MRI results and sciatica

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Deleted member 83869

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A good few months ago I did a few post's about my sciatica and mri!! And people said to keep you guys informed!

Well today I got my MRI results and I have two bulging discs at the bottom of my back!! :(:(
I was told I had 2 options, to try epidural injections for pain relief which may or may not work and the most obvious one....surgery and I have 2 months to make my decision...and frankly...I am ******** it :(
 

noblehead

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Probably surgery is the best option Nicola, just take your time in deciding what to do. Best wishes!!!!!
 
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Probably surgery is the best option Nicola, just take your time in deciding what to do. Best wishes!!!!!

I know I think I probably will go for it, but it is sooo scary because they was like there is a risk of being paralyzed :( x
 

jack412

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My dr told me, Ops = 1/3 better, 1/3 worse, 1/3 same
 
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catherinecherub

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Hi Nicola,
Don't envy you having to make decision.:(

There are pros and cons associated with both options but if the surgery offers a permanent cure then that would be the one for me.
The injections are discussed here and may not be a permanent solution for everybody.

Most practitioners will agree that, while the effects of the injection tend to be temporary - providing relief from pain for one week up to one year - an epidural can be very beneficial for a patient during an acute episode of back and/or leg pain. Importantly, an injection can provide sufficient pain relief to allow a patient to progress with a rehabilitative stretching and exercise program. If the initial injection is effective for a patient, he or she may have up to three in a one-year period.


http://www.spine-health.com/treatme...steroid-injections-low-back-pain-and-sciatica

There are several risks associated with epidural injections, and although they are all relatively rare, it is worth discussing each with the professional who will be conducting the procedure to determine the incidence of prevalence in their practice.


http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/injections/epidural-steroid-injections-risks-and-side-effects

This article describes the pros and cons of back surgery.
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/b/back-surgery


Take your time in deciding and weigh up what you feel is best for you and ask all the questions you need to with your HC Team.

CC..
 
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Deleted member 83869

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Hi Nicola,
Don't envy you having to make decision.:(

There are pros and cons associated with both options but if the surgery offers a permanent cure then that would be the one for me.
The injections are discussed here and may not be a permanent solution for everybody.

Most practitioners will agree that, while the effects of the injection tend to be temporary - providing relief from pain for one week up to one year - an epidural can be very beneficial for a patient during an acute episode of back and/or leg pain. Importantly, an injection can provide sufficient pain relief to allow a patient to progress with a rehabilitative stretching and exercise program. If the initial injection is effective for a patient, he or she may have up to three in a one-year period.


http://www.spine-health.com/treatme...steroid-injections-low-back-pain-and-sciatica

There are several risks associated with epidural injections, and although they are all relatively rare, it is worth discussing each with the professional who will be conducting the procedure to determine the incidence of prevalence in their practice.


http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/injections/epidural-steroid-injections-risks-and-side-effects

This article describes the pros and cons of back surgery.
http://www.bupa.co.uk/individuals/health-information/directory/b/back-surgery


Take your time in deciding and weigh up what you feel is best for you and ask all the questions you need to with your HC Team.

CC..


Thank you! I'm a member of that site anyway ahaha! I honestly don't know what to do :( and i am so scared! I just want this pain gone though!! xx
 

Bluetit1802

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I had the op, Nicola. It was back in the 1980's when things were less advanced than now. I was almost totally incapacitated beforehand on my bad days, fairly OK on good days but still in pain. I had 2 of the 3 epidurals they suggested first, I found them so awful I never went back for the third. I also had many months of various forms of physiotherapy including massage. I decided on the op and have never looked back. . It is now about 30 years ago and I have never looked back. The only backache I get is after some silly actions like heavy gardening, and then nothing significant, and no sciatica whatsoever. I was also told there was a possibility of being confined to a wheelchair forever if things went wrong. They are obliged to point out all the risks, just as they do with any major op.

Good luck with the decision making.
 
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noblehead

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I know I think I probably will go for it, but it is sooo scary because they was like there is a risk of being paralyzed :( x

It's always difficult to decide what's best Nicola, there's risks with all operations unfortunately. Take some comfort about what Bluetit1802 says above.
 
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jack412

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A surgen wants to cut because he is trained that way. I had a rehabilitation pain specialist overview all my treatments and I would recommend the same to you. Even if you have to pay for it.

IMHO the best is pilates core exercise, anti inflamitory meds

second would be to add a local anti inflammatory injection, then epedural, and in 5 years time or bad muscle wasteage in the interim, If it isn't better I would have an op.
Most resolve themselves over time
 

jack412

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  • Medication including painkillers and anti-inflammatories
  • Traction
  • Manipulative therapies such as chiropractic or osteopathy
  • Epidural injections that is, medication injected directly into the spine
  • Chemonucleolysis injection of a special enzyme into the disk
  • Physiotherapy including electrical stimulation of the back muscles
  • Alternative therapies including acupuncture
  • Surgery as a last resort.
http://m.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/mskpages/Sciatica?open
 
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  • Medication including painkillers and anti-inflammatories
  • Traction
  • Manipulative therapies such as chiropractic or osteopathy
  • Epidural injections that is, medication injected directly into the spine
  • Chemonucleolysis injection of a special enzyme into the disk
  • Physiotherapy including electrical stimulation of the back muscles
  • Alternative therapies including acupuncture
  • Surgery as a last resort.
http://m.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/mskpages/Sciatica?open

Medication isn't working physio isn't working! The bulge is too big they said and being that I am so young they think it is for the best for me x
 
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Deleted member 83869

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I had the op, Nicola. It was back in the 1980's when things were less advanced than now. I was almost totally incapacitated beforehand on my bad days, fairly OK on good days but still in pain. I had 2 of the 3 epidurals they suggested first, I found them so awful I never went back for the third. I also had many months of various forms of physiotherapy including massage. I decided on the op and have never looked back. . It is now about 30 years ago and I have never looked back. The only backache I get is after some silly actions like heavy gardening, and then nothing significant, and no sciatica whatsoever. I was also told there was a possibility of being confined to a wheelchair forever if things went wrong. They are obliged to point out all the risks, just as they do with any major op.

Good luck with the decision making.

That's what I get told that they have to list the risks anyway but its me lol I worry way too much! x
 

Bluetit1802

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None of those things worked for me, either. The op was my only real option and in the end the disc ruptured, wrapping bits of itself round the sciatic nerve. They only discovered this after they opened me up. Deep breaths Nicola, big decision to make.
 
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Deleted member 83869

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None of those things worked for me, either. The op was my only real option and in the end the disc ruptured, wrapping bits of itself round the sciatic nerve. They only discovered this after they opened me up. Deep breaths Nicola, big decision to make.
My leg is either constantly numb or constantly in pain and i know this is weird but it plays up a hell of a lot more when i am hypo...so its now even a new hypo symptom not that i know how that works.... :S i need to get my head around the idea of an op etc i mean before i was told it was my disc i always thought to my self i would have an op but then when you told you actually do needs you it hits you if that makes sense x
 

AndBreathe

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Medication isn't working physio isn't working! The bulge is too big they said and being that I am so young they think it is for the best for me x

NicolaAnne - without that last bit of info; that the bulge is too big, in your shoes, I would be opting for the stepping stone of the epidural, as if it didn't work, I could move forward to surgery. However, there may also have been subtle, guiding, messages in how your doctor delivered the messages to you.

Do you have private medical insurance, or does your employer have occupational health facilities/support? If you do, there could be an interesting professionally qualified, sounding board available. With PPP (I only quote them, as I have direct experience), you can call their specialist advisors to discuss any proposed treatment plans. If you have medical insurance that is likely to shorten any waiting for treatment, whichever route you elect to follow.

I feel for you. Several years agin, I had very bad tennis elbow. I never would have believed that level of pain was possible for no visible reason. I know if i had been told that eating a sustained diet of blue Smarties would fix it, I would have been right onto it. In the end, having tried physio, rest, and cortisone injections, I bumped into a dully qualified GP/chiropractor at a cocktail party. He didn't know I had tennis elbow, but asked me quietly what was wrong with my elbow, as I was clearly in discomfort. It transpired I kept putting my other hand to it. He suggested he could probably fix it. He professed to having a knack with elbows. Ooooer vicar! But to be fair, cure it, he did! In precisely two treatments. It was like a miracle. He did do lots of x-rays, and so on, before crunching my shoulder, which was actually the issue, so it wasn't exactly crunch and hope.

I hope you manage to get things sorted without too much more delay. Pain can be so debilitating.
 
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NicolaAnne - without that last bit of info; that the bulge is too big, in your shoes, I would be opting for the stepping stone of the epidural, as if it didn't work, I could move forward to surgery. However, there may also have been subtle, guiding, messages in how your doctor delivered the messages to you.

Do you have private medical insurance, or does your employer have occupational health facilities/support? If you do, there could be an interesting professionally qualified, sounding board available. With PPP (I only quote them, as I have direct experience), you can call their specialist advisors to discuss any proposed treatment plans. If you have medical insurance that is likely to shorten any waiting for treatment, whichever route you elect to follow.

I feel for you. Several years agin, I had very bad tennis elbow. I never would have believed that level of pain was possible for no visible reason. I know if i had been told that eating a sustained diet of blue Smarties would fix it, I would have been right onto it. In the end, having tried physio, rest, and cortisone injections, I bumped into a dully qualified GP/chiropractor at a cocktail party. He didn't know I had tennis elbow, but asked me quietly what was wrong with my elbow, as I was clearly in discomfort. It transpired I kept putting my other hand to it. He suggested he could probably fix it. He professed to having a knack with elbows. Ooooer vicar! But to be fair, cure it, he did! In precisely two treatments. It was like a miracle. He did do lots of x-rays, and so on, before crunching my shoulder, which was actually the issue, so it wasn't exactly crunch and hope.

I hope you manage to get things sorted without too much more delay. Pain can be so debilitating.

What do you mean i should just go for the surgery? Like the guy said epidural may work but it wont fix it so i would be possibly having a lot of the injections. As for health insurance no i dont have it! Thought i was too young to have it lol? X



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AndBreathe

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What do you mean i should just go for the surgery? Like the guy said epidural may work but it wont fix it so i would be possibly having a lot of the injections. As for health insurance no i dont have it! Thought i was too young to have it lol? X



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NicolaAnne - I couldn't advise you which route to take. Only you can decide on your appetite for,stepping stones, versus fast-forward to the biggy. I'm sure your pain will be screaming, "just get it done, NOW!!".

What are waiting lists like for either option? If the epidural was available quickly, but surgery after several months, that might sway me. (Me, not you!!).

You can but private medical insurance at any age, but I wondered if you maybe got it through work.

How long will you need to be off work if you have surgery, and would you be paid for that absence? Would that have en impact on your decision, if you are without salary for a while? It might be a decent idea to look up your employer's sick pay policy.

When I was managing people, I have paid (from my work budget, not personally!!) for someone to have surgery privately, to get than back to work, as it was causing operational issues having them off sick with a mechanical problem (a wrecked knee). How big is the company you work for?
 
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NicolaAnne - I couldn't advise you which route to take. Only you can decide on your appetite for,stepping stones, versus fast-forward to the biggy. I'm sure your pain will be screaming, "just get it done, NOW!!".

What are waiting lists like for either option? If the epidural was available quickly, but surgery after several months, that might sway me. (Me, not you!!).

You can but private medical insurance at any age, but I wondered if you maybe got it through work.

How long will you need to be off work if you have surgery, and would you be paid for that absence? Would that have en impact on your decision, if you are without salary for a while? It might be a decent idea to look up your employer's sick pay policy.

When I was managing people, I have paid (from my work budget, not personally!!) for someone to have surgery privately, to get than back to work, as it was causing operational issues having them off sick with a mechanical problem (a wrecked knee). How big is the company you work for?

Well i cant even walk around tesco without being in pain :( i hate this so much!

Waiting lists i have no idea about so i will have to wait and see

As for work they would pay me, they only dont pay people that they think take the **** etc! Plus they mother me there lol!

I think it's about 2-4 weeks! Depending on how i respond etc i think xx


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