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Bulging Discs and back pain

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  • zakblood
    zakblood Community member Posts: 419 Pioneering
    depends on what's wrong with what else is around it and how many other things are damaged, mine etc is canal stenosis with posterior disc bulges at L2/3 and L3/4, sagittal and axial T1 and T2, degeneration of lumber spine, so a 

    degenerative disorder of the lower back in more than one place, so with age and wear and tear, it gets worse not better, while i could walk quite well 20 years ago, now not so good, i started off with no sciatica attacks, then over the years, it went from a few each year to almost one a month, which now can be a week long or longer, so that's also getting worse with age, back at hospital in the next month or so, so while i was offered surgery in the past, the success rate was too low for me, now i'm seeing if anything has altered, not in me, but the % rate of not making me worse etc, 20 years ago it was 60/40, with the 60% chance of making me worse, eg more stiff, as for me Spinal fusion was offered, with either a mess or rod or both to support what was damaged, with other treatments not suited to my needs, so took what else was offered at the time, and chose tablets, as a spinal injection was one of the causes for me of what may have caused it in the first place


  • Char1066
    Char1066 Community member Posts: 2 Listener
    It does indeed depend, as obviously there are differences in each case.  It appeared from the original post that surgery had not even been discussed.  A fusion was not the first option in my case, it was a foraminotomy to allow space for the nerves impinged by the bulging discs, but I was 47 when I had that done.  This was by far the preferred option by my neurosurgeon and I was more than happy to agree with him.  Unfortunately we did have to discuss ACDF afterwards as there still some issues left and it was certainly not an option I was looking forward to and am pretty sure I would not have wanted to go down that route for all of the issues you have mentioned above.  Luckily he also referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon to investigate another potential cause, which was indeed the cause of residual symptoms.  I have just recently had a final follow up MRI, 4 years after the original surgery and although the disc is still herniated, the nerve still has room to avoid impingement. 
  • jolew
    jolew Community member Posts: 26 Courageous
    I also have had a herniated disc, but because I have MS my doctor referred me to my MS consultant, which wasted a lot of time (9 months). My MS consultant obviously thought my back pain was due to having an MS episode. He referred me to have an MRI but this was only to look for signs of an episode that they can see in your brain, so the MRI didn’t cover my back. I discussed this with my doctor so had a second MRI that revealed that I had a herniated disc. I was then referred to the Orthopaedic consultant. In the end I saw him for the first time after I was admitted to hospital in severe pain and unable to urinate. I had an emergency disc decompression operation that day. Unfortunately it wasn’t very successful, two years later I had the operation again on the same disc then a third operation a few years after that! This was the most successful as I no longer have as many really painful sciatic attacks  where the pain is so bad that my body violently flinches with each shooting pain! I can now sit up for longer periods of time and enjoy being more sociable and my painting. (I had nearly 8 years spending days lying on the sofa).
     Over the years I have been prescribed many different pain killers :- tramadol,  amytryptoline? pregabalin, oxycontin, and gabapenten. The latter is what I have been taking for a few years now and I am quite happy with it, although I would like to cut my dose down, every time I try my pain level increases. Before my last operation I asked my consultant about a disc fusion, but his opinion was that it would restrict my movement and cause problems in the future.
    After my first operation I went back to work (teacher) too soon, I struggled on for 1/2 a term, then it was the summer  holidays and I could rest up then. I went back determined to keep working but eventually had to give in and accept that my body wasn’t up to it! I was very sad about retiring so early (49), also it was a really nice teaching job.    

  • zakblood
    zakblood Community member Posts: 419 Pioneering
    aged 52 next month and been off now for 20+ years, MRI and XRays are great at showing the doctors and consultants, senior consultants and professors what's wrong, shame in the end the DWP and WCA didn't take any of into account when scoring my 0 in my last assessment and didn't ever read the 80 pages of notes, even when i made the effort and saved them the time of reading it all, and making just a 2 page bullet pointed list, with the main facts and data shown for all to see in clear terms, so even the waste of space nurse could, but didn't even understand it, and found me well, lol,...

    disc fusion, does restrict movement in some cases and is an option only for those with degenerative disorders with more than a few discs found to be faulty or beyond repair as such, in my case, this was what was offered to me 20 years ago, and i also didn't like the restrictive movement part, but it was an option for me, in stead of taking tablet which i did in the end, but now wish for long term use i hadn't, the side effects over the long years have been worse than the condition itself for me, so now i'm back in a month and going to see what other options are open for me, with 4 MRI over the years and 5 XRays, even i can clearly see the degeneration from my first and it's also good to have the color ones at the side of the black and white as a contrast, as it really does show up well, shame the WCA nurse had no ability to understand results, way above her pay grade, knowledge and ability.

    i'm being drawing my pension now for 12 years, but atm now kicked off ESA, and unable to claim anything else until the lost letter gets replaced with my back up one, as the DWP signed to get my MR letter, then lost it, so have to wait another 10 days at least for a reply, making a total in all once done, of 2 months for a mandatory reconciliation letter, so if that's a no, then maybe a year for a Tribunal, as long as the strikes don't make it longer, as from the 1st of July, there going out, so says the lawyers and judges etc 
  • jolew
    jolew Community member Posts: 26 Courageous
    @zakblood, sorry for your troubles, the PIP assessments are very stressful. I was lucky in that I had to have mine as a home visit, as I wouldn’t have coped with the length of sitting involved in going to the assessment  centre.
  • zakblood
    zakblood Community member Posts: 419 Pioneering
    had my first visit 20 years ago in 1999 at home, then every 4 years after, they refused, so i now always go to them, my reports on one pages says i sat for 55 mins, so must be true, then on another page same nurse spoke about how often i moved, altered position and complained, reached for the door handle with my right hand, while left hand was left dangling, so stress is only part and parcel of the suffering and lies we are told and have written about us on a yearly basis, recording is best, then the lies become black and white and easier to complain about, when a form doesn't read the same as what is spoken word for word, with missing parts, added bits and made up other stuff, hope you all the best
  • Waylay
    Waylay Community member, Scope Member Posts: 973 Pioneering
    11 years after slipped disc and failed back surgery. Still not sure what's wrong. Worst part is massive back spasms, so trying to figure out ways to prevent/control them better.
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    That must be incredibly painful @Waylay! Have you found any patterns yet about what can help?
    Scope

  • jolew
    jolew Community member Posts: 26 Courageous
    @Waylay, I continued to have severe pain after my first operation, have you had another MRI scan? Perhaps you need another operation,  my back pain didn’t improve until operation 3!
  • koolpc
    koolpc Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    Waw, 2 years since i posted on here!

    I am still working in retail.

    Back still bad and at times, extremely bad!

    I had 6 injections 2 months ago, down either side of spine, lower back. That did nothing at all.

    I am trying to keep working. Last 2 weeks my back been so bad. Still taking ibuprofen and paracetamol. Tempted to try gabapentin but dont want the side effects.

    Got a phone call appointment tomorrow with pain management.

    When i went for injections the doctor was very dismissive and was saying i wasnt that bad according to the MRI i had 3 years ago!!

    I am peed off with it all to be honest.
  • koolpc
    koolpc Community member Posts: 14 Connected
  • Libby_Alumni
    Libby_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 1,251 Pioneering
    koolpc said:
    Waw, 2 years since i posted on here!

    I am still working in retail.

    Back still bad and at times, extremely bad!

    I had 6 injections 2 months ago, down either side of spine, lower back. That did nothing at all.

    I am trying to keep working. Last 2 weeks my back been so bad. Still taking ibuprofen and paracetamol. Tempted to try gabapentin but dont want the side effects.

    Got a phone call appointment tomorrow with pain management.

    When i went for injections the doctor was very dismissive and was saying i wasnt that bad according to the MRI i had 3 years ago!!

    I am peed off with it all to be honest.
    Welcome back @koolpc! :)

    I'm sorry to hear that your back is still in a lot of pain and the injections didn't seem to help. However, I'm glad you're hearing from a pain management specialist tomorrow. I would recommend speaking to them about the gabapentin and see what they suggest, given their professional experience. 

    I can imagine this is all very frustrating and I understand how debilitating chronic pain can be. Is there anything that allows you to feel some relief from the pain? I have endometriosis, so experience chronic pain, and hot baths, water bottles, and other things help me. I do realise that they might not be helpful for you though :) 

    Good luck with your appointment tomorrow and please keep us all updated. 

    Libby
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  • Libby_Alumni
    Libby_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 1,251 Pioneering
    I realise your last comment was on November 1st @koolpc - so how did the appointment go? :) I hope it went well for you!
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