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Serious questions about lower back problems

Asking advise on a car forum? OK Talk to a lawer 1 or call social services for help with insurance co. from people who know what they are doing. Get copies of your mri's, they are on disc and get a second and 3rd opinions. You would get more then one estimate on a paint job. Crazy how folks research a tv purchase more then a surgery on themselves... Buddy did his research (He was a oral surgeon, retired) Flew down and stayed with me for two weeks while he got evaluated and recovered after day surgery with these guys. Now he flies down to go fly fishing with me. http://www.bonati.com/lp/utm_source...6Ab7kxMdza-r5RAHOUrMheFqK7bEiBV0AgxoCey7w_wcB
 
Ya, kinda silly asking on a car forum, but as all posts have provided, there's a lot of good info coming from everybody. To me, this site is more than just a car forum. A lot of info, other than cars can be gathered from the people here. My dad always told me, "you'll never learn anything if you don't ask when you don't know." I don't have problem asking a question to anybody.
It's hard to find people that aren't looking for a free ride to ask questions or to hear what others have to say. Other than two people at work (one of which has been trying for couple years to get a free ride) I know of nobody else to ask. Most everybody else that post on the internet are trying to find ways to sit around on disability. Sorry, but those people are ones I'd rather not talk to.
I'm glad that I posted about this, as lots of good info about this has been related.

As far as a surgeon, the guy I saw is supposedly one the best in this part of the country. He's hard to see because of him being booked months in advance. It's kind of hard to get a surgery done when my "young age" seems to be an issue. Kinda funny that my "old back" doesn't get enough precedent over my age. Haha
 
OH71RRunner said:
This is a long post.

A little background to start with....
Last year in March started having pains in my back. Felt like pulled muscle. Kept getting worse. Finally got to where the pain was in my groin. Felt like my testicles were in a vice.
Turned it in at work. Doctor tried me on different pills. No luck, I kept getting side effects as I normally don't touch any type of pills. MRI in April showed bulging disc L4-L5 which is pinching a nerve. Referred me to neurosurgeon. Workers comp deemed it wasn't a work injury. Luckily I had Cigna, or so I thought.
Did physical therapy 3 times a week for most of the year. Finally saw a neurosurgeon in August. He basically said I have the back of 60 year old but didn't want to do surgery yet. I'm 37.
Cigna paid me for short term disability. When it was gonna switch to long term, they denied it. Appealed it. All the while I'm fighting Cigna, I'm still doing physical therapy and seeing pain management doctor. Had 2 ESI's (epidural steroid injection) in October/ November. No relief. After the second one, I couldn't walk for two days. Had to switch pain management doctor.
First of the year Cigna denies my appeal. They said pain is not a reason to be off of work. At this point I'm broke. All financial resources exhausted. So, I have two choices: we sell the car or I go back to work and deal with it. I've already sold a ton of stuff. So I go back to work.
New pain doctor decides to do MBB's (medial branch blocker). Again, nothing.
Another MRI last week shows my L4-L5 disc hasn't changed much. But now L5-S1 says "disc desiccation" and a measurement of 7mm where previous MRI showed 4mm measurement. Doctor says there's a change, but not enough to make a significant difference.
So, basically, my back is worse. Pain doctor says surgeon doesn't really want to do surgery on me because of my age. Going to do another ESI on Friday.
Doing some research, I found out that if I could've waited until April, I'd be eligible for disability because I would've been off of work for 12 consecutive months. I screwed that up by returning to work last month.
I'm in a really bad position right now. My regular doctor will pull me out of work anytime I want. He didn't want me returning to work in the first place, but knew we were out of money. The physical therapist, which I saw from April till December said it would be a mistake to return to work.
I'm not wanting to be on disability as I can make way more money working.
Anybody got any suggestions or ideas of what I should do or which way I should go? Anybody ran into anything similar? What did you do?
Click to expand...

Pack your bags and become a Canadian citizen because our health care covers everything at no cost to you. Doesn't matter what it is from brain surgery to transplants. Best surgeons, great hospitals unbelievable after care and it won't put you into bankruptcy to get your life back on track. I feel for you because the only thing worse than chronic back pain is continual kidney stones. I really do think it's time the U.S. got a form of real universal health care, Lord knows you have a big enough population to support one - just an opinion from an aging well looked after senior.
 
What do you do for a living? Do you recall any episode hurting your back like lifting or moving something, awkward positioning, etc? If I follow (I'm a guy who works with work comp admin) you still might have a case for compensability and given how screwed you've been on this (ins coverage) wouldn't rule it out.
 
I've got a friend in Canada that has told me for a while to move there. Lol. I've heard people complain about stuff up there, but the people I've personally talked to said they never had a problem.

There was no specific incident when things went bad. Within 4-5 weeks, started out as low, dull pain in lower back muscle. Felt like a strained muscle. Then moved to being like a pulled muscle. Shortly after that, pain in groin similar to pulled groin muscle. Then increased to a squeezing feeling. That's when I finally had enough. Muscle injuries are one thing. I used to play sports in high school and remained very active person after high school. I'm not new to muscle strains and pains. I've just dealt with them. Only times I had ever been out of commission longer than a day was with a pulled groin muscle and knee surgery.

The funny thing is the pain doctor told me a couple times to lose 30-40 pounds. I laughed and said if I lost 30-40 pounds, I'd still be 15 pounds heavier than when all of it started. I was about 210 when things started, but because of some of the pills and being somewhat inactive I got to 268 at one time. I'm back to 250 now.

As far as work, I now run a press making shells for helium cylinders. I'm basically a babysitter and part checker. I was running a large single-draw press making the shells of aluminum forklift cylinders. That press job was physical. I lost that press job due to being off work, but they kept me in the pressroom just on other presses.
 
I literally feel your pain. I'm 68 now and I've had back trouble since the mid 80s. I injured my back digging a pipeline and it's never really been the same. Now I can go for a few weeks or a couple of months without too much pain but it will suddenly spasm and hurt like hell for no particular reason and I'll be laid up for a few days or more. I've been to orthopedic surgeons, pain specialists, physical therapy, etc. etc. with limited results. I'm going to a chiropractor right now for some relief and I know that it doesn't work for everybody but it helps me some. Try to stay as active as you can. Over the years I've found that I don't get any more relief from laying around than I do by staying active. I do some stretching exercises to try to stay limber and I walk about 2 miles a day. Avoid opioid painkillers at all costs. They may provide relief in the short term but they will screw you up bad. Regular Ibuprophen works best for me. I know it's depressing but you are young and hopefully you will find a solution that works for you.
 
Yatzee said:
Pack your bags and become a Canadian citizen because our health care covers everything at no cost to you. Doesn't matter what it is from brain surgery to transplants. Best surgeons, great hospitals unbelievable after care and it won't put you into bankruptcy to get your life back on track. I feel for you because the only thing worse than chronic back pain is continual kidney stones. I really do think it's time the U.S. got a form of real universal health care, Lord knows you have a big enough population to support one - just an opinion from an aging well looked after senior.
Click to expand...
When I go to Florida, the Doctors Office has Canadiens in it. Some would rather PAY, than wait many months to get in.
 
So here is my input. im 29 years old and have been dealing with this for 2 years (pain everyday, not coming and going). i waited over a year before my first surgeon said he would send me for an MRI. gotta love that shitty canadian health care, ya its free but you wait forever before anything is done. anyways i hurt mine at the gym doing deadlifts but the same basics apply. i have 2 bulging disks L4-L5 and L5-S1, an annular tear, and torn ligaments. that groin pain you felt is due to your aductor and abductor muscles around your hips getting really tight to support your damaged spine. this can also be caused by long term sitting (desk job, driving, whatever). if the disk is slipping out more, this is most likely because you are still bending forward or because your ligaments that support your spine are damaged or stretched. for the ligaments i suggest prolotherapy (thats what i am currently doing). it could also be because you have a severe annular tear and the fluid is leaking out of the annulus of the disk. for the disk, technically if you strengthen your core and fix the ligaments with prolo the disk will dehydrate over time releasing pressure from the nerves (note this can take years and sometimes never happens). if you dont have shooting pain down your foot into your legs then more then likely the nerve is just irritated instead of fully pinched. a new less invassive surgery that I am considering is a microdisectomy. this is where they use endoscopic tools and laser the protruding disk basically shaving off the herniated part so that pressure is relieved. recovery time is a couple weeks and it is a way better option compared to full disk excision and vertebrae fusion (6 month to a year recovery). a microdisectomy will also maintain your range of motion. if prolo doesnt work for me, microdisectomy is my next step. i personally know 2 people who have had this done and the pain is completely gone within a month or 2.

just my 2 cents because I feel your pain
by the way i have tried the following treatments without any help: chiro (2 different dr), physio (2 different dr), high dose anti-inflammatories, core strengthening, non-invassive laser treatment, athletic therapy, cortisone shots, inversion tables, yoga, etc, etc
 
Whats being used for inversion tables brand name, model, likes and dislikes? I have been looking
My chiropractor tells not to put heat on a tight muscles and recommends ice pack's.
For me activity and maintenance is the key. Not doing stupid things just gets me into trouble.
 
Teeter something. Costco. Love it, use it daily. After being up an hour to loosen up, a gentle application does the trick.
 
I'm no stranger to back problems hav8ng two surgeries but not work related. Self employed anyway. I worked for several years for a work comp Co and saw some people get screwed but I was on the co side of things. I helped a buddy get a $20k award. Problem is if you are iffy on possible work causes they find this as the way to slam door shut. Most back injuries like mine took years to finally blow...herniated disk. If you can say certain things you did working caused pain that's enough to open the door for a claim. I'd talk to a work comp lawyer though I recall OH is one of a few states having a state run or funded work comp plan. Check it out I don't think they will charge you if they want to find one who doesnt..
 
On January 31st 2016 I had an emergency discetomy done on my L4 L5. The week before I had surgery, Christmas week, I picked up the spare tire on the back of my Jeep and tried to hang it back on the carrier, lifted the 100# tire by myself, that is when I blew out the disk. I am 58 years old. Thought I was still 30.

After the incident, the pain I was feeling went down my right leg to my foot anytime I was standing. It would build to an excruciating pain forcing me to sit back down, pain to the point of tears, this would happen within minutes of standing up. Like a fool I waited too long to see a surgeon. It was the holiday's, so I waited it out expecting the pain to eventually go away. It only got worse. Finally a trip to the emergency room, and an MRI, emergency surgery was called for. I didn't have the surgery at that hospital, I went home and found a specialist, a neurosurgeon with a great history to do the operation.

After the surgery the excruciating pain down my right leg and in to foot was gone. But, My right leg below the knee, and in my right foot are now numb. I feel tingling in my foot and leg below the knee, and loss of strength in the right leg. I waited too long I guess, the disc protrusion against the nerve did permanent damage. The doc says give it more time, along with the physical therapy, and it may eventually go away, or not. I am fortunate to be able to go back to work next month, if all goes well in therapy.

My advice to you is ask the doc what long term effects may be if you wait this out. The last thing you want at your age is nerve damage that doesn't go away.
 
Paul_G: If you waited a week from the time of injury until the surgery, you probably didn't wait too long. The numbness in your knee and foot will go away. At your age (or mine) nerves take time to heal. I've had two surgeries with related impacts on nerves and in both cases it took a year - in one case almost to the day - for the feeling to return. My 10-year-old had a nerve injury in his finger and it healed in about 3 weeks. He also gets taller, smarter, stronger and faster every day. We're not on that part of the curve.

OH71: Just a thought from experience: If your physical therapist put you on an inversion table once and it caused you back pain and tension, he did two things wrong. First, he tipped it too far, and second, he kept you on too long. Try it at 15 degrees past horizontal, and for just 1 minute the first day. Work up to two minutes per day in the first week, and then go on from there - slowly. If you get to 10 minutes, consider tipping the table back a bit, to 20 30 degrees below horizontal. You don't have to be hanging upside down to see the benefits. This is probably not an alternative to surgery, but it may make the time until then more tolerable, and if you make using the table a habit you may be happier in the long run anyway.
 
I was diagnosed with herniated discs at L4-L5 more than twenty years ago. At that time the doctor recommended surgery. I went to a surgeon friend of mine for a second opinion. He suggested avoiding surgery until I felt like I had no alternative. So far, no surgery. I also have degenerative spine disease and spinal stenosis. In my case the pain is not severe. More than one doctor has told me that people with my condition usually have much more pain. In an earlier post I mentioned I was treated with radio frequency ablation. In my case that gave me considerable relief. You already posted you were evaluated for that procedure and in your case the doctor didn't feel it would be effective. One thing I did after 20 years that gave me the most relief is to go from 235 lbs down to 190 lbs. Every case is different I hope you find a solution.
 
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