lower back disc removal??

[Vicegrip]

Friends come and go but injuries accumulate.

I too messed up my back years ago and have to be careful to keep it from going out. I can feel it coming on and can prevent it from going on me. When it does it is a week of **** and leaning to one side like the town drunk. Something as stupid as leaning over the dishwaser wrong can fire it right up. (that was the last trigger that got me)

Backs, knees, eyes and hands. Take care of them if you use them to make a living.

[Bert]

and THAT'S why we don't own a dishwasher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[welderman23]

Doobie,
Welderman23...SEE A DOCTOR!!! (or a good chiropractor)!!

the last time i saw my chiropractor it caused extreme pain.... so i havent went back since

[admweld]

Forget the chiropractor.They can,t do anything that will help imo.I have been to one before i had surgery and from what i understand once a disc is herniated they can,t help you.GO TO A REAL DOCTOR/SURGEON!!!! Good luck i wish you best.

[fjk]

...trust me when i say you do not want to wait.

I'll second that. I had a small problem. It got to be a big problem.
When I went to the Dr., he ended his description/diagnosis/...
with "... and then there's what you have"
Fortunately, I live in the Boston MA area where there are plenty
of hospitals and docs who "like challenges"

f

[doobie]

I was told that if it was only slightly herniated that with a lot of recovery it can heal and will be painless but it will never be the same strengthwise.Ive seen the mri pics from mine and it is flatter than a road killed skunk,so it has to be removed.I have also heard that a fake disc can be inserted.Fortunatly because it is so low in my back,it wont have to be fused.

[Bert]

do you have a date for the operation?

[fun4now]

the chiropractor was my first stop as it was a friend. he took an X-ray and from that sent me strait to an MRI and set me up with an appointment with a surgeon all in the first appointment be for the MRI results were even back.
when he got the MRI results back he called me and told me not to pick up anything heavy-er than a pencil and got my appointment with the surgeon moved up.
first thing the surgeon said when i entered his office was " by the looks of the MRI i expected to see you in a wheel chair " needless to say it was bad by the time i finally got around to seeing some one. but the point was a chiropractor cant help with this type of problem. your not mis-aliened your squashed, nothing to adjust. if he knows what he is doing he wont touch you.

[doobie]

Yup,the big day is friday morning,Finally.Im actaly excited because ive been waiting so long(1.5yrsapprox)I finally get to move on with life.

[Blue Collar Moto]

Not yet. Best wishes for ya. Hope your back on the truck & sparkin an ark soon!

[Bert]

Doobie,
prayers go out to you buddy

[doobie]

Thanks for the prayers and best wishes guys,im back at home now and the surgery went fine but the doc says i cant do anything for at least a month(cant even drive my truck)The good news is that i should be able to resume a normal working life after a month or two.I will probably be hanging around the board quite a bit more puttin my two cents in though since i cant do much else,but thats ok.I just wanted to give you guys an update.

[Bert]

FOLLOW THE DOCS ADVICE AND DON'T DRIVE!!!!!!!! I am one of those who HATE docs, seems like 1/2 the time their guessing and STILL charge us full costs!!! But...they have the most knowledge about how long stuff takes to heal, etc. even though WE know better heed his advice!!
will still keep you in prayers for the healing to go 100%!!!
Some people pray to God to heal them using HIS power. Sometimes HE doesn't do it. HE works through the doctors

[Some Creep]

Thanks for the prayers and best wishes guys,im back at home now and the surgery went fine but the doc says i cant do anything for at least a month(cant even drive my truck)The good news is that i should be able to resume a normal working life after a month or two.I will probably be hanging around the board quite a bit more puttin my two cents in though since i cant do much else,but thats ok.I just wanted to give you guys an update.

I'm a noob here and just registered specifically to respond to this thread. I had the exact surgery you had in the exact same location (L5/S1...not the same hospital...). Mine didn't quite go so well, thought I'd give the 'worst case' scenario for the guys here:

My rupture was a bad one. Lots of you have described the pain and it's all that and more sometimes. Mine was like hot acid running down my leg into my toes until the outside toes eventually went numb. I was on morphine to the point of "as much as I prescribe a terminally ill cancer patient" by the doc.
The surgery was OK I suppose, the shooting pain went away. The problems started not long after I was home. On bed rest, I found I was getting a NEW pain. It was more centralized at the spine and was getting pretty bad pretty quick. Long story short, I got to the point of NOT BEING ABLE TO WALK. I was stuck in an easy-chair p!ssing in pop bottles with a nurse coming over to the house for checkups. The doc prescribed more and more painkillers but the pain got worse. He wouldn't see me until he returned from vacation or until my follow-up visit which was still 3 days away by the time I went to the emergency room by ambulance.

I was diagnosed with a staph infection in my spine from the surgery. I was in the hospital 2 weeks. I was on intravenous antibiotics for 8 months and a mess of painkillers (you name it, I was on it). The scar tissue left behind has nerves trapped in it that hurt to this day. It took me over 6 months to learn how to walk correctly again. I'll be on pain meds for the rest of my life.


I'm sure your recovery will go better than mine. Take things easy, follow the doc's recommendations. I'm sure your doc is better than mine was.

[Bert]

Some Creep (referring to your doctor?),
That's what's sad about them making it SOOOOO hard to sue doctors!!! Wonder if you could have proved by blood test, that the KNEW you had an infection, HE knew, and STILL went on his vacation, or didn't refer you to another doctor to get fixed sooner!!! Although, I wouldn't be surprised if the other doctor's don't take his caes, 'cause they know he always screwes up something...Well, if you stopped him from going on his vacation, he would have given you placebos and your pain would be 100x worse....
Welcome to the board, sorry you joined because of this, but glad you did!
hang around, huh??!!
bert