Herniated disc agony

[user1497873278]

Anyone else suffering mine is L5 S1 can barely move, can’t sit for longer than couple of mins, it’s been 5 months and I’m really struggling now, anyone had any experience with this or had it operated on any advice would be helpful

@colouringindoors I'm not sure if you read my post up thread but I made the decision very recently to go private as couldn't wait the 12-18 month NHS timescale here currently.

Although less than 2 weeks post op I can honestly say the surgery has already been/will be life changing.

Was it expensive - yes (or in my mind it was; guess it's relative to income etc) but the fact I can pay it up etc made it a much easier decision.

I am already off of morphine, codeine reduced and am feeling positive and relatively pain free.

@colouringindoors should've also mentioned that at my initial private consultation I was offered injection but when consulted indicated it may a) not be successful/short lived and b) that when my symptoms had been as extreme and impacting negatively on my life for so long that surgery should be a real consideration.

He put me on both private and NHS waiting list and let me make the choice whether to wait or not.

Good luck to all and I do hope my experience helps others in even the smallest way. I can only describe the pain as pure hell.

thanks advice that's really helpful. I saw the consultant privately in January, he said injection prob wouldn't work but I gave big challenges with recovery. I think he was right. I need to just get surgery done now I think, privately, somehow. Did you have a micro discectomy? If so would you mind sharing cost? (or PM me) thank you.

@colouringindoors I had microdiscectomy on nhs. It was brilliant. I was in for 1 night and home the next day. The relief was immense. I can highly recommend it

thanks wheresmycrown its good to hear another positive result. I've had so much tragedy and trauma in my family the last 10 years I'm struggling to be optimistic.

@colouringindoors Don't mind asking at all! My total cost, including 2 consultations (pre and post), 2 physio appointments and op was £7200. Included up to two night stay if required and all pain relief, dressings etc. (I didn't realise it was slightly different costs/packages if claiming through health insurance!). In addition physio assessed me prior to discharge and both surgeon and anaesthetist saw me the next day prior to discharge.

It was a L5/S1 microdiscectomy I had.
To be honest if I could've waited for NHS I would as private healthcare is not the 'norm' in my family if you know what I mean but unfortunately the covid situation made it a no brainer for me anyway.

I do understand everyone's different and if concerns about recovery it's a hard decision to make. Good luck with whatever you decide and feel free to pm me any time

Thanks that's really helpful. I'm also not a private health person but this level of pain (since June 2020) on top of ptsd is not sustainable. Just got to work out when!

Thank you Advice, it’s good to hear some relief stories, we are going to look at private consultant, don’t know how I will get in car though, had a morning of less pain yesterday, it’s amazing how you forget what that feels like. Then back to normal in afternoon just as I was starting to feel like smiling, Does anyone get the feeling and sharp pain that feels like disc moving, consultant told me this can’t happen and that it’s musle spasms, have enough musle spasms to know the difference, also sometimes can’t put weight on leg when it happens sorry so many typos and bad grammar, hard to concentrate

user for a long time, the only way I could travel in a car was lying across the back seat with my knees up....

Colouringindoors how are you after your injection

I've been suffering agonising pain for the last 9weeks. Originally wasn't sure whether it was my knee that I'd hurt or my back and no one could see me in person to work it out. I would be in agonising pain after 3 hours asleep and then not be able to walk for at least 30 mins and would have to crawl around on my hands and knees dragging my left leg behind me. After naproxen still wasn't touching it and I was screaming in pain for 2 hours my husband drove me to A&e where they diagnosed sciatica. Definitely back related as physios and chiropractor can trigger it from back massage/movement. Spent yesterday in A&e as had lost all feel around saddle and anus and physio had said if that happens go straight to a&e. Was treated brilliantly and had mri which showed nothing wrong with my spine at all. Very odd. So back to square one with the pain. I am seeing a private consultant this week so hoping for some new ideas on what it could be. Intermittent numbness and agonising pain must be something??? In Kent so may have recommendation for private consultant by the middle of the week, depending how it goes!

Hi user I'd say its reduced the pain by between a quarter, which has actually made quite a difference to my quality of life. If I go out for a long walk like I did today, its pretty bad, but rest of week has been better. I has really shown me how much the pain has taken over my life. If anything it's made me more inclined to go for surgery asap to be pain free potentially.

mountwashmore that sounds really tough, and strange given your symptoms to have no physical cause shown on the MRI. Hope you have more luck with consultant.

@colouringindoors I was wondering how you got on and glad to hear it's helped.
Totally agree re. pain - it's only now I realise just how much pain I'm in now that I'm not in any!!

mount wash more how are you? Any answers yet

Sorry mountwashmore

Finally saw a consultant today. He was surprised by my lack of any anything of note on my first mri as my symptoms are such a perfect fit with L5. So have another mri on Friday, this time of the full spine and he will have a really good look and let me know any conclusions early next week. Stuck with co-codemol painkiller as amitriptyline leaves me feeling spacey for days. Feeling very apprehensive about another, probably longer mri as lying on my back really sets off the pain in my leg and could barely cope last time. How are you?

This was my scan before my surgery. I honestly threatened to cut my leg off at one point and the loss of feeling was a relief
The neurosurgeon - this sounds really condescending but I felt acknowledged - said to me "you poor woman, how are you still walking and in that much pain?"
I did my recovery alone so happy to give tips if anyone wants! The surgeon said I was wilful and stubborn and would likely have a great recovery. Told me to go away and live but not do stupid things like jumping from heights onto tarmac or running marathons
I sent him a pic of me jumping my horse about 4 months post op and he emailed me back saying he had printed it out and it was the best reward he could ask for and could I try not to fall off please as it took him 5hrs to fix my disc

QueenPaw, that mri is fascinating. What an amazing image. Quite a momento of a horrific time! My mri of my whole spine came back clear. Mri of my pelvis next on Saturday. Really hope they can find a cause from that one. Currently lying in bed unable to even move my left leg as every time I do the pain is excruciating. It's just so awful it must be something... fully dosed up on pregabalin and cocodemol but it's not touching it tonight. Nerve root block a week and a half after that which will hopefully provide some relief. And fingers crossed for some answers on cause soon...

Diclofenac what is your foot pain like mine is in both and they are awful

The problem with my foot started with a strange combination of numb and tingling toes, then it was just painful and eventually (after about a year) I was ready to amputate my foot. At it's height, I couldn't put weight on it, no position or excercise would give any relief. The sensation is similar to when you hit the "funny bone" in the elbow, pain and electric shocks but constant, all the bloody time.
The pain seems to move within the foot, sometimes it's my heel, sometimes it's the arch, sometimes it's the toes and sometimes it's the outer side of my foot but the pain is always there somewhere, I get a brief respite in the mornings presumably because my spine has been stretched a bit by lying down but within a few minutes it's back with a vengeance.
My hip, groin, buttocks, outer thigh and calf also hurt. My lower back didn't hurt to start with but within a few months it felt as if something was not well oiled in there and there was something "grinding". That progressed into shooting pain.

Pregabalin has been a lifesaver, it doesn't get rid of the agony but it takes the edge off (bit like gas and air with contractions) and since I've been on it, exercises and physio seem more effective. Nothing else I can do as my herniation is too small to be operated on.
Still waiting for the nerve root block now, consultant said after April but didn't specify which year...

Diclofenac, I’m seeing consultant today the pain is constant I’m just getting through the days, I’m hoping he can give me some answers as to why I have got so much worse but mri looks the same I literally want to chop my feet of, got to get in car so that’s going to be hard, I’m going to look such a wreck going in slip on sandals as want him to see colour of my feet, I hope you have more of a life than I do, totally get your pain, wouldn’t wish this on anyone

@Diclofenac, when you say your hip, groin, buttocks, outer thigh and calf also hurt, what do doctors say about that in terms of root cause? The reason I ask is that I have similar symptoms and the neurologist I saw said that all these areas are fed from different nerve roots so he doesn't think the pain is coming from a specific nerve root in my back. Do you think that all the discomfort you are feeling is coming from the same single nerve root? Thanks.

Stormdennis
After 2 MRI's and 3 consultants I finally was told I have a small herniation at L4-L5 as well which is not compressing the nerve but it's irritating it. There's also a bigger herniation at L2-L3 which is what the first two consultants concentrated on but neither could explain the symptoms in my foot.
My physio thinks that the muscles around the nerve tensed up which irritated the nerve even more and so the pain got worse and spread.
Google "dermatomes", it's a body map and it gives you an idea where the herniation/s could be, in my case it was pretty accurate.
Whatever you do, don't just leave it hoping it will go away.

OP, how did it go with the consultant?

Diclofenac even though it was private he didn’t have my latest mri, but was very concerned about my feet being red and purple and amount of pain I’m in as now on morphine after 2 nights in hospital because of numbness and pain, so he has a slot for spinal injections on 15 th may so I am seeing him again next week at nhs clinic so he can look at mri with me, but I was dipped up on drugs and husband wasn’t allowed in with me, so I don’t know what he thinks is causing it, how much chance of injections helping me considering pain colour of feet etc, but he did say my husband could come in with me next week. Hope your doing ok and everyone else who I haven’t replied to, but has offered advice

I had a micro disectomy which was life changing. It was nhs but I jumped the list by offering flexibility for any cancellations so only waited about 8 weeks in the end.

Also I didn’t know until shortly before the operation that ANY incontinence means you must go straight to A and E as otherwise permanent nerve damage can occur in the area controlling continence. I don’t think this is widely known but I worked with someone who was left doubly incontinent after twinging their back getting out of a car.

Hope you get it sorted soon.