herniated disks

well, I have one that's real close to herniation and pain control is different in everyone! Find out what medications have worked for other family members because I found one narcotic that was cheaper and worked better. On a more personal note, just a thought based on you ID, if your "ID" says anything about personal parts of your life, carefully think things thru before jumping in..lol…so to speak! I have to be very careful in any activities and sex is one of them. It cost me a marridge, pain was too much too handle and when I got out of pain enough, last thing I wanted to do was, do something that escalated the pain again.

I agree with Dave. In order to answer your question properly, I need to know exactly which discs are herniated (if more than one), where your pain is, does it go down either or both of your legs, do you have weakness or numbness in your legs, and what type of doctor are you seeing? If you haven't seen an ortho surgeon or a neurosurgeon, that would be the place to start after your MRI. While waiting for your appointment, get a referral from your general doctor for a pain management doctor-they will order things like physical therapy, steroid injections into the area of the herniations in order to decrease the swelling and help the pain, and if needed, they will start you on some type of pain medication. You can't see one without having your MRI done first though. The level of the herniation will depend on where the pain radiates to down your leg(s). Each level has nerves that go to different areas of the buttock(s) and/or leg(s). You can google on the internet to see "spinal nerves" and it will give you a picture of what nerves go to what areas. Once you see the ortho or neurosurgeon, it will be up to them to decide if you need any type of surgery. The least invasive type includes a small incision and the removal of part of the herniated disc (discectomy). If there is more than one level herniated, they may need to do a fusion, where they put in metal to stabilize the area that is bad. They will also clean out the herniated parts that are pressing on any nerves. I've had both procedures done, and was able to work for an additional 5 years until I was rear-ended at a high rate of speed and herniated 3 discs in my neck, two between my shoulder blades, and one above my fusion. I haven't been able to work since 2008 and have been waiting over 2 years to get my disability approved.

Best of luck to you, but please make sure you don't put off getting this taken care of, especially if you are having numbness or weakness in your legs. If you ARE, that's an indication of nerve damage that can get severely worse to the point that you could have paralysis of the legs, such as another friend of mine on this site.

That really depends. What have you done so far? What does the doctor say? Have you had an MRI to see the herniations? You have to give us a little more information to be able to give you real advice. More information please!!!

hey Dave, did you see what I told him based on his ID? Meant to be light hearted but rang true in my experience…