Calling all doctors

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: silverpig
Centrifuge will fix ya. Strap your feet in, whip you around and around until your back stretches back out.

Unfortunately, the relief is short lived. When you stop...you re-compress.:brokenheart:


My knee surgeon has one bit of advice that's worth taking to heart:

"There's nothing that a good surgery can't make worse."



I too have a seriously FUBAR'd back. (I only wish the reports were as "mild" as the op's.) My neurosurgeon has looked at all the surgical options and has decided that none of them will benefit me long term. Too much damage in too many places, with disk degeneration and other things gone way too far.
"Here's the card for my pain management doc, learn to live on drugs."

I go in at 7 a.m Wed. for another round of epidurals...:shocked:

Sometimes it feels like that fucking needle is 12" long as he sticks it in my back...:shocked:

He keeps offering me all kinds of "candy," to help me deal with the constant pain...from vivodan which I'm allergic to but can tolerate with benadryl, to oxycontin, to fentanyl patches...
I always decline. I tell him I'm stoopid enough on my own...I don't need any chemical help!

Besides, the pain just reminds me that I'm still alive. :roll:

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: ni4ni
I had a MRI performed to try to locate source of lower left sided back and leg pain along with severe leg numbness.

The results are in...

1) At L5-S1 prominent left paracentral disc protrusion versus extrusion
2) This is associated with relatively severe left neuroforaminal narrowing and moderate spinal canal stenosis measuring 0.8cm


I have appointment with a neurosurgeon on Feb 25 and I am going to be off work until then with just 60% of salary coming in. I am only 25 so I am hoping no surgery!

What do those results mean?

EDIT: Now my doctor is telling me maybe I should be on bed rest until I see the neurosurgeon on Feb 25. This freaking sucks!

see a chiropractor before you consider going into surgery.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: ni4ni
I had a MRI performed to try to locate source of lower left sided back and leg pain along with severe leg numbness.

The results are in...

1) At L5-S1 prominent left paracentral disc protrusion versus extrusion
2) This is associated with relatively severe left neuroforaminal narrowing and moderate spinal canal stenosis measuring 0.8cm


I have appointment with a neurosurgeon on Feb 25 and I am going to be off work until then with just 60% of salary coming in. I am only 25 so I am hoping no surgery!

What do those results mean?

EDIT: Now my doctor is telling me maybe I should be on bed rest until I see the neurosurgeon on Feb 25. This freaking sucks!

see a chiropractor before you consider going into surgery.

Worst advice EVER.

Chiropractors can do NOTHING for real spinal problems. They will only make it worse.

 

[grohl]

Originally posted by: Codewiz

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: ni4ni
I had a MRI performed to try to locate source of lower left sided back and leg pain along with severe leg numbness.

The results are in...

1) At L5-S1 prominent left paracentral disc protrusion versus extrusion
2) This is associated with relatively severe left neuroforaminal narrowing and moderate spinal canal stenosis measuring 0.8cm


I have appointment with a neurosurgeon on Feb 25 and I am going to be off work until then with just 60% of salary coming in. I am only 25 so I am hoping no surgery!

What do those results mean?

EDIT: Now my doctor is telling me maybe I should be on bed rest until I see the neurosurgeon on Feb 25. This freaking sucks!

see a chiropractor before you consider going into surgery.

Worst advice EVER.

Chiropractors can do NOTHING for real spinal problems. They will only make it worse.

Ok, that's really not true. You have to admit that some back problems get better without surgery - is it chiropractic help or just healing that would have happened on its own? Either way I would encourage patients to explore all reasonable non-surgical options. Read the rest of the answers - sometimes surgeries can WORSEN the problem and lead to multiple surgeries and redos....its tough to just recommend surgery for such a young guy without considering all of the options.

 

[StageLeft]

I agree to be very careful with any surgery. It may be what you need in this case, but I know some people do jump to it too quickly before trying alternatives and it can, in some cases, make matters worse, and in others a conservative approach can end up being just what the doctor ordered (or didn't). I was ready to tell a doc to cut my knee open two years ago, but after I asked for another MRI, things appeared different and here I am after treating the problem myself with my research and my knee is much better than it had been under the guidance of multiple health professionals. Mileage may vary of course. My surgeon was a bit on the fence, to say the least. A surgeon who says your back needs blades and that's that, well I think you can probably trust that it does.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: ni4ni

Originally posted by: ElFenix

Originally posted by: HomeBrewerDude
http://www.google.com/search?s...tnG=Google+Search&aq=f

this thread is the 5th hit :Q!

That is freaking weird and awesome!

Yeah, but for a such a long phrase it isn't too surprising.

 

[BoomerD]

Here's some reading for ya OP:

http://www.spineuniverse.com/d...e.php/article1431.html

http://www.spineuniverse.com/d...cle.php/article28.html

http://www.spineuniverse.com/d...le.php/article437.html

http://www.spineuniverse.com/d...e.php/article3501.html

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: grohl

Originally posted by: Codewiz

Originally posted by: eits

Originally posted by: ni4ni
I had a MRI performed to try to locate source of lower left sided back and leg pain along with severe leg numbness.

The results are in...

1) At L5-S1 prominent left paracentral disc protrusion versus extrusion
2) This is associated with relatively severe left neuroforaminal narrowing and moderate spinal canal stenosis measuring 0.8cm


I have appointment with a neurosurgeon on Feb 25 and I am going to be off work until then with just 60% of salary coming in. I am only 25 so I am hoping no surgery!

What do those results mean?

EDIT: Now my doctor is telling me maybe I should be on bed rest until I see the neurosurgeon on Feb 25. This freaking sucks!

see a chiropractor before you consider going into surgery.

Worst advice EVER.

Chiropractors can do NOTHING for real spinal problems. They will only make it worse.

Ok, that's really not true. You have to admit that some back problems get better without surgery - is it chiropractic help or just healing that would have happened on its own? Either way I would encourage patients to explore all reasonable non-surgical options. Read the rest of the answers - sometimes surgeries can WORSEN the problem and lead to multiple surgeries and redos....its tough to just recommend surgery for such a young guy without considering all of the options.

exactly. the thought that a chiropractor is total crap for this issue is crap. read up on it and you'll see what i mean.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I agree to be very careful with any surgery. It may be what you need in this case, but I know some people do jump to it too quickly before trying alternatives and it can, in some cases, make matters worse, and in others a conservative approach can end up being just what the doctor ordered (or didn't). I was ready to tell a doc to cut my knee open two years ago, but after I asked for another MRI, things appeared different and here I am after treating the problem myself with my research and my knee is much better than it had been under the guidance of multiple health professionals. Mileage may vary of course. My surgeon was a bit on the fence, to say the least. A surgeon who says your back needs blades and that's that, well I think you can probably trust that it does.

I doubt this. I've heard that the majority of back surgeries do not have positive outcomes. My interpretation is that back surgery should be carefully approached.

 

[ni4ni]

Is there a good resource to use to find qualified chiropractors or is word of mouth the best there is?

 

[BoomerD]

IMO, work-of-mouth is the best.

I'm not sure I'd trust the recommendations from 1-800 dentist, I sure wouldn't trust a paid referral service for a back-cracker.

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: ni4ni
Is there a good resource to use to find qualified chiropractors or is word of mouth the best there is?

word of mouth is the best. any chiropractor is qualified. you can't practice chiropractic without a license.

 

[ni4ni]

My family physician, who normally doesn't have a problem recommending chiropractors, is telling me to see the neurosurgeon first. He is concerned about the nerve. He says the neurosurgeon is very honest and refers people to "conservative" therapy a lot.

 

[looker001]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
IMO, work-of-mouth is the best.

I'm not sure I'd trust the recommendations from 1-800 dentist, I sure wouldn't trust a paid referral service for a back-cracker.

Not to take this off topic, but i would trust 1800 dentist being that i have talked to him personally and the standard by which they pick the "clients" are very hard.

OP word of mouth works really well and usually with good result.

 

[Farang]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
IMO, work-of-mouth is the best.

AGREED :lips:

 

[Trey22]

I ruptured my L5 a little over two years ago. Best guess was that it happened playing basketball and landing flat-footed.

I finally went to the doctor when:
1) I couldn't sleep because of the pain in my lower back and running down my leg
2) Couldn't sit more than a couple of minutes at work
3) Couldn't sit down to watch TV or even have dinner with my family
4) Couldn't make the 4 mile drive to work without stopping and having to get out of the car

Had X-rays, an MRI. Had therapy through Kaiser, didn't work. They put me on Norco (whole 'nother can of worms), kinda worked. Then they wanted to slice & dice, and because they couldn't give me bettter than 50/50 that I could end up the same or worse, I skipped surgery.

Now, I'm not endorsing the following, but over the next year, I did get better through:
1) Gasp! A chiropractor who used the Cox Distraction technique 3x a week for 6 months.
2) Core strengthening. I know, it's hard to exercise with an injury to the back. Every situation is different.

How much was the body's natural healing power? I can't say. While I'm not 100% (90%?!), I have no problems sitting, except for the extended periods that would make anyone's butt go numb. I can play a bit of basketball, and I'm finally squatting and deadlifting.

Ultimately, the hardest thing to do is to be patient. True that some types of injuries just won't heal by themselves, but other, given enough time, can make it so things are bearable.

I hope whatever course you take, that your recovery is as complete as possible.

Edit: Spelling & grammar.

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: Trey22
I ruptured my L5 a little over two years ago. Best guess was that it happened playing basketball and landing flat-footed.

I finally went to the doctor when:
1) I couldn't sleep because of the pain in my lower back and running down my leg
2) Couldn't sit more than a couple of minutes at work
3) Couldn't sit down to watch TV or even have dinner with my family
4) Couldn't make the 4 mile drive to work without stopping and having to get out of the car

Had X-rays, an MRI. Had therapy through Kaiser, didn't work. They put me on Norco (whole 'nother can of worms), kinda worked. Then they wanted to slice & dice, and because they couldn't give me bettter than 50/50 that I could end up the same or worse, I skipped surgery.

Now, I'm not endorsing the following, but over the next year, I did get better through:
1) Gasp! A chiropractor who used the Cox Distraction technique 3x a week for 6 months.
2) Core strengthening. I know, it's hard to exercise with an injury to the back. Every situation is different.

How much was the body's natural healing power? I can't say. While I'm not 100% (90%?!), I have no problems sitting, except for the extended periods that would make anyone's butt go numb. I can play a bit of basketball, and I'm finally squatting and deadlifting.

Ultimately, the hardest thing to do is to be patient. True that some types of injuries just won't heal by themselves, but other, given enough time, can make it so things are bearable.

I hope whatever course you take, that your recovery is as complete as possible.

Edit: Spelling & grammar.

3x a week for 6 months is pretty goddamn excessive. it should have been about 3x/wk for about a month, then 2x/wk for 2 weeks, then once a week for a month, then once a month thereafter for maintenance. core strengthening is key... so is knowing not to flex forward at the hips and rotate (i.e. whenever you get the basketball, you bend over and twist to keep the ball away like this... that's bad... terrible for discs. they teach pros how to do it properly so that they don't degenerate their spines so they can keep playing).

 

[eits]

Originally posted by: ni4ni
My family physician, who normally doesn't have a problem recommending chiropractors, is telling me to see the neurosurgeon first. He is concerned about the nerve. He says the neurosurgeon is very honest and refers people to "conservative" therapy a lot.

i can understand being worried about the immediate problem of the nerve, but you gotta think immediate AND long term. surgery will just speed up degeneration and will cause you to have more occurrences of disc issues in the future. seriously, dude, just try to find a chiropractor who does either gonstead or cox technique. you'll end up sending me a pm thanking me