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Should I just give in and get operation?

REHH

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Get Shredded!
I've been battling herniated discs in my neck and low back for years... bout ready to throw in the towel. Neck has been the worst lately, do traction and ice almost everyday. Probably looking at a fushion, anyone else had this done.

This pic was bout 5yrs ago and you can easily see the collapsed disk between 6 and 7
 

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I've been battling herniated discs in my neck and low back for years... bout ready to throw in the towel. Neck has been the worst lately, do traction and ice almost everyday. Probably looking at a fushion, anyone else had this done.

This pic was bout 5yrs ago and you can easily see the collapsed disk.
No , fuck that , I am
Sure ur doctor will hook you up with pain meds .... Opiates .... life is good
 
I have one in my lower back.

Have you had a epidural?

As far as meds... You want to be like sumner ? He life must be amazing being he spends a fair amount of time on here with us peasants

I'm going to exhaust all options before surgery. The pain is annoying. The steroid shots help somewhat. Pain meds do not help me at all other than for a buzz.

I'm going to try the chiropractor and the epidural next.
 
I have one in my lower back.

Have you had a epidural?

As far as meds... You want to be like sumner ? He life must be amazing being he spends a fair amount of time on here with us peasants

I'm going to exhaust all options before surgery. The pain is annoying. The steroid shots help somewhat. Pain meds do not help me at all other than for a buzz.

I'm going to try the chiropractor and the epidural next.
, thinking bout getting Botox injections in neck though. Been on bunch different meds, don't do much. I get muscle spasms and nerve pain which triggers migraines, Botox is supposed to work good for that.
 
I can't speak from personal experience but I know a older guy that gets botox injections. Said they help. He has had the maximum dose or allowance per year. 12 injections, whatever that equates to.
 
, thinking bout getting Botox injections in neck though. Been on bunch different meds, don't do much. I get muscle spasms and nerve pain which triggers migraines, Botox is supposed to work good for that.

Epidural injections of depo medrol saved me from surgery on my L4-L5 and L5-S1.

If your doctor thinks it is worth a shot try it.
 
I had c5/c6 & c6/c7 fused with 2 plates with 6 screws. It took care of about 90% of pain on a daily basis. I still sometimes get a catch in it and sometimes it gets better stiff for awhile. Nothing a little ibuprofen or ice cant cure. Over all definitely glad I had it done. I now dont want to wash out my mouth with buck shot ona daily basis. So I am glad I had it done. I hope your get some relief brother

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I call dibs on his percs
 
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If you have surgery and it involves fusion, it will be a long recovery and you will be in some type of restrictive brace or cast for months as far I know. Ask you doc about that. I say surgery as a last option. I have back issues myself and surgery would also involve fusion because I have a cracked vertebrae causing disc issues. If you are in enough pain that you basically cant move around on a daily basis, then you have no choice but surgery. If you can alleviate a lesser level of pain through meds, chiropractor and/or physical therapy, then you should put off surgery.
I've been battling herniated discs in my neck and low back for years... bout ready to throw in the towel. Neck has been the worst lately, do traction and ice almost everyday. Probably looking at a fushion, anyone else had this done.

This pic was bout 5yrs ago and you can easily see the collapsed disk between 6 and 7
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm calling in today to make appointment at Emory spinal center, they're supposed to be one of the best, gonna get new X-rays and MRI to see how bad it's got. Been about 10yrs since I've seen a neurosurgeon for this, that x-ray in first post is from chiropractor.

This is a fushion friend of mine just had done.
 

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I got an epidural in my L5-S1 about 2-ish years ago. It really helped take the edge off and gave me time to heal. I had one doc advocating for the discectomy and another said "no". The epidural was the compromise and I'm doing pretty well so far.

What has also really helped me is 2-4 times a year I get IMS (intra-muscular stimulation) done. Basically they jab you with needles at the nerve muscle interface which can help with the tightness and spasms that come the from nerve damage associated with my herniation. They'll do my back, butt, hamstring and calf all along the left side (my affected side).

Best of luck REHH, that nerve pain sucks. Hang in there.
 
Man I'm in the same boat. I am using some pain meds I take at night to help w my lower back pain but most days it's so bad I can't stand for more than 15-20 minutes at a time.

Doing a causal walk or doing the lawn makes me want to eat a damn bullet to stop the pain I will feel for the next couple of days.

I hate the thought of surgery and fusion but I'm sure at some point I will have to do it.


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I think it's time to find another doctor even after insisting on an ex ray and seeing how bad it is doc just says well ur getting older deal w it.


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Thanks for all replies and info, the more the better. My appt is set for this Friday at Emory University hospital spine center, the neurologists there are highly regarded. I'm sure it will be the same process my bud just went thru, assessment, exam and x-rays this Friday, then probably a referral for MRI. After that probably either injections and/or surgery depending on how bad it is. Oral prescriptions and rehab are not an option, I've already been thru that with a couple other docs several times. And yeah I've taken several vials of both tb500 and bpc157, they seemed to help a little but it's just a temporary fix.
 
I had a fusion done in my cervical a few years back. Two levels I believe. I think it was in the same region yours is 5-6-7 ish. It was easy peasy... Recovery time wasnt bad at all. Glad I did it. I have no experience with the lower though. What some people dont realize is that the problem with collapsed disk isnt just the pain but what happens to the other disk in the area if left untreated. They will eventually start collapsing too. I understand certain prodecures might carry a certain risk that you have to balance your decision. But I would tell anyone with the same condition I had with my neck to do the surgery. Its a no brainer. Just make sure you research the surgeon as best you can. They are definalty not all created equal.
 
If you have surgery and it involves fusion, it will be a long recovery and you will be in some type of restrictive brace or cast for months as far I know. Ask you doc about that. I say surgery as a last option. I have back issues myself and surgery would also involve fusion because I have a cracked vertebrae causing disc issues. If you are in enough pain that you basically cant move around on a daily basis, then you have no choice but surgery. If you can alleviate a lesser level of pain through meds, chiropractor and/or physical therapy, then you should put off surgery.
Im

Im sure there are cases where this is true, but when i had my neck fused I only wore a neck brace for about 2 weeks i think.. Shit I was back in the gym in under a month.
 
I had a fusion done in my cervical a few years back. Two levels I believe. I think it was in the same region yours is 5-6-7 ish. It was easy peasy... Recovery time wasnt bad at all. Glad I did it. I have no experience with the lower though. What some people dont realize is that the problem with collapsed disk isnt just the pain but what happens to the other disk in the area if left untreated. They will eventually start collapsing too. I understand certain prodecures might carry a certain risk that you have to balance your decision. But I would tell anyone with the same condition I had with my neck to do the surgery. Its a no brainer. Just make sure you research the surgeon as best you can. They are definalty not all created equal.

I didn't realize that was a affect.

How long was your recovery ?
 
Get Shredded!
I've had two close people get fusions. One was after a year and a half of severe pain, arm numbness, corticosteroid shots (useless for him) and painkillers, and completely sedentary behavior that had his health go to shit. The fusion completely cured him, slight loss of ROM only. The other had many months of degeneration and unfortunately putting off the surgery (insurance fuckers, mostly) led to one of the two shredding discs impinging into some critical ligaments and the surgery wound up much more extensive and traumatic than planned. The double fusion took nicely and is solid but the surrounding complications are still a huge problem causing nerve impingement and muscle spasms requiring tons of drugs, and further surgery seems likely to me. Dunno if another disc is going but more scans are needed. Scans are limited in what they show though, not the all-seeing miracle tech some people think. Surgery winds up being the best way to finally see what the real situation is unfortunately.

Discs never heal do they? I'm not aware that any of these other treatments can do anything more than mask symptoms for a while. I'd go for surgery before the discs start permanently fucking up surrounding tissues.
 
I didn't realize that was a affect.

How long was your recovery ?

It was probably about 8 years ago, but if I remember correctly maybe 2 weeks??? As far as neck pain there was none at all after surgery with the exception of the incision area on the throat was a little annoying for a few days. I want to say I was back in the gym(taking it light of course) in under a month.
 
I've had two close people get fusions. One was after a year and a half of severe pain, arm numbness, corticosteroid shots (useless for him) and painkillers, and completely sedentary behavior that had his health go to shit. The fusion completely cured him, slight loss of ROM only. The other had many months of degeneration and unfortunately putting off the surgery (insurance fuckers, mostly) led to one of the two shredding discs impinging into some critical ligaments and the surgery wound up much more extensive and traumatic than planned. The double fusion took nicely and is solid but the surrounding complications are still a huge problem causing nerve impingement and muscle spasms requiring tons of drugs, and further surgery seems likely to me. Dunno if another disc is going but more scans are needed. Scans are limited in what they show though, not the all-seeing miracle tech some people think. Surgery winds up being the best way to finally see what the real situation is unfortunately.

Discs never heal do they? I'm not aware that any of these other treatments can do anything more than mask symptoms for a while. I'd go for surgery before the discs start permanently fucking up surrounding tissues.

^^^Exactly..Unless the surgery is a high risk deal where the spinal cord etc could be damaged... Getting the surgery is a no brainer.. Putting it off can lead to a world of shit. Especially if your still very active..
 
do whatever you can to stay off pain killers man... its a slippery slope
 
Don't give in dude... my neck was fucked and after 3 years of PT i was able to make life happen
 
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