Green Tea Extract?

[mele48]

Hi, there -

I've been dealing with some pain associated with a bulging lumbar disc.  My ortho gave me an Rx for gabapentin (neurontin), and said I might find some relief by trying flaxseed oil and green tea extract.  I had gone weeks without any anxiety blips.  I've noticed that in the last 3 days I've had some instances of mild palpitations, and my system flirting with anxiety.  To be clear, I've also been working anywhere from 10-12 hour days more often than not, so I'm more tired than usual.  Could be a factor, too.

What do you think - ditch the green tea extract?  

[Paxiled]

My experience with PT is that it takes a fairly long time of doing the exercises before they work, and even then it often returns when you return to doing the things you were doing.  But it sure beats cortisone and surgery as far as making it worse.  Patience.

[mele48]

Hi, Paxiled!  I've been in PT for 4 weeks now, and haven't seen any improvement.  She gave me a steroid shot last Friday - my neck is better, but my low back is still killing me.  I left a post on the back/neck forum for advice on that.  It was just curious to me that after I started the green tea extract, my mitral valve prolapse started palpitating and my anxiety surfaced a bit.

You gave me a lot of good ideas - thank you!  I've got a call into my doctor, so hoping for progress soon.

[Paxiled]

Not sure what the flax seed oil or green tea will do for you.  Gabapentin is for pain that has no resolution, since it doesn't do anything about the cause.  Didn't your orthopedist send you to physical therapy, since I'm assuming it's not serious enough for cortisone or surgery?  Most lower back injuries resolve on their own.  Certainly those two supplements will be beneficial to you, as they're good for you -- green tea is loaded with antioxidants and flax seed oil is high in omega three oils, but for an injury you usually want something that's anti-inflammatory and healing if possible.  Usually what you'd be told to get by natural practitioners is some combination of something like MSM, glucosamine and chondroiton sulfate, ginger, turmeric, and other things.  Proteolytic enzymes taken not near a meal can be helpful.  A good all around product often tried first is Zyflamend by New Chapter if you don't want to take a bunch of herbs -- it does have green tea in it.  I've heard that fish oil is a better anti-inflammatory than flax oil, but I'm sure there's some benefit to flax oil as well.