2 slipped discs- no improvement in 7 months

[Yorkshire1999]

Have been in absolute agony for months, on a number of mediations which don't help

Been doing physio which has also not helped

Finally got an MRI which showed 2 slipped discs in lower back

Have an appointment today with a private consultant as I am desperate and cannot live like this (have 2 young children)

What may my next options be ?

My doctors (NHS) have not been taking me seriously with how much pain I'm in.

Literally no improvement and i can't walk for more than a few minutes without being in agony

Sorj for the rant but this is taking over my life

I had a prolapsed disc and it was agony. Like you, I had seen the GP & physio but neither seemed to resolve the pain. I paid to see a Chiropractor and saw her twice weekly initially. I shuffled in nearly bent over and walked out much better. It took some weeks but I feel they were the ones to get me back on my feet. I hope you soon feel better @Yorkshire1999 The pain is mentally & physically draining.

@Whatliesbeneath707 thank you for your reply

I did see an osteopath for quite a few sessions which unfortunately did not help, I think I may have to book to see a chiropractor next

You may find your NHS doctor will be more receptive, now you have an MRI, I had the same situation (admittedly some years ago). Once I showed them I had the MRI, they agreed to sending me for surgery.

It worked for me. Good luck!

I would advise against a chiropractor, they are not medical professionals.
i had a long NHS journey for my spinal conditions (and resulted in permanent nerve damage). People in my support group were much worse off after going to a chiropractor.
Do you do core stability exercises twice a day?
Have they offered injections? (nerve root etc)
Have they told you if there is spinal cord impingement?
Surgery may be offered, and if it is- I wouldn’t delay it. My surgery was delayed due to a series of NHS fuck ups and now the nerve damage is not reversible.

Sorry to hear about your pain. With two obvious prolapsed discs I expect the consultant will discuss nerve root injections and/or decompression surgery as options. They'll probably recommend starting with nerve root injections which is very quick procedure under anaesthetic with no recovery period - The idea is it temporarily reduces the pain on the compressed nerve giving you the opportunity to do exercises to manipulate the disc back into place. If this is unsuccessful you can have the surgery to remove the part of the discs compressing the nerve. You can go straight for surgery, it will be your call based on your personal situation and wishes.

It's worth saying that if the MRI shows the compression clearly and you're suffering as you describe the NHS will put you on the waiting list for surgery, but of course you'll probably have a lengthy wait.

I have had disc problems since my early 20s - so have tried loads of things. The only thing that has worked for me is osteopathy (I know a sports osteopath and she is a miracle worker).

pain killers don’t work but there are some gels that help a little. Keep moving (I know it hurts but it helps).

I agree, If you might need surgery don't let them fob you off as delays can have long term effects.

I spent 2 years dragging my leg that was numb due to a prolapsed disc before they finally operated on me. The op solved the back problem but it took another year for the nerves in my leg to recover and I was left with no feeling in my big toe.

thank you all for your replies

I have still being doing my physio daily, as well as some Pilates in the morning when my pain is not to bad to help with my core etc (come the afternoon I am hunched over and in extreme)

I'm hoping I will be offered the spinal injections (praying this will work if i do have them) and If surgery is recommended I will absolutely take it as I cannot live life this any longer. I'm not even 30 yet and this is just taking over my life

i'm usually a very active person and am not over weight so I am hoping this is a benefit for my current situation

DD had the same - she’d tried medications, physio, injections etc all at the advice of her consultant (who due to her being 19 wanted to avoid operating) but in the end it came down to surgery. It was like a miracle cure! She woke up from anaesthetic and for the first time in a year all of her pain was gone. Only 2% of cases actually end up requiring surgery so she was particularly unlucky but all worked out well in the end

@MaloneMeadow glad to hear your daughter got the treatment she required!

May i ask- how long did she have to wait for the spinal injections? and the surgery? thank you

If you have slipped discs you must steer well clear of osteopaths - the potential for them to do serious harm in this situation is high.

I had my prolapsed disc treated with surgery as I was virtually unable to walk. I had a microdiscectomy privately as my life had ground to a halt and I did not want to be taking high strength pain relief for the length of time that would have been necessary if I had waited for NHS surgery.

Injections were tried unsuccessfully.

Surgery solved the problem straight away.

I am sending a hand hold - the pain is eye-watering I know.

@Mischance thank you for your reply. I'm glad you got there in the end!

Yes the pain is horrendous, all day every day :( I would rather give birth again to be honest as i feel it was less painful than this

@Yorkshire1999 We were lucky enough to be private through insurance so only waited about a week on injections. Surgery was 3 months though as even the private system is under strain now!

@MaloneMeadow thank you for your reply

Although I'm paying for a private consultation today, unfortunately I don't have private insure and wont be able to afford private treatment. Hopefully my wait won't be to long with the NHS , although its obviously under a lot of strain at the moment so I imagine I will have to wait a while

How are you now @Yorkshire1999

@Topjoe19 I'm doing well thank you!

I had surgery i, I was very fortunate that my family were able to help me go private, as i just could not wait for surgery on the NHS as I literally could not walk for more than 2 minutes without being in agony. I am so pleased I had the surgery, so far it has been an amazing recovery and I'm praying this will continue

@Yorkshire1999 that's brilliant, I'm so pleased for you. Got everything crossed that you continue to get better (I'm sure you will). Did you try injections or just straight to surgery?

I'm sorry that you're going through this.

I've got 3 prolapsed discs now, but originally had one. The GP didn't take me seriously for a long tome and, even though I did have spinal surgery eventually, I've now ended up with permanent nerve damage in my legs and I'll never improve. Please, please push for surgery or the pain numbing injections. Don't be fobbed off like I was. I can't work any longer and am drugged up to the eyeballs just to get through the day. Don't end up like this for want of trying.

@Topjoe19 I did originally want the injections, but I was informed there was only about a 60% chance of it helping the pain, and it wouldn't actually 'fix' the issue and would only mask the symptoms. The surgeon informed me that as it had been going on for so long will no improvement, that the it would most likely never get better on its own

@MaidOfSteel thank you for your comment , so sorry to hear you're going through this as well, it really is so horrendous. I thankfully had surgery a few months ago, and it is absolutely the best decision I have made