The results of my MRI arrived last week and confirmed my suspicions. I have a herniated disk that’s pinching the sciatic nerve. The really bad news is that my disk is in very poor shape, it’s flattened and dessicated. So, the road to recovery, if at all possible, will be long and slow.
I guess that runs in the family, both my mum and my uncle had the the same problem and had to get surgery to have their last vertebrae fused. The only difference is that this happened to me 10 years sooner.
Today there are some cool treatments that are administered to people that have high chances of recovery and that accelerate the healing of the disk by injecting ozone between the vertebrae to encourage rehydration.
I still haven’t heard anything from the spine clinic so I don’t really know what options do I have available or what do they recommend. That is a very common procedure in Spain, so I’m hoping they will give me that option here too, but so far I’ve been very disappointed with my medical care, so I don’t have high hopes.
I don’t really want to do surgery. The post-operatory recovery sucks. I would have to wear a corset to immobilize my back during three months and spend most of that time prostrated in bed, but the prospect of chronic pain is not very encouraging either.
My pain persists as usual and I have a new symptom: I stopped feeling the left side of my leg recently. It’s numb, just the same way you feel your mouth after the dentist. On the other side I’m getting used to this condition and learning how to deal with it more effectively. So, I guess you could say I’m feeling a bit better.
5 Comments
At least you have a confirmed diagnosis and now your condition can be addressed with full knowledge of the facts.
Best of luck Ignacio, hope to see you at Siggraph in a good shape and possibly pain free.
Mucha suerte, tío. ¡Espero que se te cure lo más pronto posible!
Best wishes from England.
Hi
I had something similar happen to me. In June I hurt my back with a sneeze whilst driving. Had to wait 3 months to get a neurologist to finally approve an MRI (I’m in Africa). I have a herniated disc (between L4 and L5) and the guy wanted to operate immediately. What other research have you come across? I’ve just taken a full time development/research job and my problem is that I cannot comfortably (without pain) sit for longer than 30 minutes. Rotation and squash has also become past-life scenarios…
Would like to chat/IM, if at all possible.
Carl,
every case is different, so I’d recommend you find a doctor that you can feel confident with. In general I would try conservative treatments before going to surgery. It may take a while for those to have any effect, though. However, if steroid injections do not provide any relief, then surgery might be your only option.
If sitting is uncomfortable, I’d recommend using a standup desk. It may seem uncomfortable and tiring at first, but believe me, you get used to it. If you can actually sit for 30 minutes, your pain cannot be too bad, I couldn’t sit for more than 30 seconds!