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Prestigious_Laugh300 t1_j1hvxt4 wrote

I had it years ago on my L4/L5

  • Try to recover naturally

  • Get steroid shots first and try to recover naturally

  • Do PT first and try to recover naturally

  • Understand you may not be pain free after and will always have a soft spot when lifting boxes/furniture/car crashes. You are down 1/2 a disc permanently. It doesn't regenerate. Hence the natural recovery.

  • I lived with the gradually worse pain for 8 months and now have residual nerve damage, I should have seen a doc way sooner

  • I had mine done by Raj Mehta of Neurological Associates and he was great.

  • If you have radiating pain down your legs, make an apt now or goto Ortho On Call to get an MRI scheduled STAT

  • If at any point you lose feeling in your genitals, you have an emergency, go to the ER

  • And finally if at all possible try to recover naturally, it will take months of taking it easy to fully heal. But then again, after surgery I couldn't lift anything over 10 lbs for 3 months and it was about 2 years to 100%

Injury was in my late 20s, non smoker, athletic build (being obese apparently just constantly pulls your spine forward due to large stomach, making injury/recovery worse whenever you are standing)

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bamblb OP t1_j1jmx9c wrote

I tried natural recovery and my disc has slipped even further over the years so it’s just going to be an issue until I get the surgery. PT this time around made it worse, which was super disheartening because I loved my therapist. I ended up going to Ortho On Call when I couldn’t take the pain anymore and they set me on the right path to recovery. Steroids helped so much but I’m still not healed.

I’m most frustrated about the recovery process taking longer than I’d like because I do have some weight to lose and it’s difficult when I can’t exercise. Patience is my best ally at the moment!

Thanks for the response and I hope you have a great holiday and happy new year! ☺️

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