Jim Alfredson Posted January 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hmm... so I've been going to a chiropractor and trying to take it easy on the ol' back (which is hard with a 21 month old running around the house). This morning my back was really bad, so I took some Motrin and now I'm icing it. The problem is, I cannot feel the ice on the left side of my lower back. Once it gets towards the spine, I can feel the cold, but on the left side, where my supposed herniated disc is, I cannot feel the cold. All I feel is the pressure of the cubes against the skin. That's not a good thing, is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Hmm... so I've been going to a chiropractor and trying to take it easy on the ol' back (which is hard with a 21 month old running around the house). This morning my back was really bad, so I took some Motrin and now I'm icing it. The problem is, I cannot feel the ice on the left side of my lower back. Once it gets towards the spine, I can feel the cold, but on the left side, where my supposed herniated disc is, I cannot feel the cold. All I feel is the pressure of the cubes against the skin. That's not a good thing, is it? No Jim, it doesn't sound good! Is the ice in plastic, or is the ice cube right on the skin??? As you may recall, I have been having terrible back trouble since before Christmas, and I did find if I used those gel ice packs(Did you get one?) enough, I didn't even need a shirt between the pack and my back, and I was laying on them, so you can build up a tolerance to cold, for sure. But, as bad as my back has been(I feel like electricity is going thru my left leg at times, I walk funny , and an MRI showed another Ruptured disc) I can always feel the cold equally. Sounds like you should have it checked out. Did you ever have an MRI? Are you doing any exercises to strenthen your back, or are you hoping the problem will just go away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here's a "disc" to play while resting your back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 I admittedly haven't read this whole thread. I started to and realized it was in June, then skipped forward to what was posted today. I've had more than my share of this myself and am a pretty good sucess story. I'm happy to share opinions with you if you like, but I'll resist here since you may have covered everything I would say in the 3 screens I skipped. I will offer this: Get several opinions. Its a very specific piece of your biology and everyone who looks at it will bring their own agenda to it. I absolutely would not let a Chiropractor manage my care. I realize there will be people who strongly disagree with that, but they have a thing that they do. Someone commented that the first thing they would do is send you to a real doctor and I can tell you that that is true for some, but not others. Some will just keep you on a treatment plan forever. Orthopediac Surgeons tend to also come to this problem from a particular angle. Rehab MDs a different one and Neurosurgeons a different one entirely. If I start with the assumption that they are all healers with your best interst in mind, then I'll finish with the statement that it is also a HUGE industry, lots of people complain of back pain, some legitimately some not and they're busy. I think about Chiropractors as maintence crew, Ortheopedic Surgeons as burly repairmen, Rehab Docs as Libratarians (let the market work it out) and Neurosurgeons as snipers. In the middle of it all (might be) your healthcare provider who is trying to make sure you don't cost them more money than they think you should (I know way more about this last point than I would like to). My best advice for you is to take control of the solution yourself. You may have already done that, but again, if you want to banter about it, I'm happy to. There is life after and I wish you a full recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 30, 2006 Report Share Posted January 30, 2006 Jim has seen our PHP who is a complete loser. I told him not to go to him after my awful experience with him...but it was easier to get an appointment with an existing Dr. than start from scratch in pain. I can understand that. However, the Dr. just perscribed 800mg of Ibup. when Jim was clearly suffering from more than a pulled muscle. Jim has been seeing a wonderful chiropractor who is concerned with his symptoms and as of today has scheduled an MRI after being told about the lack of cold sensitivity. All of this concerns me a great deal. Between the two of us we are a great pair. We joke that we are invalids trying to remodel the house, raise a child, handle multiple careers, and keep our relationship together while taking care of our ailments. I'm glad that that the Chiropractor has finally ordered a test. I've been getting on Jim for some time about this. I'm just sorry that it took a more painful step for it to happen. Why doesn't he play the flute anyway? Uhhgg, a 300lb organ has to be his love! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted January 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Now c'mon, would you really have married me if I played the flute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 a 300lb organ has to be his love! Umm....Jim, out of respect to the Missus I believe I'll just leave this one alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 Now c'mon, would you really have married me if I played the flute? Hey, jazz flute is the new jazz sax: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I gotta rent that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 So after dealing with this for a year and a half, I've finally elected to have surgery. It's supposedly a pretty simply out-patient procedure with very minimal risk (something like .5%). It is scheduled for Nov. 8th. The crappy part is they took me off my ibuprofen because of the anaesthesia (no muscle relaxers). They put me on Vicadin instead and I hate this stuff. It makes me cloudy, makes me nauseous, and it doesn't work as well as the ibuprofen for the pain. It's also not very good stuff to be taking while staying home with my daughter. But I won't be on it very long hopefully. My back has gotten really bad: without medication, I'm only able to sleep a few hours at a time before I have to get up for awhile. I'm looking forward to not being in pain anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Here's hoping, Jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Larsen Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Jim - I didn't see this thread when you started it. I had very severe back and shoulder pain for years (yes, at 31 I am young for that, some of us are just lucky I guess). I went to several doctors who couldn't help me and took medications that only reduced my pain from excrutiating to marginally tolerable while making me too foggy headed to do the kind of work I need to do. I'll tell you one thing that really helped a lot: giving away my spring mattress and box spring and switching to a Tempurpedic. Yes, they are expensive; when I got mine I really couldn't afford it at all, but I've never regretted it for a second. You may be able to find a dealer with a 30 day money-back guarantee. Believe me, it's worth trying. If there is a Design Within Reach in your area, they do a good copy of the Tempurpedic called the Sonno for a little less, but I've heard that their quality control isn't very consisitent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 jim i missed this thread the first time around. before you let someone cut into you - regardless of how "simple" the surgery is claimed to be, get a trainer and start working out! i bet that within 30 days you feel better! and if you don't you can always go under the knife! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 jim i missed this thread the first time around. before you let someone cut into you - regardless of how "simple" the surgery is claimed to be, get a trainer and start working out! i bet that within 30 days you feel better! and if you don't you can always go under the knife! surgery -> only as a last resort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I agree with the two last posts. I exercise my tummy and back muscles for 5 minutes 3 times a week, and it has kept me backpainfree for the past 15 years. It's very little effort and has become a routine like brushing my teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe G Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I think Jim has a problem with one of the discs that needs to be rectified before exercise/therapy/new bed will do any good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I think Jim has a problem with one of the discs that needs to be rectified before exercise/therapy/new bed will do any good. That would be a good reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 So after dealing with this for a year and a half, I've finally elected to have surgery. It's supposedly a pretty simply out-patient procedure with very minimal risk (something like .5%). It is scheduled for Nov. 8th. The crappy part is they took me off my ibuprofen because of the anaesthesia (no muscle relaxers). They put me on Vicadin instead and I hate this stuff. It makes me cloudy, makes me nauseous, and it doesn't work as well as the ibuprofen for the pain. It's also not very good stuff to be taking while staying home with my daughter. But I won't be on it very long hopefully. My back has gotten really bad: without medication, I'm only able to sleep a few hours at a time before I have to get up for awhile. I'm looking forward to not being in pain anymore! Jim, good luck with the surgery!!! I had back surgery in 1999, after years and years of trouble. Exercise can only do so much when a disc presses just right on a nerve. I had even more pain from the disc I ruptured late last year than I did in 1999, but knock wood, this one more or less healed itself. The other time(When I was thinner and younger) the pain just never went away. At least I could sleep without pain. As an aside, my late Mother had a disc go out in 2001, and it took the stupid doctor many months before he agreed to do surgery. She was bedridden, lived on painpills, couldn't sleep more than 2 hours at a time. I resent that she had to go thru that a few years before she got Cancer, she shouldn't have lost so much time for nothing. It instantly took away the pain that she said she couldn't have lived much longer with. Anyway, a bit destracted with people talking in the house, but long story short, the surgery was a piece of cake, more or less. You are used to pain, so yeah, some pain afterwards, but the actual surgery is not a problem. My Mom never had surgery before, and was quite apprehensive about it, and just laughed afterwards at how she built it up before the surgery. Then get yourself in shape. Are they going to fuse your vertebrates? They didn't do it with me. If you have any other questions just PM me.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J Larsen Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I think Jim has a problem with one of the discs that needs to be rectified before exercise/therapy/new bed will do any good. Geez, I think I glossed over a few key posts there... Good luck Jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFrank Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 I had a herniated disk. We tried therapy and cortizone, but with this problem, surgery is sometimes the only answer. These days there is a micro-surgery technique in which you only have a small, 2-inch incision and you're out of the hospital in half a day. I was back at work in a little over a week. You certainly have to watch how you treat your back forever afterwards, but it's not as devastating as you would think. Not only that, but the pain you go though from the herniated disk is gone almost immediately after surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted October 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Are they going to fuse your vertebrates? They didn't do it with me. If you have any other questions just PM me.... Thanks for the info, Conrad. No, they are not going to fuse anything. It's an out-patient procedure where they cut a "nickle-length" slice, go in with a tube and a camera, and just trim off the part of the disc that is pressing on the nerve. The doctor says I will be in and out of the hospital that day and the only thing I need to worry about is absolutely no lifting of anything over 10lbs. for six weeks. I think Jim has a problem with one of the discs that needs to be rectified before exercise/therapy/new bed will do any good. Geez, I think I glossed over a few key posts there... Good luck Jim! Thank you! Honestly, physical therapy helped a lot but my insurance only covers it for a month and after that I'm on my own. It's too expensive to do without insurance. All the stretches and exercises are easy enough to do on my own, but the thing that really helped was the traction machine. Man, that thing felt SO good! I had a herniated disk. We tried therapy and cortizone, but with this problem, surgery is sometimes the only answer. These days there is a micro-surgery technique in which you only have a small, 2-inch incision and you're out of the hospital in half a day. I was back at work in a little over a week. You certainly have to watch how you treat your back forever afterwards, but it's not as devastating as you would think. Not only that, but the pain you go though from the herniated disk is gone almost immediately after surgery. That's basically what they're going to do. I plan on letting it heal, and then doing exercises to strengthen my back muscles and keep everything in shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 (edited) Surgery can sometimes do miracles. My father had a serious hernia at age 50, after having had frequent back pain for 20 years (he was a semi-pro athlete in his youth) . A disc in his lower back was removed by surgery, and my father has been pain-free since then. He is now 67, playing tennis and making 100 miles bicycle tours. Good luck, Jim Edited October 28, 2006 by Claude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 Are they going to fuse your vertebrates? They didn't do it with me. If you have any other questions just PM me.... Thanks for the info, Conrad. No, they are not going to fuse anything. It's an out-patient procedure where they cut a "nickle-length" slice, go in with a tube and a camera, and just trim off the part of the disc that is pressing on the nerve. The doctor says I will be in and out of the hospital that day and the only thing I need to worry about is absolutely no lifting of anything over 10lbs. for six weeks. .... WOW! Sounds like it's even less invasive than when I had surgery. I had to stay overnight, but after having an alergic reaction to Morphine, I was really ready to leave early in the a.m. I helped paint our living room 3-4 days after the surgery(I didn't bend down or tilt up, just did what I could easily reach with a roller) Sitting was the main problem, walking, sleeping, and standing for a short time wasn't a big deal. You probably won't drive for a week or so, but I think I ate out and drove to the resturant on the 8th day after surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bright Moments Posted October 28, 2006 Report Share Posted October 28, 2006 ouch! good luck jim! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted November 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2006 Well, I've decided to postpone my surgery until (hopefully) next month, when I have a good two-week span of no gigs. I was supposed to have it this Wednesday, but I have gigs on Thursday, Friday, & Saturday and we're in Chicago next weekend. Just too much going on (and too much income) to navigate. So I'm going to aim for December 11th. I think I can last another month (although last night was one of the worst nights of "sleep" I can remember). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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