herniated disc

[xzavier1982]

hello all i have just recently been diagnosed with a bulging disk at l5 s1 and im kind of feeling the worst right now. i have been reading that sometimes it heals on its own and other times the pain and the numbness just gets worse. i have yet to see my spine dr., my app is this coming wednesday, but everything i have been reading doesnt make me fell good at all. i have a high activity level at work and i work with lots of heavy metal and lodes of heavy lifting and continuis lifting. i am affraid that i am not going to be able to keep up with this level of work or anything like that. as a nuw coming to back pain and nubmness is there a future for me or not? thanks in advance.

[Ellen038]

I'm sorry to hear about your herniation.  Those are pretty painful.  The first treatment normally offered is oral steroids (Medrol) for 7 days to see if it will help shrink the herniation back into place.  Gentle PT and using a heating pad may be helpful for you too. Again, these are the first things an ortho/spine doc will probably recommend after having x rays and an MRI done.  Heavy lifting and a lot of physical activities are going to aggravate or possible cause a larger herniation.  I hope you can get seen really soon.  You may need to be off work for a while.  Good luck to you!! If you have any questions please message me.  I have dealt with 4 episodes of herniations in my back and neck.  I also have had 3 lumbar surgeries

[Constipated_Monkey]

Usually the acute phase settles down after a while and you won't be in as much pain as you are now. Having said that, you are going to have to take it easy with the heavy lifting.

As CKN30 indicated, wait until you see your Dr and come up with an specific plan.

I herniated L4/L5 8 years ago. It was a massive herniation and it settled down on it's own after a few months. However, I was a young, silly, typical male who continued playing lots of golf, lifting weights, helping friends move etc and I re-herniated. Had 2 microdisecomy surgeries and finally had a lumbar fusion 3 years ago with titanium rods, bolts and screws.  Now, I go for a bike ride daily, swim, long walks, drive my car long distances without pain.

I'm always reminded of my 3 surgeries, but the new "normal" for me is something that I'm very happy with. The only thing I miss is playing golf and I have to be careful when I lift my 15 month old daughter.  

Herniated disc's are not always a life sentence of pain and misery. I know you probably hear all sorts of terrible stories and read things online but it's not always the case.

[CKN30]

Calm down, deep breath ;) a lot of times with physical therapy and some modifications this will help the symptoms. There are also steroid injections that help with the inflammation. It depends in the severity of it but there are many treatment options available. Your Dr will go into them with you according to your individual situation :)