I am a 23 year old female with early
digenerative disc disease. After years
and years of complaining I finally got an
mri, that is when they diagnosed me with
ddd. I was 7 years old when I first threw
my back out and from that day, I have had
nothing but problems. Spending the night
at friends houses was always a nightmare.
Most friends didn't have extra beds, so
they would put me on the floor to sleep.
Lying on the floor for about 5 minutes
would make my legs go numb and I couldn't
move from the waist down. I would end up
going home or complaining all night long,
most of my friends and their parents
thought I was a whiner. As I got older it
got worse, it ached all the time and it
finally got to the point that no matter
what I laid on, if I was on my back, my
legs would go numb. So now that they know
what is wrong with me, I thought I would
finally get help. Oh no, it was quite the
opposite. They told me that because of my
age, they can't do anything for me. First
of all I am "too young to have this
problem", I agree...But I do have it and
something needs to be done about it.
Secondly, they won't do surgery to help me
because I am too young. The natural
course for my back right now is to have
the two vertebre joined, but they don't
want to speed up that process by removing
the degenerated disc and fusing my
vertebre together. So the other option
would be disc replacement, but my Dr.
Doesn't believe that there are any good
replacement discs out there yet and wants
me to wait about 10 years. I am glad my
doctor doesn't want to waist my time with
surgery if he doesn't think that what is
out there is good enough, in a way I
appreciate that. But, in the mean
time...What am I suppose to do?! I am in
so much pain and it does nothing but get
worse. So the last option would be to
help cover up the pain, they give me extra
strength aleve, naproxem sodium. That is
fine and dandy for some people, but after
a year on that stuff it starts to tear up
ones stomach. Plus they don't really work
all that well. They won't give me any
real pain killers because they are all
narcotics, they said because of "my age"
(i am really getting sick of that), they
can't prescribe me narcotics because of
possible addiction. So, does that mean
after you reach a certain age, you get
past the point of possible addiction? No!
It can happen to anyone, at any age. But
I am really tired of this run around, I
want something done that will actually
help me. Instead of, "here try this and
see if it helps" and when it doesn't, then
I get the "well I don't know what else to
tell ya".
I have also been told to excercise to help
build up strength around it. I have tried
but then I usually end up in more pain
than I was in before. It is all a catch
22.
So after that extreamly long explanation
of my problem, here is my question(s).
Does anyone have any advice? Is anyone
going through this type of back problem?
Has anyone had to try to jump though hoops
to get help? And did you succeed? If so,
how?
Oh, I do know that narcotics will work.
My step mother has already had surgery for
her back problem and is the only one who
knows what I am going through. There
for...She gives me some of her meds. The
only thing is, they are morphine. I have
been taking them for about a year now, but
they are hers...I need something of my
own. I need something to help me out
until the Dr. Feels that it is finally my
time for surgery.
Thank you for listening!
And thank you in advance for any advice!
|
Suzy
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2003 Posts: 530
Ddd Posted: 10-01-03 21:11pm
Dear gattuch,
my husband has early degeneration of his
discs, he is 34 years old. He has
degeneration in the following discs
t11/12,t12/l1,l1/l2,l4/l5,l5/s1. It has
been a persistant and painful problem for
him for 7 years. In the past 12 months
however it has been crippling. He is in
so much pain he now uses a walking stick
to get around. He has had many mri's done
to pin point the problem, the procedures
he has had so far in the last 1 months is
firstly a nerve root sleeve injection
which just flared the problem even more,
secondly he had an epidural steroid
injection using cortisone, which has also
done nothing for the pain. We have talked
to many people who have had discs fused
and have said definately do not have it
done, it is the biggest mistake they ever
made. They are very limited to what they
can do now, and also have trouble with
their body rejecting the metals that are
inserted into the discs, not to mention
trips back and forth to hospital to treat
infections occuring after the procedure.
We are now looking into his last option of
a micro discogram. Have you ever heard of
that ? It is where they remove just a
small part of the disc that is pressing on
the nerve. My auntie also had this done 4
weeks ago and she is now walking the block
again and pain free. Yes we can really
understand the frustration you are going
through, it seems as though if headache
pills don't help you the doctors throw
their hands up in the air and give up. So
we are looking forward to him being able
to have the micro discogram, as it is the
last option we have now. He has tried
every pain killer on the market except for
narcotics with no relief. Doctors are
very hesitant to prescribe narcotics,
although I am sure that if they prescribed
them to my husband he would have taken
them as he has had a very hard time
dealing with severe pain every day.
Take care,
.::suzy::.
|
Gattuch23
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 20 Location: Oregon
Age Doesn't Matter. Posted: 10-02-03 11:08am
Thank you for your reply suzy! It seems
as though it doesn't matter what your age
is, they just don't seem helpful to anyone
who has this. That is pretty bad that
your husband has to walk around with a
cane. I haven't quite reached that point,
but I do find myself walking around like
an old lady. Bent over a little and hold
my back with one hand and extending the
other to brace myself on walls and such.
I am 23, I feel like I am 70+.
As far as fusing the discs, that is
something that I really don't want to do,
and hearing you say that you know people
who have had it done and they recommend
against it, I deffinatly don't want that
done. I am going to suggest to my Dr.
However, micro discogram, maybe that could
be an option for me. If not, I think I
may have to get mean and make him do it
).
As much money as these Dr.'s have pumped
out of me, I think I am due for demanding
them to do what I want done.
I am going to call the Dr. Today and set
up an appointment. Thank you again for
your story, it gave me some ideas on what
to do.
And if anyone else has a story or
suggestions...I would still like to hear
them.
Thank you!
|
Suzy
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2003 Posts: 530
Micro Discectomy Posted: 10-02-03 21:41pm
Dear gattuch,
i'm sorry I just realised I said micro
discogram in my last post, I meant micro
discectomy, which is the procedure where
they take a very small piece of the
problem disc away from the nerve it is
pressing on. A micro discogram is actualy
a different procedure where they inject
dye into your spine so that they can find
where the problem is on the mri. So micro
discectomy is the one I was actually
referring to.
Regards,
.::suzy::.
|
Gattuch23
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 20 Location: Oregon
Clearification Posted: 10-03-03 10:09am
Thank you for the clearification. I will
note it down so I can tell my Dr.
|
hackle1
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 3 Location: PA, USA
Sympathize With You Posted: 10-21-03 10:27am
gattuch, I am sorry to hear that such a
young person is having so much pain. I am
50 years old and my back problems started
when I was 35 as a result of a coal mine
accident. The doctor ( a neurosurgeon
from pittsburgh) would only do surgery as
a final option. I suffered with back and
leg pain for 1 1/2 years. A weakness in
my upper left thigh became so bad that I
had to actually pick up my leg to move it.
I had a microdiscectomy performed on the
l-5 disc with great results, that is until
I went back to work. Two years latter I
had a second microdiscectomy with good
relief for about 10 years. Last year,
april 22, 2002, I had a third surgery
performed on my back. It seems as if the
problem was traveling up my spine
(degenerative disc disease and herniated
discs from l-4 to l-1.) I had a fusion
done from l-1 thru l-4 with about a year
of relief. However, now I am in severe
pain again and the l-5 disc has a
herniation and the Dr. Says that I need
to have that disc included into the
fusion. Only one problem, during the
last surgery there was a complication
which left me blind in my left eye. Now
I have a quandry. Do I have the surgury
and risk total blindness or do I try to
live with the pain. I guess what I am
trying to say here is there are no
gauranteed fixes. Any type surgery on the
back may or may not work. And there is
always the risk of other problems when
having surgery. My advise to you is to
stay away from surgery until you can't
stand the pain no more. Then and only
then should you think about surgery.
Mike
|
Gattuch23
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 20 Location: Oregon
Scary Info Posted: 10-21-03 12:17pm
Thank you for all the scary info. I don't
want to go blind! But I guess that is
with any surgery, there are risks no
matter what kind of surgery it is. And if
I am in that much pain, I guess that is
something I will just have to deal with.
Either live with pain or live with a
possible slip up in my surgery. I am just
too young for this, not that anyone at any
age should have to go through this. It's
just that my friends call me up and ask me
to go hiking, camping, rafting, bike
riding, dancing ect... And I always turn
them down because when I do go...I always
end up in so much pain. It's gotten to
the point where they don't even ask me
anymore. I just here about the fun they
had afterwards. I feel lazy but there is
nothing I can about it. I have gained so
much weight because of this and yet the dr
keep telling me to lose the some weight to
take off some pressure. But I can't work
out because I end up in a worse way than I
am now. I am just so frusterated to have
this so young, so know I am going to have
to keep dealing with it for another 60+
years. Oh boy, something to look forward
too!
Thanks for listening!
~depressed
|
Katriel
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 18 Oct 2003 Posts: 15 Location: texas
Posted: 10-21-03 13:16pm
I have the same problem as you gattuch.
I am a 20 yr old female that has been
fighting my doctor to give me something
for pain. I am scheduled to have
emergency surgery as soon as I win my
workman compensation case. I got hurt at
work when I was 19. It has been a long
and painful year. It wasn't just the
pain, it was the emotional too. The not
being as young and doing what I wanted
when I wanted. It's hard mentally not
being able to go out with friends because
my legs are hurting and going numb. That
leaves me alone alot of my time. I am
forced to deal with the mentallity of
being gimped and the pain of it also.
My doctor feels like he can't give me
narcotics also....Because I am to young to
and he doesn't want me to get addicted.
But you know what I think....I would
rather have pain meds and get addicted to
them and have no pain and have my family
help me through the withdrawls then to
suffer in pain everyday and miss out on
life.
Hi! I am not posting this reply to any
specific user. But really would like to
understand to see if anyone has tried
homeopathy for such a case and what the
response has been ? I am such a user who
had a disc herniation 5 years back and was
cured quite well that time. Now I again
have a problem in a lighter version and am
again undergoing treatment. I should have
completed my course of medication 5 years
past but did not do so that time. There
are no side effects, so it's worth a
try.
Right now I am in big pain and have a
choice between slow healing homeopathy and
a microscopic surgery....Only time will
tell.
|
bootsie840
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Nov 2003 Posts: 113 Location: pennsylvainaia
Posted: 11-29-03 14:38pm
Im really sorry no one is offering you the
help you need, as far as pain meds go, I
dont advise it, I have ddd in my neck and
lower back, along with herniated disks,
bulging disk, I have tried different meds,
they offer no real help, they only hide
the problem . Maybe for a while you feel
a little better, but from taking the pain
meds, your going to end up with more
serious problems, like stomach, or liver
damage. I use a home tens unit, it takes
a little time but for me it does help, I
hope this helps
|
troy hale
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 13 Nov 2003 Posts: 3 Location: apex nc
Pain Posted: 11-29-03 16:45pm
What you need is lorcet 10 mg 4 times a
day its is a narcotic and will only work
for 9-12 months, I suggest you request
lower tylenol level in this medican , as
far as your doctor, ask, tell him / her
your complain and your request for meds.
If doctor will not perscribe what you need
for releif, request a refferal to a pain
clinic
thanks for the response. I ran out of
time and my condition went to "unberable".
My right leg almost died and I could
neither sit, sleep or stand. Got my
surgegy done , i.E md (microsurgical
discectomy) for my l5-s1 disc herniation
and to my surprise I am recovering now.
Before I went through the process I did
get a chance to speak to one of the
patients the doc had already performed
this routine (70 yr old very happy
person!). So I felt safe. Frankly- I had
no other option. The pain in my lef went
down from 100% to 10% immediately after
the surgery...The 10% residual pain is now
going down and is bearable.
I hope to recover fuly and get back to
work asap.
Thanks.
|
pjgirl
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 2 Location: Wichita, Ks
Posted: 01-07-04 09:32am
Dear gattuch,
we are all looking for pain relief. The
trouble is, the answer may be different
for each one of us.
I am in a similar situation. I am an rn
that has ddd. My beginning of this
episode was about 2 yrs ago. I have had
two epidurals, one of which was good, and
one not so good. I have to avoid any
medicine that would cause me decreased
sensorium at work. Right now I use a
lidocaine patch. The only trouble there,
is it is starting to break out my skin,
and I can only use it for 12 hrs at a
time. The rest of the time it just has
to hurt. I have had an mri, which shows
all lumbar effected. And that isn't
counting the degeneration is the cervical
spine that I am aware of daily.
Maybe the lidocaine patch would be
something you could try, through a
physician of course. Good luck, pjgirl
|
goldilox
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 4
I Understand! Posted: 01-09-04 16:32pm
Dear gattuch and others,
boy, can I sympathize. My back problems
started when I was 23, and i'm now 30. I
felt so out of place sitting in the
waiting room with all the elderly folks
waiting to see the doctor for back pain!
(no offense to the elderly folks, of
course!). I, too, have a degenerative
disc at l-5 s-1, but I also have stenosis,
spondylolisthesis, and chronic sciatica.
The sciatica is my main complaint. I
feel it daily, from my right buttock down
the back of my thigh, and I have the
wonderful added feature of having it
swtich legs so I can feel it in the back
of both buttocks and thighs sometimes.
I, too, got the "you're too young for
surgery" statement from the very first doc
I saw. Since then, i've seen multiple
docs, neurosurgeons, physical therapists,
etc., and the scary thing is, spinal
fusion is no guarantee for relief. I
was very close to having fusion, until I
recently saw a neurosurgeon who told me
not to. He said not only could it fail
to cure the sciatic pain, it could make it
worse, or cause the other discs above it
to collapse! I just joined this site,
and i'm hoping to have continued contact
with people just like you who are young,
trying to love the prime of life, but
having chronic pain. It's incredibly
frustrating and depressing.
|
sciaticahelp
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 26 Oct 2003 Posts: 3 Location: Fairfax
Re: I Understand! Posted: 03-18-04 02:46am
Well, I lived with my sciatica for almost
5 years, wearing belts and taking
homeopathic medicines. Homeopathy did
help me! But the last attack in october
2003 left be almost like a rotten
vegetable. I could not sit, sleep , walk
nor stand....Finally decide to go in for
the surgery....
Carefully looked for a local doctor and
spoke to a few of his patients at the
physiotheraphy unit and good good feedback
that encouraged me.
Between the surgery date and the attack I
went to the emergency couple of time and
was living on heavy medication...The
medication was for every 4 hours but
within 3 hrs I would start trembling in
pain!
On thanksgiving, I had my discectomy done
for l5/s1 and followed every single rule
the doctor advised me in terms of
postures, resting, food habits, work
etc....
He was very clear in what the results
would be - good/bad/death/paralysis/etc.
I am almost without pain now..There is
slight numbness once in a while and that
is when I stress a lot. But this is
something that is fading away too.
Believe me the care you need to have in
the first 2-3 months is very important!
(the phase!)
well, this might not be the
end.....Because there will be pressure on
theother discs maybeand thats why some get
additional discectomies at other
levels...But the best bet is to follow the
exercises everyday without fail to
maintain very good flexibility....
In the last 5 years I could not lift my
legs more than 1-2 feet above the ground.
Can you believe I can lift it 90 degrees
now ? Well, that's what I worked my self
into...I am not 30 years and have a 10mth
kid almost 24 lbs who wants to play super
man with me...Boy!
I just pray that I don't get this
again...My only hope to maintain this
condition is by exercising my entire back
and hamstring to maintain very good
flexibility.....Stiff hamstrings are one
of the main causes for pressure in the
lower back!
Let me know if I can be of any
assistance...I have faced a lot of pain
myself too and I understand and appreciate
each one of your pains...It's different.
Sr.
goldilox
wrote:
dear gattuch and others,
boy, can I sympathize. My back problems
started when I was 23, and i'm now 30.
I felt so out of place sitting in the
waiting room with all the elderly folks
waiting to see the doctor for back pain!
(no offense to the elderly folks, of
course!). I, too, have a degenerative
disc at l-5 s-1, but I also have stenosis,
spondylolisthesis, and chronic sciatica.
The sciatica is my main complaint. I
feel it daily, from my right buttock down
the back of my thigh, and I have the
wonderful added feature of having it
swtich legs so I can feel it in the back
of both buttocks and thighs sometimes.
I, too, got the "you're too young for
surgery" statement from the very first doc
I saw. Since then, i've seen multiple
docs, neurosurgeons, physical therapists,
etc., and the scary thing is, spinal
fusion is no guarantee for relief. I
was very close to having fusion, until I
recently saw a neurosurgeon who told me
not to. He said not only could it fail
to cure the sciatic pain, it could make it
worse, or cause the other discs above it
to collapse! I just joined this site,
and i'm hoping to have continued contact
with people just like you who are young,
trying to love the prime of life, but
having chronic pain. It's incredibly
frustrating and
depressing.
|
readytogiveup
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 1 Location: Virginia
Hope U Find Something to Help Since You Are Sooooo Young!! Posted: 09-20-05 13:56pm
Dear gattuch,
nothing to help u with. Just wanted to
let u know that, i've had ddd since
02-19-95. I was in a car accident, and
my back was broken and my collar bone as
well. I had never had any problems with
my back, before that accident. For 7-8
months, the doctors just left me lying in
my bed, and said..."i hope for the
best.".......Ha! They were not the ones
laying there hurting, and not being able
to walk....And the worse thing was, they
could not tell me why I couldnt walk.
Then finally I went to the er and a Dr.
There told me that I had a broken back and
collar bone, but where I had been left
untreated for sooooooo long there wasnt
much at that point that could be
done......Except give me meds. I seen a
nerologist in nov., 1995 and when the
doctor came in, he looked at me really
funny then said he had the wrong room.
To make that short......When he came back
in and I asked why he said that......He
told me that he was looking for a much
older woman, than I was at that time. I
was 25 yrs. Old, at that time. He said
from looking at my x-rays alone, I had the
back of about a 60-65 yr. Old lady.
That really made my day.....Not!! But
since then, i've seen all kinds of
different doctors, and had all kinds of
meds, and diff. Treatments. None of
them help. Now they keep saying that
maybe surgery would help. I dont want a
maybe, I want specifics!!! I also have
arthritis, along with the ddd. I have a
bulging disk in my left hip, that when it
swells, my leg goes numb and I have no use
of it, for as long as 2 months now. I
have disk bulges, hernirated disks, and
ruptured disks, up and down my spine. Im
a single mom of 2 wonderful little boys.
I cant do what I want to with them, much
less what I need to do with them. And it
really stinks, when all the doctors say
is......" I cant promise u that this or
that will help, but we can try." like I
said, they arent the ones that are missing
out on life in general, much less having a
5 yr. Old, begging u..."mommy please come
jump on the trampoline with me??" it
really hurts that I cant do what my boys
want me to do with them. And the pain
.....After 10 years and tons of pain
meds.......Still hasnt gotten any better.
I can tell with each passing day now,
that its gotten worse, and sleeping, is
becoming a task within itself. I hope
that as young as u still are, that u can
find a Dr. That can help u, and not just
let u keep going untreated, the way they
did me. I wish u the very best with
this. And like u said about the pain
meds........Taking the risk of addiction
is better than letting them cut u open and
making things worse than they were to
begin with. So keep looking and u will
find somebody, and maybe ......Hopefully I
will too, and if I do find somebody I will
be sure to let u know right
away.......Nobody deserves to have to go
through life, wondering what the next day
holds for them.......I go to bed hoping
that tomorrow will be better (tho I kow it
wont be) .......Hope is all I have and
the support of my family and
friends......When I want to just give
up......They wont let me, and I just keep
fighting the pain and every day as it
comes.......Just taking one day at a
time...........Goodluck young lady
|
xine
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 27 Nov 2006 Posts: 2
Help For Gattuch Posted: 02-01-07 22:36pm
It was weird reading your post. It could
have been mine. I am now 44 yrs. But my
ddd was diagnosed when I was 26 (although
like you I had problems before then that
were always dismissed by my parents).
For me, it was the lower discs first, l
2-3, 3-4, 4-5, and s 1. I've done
everything...Really, everything except
fusion because of the number of levels.
The surgeons were worried that they would
make me worse.
I've taken narchotics for probably 18
years. During the better months I have
taken as few as 1 1/2 pills a day of
hydrocodone 10/650. On bad days it can be
as many as 5. On bad days I just don't
fight it, I just sack out, read a book
watch a movie or two or three. But I
think they key to my success, and I do
consider my mobility a success, is when I
have good days, I live. I do as much as I
can without crossing the line into a
flare-up. I keep my weight as low as
possible (i know it's hard because you
can't exercise) by not eating junk,
drinking lots of water, and taking fish
oil and vit. C. Also, I don't allow
those close to me to patronize me, feel
sorry for me or ask me if i'm in "pain".
I've asked them to refer to it as
sensation, so my husband will say...Gee it
looks like you're really feeling it today.
It's weird but it helps. For me the word
"pain" has so many negative aspects to it,
and when you have to live with the
feelings everyday it's just too much to
deal with.
Keep moving, keep stretching, work on your
core muscles (these are really small
muscle inside and even we can do the
exercises without causing flare-ups!) I
work on my stomach all day long...If
you're going to go the distance, you're
going to have to learn to use all the
muscles around your spine to hold you up!
You can do this, I know you can. Even
with the four lower discs gone, and now my
neck too (i did have fusion on that, big
mistake, the disc above and below are
problems now!) I still have a great life,
lots of love and a family (you can have a
baby too) god bless you and be well.
|
bizarre
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Feb 2007 Posts: 1
Back Pain. Posted: 02-21-07 02:12am
I am really sorry to hear about your
problem.
When I first got hurt I blew my knee. I
was told I was too young for a knee
replacement. I was limping so much that
now 7 yrs later, my back is also shot. My
hands don't work too well either and
although no one knows why I had a foot
turn purple. I have had injections in my
back, I am now on major pain killers. I
have lost my job and home and of course
some of my friends due to getting so
depressed.
So, if I could go back into time I think I
would have hunted down a doctor who would
have listened to me and done the
replacement, really pushed for it.
One of the problems with going on
narcotics is Dr's will treat you as if you
are nuts as opposed to hurt or disabled.
ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A WOMAN. I kept
getting "oh you are just stressed out" or
' you just need a rest blah blah, I just
needed some solution for my pain!
I was a respected community member.
Great job. But it all got so
over-whelming and the pain! I just shook
all the time. I am now on hydo-morph. I
refuse to take enough to make all the pain
go away. I just wanted it so I could
manage, so I could sleep. I can only
sleep on my right side. I have to have a
pillow in between my legs and I bought a
new bed but I am now making it work for
me. I do what I have to do to make it
through the days.
I got hurt when I was 29 yrs of age and I
am now 36 yrs. I am doing so much better
today at handling it but without the
medication it would be a whole other
story. I am not saying go on the drugs
because if you can do it without them or a
surgery then I would.
Don't get a surgery if you think it may
make it a tiny bit better either.
But if a doctor tells you that he/she can
definetly help you I would try. But that
is just me. I would try anything at this
point to get my life back.
I wish you all the luck. Just remember
there are so many people with back pain
and just because you are young does not
mean you don't deserve treatment or
respect.
all the best.
|
1tensile
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 28 Jan 2008 Posts: 1
Susy's message concerning her husband Posted: 01-28-08 01:46am
This message is for susy in regards to her
husband needing a micro discectomy. I
just currently had a mirco discectomy on
01/15/2008. It was the best thing I could
have ever done. One thing I realized after
agreeing to undergo the surgery was that
MRI'S are not that accurate. My MRI did
not show that my disc had already cracked
and a piece of the disc was sitting in my
spinal canal pinching a nerve. If your
husband is in severe pain he should really
think about having the procedure done.
This is my Third surgery since I have
multiple disc's with problems each time I
have had my surgery I have never regretted
it. I am a 37 year old female. A fusion
is a the next procedure if needed and I am
hoping it doesn't come to that. I hope
your husband feels better and gets the
relief he is looking for.
).
As much money as these Dr.'s have pumped
out of me, I think I am due for demanding
them to do what I want done.
