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[Aaliyahkalac]

L5/ S1 disc protrusion,

Hello my names Aaliyah and I’m 17 years old.

I’ve always done Martial Arts from a young age and I’ve never suffered with any back pain up until now.

3/half months ago I was at my usual training session and I was doing some kicking, I must have moved suddenly/awkwardly and landed on my bottom !

Ever since that evening I’ve been in deep agony

3 days prior the incident I went to my local A+E

Had a MRI and i was told it was just a pinched nerve and was sent away with paracetamol and ibuprofen. I was truly in shock because of how much pain I was in , I didn’t understand how those were going to make me feel relieved...

I been back to A+E again and they sent me home again with all the same responses “it’ll get better”. So I trusted them and went home and tried to bare the pain.

The third time I went back and I just couldn’t take it no more and I think they understood and realised that it had been 3 months gone now and still not healing. The doctor admitted me and said there aim is to manage my pain , I was happy but sad because I did t want to stay but I knew it would be for the best.

I was in hospital for 8 days. On the 8th day I have the nerve root block and the epidural

I felt relief afterwards for about 2 days I was so happy , but then as everyday went by the pain slowly crept and crept and now I’m back at square 1

I also forgot to mention that I went to a private consultation and he diagnosed me with ( l5 S1 slipped disc , bulge)

I was very happy seeing the private consultant because he gave me answers the the hospital didn’t.

Anyway it’s been 16 days since I’ve had the injection now and I’m still in a lot of pain and considering the amount of medication I’m on you’d think I’d be a little relieved but no

(Gabapentin , tramadol , paracetamol, ibuprofen, senna, lansoprazole )

There all my medications.

I have an appointment on the 28th of this month to go and see the surgeon

And discuss how I’m feeling and how the procedure went

20th physio

I’ve tried physio for 6 weeks before and also chiropractic therapy.

None of that worked , I just want to be pain free i’m so young , I just hope they can help me.

They ask me what’s more painful the back pain or the pain down the leg

And I was say 75% the leg pain and the rest the back pain.

[Amk31]

I'm so sorry. Hopefully you get some pain relief soon.

I find the below helps:

-heat and cold therapy

- massage

-gentle exercise

[waylay]

I'm so sorry. I've been there. I can't believe they let you go 3 months with no investigations except an MRI and only ibuprofen and paracetamol! Eek! I got codeine early on.

I had all kinds of injections into my back, some of which helped, but never for long. My Mum, on the other hand, has slipped 3 discs and a series of injections cured her every time.

As Amk31 says below, heat helps me, as does massage. Stretching (very gently) and light exercise are really important - you need to keep moving, even if only for 10 minutes every hour. Have you had any physio before now? You should have if not! Grumble doctors.

There are other meds you can add, such as amitryptaline or duloxetine, and you could try swapping out pregabalin for the gabapentin, naproxen for the ibuprofen, and a stronger opioid for the tramadol, but each has side-effects and down-sides. It often takes a while to get the best mix of meds.

Watch out for stomach issues with ibuprofen (and naproxen), as they're well known for causing reflux, ulcers, etc. They can also cause kidney damage if used long term.

Paracetamol can damage your liver in the long term, even if you're taking 3g a day. If you're on them much longer I'd ask your GP to do a blood test to check liver and kidney function, just in case. I took prescribed paracetamol for about 8 months and ended up with acute liver damage. Probably won't happen to you (I seem to be a bit fragile), but checking every so often is wise.

They may suggest surgery if you don't start improving soon. Most people have a big reduction in leg pain, and a smaller reduction in back pain. Studies show that conservative management (meds, exercise, etc.) seems to be as good as surgery, although you improve faster with surgery.

However, a small percentage of people get worse with surgery. I was one of them. They mentioned that to me and I thought, eh, whatever, but hey, I won the lotto and still have disabling chronic back pain 11 years later. I'm not trying to scare you - just to make sure you take the small possibility of a poor outcome seriously when/if you get offered surgery.

Oh. If you smoke, or vape, STOP. NOW. Use of nicotine is highly correlated with ongoing pain. Wish I'd known that. :/

Good luck!

Feel free to DM me.

Amy-Lou

[Aaliyahkalac in reply to waylay]

Hello , Thankyou for your message. Yes they prescribed me naproxen and amitriptyline , I didn’t seem to think they agreed with me.

I did 6 weeks intense private physio

And about 6 weeks chiropractic therapy.

Bless you nothing seemed to have worked for nothing!! So are you saying surgery is a No No or it’s 50/50

My nan was telling me to go to the hospital today because I think it’s flared up again only 2 weeks after the injecting :/ but I have a family christening on Sunday and I’m afraid that there keep me in and I’ll miss it so I have 2 minds to go on Monday.

[waylay in reply to Aaliyahkalac]

Surgery is about 10% great outcomes, 65% good outcomes, 15-20% not much change, 5-10% bad outcomes. Those are averages over various different types of lumbar surgeries from, I believe, 9 papers published in the past 10ish years. There are no exact numbers. Also, surgeons have different techniques and rates of success (check yours - you can usually find them online), patients heal differently, etc. I don't know all the details of your condition, either, and I'm not a doctor. Just reporting results I've found in the literature.

I didn't mean to discourage you - surgery helps most people. Just be aware that there are bad outcomes, and keep that in mind when making your decision. Talk to the surgeon about it, if you like.

[Emma2017]

If the disc has not herniated (contents spilled out) then you have still a good chance it might be ok without surgery. Physio is hard but unless you have a good spinal physio it might do more harm then good.

I had a herniated L5/S1 disc and tried the normal route of medication, physio and spinal injections. It amounted to nothing and a new MRI showed the herniation had increased a lot. Long story short I had 3 ops and finally now things are looking up.

There are definitely dangers as there are with every operation but they are not 50/50, more like 90/10 on this kind of operation (90 being good). It all depends how bad your situation is and if you will benefit in the long run. Your best bet is to have a good chat with your surgeon.

[waylay in reply to Emma2017]

Yeah, mine ruptured and eventually extended almost 2cm! They were calling in students to show them my MRI. *rolls eyes* Sigh.

[Emma2017 in reply to waylay]

I know what you mean, I had something like that and had signs of Cauda Equine and got operated on pronto the first time round.

[Aaliyahkalac in reply to Emma2017]

I’m in the hospital now and I think I over heard them say there going to do another MRI. So if I do have it. I guess that will tell if it’s got any worse. But my question is. Why isn’t it healing ?

[Emma2017 in reply to Aaliyahkalac]

Sometimes it takes time and sometimes you fall in the very small percentage that needs an operation. If you need an operation do research your surgeon options as a good one makes all the difference.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Hidden]

Hi. I had a severe problem with nerve compression in my c-spine. I was eventually referred to a neurosurgeon at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery who specialises in that part of the spine. I had a left foraminotomy at C6/7 and recovery from pain was instant. A good place to go for spinal expertise.

[johnsmith]

Did you jar the coccyx? Have you stopped the martial art exercises? Which school of martial art were you engaged in?

It is possible your muscles are likely to be too strong. Cannot comment on what to do until I get some more information.

[Aaliyahkalac]

Of course I stopped it I’ve been basically bed ridden for 4 months. I’m currently in the hospital now for pain management. The surgeon that did. My injection isn’t working at the moment I’m here but I have a appointment with him on the 28th so there trying to get the pain under control until then.