they do not and you have to have surgery, at least you have help. It all sounRAB a lot scarier than it is!!! God Bless!!!
 
Also, I agree with the previoius post, what are these medications your are taking?I have never heard of them!!! I took Tramadol (non-narcotic) for the pain prior to surgery. This really did help and an advil NEVER helped the pain!!! Get a pain management doctor and an orthopedic surgeon.
 
Hello Carol,

Thanks so much for the reply. To answer your questions:

I saw a Doctor through the NHS original, jumped through the hopes of taking pain killers and going to see an osteopath for three months, went back to the Doctor, was referred for an MRI scan, had the scan which revealed the above problem. Then I saw the spinal consultant / surgeon at the local General Hospital who told me that at the point I was I could go with surgery or the spinal injection. I opted for the spinal injection, but have also asked to go on the waiting list for surgery, in case the injection doesn't work, and frankly even if it gives relief it isn't going to fix the problem is it?

Does OTC mean "over the counter?".
What is acetameniphine?

Which of these would do no good at all, in your opinion?

Thanks again.

Duncan
 
Hello again everyone.

I hope it is ok to post like this to bump my thread back up for some more help / advice?

I went to see the spinal surgeon again two / three weeks ago and he put my on the waiting list for the disc surgery (will be between 8 and 12 weeks apparently).

The thing is, about two days later the pain subsided. I am not on any pain killers at all now. However, I have to be so careful pretty much all the time, as it just feels to me that if I trip over or lift something to heavy in the wrong way, or try to walk fast or heaven forbid RUN, it will get bad again and I'll be back to square one.

So, I am in such a quandry. Before, the pain was so bad that I would have scratched someone's eyes out to get on the operating table. Now, the pain has gone if I am careful, but everything has to be sooooo slow and careful for me, and I can't live my life like that at only 38 years old. I am worried that if I pass on the operation and then have a relapse I will be back to square one and have to jump through all of the NHS hoops again. I keep telling myself NOT TO FORGET THAT I HAVE ALL BUT LOST THE LAST 5 / 6 MONTHS OF MY LIFE, and this makes me think I should proceed with the operation.

What do people think? I am really open to anyone's advice and would appreciate any personal experiences especially.

Thanks so much.

Duncan

:)
 
Yes, its a prescription and non-narcotic. Works a lot better than advil... Not hard on your liver either
 
Duncan,

Can you more specific as to what kind of surgery you are signed up for. Surgery should be your absolute last resort after exhausting all other conservative treatments. If you are no longer in pain I would recommend you wait on surgery.
 
Glad to hear your pain has improved. I wanted to ask you if you ever did a steroid pack (methylprednisolone tapering off each day). Those work wonders for your type of problem, when you have a lot of pain. I would do that before trying an epidural injection. The first time I herniated my disc, a steroid pack made me feel back to normal for quite a while....in fact my pain was gone within hours of starting the medication.

I'd also suggest an exercise program if you aren't already. I've been in extreme pain on and off for years and plain old exercise worked better to relieve my pain better than anything. The more I lay around, the more it hurts. You need to keep your core strong to prevent further injury. At the very least, try to take walks on a regular basis.

I have a recurrent herniated L5-S1, severe degeneration/narrowing, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and arthritis...and I take Zipsor and vicodin, and they work very well to allow me to function. I also exercise every other day (35-45 min on elliptical and 10-15 min of upper body exercises with light hand weights and banRAB).

Try to avoid surgery. Once you have surgery, the disc is further weakened and it becomes easier to reinjure it. I had surgery (discectomy/laminectomy) a few months after I herniated mine, and sometimes I doubt myself. I felt good for four years until I reherniated it. I had a second discectomy, and the pain was back within two months and worse than ever. I am now in the process of scheduling a fusion, and I'm dreading it.

Try the steroid pack if your pain comes back. Exercise, walk, stay active somehow. Keep us posted....
 
Duncan, you are right. The pain may be gone RIGHT NOW, but if you move wrong or lift something too heavy, you will be right back at square one. You disc is not going to fix itself-you are correct. What you do need is strong core muscles-they help support your entire spine.

About your meRAB-what you are on is very mild stuff for those of us who suffer chronic pain. Acetaminephren is Tylenol. and yes, OTC is over the counter.

Keep posting, we are all cheering in your corner.
 
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