Help with Low Back Pain

[Melb1971]

Hi,

 

I have been diagnosed with an L5 / S1 bulge of the disc but been told that this is inoperable as it is not pinching the sciatic nerve. I am having a lumbar injection in January but I am led to believe this will not completely cure me and, if this does not work, I will have to rely on pain management for life. I am feeling very down about this and am desperate to speak to any fellow sufferers or back pain support groups. If anyone can provide me with constructive advice or help I would be eternally grateful. Thanks for reading.

[tzijlstra]

Hi Mel,

 

Sorry to hear of your discomfort. Firstly let's hope the lumbar injection does have an effect.

 

There are support groups for chronic pain sufferers, but I don't know how active they are in Sheffield, your GP should have information on this.There are also numerous specific health forums out there with people in similar positions, for example patient.co.uk.

 

All the best, having lived with near chronic shin splints in my younger years, which only healed after two years of not a lot of exercise, no more swimming, cycling, basketball, long walks with the dog etc. I feel for you.

[Unisol]

Funnily enough I had a discectomy for a bulging disc only last week and apart from the pain from the operation it appears to have completely cured the problem.

 

Maybe they don't feel it necessary to have the op if it's the disc isn't actually crushing the nerves, especially as they can sometimes pop back into place.

 

Only thing I can suggest is give it time, see if gets worse and ask for another MRI scan (assuming you had one of those). I know what it's like getting the NHS to commit to operating as I was messed about for months them sending me to physio etc which did nothing to help. You just have to keep at them and emphasise how much it affects your life.

 

I never ever suffered with back problems until last year I started with tingling in soles of my feet then steadily got worse with pain in legs/buttocks. It became very difficult to go about my daily activities and really gets you down so I do sympathise.

 

Good luck with the injection in the meantime

Edited December 12, 2014 by Unisol

[GoGo_dancer]

Hi there

 

I was diagnosed with bulges from L3 to S1 last year with minor nerve pinching and the pain wasn't constant but when it hit my legs would go from under me which was terrifying, and it was really bad at night so really affected my sleep and I became very depressed. I'm a keen hiker and some days I thought I would never be able to put my boots on again. I saw a really good physio for a couple of months and we tried a mixture of stretches and accupuncture and there was slow but gradual improvement. Eventually I was able to sleep through the night without painkillers and then I was able to start hiking short distances again. With lots of careful core training and determination I was able to complete a gruelling 36 mile hike in September and I was over the moon!

 

I still get twinges in my back and i'm always aware that it could go at any point but i'm so glad I found a good physio and persevered with the training! So don't lose hope, find a good physio who will give you a long-term exercise plan and even when you think there's no improvement or you have a really bad few weeks, stick with it!

 

Also, an old friend of mine went down the surgery route and unfortunately it didn't resolve the issue so it's not a guaranteed fix.

 

Good luck!

Edited December 14, 2014 by GoGo_dancer

[Melb1971]

Thank you so much for your replies. I am counting down the days until my injection and am hoping this will cure me. Thanks again.

[smithy266]

There is, or certainly used to be, a Sheffield Back Pain Society. They will be best placed to help and advise.