Has anyone found relief from a herniated disk or sciatica w/o surgery?

[Tap]

I have had back issues and sciatic nerve pain in one or both legs for about 10mths. I had an MRI 8mths ago and it found a couple of protruding disks at L4-L5 and L5-S1 but no herniation. I have had a lot of back pain and have been to 2 well regarded specialists. One specialist did an epidural steroid inj 6mths ago and the pain lessened for about 2 mths. Then it came back in full force. I called to do another injection, which he told me to expect, at the 2mth out point...then he said he didn't think it would help me and also didn't want to medicate me (up til this point I was only using Naproxen for pain). :confused:(Skipping details to conserve time) Due to his approach, I switched doctors to get some fresh eyes on my case. New doctor orders a bone scan-it comes up clear, no problems. New doc wants me to see a pain specialist also to get my pain under control. The new meds help but I am still in pain. Pain specialist thinks I need another steroid inj. Due to medication intolerance and my needing to actually be awake there are very few meds I can take. Besides, I still want to figure out what is wrong not just medicate it away.

 

I took 6mths off work, and have babied my back for 8mths now. I have seen a physical therapist, 2 massage therapists, chiropractor, 2 back specialists (different practices), 1 hip specialist, 1 pain specialist, and 1 primary care doc. No one can figure out where the pain is coming from.

 

My Chiro ordered a new MRI for me to get current images. I think they are going to find that one or both of the bulges, herniated. I have had two episodes now where I have stood up, took a few steps, and dropped to the ground in pain. Both times I was bedridden for several days, and then had a huge increase in my pain level for several weeks.

 

Has anyone found relief from similar issues without doing surgery?

Edited March 7, 2010 by Tap, tap, tap

[Teachin'Mine]

Could your back pain be caused by something else - has a bladder infection been ruled out? Years ago, a co-worker had this diagnosis. The right diagnosis, antibiotics, and she was fine. I think it was bladder ...

[Tap]

Could your back pain be caused by something else - has a bladder infection been ruled out? Years ago' date=' a co-worker had this diagnosis. The right diagnosis, antibiotics, and she was fine. I think it was bladder ...[/quote']

 

No bladder inf.

 

I have also had a full abdominal ultrasound to look for cysts etc. It was all normal

 

The bone scan included my kidneys which were clear.

[Laurie4b]

Yes. I had a ruptured disc and a bulging disc. I went to a fabulous back specialist. His story is interesting. He was in a terrible car accident in his late teens and his leg was badly broken. The way the surgeon fixed it left him unable to walk well, so he asked for a model of the leg bones, designed a device to join the bones together, and the surgeon put it in. He healed up completely. Specialized in spinal surgery at Harvard. But this surgeon didn't believe in surgery for discs unless the bladder function was compromised & one more thing I can't remember.

 

My regimen was ice, ice, ice, ice, steroids to start, a tough cloth brace, and physical therapy. The brace was a tremendous help in stabilizing me. I did not have radiating pain into the leg, just knock-you-down pain in the back.

[Mejane]

My late father suffered for months with sciatica. He was treated by both doctors and massage therapists with no relief. He finally went to an acupuncturist, felt immediate relief after one treatment and was pain-free after several. He swore by it.

[Ellie]

My chiropractors have been my best friends. A couple of times I was in severe pain such that I went in every day for a couple of weeks. I saw a different chiropractor, one who also used physical therapy, for a rotator cuff issue, and am now almost 100% with no surgery.

[hmschooln]

:bigear:

[Mabelen]

I am all ears on this one. My sister apparently has two herniated cervical vertebrae and has been told she'll need surgery. I am quite nervous about this but even more about another possible diagnosis, Lou Gerigh's disease, which is also being investigated due to some of her symptoms.

[Parrothead]

My mother had a herniated disk, and she went to a neurosurgeon instead of a... what is it? An orthopedist? She had the surgery and is fine now. After the surgery she was very (and still is to some extent) careful about how she moved and did the exercises ever single day for over a year.

[Lovedtodeath]

www.egoscue.com/ These exercises have really helped me. All I did was get the books from the library and do them. I have a broken vertebrae and arthritis.

[KidsHappen]

I have sciatic pain, problems with my SI joint and a slightly herniated disc. I get cortisone shots every six month and see my chiro and massage thearpist twice a month at least. All of this has helped tremendously. I do even better if I am consistant with my walks and exercises. I still have pain that I manage with pain meds and I don't really expect it to ever get better than this. I just hope it doesn't get worse. Unfortunately, I am now starting to have problems with my shoulder and arm on that same side so that entire side may be useless soon. I wish I had better news for you. Chronic pain suck. I hope you at least find a way to make it managable. :grouphug:

[Leanna Tomlinson]

www.egoscue.com/ These exercises have really helped me. All I did was get the books from the library and do them. I have a broken vertebrae and arthritis.

 

:iagree:

 

The book by Egoscue is entitled Pain Free.

It really works!

 

Leanna

[OHGrandma]

Yes, same ones for me. My discs never completely herniated, just bulged a great deal. I had 1 set of 3 cortizone injections, spaced 4-6 weeks apart(can't remember exactly). I think it was 6 months before most of the pain was gone. That's been 5 years ago. I still have numbness in some of my toes on that side, and some numbness in my leg. The chiropracter couldn't do much for the herniated discs but the pain caused me to walk funny which caused pain elsewhere. He resolved that pain.

As you can see from all the responses, no one's back seems to respond the same as anyone elses.

[monk17]

I've been suffering with sciatica for the last three months with the usual diagnosis which in Engish means "old back", actually degeneration and a bulging disk. I tried the following: Chiropractor-not much help, ice-temporary relief, massage-temporary relief, reflexology-medium level relief, inversion table-not much help, although some folks have swear by them, heat therapy-some relief, but the grand prize winner was the second acupuncturist. I felt immediate relief after getting off the table and am now able to sleep through the night.

I would be aggressive in looking at alternative's to surgery and once you are pain free start strengthening that area with core exercises. Also start back very slow on strengthening your abs and back. Like 5 minutes a day for a week and then go up to 7 minutes a day for the second week. It bugged me when folks kept telling me to strengthen my core and implying that was the reason for the injury. My pride was somewhat injured as I kayak and have strong abs, a little more belly fat then I had 20 years ago but I still can roll a kayak. But after injuring your back the muscles will atrophy and need to be rebuilt.

 

Also I wanted to add that I had a full blood lab workup done and a prostrate check.

Edited March 7, 2010 by monk17

[Jann in TX]

But I regret that I did not have surgery sooner...

 

I tried for almost 5 years to avoid surgery... and I tried just about everthing the other posters do.

 

In my case the blown disc degenerated and my body had produced a bone spur that was poking INTO my spinal cord! This was NOT seen on any x-ray or MRI... the Dr found it during the surgery!

 

My surgery was minimally invasive--but I do have a 5in scar on one side of my belly button! I was walking 2 hours after surgery (reluctantly).. was feeling good 2 weeks later, wore a back brace for 5 months with limited movement (no picking up or bending)...

 

I've had ZERO back pain since I woke from surgery!!!!:party:

 

I have some mild sciatica because of SI joint problems--I may start going to a pain center for this--before the surgery the pain center said my WHOLE issue was with my SI joints--but they were WRONG--glad I trusted my back Dr.

 

I have very loose ligaments--always have...having children made the problem worse... now that I'm gettin OLD (mid 40's) I'm feeling some of the issues more and more.

 

Surgery was my LAST option--but I'm glad I did it.

 

Now I'm debating on what to do to fix my SI joints and my right foot (leaning towards surgery for the foot)...

[dirty ethel rackham]

My chiropractor has helped me quite a bit. I have a herniated L5-S1 and C6-C7. I also have a "broken back" at L5. When the pain has been intense, 6 weeks of 3x a week treatment pretty much gets rid of the pain. I can stay pain free if I go about 1 a month for maintenance. Also, I do need to work on my core daily and avoid things like prolonged standing without wearing a brace.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

I was in severe pain for about 6 months. During the acute phase, I went to physio and massage weekly as well as spent lots of time stretching. That was about 8 years ago and I still stretch, make sure my core strength is good and generally pay lots of attention to the health of my back.

 

I swear by my physiotherapist and info from a New Zealand phsyio called Robin McKenzie.

 

I researched the surgery option and learned that several years after surgery, people who had surgery and people who didn't were pretty much equally healthy.

[Time4tea]

What does your dr. think about trying physical therapy first? Sometimes surgery is the only option if everything else is tried and failed.

 

Good luck. Kepp us posted.

[monk17]

But I regret that I did not have surgery sooner...

 

I tried for almost 5 years to avoid surgery... and I tried just about everthing the other posters do.

 

In my case the blown disc degenerated and my body had produced a bone spur that was poking INTO my spinal cord! This was NOT seen on any x-ray or MRI... the Dr found it during the surgery!

 

My surgery was minimally invasive--but I do have a 5in scar on one side of my belly button! I was walking 2 hours after surgery (reluctantly).. was feeling good 2 weeks later, wore a back brace for 5 months with limited movement (no picking up or bending)...

 

I've had ZERO back pain since I woke from surgery!!!!:party:

 

I have some mild sciatica because of SI joint problems--I may start going to a pain center for this--before the surgery the pain center said my WHOLE issue was with my SI joints--but they were WRONG--glad I trusted my back Dr.

 

I have very loose ligaments--always have...having children made the problem worse... now that I'm gettin OLD (mid 40's) I'm feeling some of the issues more and more.

 

Surgery was my LAST option--but I'm glad I did it.

 

Now I'm debating on what to do to fix my SI joints and my right foot (leaning towards surgery for the foot)...

 

Sorry for your back problems but I'm really happy to hear from someone that had successful back surgery. My post was not meant to say to NOT have back surgery but from what I've read you should exhaust other therapy's unless it's an emergency before you go under the knife or laser..

[Jean too]

My trouble is between L-4 and L-5 also. Here is what has worked for me. Pulsing heat then ice every twenty minutes. 800mg ibuprofen around the clock even after the pain goes away for at least a couple extra days. Back pain exercises (you can google for these). When you are able to exercise you should begin to work your core. Getting your abs stronger helps support your back. I hope you find some relief soon.

[gingersmom]

I had back surgery for herniated disks (L3 and L4). I actually heard them snap! I have scoliosis and numerous other back issues and had been dealing with this since I was 12. I had surgery at 34.

 

Not something I would have done by choice but I had no choice. I was unconscious for one week before the surgery (pumped full of steroids to get the swelling down and then transferred to a larger hospital). It was a neurosurgeon that did my surgery.

 

I opened my eyes after surgery, took pain medicine once and never took it again.

 

I still have back issues but I feel 100% better than I did before surgery.

 

It is a loooooong recovery. It took one full year before I even felt close to back to normal. I had about 4 months of bedrest (and just walking around the house).

 

If you need to know more just pm me.

[G5052]

Exhaust everything before you have surgery. My DH had six surgeries, and almost died following an infection after the last one. It left him permanently disabled and barely able to move. And yes, he had superb doctors who did a great job in the operating room, but the complications that they had told us "never happen" did happen.

 

We are so wary of any kind of surgery that I delayed outpatient knee surgery until I literally couldn't walk. No complications there thankfully.

[justamouse]

I had two herniated disks lumbars 4/5 or 5/6 I believe . Nothing worked (and I did it all. Even electroshock zappers that made my legs jump) but the steroid shots when they were bulging, but I felt so well on the steroids that I fully herniated them. It was bad. I was bedridden. One day I tried to put on a sock and kapow.

 

I had the surgery, they went through the back because I was pregnant, 46 minutes I was out. I woke up and the only pain I had was the pain of the operation. No radiating pain down my legs whatsoever. I've never had any pain since. I live my life fully and completely. I was up the day after (not willingly I might add) and did physical therapy for a week.

 

I love my Drs. BUT I had some excellent Drs. The best orthopedic surgeons around. Matter of fact, they flew in from teaching lectures to operate on me.

 

If you're going to do it, make sure your Drs are top notch.

 

AND, I didn't lose my twins (which might have happened).

Edited March 7, 2010 by justamouse

[AngieW in Texas]

A friend had the surgery twice inside of 6 months and had it come back again for a 3rd time within 6 months of the 2nd surgery. That time he just waited it out. It did eventually go away and didn't come back again, but he was in pretty bad pain for about 8 months before it went away.