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I agree with other posters that you should follow the recommended treatment and get an MRI.
If you have a herniated disk, I'm surprised the steroids did not help. I had a herniated disk in my lower back (L4-L5, eventually corrected by surgery) and Prednisone was a miracle drug to me. The steroid pills are the same thing as the steroid injection, albeit slower acting and not as immediate.
You didn't mention this, but I assume you are already taking pain medicine for your back? (Percocet or Vicodin?) In my experience, taking a pain pill on it's own was ineffective. I also used to take a muscle relaxer, as a large part of my pain was due to tight muscles.
Low back pain. Try to focus on those nerves that pass through that area. Learn about those nerves, what they control, and signs of nerve damage(pressure on nerve from other structures, etc). You will learn when surgery is necessary and the MRI will be a pre operation workup to that procedure. Now learn to tolerate the pain. Continue to build your inner strength daily. Control weight, see Medical weight charts, etc. Drink extra fluids and fiber. Avoid narcotics for now but try OTC naproxen sodium 220mg. Surgery is not 100% correct in every situation and there are risks. Learn the risks and the downside prior to MRI and prior to surgery. However, know when to throw in the towel and have the surgery but know also surgery can be a lifestyle altering event.
Excellent topic. Check out Swansonvitamins.com They do have pills for about every condition & if they don't work for you, you can send them back at their expense for a refund.
I had a pinched nerve pressing on a bulging disc & chiropractor said he would make me his project of the month although I ended up going to him for 6 months, a couple times a week. I was not taking any pills at the time.
Boswellia works for mild or moderate pain, maybe for more severe pain if you up the dosage???
A chiropractor can sell you a back brace, also. Some people have had over a dozen operations on their back & still go back for more operations, so it sounds like they may not be better than cheap pills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by adyn
Hi.
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
I do not have leg pains, or any other shooting pains. Just stabbing pains in my back when I stand up or use force to pull myself up (out of bed, out of the car, etc). Once I am up, I can slowly straighten out and then I can walk decently well, still somewhat hunched over and I often get twinging stabbing pains very suddenly if I move incorrectly, but again no shooting leg or upper back pains, it is a very concentrated pain in my lower back about 2 inches above the crack of my ass.
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.
Sign up for Aetna Vital Savings and have them find you a participating chiropractor near you. 12.99 a month for a family.
It's a discount program for chiro, dental and vision.
We have no insurance and it knocks off 25 percent every visit. That's 80 bucks a month saved for the two of us at the chiro once a week for 12.99 a month.
CDC estimates that 294,000 U.S. children under age 18 (or 1 in 250 children) have been diagnosed with arthritis or another rheumatologic condition. CDC - Arthritis - Basics - FAQs
He is older than 18. Yes juvenile arthritis does affect children but this is not a child asking for help.
I don't believe he is too young to have arthritis in his back. I'm currently dealing with a bad back and am only 30. In August and September last year I went through an episode of absolutely horrible, debilitating period of lower back and leg pain. It literally felt like someone was jamming a knife in your leg and going all the up and down repeatedly 24/7 with no end. I woke up from the pain at night and could barely walk/stand.
I was diagnosed with 3 bulging discs L3-S1, major dessicaiton, and clear signs of arthritis that likely accumulated over the past several years. 26 isn't too young to have arthritis in the lower spine.
I'm currently only my 2nd steroid injection. The first worked well for about a month. The second has cut the pain down a bit. I'm hoping that by the third, the inflammation and bulge will have gone away. It's been over 6 months now and I still have lower lumbar radiculopathy down the leg. I'm hoping to avoid surgery, but if microdisectomy will lead to a faster recovery, I'm all for it. I'm tired of the chronic never ending pain. Even if conservative treatments produce the same outcome as surgery, I'll still take surgery if conservative treatment is going to take about 6-8 months to work. The pain is intolerable at times. I've tried many drugs but will not take narcotics. No oral medicaiton has worked.
ADYN: You are way too young to have arthritis in your back.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhxBarb
He is older than 18. Yes juvenile arthritis does affect children but this is not a child asking for help.
Obviously you didn't read the report throughout, your statement above saying she's too young and the report contradicts your statement. Arthritis can affect all ages.
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.
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!
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