page 2 hopes you feel better!

12/14/2011 12:37:47 PM

bigman, how much of this kinda padding will get ^ suspenders?

12/14/2011 12:39:18 PM

she's the page 2 queen

12/14/2011 12:53:14 PM

where is bigman when you need him?

12/14/2011 12:58:38 PM

Quote :

"Did he have an explaination for this? My guess would have something to do with your level of fitness."

I haven't talked to him about the details, and if I did, I don't remember it (:beatup. The only thing I can think of was that the pain on my right side was masking anything on my left. But that doesn't make sense.

I have my follow-up with him on the 20th and I'll ask him then.

On another note, I definitely overextended myself yesterday and am paying for it today. The PT nurse came today and she said "I am disappoint." because I should be wearing the brace and using the walker until I see the doctor.

My pulse was really high today, too. Like, 120-130 high.

Anyway, I think I'm going to try and take a nap.

12/14/2011 3:02:47 PM

Did you ever try Yoga before you decided on surgery?

I found this wonderful paper here:
http://www.yogatherapycenter.org/articles/Herniated%20Lumbar%20Disc%20Back%20Pain%20-%20Inga%20%20Benson.pdf

12/14/2011 3:52:29 PM

Yoga specifically? No.

I tried physical therapy, chiropractic care, electronic stimulation, stretching, inversion therapy, epidurals (to reduce inflammation and result in disc withdrawing into vertebral space), exercise, rest, medicine.

And this is over a fourteen year period.

12/14/2011 8:32:11 PM

Right now

12/14/2011 9:07:05 PM

Right now I'm in my bed as the Percocet and Flexeril I just took should be kicking in soon and I don't want to be up for it.

12/15/2011 1:24:00 AM

is kdogg(c) the one addicted to pain meds/attention?

i forget

12/15/2011 1:31:09 AM

haha that's BlackDog

12/15/2011 1:31:30 AM

Flexeril never did anything for me. I even doubled the Rx'd dose.

12/15/2011 1:42:20 AM

Hope you're doing better!! I felt like absolute SHIT for about 6 months after my surgery. I had so much pain and it lasted for so long that doctors thought the surgery was unsuccessful. My surgery was to clean area around my L4 & L5 disks as both of them were ruptured.

They put me on Flexeril (which just knocked me out), Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Percocet, Darvocet (which ALL made me sick and dizzy headed) and other stuff that didn't work so I just took myself off the meds.

Glad you are recovering well!!!! I should have continued PT, but I stopped after a few weeks. I need to start back going. It's been three years and my core section is still RIDICULOUSLY weak.





[Edited on December 15, 2011 at 2:03 AM. Reason : Still have some burning pains down my sciatic nerve on the left side. ]

12/15/2011 2:00:00 AM

what did you do to rupture them

12/15/2011 3:08:29 AM

Quote :

"haha that's BlackDog"

ah

close enough

12/15/2011 4:02:56 AM

Quote :

"is kdogg(c) the one addicted to pain meds/attention?"

Not addicted, but I know I'm going to have some serious withdrawal when I finally come off the meds.

I was on Norco (5mg Hydrocodone, 325 Tylenol) from November 13th until December 7th, and I've been on Percocet (5mg Oxycodone, 325 tylenol) since the 8th.

And this stuff does not play around. I took some early this morning (1 a.m.) before going to bed, and then again at 8 a.m. when I woke up. I've been buzzing since 8:45.

12/15/2011 9:51:53 AM

Meds explain your inability to poo

Do yourself a favor and take a laxative

12/15/2011 9:54:52 AM

inorite

On Sunday, I took four Tbsp of Milk of Magnesia.
On Monday, I took 17g of Miralax. Went, but not proportional to my eating.
On Tuesday, I took 17g of Miralax.
On Wednesday, I took 17g of Miralax.

Still nothing.

Gonna be an assplosion when things start moving again.

12/15/2011 9:59:28 AM

Quote :

"what did you do to rupture them "

IIRC, she was stealing a TV from her friend's apartment, and injured her back carrying it down the stairs.
Still, she's very pretty, and I wish to seduce her.

12/15/2011 10:09:59 AM

Taco bell usually does the trick for me

12/15/2011 10:14:20 AM

try coffee

coffee always moves my bowel in the morning

12/15/2011 11:40:54 AM

Smoke a cigarette. That will make you poop.

12/15/2011 11:48:34 AM

^And screw up your healing process.

12/15/2011 11:52:58 AM

I've had to resort to more...medicinal methods.

12/15/2011 6:36:03 PM

I know some people who have tried adult stem cell therapy for acute injuries like rotator cuff tears. But I wonder if this is proven for herniated discs. Or if you have very little cushioning left.

I still think this treatment is still pretty new science, so I wouldn't go spending thousands of dollars yet. At least I won't be.

12/15/2011 9:57:15 PM

acraw, you seem to be suggesting things as if I can go back under the knife and have the doctor unfuse L4 and L5

or are you just posting that stuff for anyone else who has problems?

12/16/2011 8:52:47 AM

No. Just a general statement.

Lets say for me...if I ever have to consider anything before surgery. It wuold be my own cells, but it's still pretty new science like I said.

12/16/2011 11:27:43 AM

The stem cells would only be effective if you could reduce the compression on the disc, which is on by negating or minimizing gravity's effects.

So a person could buy an inversion table or bed and lay on it the entire time (and who knows how long that will take), or they could go into space to have it done.

12/17/2011 12:56:37 PM

Constipation, I have overcome thee.

12/17/2011 11:13:42 PM

CONGRATS!!!

12/19/2011 11:30:41 AM

Tell me what your first steroid injection to the back was like.

I may consider this when I see my orthopod on the 11th.

1/2/2012 1:38:09 AM

Okay. It was 1999 in WakeMed. Dr. Leonard Nelson (same guy who worked on Archie Miller).

I had ekg pads on so they could check my vitals during the procedure. I had to sit up and arch my back to spread out the vertebrae. I don't remember if they had a live x-ray machine to make sure they positioned the needle in the proper place. Either way, they gave my a small injection at the site with Novicaine or Lidocaine to number the injection site. It stung a little, and then I didn't feel anything. Then they took the epidural needle and started putting it in my back. I didn't feel pain, but I felt pressure. It lasted a good while (more than a few seconds), and I started to feel like I was going to pass out (getting light headed, feeling the blood rush out of my head, seeing starts). My blood pressure dropped from like 110/80 to 90/60, and my pulse went from like 80 to 50. I told the doc it was happening, and he said he was almost finished. I closed my eyes, started getting sweaty chills, and the nurse put a damp towel on my forehead. Once the Doc told me it was done, I laid down and kept breathing slowly until I "recovered."

The Doc said it would take a few hours for the steroid to work its way around the nerve roots.

When it finally worked its way around, I could feel NO PAIN.

It was a great procedure, with the only down side being my vagal episode.

The second time, I think I've described. The third was very similar to the first, except they gave me Propofol (the Anesthesiologist called it "Michael Jackson Juice") to sedate me, and the had me lying on my stomach for it.

1/2/2012 9:27:47 AM

i hope 2012 brings you good poopings

1/2/2012 9:30:37 AM

How long after the first injection were you able to return to your normal activities?

1/2/2012 2:45:22 PM

^^ thx...coming off Perc now should restore BMs

^ next day.

1/3/2012 12:23:03 AM

pills

1/3/2012 12:26:14 AM

hey K,

What was you highest dose of corticosteroid prescribed to you?

If you had any side effects, what were they?

1/5/2012 11:46:03 PM

K,
you are my support group!!! I love you!!!

1/5/2012 11:50:01 PM

Quote :

"What was your highest dose of corticosteroid prescribed to you? If you had any side effects, what were they?"

1) Not sure. The Navy did it, and they weren't...exactly...detailed in their description of my epidural procedure.
2) None.

As an update: I can walk for about 30 minutes straight about every other day. If I try two days in a row, my back just is so sore (and my legs).

Also, I had to switch to Tylenol-3 (Codeine) (from Percocet) because I thought my work (Navy) was going to have me stop convalescent leave earlier than planned. I drove today (not comfortable) into work, and the Doc told me I had another two weeks. Some jerk off LT (same rank as me) who was embarrassed by the Captain wanted to chew someone's butt, but he had his head up his ass so everything is squared away now.

I can continue to take the Percocet as I need. If I do, I think I'm going to spread the dose out or take half of one.

1/6/2012 9:46:36 PM

I mean oral steroid like prednisone. Not injection directly on the site of inflammation.

I'm on my 4th course right now. Haven't had very significant effects yet. Except what I've mentioned before.

1/7/2012 11:14:55 AM

I only took prednisone in July and I honestly don't remember it helping. Sorry.

That doesn't mean it didn't. I just can't remember.

1/8/2012 11:13:45 AM

You keep posting that you're certain that withdrawals are coming. Are you just assuming that? I mean I was taking way more vicoprofen and oxycodone after my surgeries than you have been blogging about and at the very worst I had a little trouble sleeping and the ole Browns forcing their way to the Super Bowl when I stopped.

I think that you are going to psych yourself out so much that you think you're going through a heroin addict's withdrawal and it's going to be mostly mental.

1/8/2012 12:33:18 PM

No W/Ds at all now. had a headache once when I went from two every 6 to one every 8, but nothing else.

flushed the Percs last night, as I didn't like the way it affected my thinking.

1/8/2012 7:15:35 PM

Something interesting my wife told me two days ago. We were talking about our metabolisms (hers and mine) and she told me that after my surgery, when I was still in recovery, the surgeon talked to her and told her that the Anesthesiologist was having...a challenging time keeping up with my metabolism. He kept having to give me the meds to keep me unconscious...more than he expected.

The last epidural I had, I requested to be sedated because the first one was the most painful thing I have experienced. Afterwards, the Anesthesiologist said pretty much the same thing to us (after the procedure). He had to give me an extra dose of Propofol (yeah, inorite) to keep me sedated.

So...good news for me is that my metabolism is really high. The wife isn't too thrilled about that fact.

1/9/2012 9:22:15 AM

Got my MRI results back today.

I basically have a large extrusion at L5-S1 causing S1 nerve root irritation that is giving me the most problems involving the leg pain, weak plantar flexion and achilles.

I also have a 'dessicated' L4-L5 disc. Which probably means I don't have much disc space left or "cushioning" and they consider this mild degenerative disc.

Not surprising. Not afraid of the information either. Using it to remind myself to take care of myself better and not push my body to its limits.


PS- Like I mentioned, I'm on a 4th course of prednisone rigt now, in just 1 month. Refused the epidural, but the oral steroid is working wonderfully so far. I hope my adrenals do not crash. This course is a tapering dose starting with 60 mg x 4 days, then 40, 20, 10.

[Edited on January 10, 2012 at 9:48 PM. Reason : PS]

1/10/2012 9:45:39 PM

update?

6/16/2012 7:34:28 PM

Quote :

"Ha...guess I should update my surgery thread. Saw my Doc Wednesday and he cleared me completely! I feel great (lower back muscles are tight, but I can stretch that away), and I've been swimming about three times a week. Thanks for asking! "

in PM

6/16/2012 10:08:55 PM

Thx, qntm and acraw.

And, Navy career-wise, I think I'll be back on a submarine here in a few months. The Navy docs have cleared me, I have some admin ppwork to wait on, and a sea- duty screening to do mid-July, and I don't see any problems with any of that.

Now if only I would have known about pryderi's LBP solution (weed) sooner...

6/17/2012 1:00:17 AM

rip kdogg(c)

9/22/2016 9:58:15 AM

wat

9/22/2016 5:40:30 PM