Bulging disc injection

Ladjacket

I feel a good bit better i have to say. Not fully there yet by any means but last night was the first night in 3 months i went to bed without painkillers.

They told me it can take up to 2 weeks for them to fully kick in so to speak so I am just gonna take it easy in that time, will get out for a few walks each day but until the consultant calls me and chats through, that will be the most of my activity.

How have you been since?

Ladjacket

By way of update, I am a week post-procedure now and I would say that I am….ok.

If the pain was an 8, i would say its at a 4 now. I have gone from 8 painkillers a day to 4 now but would still take 2 in the morning and 2 at night.

I have been moving quite a bit and walking over 10k steps each day. Its been recommended to start Yoga/Pilates and I am also going to look at spinal decompression as well.

I am expecting to hear a follow up from the consultant this week also

Ladjacket

so the pain got worse and i am back in for another round of injections on the 22nd of this month. Consultant also pre-scheduled me for keyhole surgery in December if these injections don't work

I.am.Putins.raging.bile.duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122695889#Comment_122695889

sorry to hear that. God you didn't get much time at all.

pummice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122484798#Comment_122484798

How did you get on, my spouse has similar C4/C5 disc degeneration causing headaches and neck pain

I.am.Putins.raging.bile.duct

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122698454#Comment_122698454

They gave me an appointment for the epidural injection just before Xmas so ive another few months to go again. I'm in varying degrees of pain all the time depending how I mind myself, It doesn't take much to pinch the spinal cord and pain blooms up in my neck, chest, mid back, top of the hip and foot(all right side). I carried a fruit box of shopping to the car a few weeks ago(maybe 15kg max) and I was shocking sore for days.

Doctor has me on Lyrica 50mg twice daily, I'd be screwed without these. Vitafen 100mg when it gets sore, I try not to take them they are hard on the stomach. Tramadol 50mg for very bad pain, I hate these as I'm so tired for 3 days after one. Difene spray as well but I'm not sure it does any good at all.

The epidural-steroid is really only part of the necessary diagnosis for me that precedes a discectomy according to the surgeon, but it might give me some relief but I'm doubtful.

https://www.spine-health.com/treatment/spinal-fusion/acdf-anterior-cervical-discectomy-and-fusion#:~:text=Anterior%20cervical%20discectomy%20and%20fusion%20(ACDF)%20is%20a%20type%20of,weakness%2C%20numbness%2C%20and%20tingling.

This is exactly what I'll need as I have osteophytes in there as well.

Ladjacket

Back in for round 2 of injections tomorrow. Seeing a physio post online about how they've achieved fantastic results with non-surgical spinal decompression and lots of reviews from folks on Google etc raving about the results. May be a good alternative to surgery

cavan4sam

Back to the cost of the injection which for me wasn't a great success... Only got about 8 weeks out of it €2000 euro between injection and consultant...

Got 1150 back of Cross border directive

So back to square one again waiting on ntpf and to see what they will cover after being referred from public system

Woodcutting

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122420880#Comment_122420880

Had them twice . Useless . Another money game I expect .

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123112028#Comment_123112028

I know more people who got relief from them,some haven't had issues in years.

Its more likely to work than not work so if physio alone doesnt work its definitely the next step.

It didn't work for me and I have to accept that,it's surgery or bust now.

I would advise if you are doing it to make sure you get the laser guided rather than the hit and hope injection.

Woodcutting

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123112122#Comment_123112122

Had both . Waste of time. Still fighting with doctor who won't give enough pain med " for my own good" lol. More like his own good. Docs put themselves first and listen to the clowns who abuse drugs and cause trouble for those who don't .

cavan4sam

Getting another x-ray guided injection in the next couple of weeks he's going to try putting an electric current through it or something like that so I'll see how I go

My symptoms are the minute are tolerable but it's like I'm waiting for for it to fcuk up at the time I need it the least

Andy From Sligo

I had very bad Sciatica in 2009 that put me in hospital for a few days - Mri showed slipped/bulging discs on Sciatic nerve specialist told me I should go for op but when he started talking of 'could be paralysed' because its right next to spine I decided against it to try and carry on with medication to handle pain.

when i was in Hospital they gave me a Caudal injection (I think thats what its called) that hurt , they did it blind, found out afterwards it should have been guided by an x-ray but it wasnt, kept feeling like the nurse kept hitting the wrong space and I was awake through it and pretty sure I heard her say "wrong space just going to try again" - then there was other injections , one where I had to lie on operating table (again I was awake for it) and the pain management specialist made me curl up into the foetus position to administer it, I had to fast from the night before for that one.

They sent me home from hospital on a dose of Lyrica/Pregablin , but a couple of days later I was in with the physio and he said "get off that muck… pure poison" (the lyrica/pregablin he was talking about) but he said to me "dont come strait off them you will get cold turkey" - so I went to doctors who said I have to wean off them over 3 weeks (I dont even think it was that much of a big dose)

over the years (and as I say I didnt go for an operation) I have been getting bad back's every now and again (not sciatica that was going down to my left foot like before though when I was in hospital thank God) , mainly control pain by paracetamol, ibroprufen , hot and cold bottles on my lower back and doing some excercises I learnt from physio appointments.

The most ironic thing I have ended up with a lot of the time is that there are times I could be lifting something heavy and think "I am going to pay for this now" and a lot of the time I have been OK that evening or next day. Then there will be times I wake up in morning, and go to get out of bed and bent over and cannot straighten up and I can be like that for the next 4 or 5 days and cannot place lifting anything heavy or doing anything strenuous or jolting my back and it just happens out of the blue. - so it is still unpredictable.