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So, over the past couple weeks I've been experiencing acute back pains. I went to a back dr, she x-rayed me and told me that I probably have a pinched nerve due to a bulging disc or a degenerated disc. She put me on steroid pills for 1 week. They did nothing, so I went back. She advised me to get an MRI, then make another appointment with her so that she could further diagnose. She said if it is a bulging disc, she'd want to do steroid injections.
Well, I have been calling around and the lowest cost for MRI I have found is about $790. I called the DR back and asked what happens after the MRI, she said if I do steroid shots I'll have to wait and see if they work. I asked how much the injections would be, and she wouldn't give me an answer because she said there were too many variables. I googled it and it seems the shots generally go for around 600-800 dollars
Is this MRI thing absolutely necessary? I just feel like I'm going to spend thousands of dollars on a treatment that may not work.......
Should I go to a chiropractor first? I know that it's hard to find a good one but I know of one in the area that I've heard good things about by friends and colleagues.
I was also told I should do physical therapy................ is that necessary? I mean, what can they do to me that I can't do to myself? If they're just going to tell me to lift this or move that, I can do that on my own for free.
My wedding is in a month, I'm broke and I'm sweating bullets. I need to be well ASAP......what do I do?
Background info on me: I'm a programmer and I am generally weak all around, I don't lift anything generally except a diet coke can from time to time, and my free time is spent at home working from home or playing pool, which I can't do right now. I assume this has happened to me because my back muscles are very weak and I am a tall guy (6'4" or so) and I should be working those muscles out to better support my back and thus my discs. I have a slight beer gut but wouldn't necessarily call myself obese. Probably 5-10 lbs over weight for an average guy my size.
What do you think I should do?
I don't know if you need an MRI, or not. I have found, over the last 20 years, that most Dr.'s, esp. specialists, want to order patients to get as many tests, procedures, & visits that they can think of. If the patient balks at any of it, they can get very nasty; &/or write down nasty stuff about you in their notes (that other Dr.'s, can see). So much of their endless demands for tests, more visits, etc., I can see how it benefits them & their medical group, but not me. Which doesn't matter, b/c patients are there just to take endless orders, apparently, & aren't ever to use their own common sense or discretion.
But you obviously need to exercise. Maybe not right now, when you're in agony, but as soon as you can stand even minor exercise like walking. And then, keep it up, do some weight-training, jogging, regularly, on whatever level you can handle.
You should have muscle relaxers, like cyclobenzaprine--they help the pain, & also I think have therapeutic effects. Nature-Made "Triple-Flex" helps some, over time I think.
BTW--I've had some very bad episodes of back pain myself. My x-rays show arthritis, & bone spurs. A chiropractor--that can be helpful; just make sure you get your x-rays sent to them first.
I thought I was the only one that knew about this book...when John Stossel of ABC did his piece..Barnes and Noble
sold out of it....I have 2 copies now to loan out one of them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tjarado
Get thee to Amazon immediately for the book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John Sarno.........Then I read the book and saw the light.
Then I retired and never had a serious incident again!
Listen to what tjardo says!!! Everyone has a bad back if they have imaging done. The pain comes from lack of movement and stresses. The body is finding a way to distract you from the overwhelming stresses. And so positive thinking and movement and stretching is an enormous help! There are more and more studies that show that movement throughout the day is the key to long life and good health. If you sit all day you should be getting up every 20 minutes or so to stretch and move.
**The people who have pain, do x-rays and imaging then hear that they are defective
in a certain specific way, then internalize that condition and will never heal.**
Remember this is an industry by which people make their living. Of course they are going to recommend you need more of their product.
There was another book, maybe a decade back, by a pain doctor from New York (sorry don't remember his name) who found he could "cure" patients within a week by having them participate in group therapy. He had years of experience in the conventional pain meds, surgery, and PT approaches, and slowly started to notice that his most severely suffering patients ( e.g. couldn't get out of bed due to pain) were all in high stress demanding jobs. Once they addressed their situations, like quitting their jobs, the pain went away.
There is also a great documentary movie that is totally empowering: THE LIVING MATRIX. Check it out, it can change your life.
Best of luck!
Just to update, sorry I didn't get a chance to do so sooner, busy night last night.
I have been doing better the past couple of days. I'm still not well, but at this point, I don't feel that I need an MRI. I'm going to continue icing/heating at night and stretching/moving in intervals throughout the day. I think that is what has helped the most.
The company I work for told me that they would gladly pick up the tab on the MRI and shots if I needed them and then I could pay them back in monthly installments over the rest of the year. I was gracious but declined.
I have taken every post in this thread objectively and with the data I have and taking into consideration about how I am feeling at present time, I do not believe the MRI is necessary for now.
I deeply appreciate everyone's comments and thoughts on this, it was a huge help for me.
I am not disagreeing that an MRI may be still necessary. If in a few weeks I am still not where I want to be physically, I will go for the MRI and possibly the steroid shots, to get me through my wedding and honeymoon. I feel like this is my best course of action.
For now, stretching, exercises, heating/cooling rotations and less sitting in my chair 15+ hours per day is doing well within the short period of time that I've been practicing.
My biggest disagreement with the treatment that has been planned for me is that it is not treatment, just a veil over the pain that will eventually come back. If it were an actual operation to physically fix something that was wrong, that would be a different scenario. For now, I think that the more "home grown" approach will serve me well enough.
PS...I would not get within a hundred yards of a chiropractor. Some people swear by them, but just the thought of someone trying to resolve a bone/disc/nerve problem with physical manipulation scares the bee Jesus out of me. If you think it hurts now when you bend, think about someone specifically trying to bend you....just saying!
Second that. Made the mistake of using chiropractors and the condition became worse while under their care.
I am shocked to hear the incredible cost of MRI's in the U.S. now, haven't had any in the there since the 90's. I have paid the equivalent of $350 to $400 for full spine MRI where I live now.
Get thee to Amazon immediately for the book Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by John Sarno.
At your age - presumably working and planning marriage - you sound like the perfect candidate for TMS, a stress induced condition of back and other pains.
I was a programmer and IT pro my whole working life, and boy, when the stress levels got high I sufferred from lower back pain often. Especially when on production support. Then I read the book and saw the light.
Then I retired and never had a serious incident again!
Are you in a great deal of stress, either job or marriage related?
Read the book...it is revolutionary.
PS - An MRI will always reveal a "disc problem" in almost anyone over 21 so don't be hasty about any cure until you examine your situation thoroughly.
And good luck.
As a former patient of Dr. Sarno's at NYU Medical Center, and a participant in his workshop program there, I would like to say this his program will not do anything for someone whose pain is caused by a serious physiological problem in the spine. I and others in this position can testify. (I would also add that at the time I participated his physical examination of me was perfunctory, though the man himself was likable.)
A fragmented disc, for example, pressing against a nerve may possibly have the pressure relieved for periods by various exercises; however, it will never, never, never heal - it cannot, and it is very likely to literally attach itself to a nerve with fiberous growth. And then that person learns what Hell on earth really means. But if your problem is mental stress being expressed in back muscles or gut, a person may well benefit from using Dr. Sarno's methods - or psychotherapy or ecstatic religious experience. It is my understanding that Dr. Sarno has made it increasingly clear over the years that he is dealing strictly with psychosomatic problems.
This is why diagnostic imaging is important as a sorting process...although as I said in another comment, I am horrified at the what is evidently the going rate in the U.S. now.
I would put the money toward chiropractic, massage, or acupuncture. Also do gentle stretching/PT exercises. Especially if it has only been a few weeks. The problem with MRIs is that science can't be sure that a herniation, or other defect is what it causing the pain. A number of studies have shown that if you take a large number of people with no back pain at all, a large percentage of them will show signs of disc issues. Many people have surgery for herniated discs and feel worse or no change. It's way too soon to consider surgery, so there's not much point in getting an MRI.
Sciatica is a common problem, affecting as many as 40 percent of adults at some time in their lives. Sciatica is commonly caused by a herniated disc in the back as it presses down on the sciatic nerve, according to background information in the study. These discs are located between each of the vertebra, or bones, in the spine.
For most people, sciatica is a short-lived problem. Within eight weeks, most people no longer have sciatic pain, according to the study. For some people, however, sciatic pain can be long-lasting.
When sciatic pain doesn't go away, doctors often recommend imaging tests, such as MRIs, to rule out serious causes of the pain, such as a tumor, said Dr. Devon Klein, chief of musculoskeletal radiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
The problem is that many people have herniated discs, often without any symptoms. Previous research has found that between 20 percent and 76 percent of people who don't have symptoms will show signs of disk herniation on an MRI, the study found.
Klein confirmed this. "If you take all comers and give them an MRI, you will see disc disease in most of them," he said. "Everyone hurts their back at some point."
When I was in college studying in the medical field, I did some work with drug addicts, it was well known among the high functioning (or former high functioning) opiate addicts who had insurance that getting an MRI was a great way to get access to pills. Even though they had no pain they could complain of pain, get an MRI and, more often than not out came the prescription pad.
I've decided against a chiropractor at this time. Several sources I've seen call them reckless and ineffective.
One does have to be very careful, but there are some good ones out there who help people greatly. If I were looking for a chiro, I would get detailed personal recommendations and ask a lot of questions. Acupuncture and massage can be very helpful as well. People don't have to "believe" in acupuncture, it has real effects that release muscle spasms, and increase blood flow to injured areas. Many PTs use acupuncture, they call it "dry needling," but it's usually a very similar treatment, and can be remarkable effective.
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