Slipped Disc - Help!

[Pickle2023]

My husband has seen a chiropractor who confirms he has a slipped disk. He is in so much pain and can hardly walk, getting in and out of bed is excruciating.
He is seeing the chiropractor for more sessions to try and help the constant pain, and will also be seeing a physio for acupuncture as recommended by the chiropractor.
The chiropractor said there is nothing that can be done to make it better, only time and rest will do that.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to what we can do to alleviate the pain and fix the slipped disc?
We have bupa so I am going to call them tomorrow to see if they can help

If he can’t go to the toilet (poo) due to nerve compression pain that’s a red flag, and needs hospital treatment. If you lose the feeling in your foot also a flag that you need that MRI (I nearly lost the pick up reflex in my foot due to disc nerve compression had to use a walking stick and took 18mths to rebuild with pilates to strengthen core plus I cycled as I could barely walk weight bare on it).
otherwise ice, gentle stretches to keep moving. If he can’t walk try gentle cycling like a static bike anything to keep joints moving. It’s a horrible pain but you can recover.. it takes time.

Have you spoken to a GP? Seems strange to go straight to bupa.

I would recommend low level dose of diazepam alongside strong pain killers.

Also sitting bolt upright on a dining chair or similar, alternated with lying flat with a pillow under the knees.

@Mischance is absolutely right.

Also if it’s not confirmed that it’s a disc bulging google piriformus syndrome and the piriformus stretches to release as the pain can be similar.

Sadly it's a struggle to get an appointment with our GP. I have Bupa through work and it's always been much quicker to get appointments or referrals.
I appreciate everyone's comments about getting a proper diagnosis first, which we will do asap.

So much misinformation on this thread! Sitting on a hard chair is absolutely excruciating for some people. Unfortunately it's a case of finding what works for each individual in terms of the best positions to sit/lay. Definitely, as a pp said, look up the symptoms of cauda equina (and straight to a&e if any present as it's a medical emergency) and yes, definitely correct that rest is bad (in long stretches, resting in between tasks/exertion is important.) Like with most things little and often is the key, so regular movement and gentle exercise to maintain/gently build up core muscles to help support the spine. A lot of people find that pain killers don't work for back pain, so it's a case of getting used to the pain I'm afraid, and learning what triggers/eases the symptoms. A good physiotherapist can really help with this, one example being taught how to do a pelvic tilt, which can really ease pain. An MRI will hopefully be useful, but do bare in mind that plenty of people are walking around with herniated discs without knowing because there's no pain/symptoms so their function isn't affected, and some people will be in horrific pain from the tiniest little bulge which barely shows on a scan (ie because it's compressing a nerve and/or it's very low in the back so is affected by sitting more so than a 'higher/bigger' injury ) Also, be really careful with relaxants because they certainly don't help long term and can be very addictive. This is why it's really hard to get a prescription for diazepam nowadays! An orthopedic surgeon will be able to test your husband's range of movement/function and look at a scan to advise whether he is a good candidate for surgery, not everyone is. My best advice is to try and help your husband to stay positive and to help himself (ie with appropriate exercises, and being patient) as chronic pain conditions can be absolutely misery inducing and it's so easy to become very pessimistic about the future and give up on getting better.

If the pain gets excruciating get him to lie on the bed on his front but with his chest and bead off the edge. This will take the pressure off his spine.

He may be able to have cortisol injections too, surgery Is effective but usually a lash resort as the disc often re absorbs by itself.

Thank you, you are right and I am doing my best to keep him positive and trying to find out how best to get it treated

I tried to go to GP and she completely made me feel like i was being a wimp and there was nothing wrong with me. She knew I was planning to TTC within the next year so told me I should even avoid ibuprofen. Not once did she do the relevant checks (e.g. reflexes or listen to where I was numb, as the latter would have literally led her to the disc that was ruptured). I went home and spent a few more weeks in pain until I felt like I needed to get a second opinion. My consultant suggested I should report her for negligence.

I know all GPs aren't the same but from personal experience I can understand why people go private.

Oh, and not to mention the extremely long waiting list to actually get an MRI through the NHS. When I saw a GP again after it all to get some more meds (a different GP) she admitted I was lucky to have private insurance as I would still have been waiting for an MRI via NHS and would be for a while.

Haven’t read all the replies but ones I have read are good. Call bupa, get an mri booked. If it’s not too bad a bulge on the disc you might be offered a nerve root injection, which is a great first line of attack. They inject a steroid and hardcore painkiller right next to the bulge, it temporarily knocks out the pain and the steroid reduces the inflammation, it doesn’t reduce the bulge but can reduce the inflammation. While the disc repairs itself which will happen naturally in most cases. If it’s a really bad bulge and doesn’t improve with the nerve root injection surgery may be offered. I have bilateral microdisectomy 4 months ago and I’m back training this last month after barely being able to walk at times last year with my back.

Good luck!

Brilliant, he's lucky to have you! Just to clarify, there's every chance that depending on what his injury/condition is, painkillers could be a really useful aid to recovery/improvement, I think my post came across as bossy and saying painkillers don't work! Frustratingly back issues are one huge minefield of everyone being different in presentation, what does/doesn't work and how easy it is to diagnose/treat, and then there's stuff like pain threshold, tolerance to medication etc. I wish you (him) all the luck in the world for speedy diagnosis and effective treatments!

Yeah I waited 4-mths for a urgent MRI & referral to the pain clinic under the nhs pre-covid by which point I’d put my own pain management plan in place as I was a busy working mum who couldn’t just stop! The MRI was then reviewed by the dr who I waited another month to see by which time it was reabsorbing. It still took me 9months to recover that time. Good luck hopefully Bupa can help quicker…

Oh op I'm sorry for him. Also been there. Ended up having surgery in my case.

He needs to be keeping active but may find that hard. He needs to do what he can but not over do it. Chiropractor will help. Physio likely not. ESP if it's pinching a nerve.

Definitely use bupa. They may refer him to pain clinic for injections.

He does need to stay active but also rest too. Don't overdo things. Hope he's on the mend soon!

I didn't read it as bossy 😊 we have a docs appointment phone call tomorrow morning for interim stronger painkillers and then the call to Bupa for consultant and mri for a proper diagnosis.
I'm glad I posted, everyone has been very helpful x

Sounds like lots of people had different experiences. I had a slipped disc 20yrs ago and had BUPA.

They were super quick, straight in for an MRI, then an orthopaedic surgeon who recommended surgery. I was on strong pain killers that started to affect my stomach. Went to see the the GP who gave me two of the best pieces of advice:
-try paracetamol, but be persistent with them and take maximum dose continuously.

-get a second opinion from a neurosurgeon as orthopaedic surgeons are butchers.

Worked well, the paracetamol did the trick and the neurosurgeon recommended not doing anything for a few months and it would likely improve.

Both things came true.

As for comfort, lie on your side, knees up to chest and a pillow between your knees.

Good luck.

Sadly I have over 30 years experience with this.

Personally I have found the medical establishment fairly useless (I say this as a nurse) in the long run, but short term, gentle stretching, pain relief, diazepam (even if just to take the edge of the horrible anxiety and worry) and a very strong belief that this is not permanent and will get better is what is needed. The last bit is really really important. My disc has slipped/bulged about 5 times and I have trouble with my sacroiliac joint with pops out and is agony. Every time I have to steel myself and just know that it won't always be shit and it will eventually improve, though I have permanent reduction of function now after so long.

The worry of it happening again can be quite difficult to live with too.

It has been a long time since I read it, but I remember finding 'the back sufferers bible ' really helpful.

Agree with PP, priority is MRI to know what you're dealing with. I slipped a disc several years ago and the NHS said they'd recommend watch and wait for six weeks but luckily I had private insurance so got MRI and then steroid injection into the spine which helped immensely.

GP did also prescribe a cocktail.of drugs including diazepam and oramorph which I used to get sleep. The best position for me was knelt down leaning forward over a stool, or on all fours. Walking was ok and sitting in a hard chair was tolerable for short spells.

Private health care also covered some physio once I'd had the steroid injection.

Good luck to your OH, it's the worst pain I've ever had.

AliBingo · Today 22:39

I've had trouble with mine and I was in hospital in Norway for ten days, I had to kneel down too, as I couldn't sit at all. I had to sleep face down with hard cushions under my waist.

As others have said, different things work for different people. And it's vital to get a proper medical diagnosis and treatment.

Mine's the result of an accident and not long afterwards, I went to a chiropractor. He made it go from extremely painful to agonising and unable to walk. After the second session of that, I binned him, he wanted me to have 26 sessions.

They're quacks and charlatans.

A tens machine might help with short term pain management. I have used one in the past for back issues (degenerative disk and small fracture) as well when I was in labour with my son. Helped a lot

Please let us know what happens, what investigations or treatments happen, and how soon he gets better.

Thank you so much for all your replies, thru have been a great help.
We got a referral this morning and are now finding an appointment with a consultant and to have an MRI so will update when we have been, hopefully won't be long but what with bank holiday we might not get to sort something until Tuesday.
We had a call with the doctor this morning who has prescribed a strong anti inflammatory and a strong painkiller which has helped lots.
He's taking short walks around so not staying in bed all day.
Thanks again and will update once we have an appointment

Progress!

Dear god, you have BUPA and they will pay for physio sessions! Why go to a chiropractor??

Chiropractors are dangerous. You can get the same adjustments from physios or osteopaths, and they will take a careful history and be sure to not kill you.

Anyone can do a manipulation (which should be a tiny, end range movement). It takes a true professional to NOT do it. And only charlatans use large range movements and TikToks.

I’ve got bulging discs... every referral I’ve had to any service has been through an NHS physio, not my GP, they do way more than rehab.

I am aware of this now but at the time he was in so much pain he wanted to go to a chiropractor, yes it probably was a mistake and we should have got a referral via Bupa to see a consultant first but we didn't.
He feels shit, I do too I could do without a telling off.
We won't be seeing the chiropractor again and hopefully it won't be a long wait for the referral so we can get him the best treatment.
It's been a rough few days seeing him in so much pain, give me a break.
Everyone's posts have been very helpful, this hasn't