27 and just found out i herniated my L5 S1 HELP!

Hi Chelsey1984, I am Kathy aka nini53.  I am so sorry to hear what happened to you, and so young.  I have a daughter born in 1985, she hurt her knee playing soccer, its healed as well as its going to, she has had surgery twice.  She will never play soccer again, but life goes on.

As to your back, please go see a spine specialist, there are various treatments available for you, and you are young.  I cant really say whats going to happen to you as I am not a doctor.  Its possible you will get a series of injections, and they may or may not help.  It could also be that you could have something called a lumbar laminiectomy (I know thats spelled wrong),  I had one in 1998, but it did no good.  Its so hard to say exactly what your experience will be, as we all have so many different types of chronic pain.

Please, if you can (insurance wise) get a second opinion.  Try to have someone go with you when you go to your appointment, four ears will hear more than two.  If you do not get a good sense (sort of instinct) from your doctor, find another.  It is very important, in the early stages of your herniated disc to find a good doctor, then follow his/her instructions.

I am sure others on the cp forum will have alot of very good advice for you, it is difficult for anyone to be able to tell you exactly what to do.  You will have to find out all your options, make sure you research those options and as I said, try to take someone you really trust along with you to your appointment, they might have questions you havent thought of. I wish the best for you, I dont know how much exercise you should be doing, again thats a question for your doctor.

I have seen also I think its SEsis who mentions a  possibly changing your diet, like the foods you eat or dont eat have an impact on how you can heal.  Take all the advice from all of these wonderful knowledgeable people on this cp forum.  Good luck, and let me know how things go for you.  I will be praying for you, and I am sure others will send good wishes also.

Hi Chelsey!

Nice to meet you and welcome to the CP Family. Not a place any of us want to be but since we all are in need of understanding and advice this is the best place available.

I'm so sorry you're suffering and for anyone it would be frightening too. I remember when I was sent to a spine doctor over a dozen years ago. I have the same area messed up as you do...L5/S1 has collapsed in my case. Pinches the nerves going down both legs and sometimes my 'cheeks' on my behind get these zings of lightening pain that could sent you skyward!

One thing you don't need to do is worry. There is so much more help these days than ever before. Don't let other people get you all spun up over it either. Take it slow and take the advice that nini gave....wonderful ideas. Dealing with the back/spine makes is extra important to get more than one opinion and never rush to surgery when it comes to your back. Often people do and some find pain relief. Statistics show that within 2 years the majority will have the pain return. No sense doing the surgery thing until you have to and you find the best you can find to do it.

We're always here if you need a shoulder to lean on, OK? There are lots of members here who have way more experience in back problems than I do. Take what we all have to share and make a decision that works for you. Always feel free to email me if you wish. Just click the little envelope under my name...over there <---.

Warm hugs,
Chutz

               Good morning Chelsey!

                       Woops! Those darn accidents do happen every once in a while don't they!

         I wanted to welcome you to the CP forum, and "ditto" everything that has been repied to you here.

            I'm another bad back patient, complete with a fusion of my L4-L5, L5-S1, and now a FBS (Failed Back Syndrome) Probably one of the first things they might try is PT (Physical Therapy). If they have no luck with that, then some sort of injection like an "Epidural" may help. Are they helping you manage you're pain with any sort of medication?

          Please don't worry too much, and do take it easy, as its going to take plenty of time for you to heal at this point. Back injuries can go either way! Some get lucky and heal, and then again some, will have problems the rest of their lives like me.  

            Please do as suggested here and make sure that surgery is your very last option, and really at this point, I suspect you're quite a ways from that.

    Do come back and visit us, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask anytime!

         Again "Welcome"!

   SE

 

         OK!...Chelsey!....lets do this first!....As a new member you need to take an oath first ...so repeat after me!...."I Chelsey promise to split up my paragraphs so that members can eaisly read my post and or replies, and that I will not post or reply in all 'CAP's".....aaaahhhh!...I'm just teasing you kiddo! .......but it is considered shouting if a person uses all CAP's and we perfer members not do that.....also, It would make it eaiser for the members to read your post if you keep the paragraphs to about 5 to 6 lines max if possible. Thanks!

      Now to answer you're questions! We are not Dr's here so we cannot tell you what is excatly wrong with your back....but do make sure you get a second opinion especially if you're Dr is telling you that you will never be the same again. As far as the pain running down you're leg...well...that sounds like you have some pressure being put on you're Sciatic Nerve....and is common with a lower back injury.

     Don't ever count out surgery either, because you may have a case that if you don't have it, you could be possibly doing more damage in the long run, and end up in worse shape than what you started with.

          I don't know what to tell you about seeking an attorney, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to call one, and usually, they offer a free consultation.

              I'm sure other members will be by here and offer their opinions as well. You will love it here, and the members are great!

            Take care!

   SE             

       Perfect Chelsey! Thank you!

           Our best wishes to you on Monday!...and do remember to check back in with us, and we will fully support you!

     I hope you didn't mind me teasing you a little, I have a bad habit of doing that, and am well known for it too!

          Keep checking back here today, as there may be a member pop in and add answers to your questions. Feel free to ask all you want....no such thing as a dumb question around here.

      Take care! Its a pleasure to have you here with us too!

         SE

Hiya Chelsey

I wanted to pop in and welcome you lovie to our wonderful family. Sorry to hear you are in pain and I really hope you do get seen quickly. I can not really add to what everyone else had said as they have given you some great advice. Please let us know how it goes on Monday. I would take someone with you as they can remind you of things you may forget in the heat of it all. I take my Dad with me, as he remembers loads and helps to keep me relaxed as well. Well lovie here are some very gentle (((((((hugs)))))))) for you and I will pray that you get some relief soon.
xxxxx

Hi Chelsey, I too would like to welcome you to Healing Well's chronic pain forum. I am sorry that you have to be here, but very glad that you found us. As you can see we do have quite a unique group of people here at the forum.

Be sure to take your MRI film with you to the appt for the dr to review.You may want to consider writing down the symptoms you are having such as the pain in your leg, exactly where the pain is in your back and the type of pain, whether it be a hot shooting pain, an ache, or whatever. Sometimes when we get in these drs offices our minds can go blank. Now the pain down the leg you are speaking of is most likely caused by a nerve being pinched or compressed, that is called radiculopathy. Can it heal on its own without surgery, maybe, sometimes it happens but then there are times where surgery is the only viable option. But, that does not mean to jump right into surgery, absolutely not because there are lots of different treatments available out there that can make you feel better. Sometimes a short course of oral steroids can get the nerve to settle down, this happened with my sister. A good dr will tell you lets do conservative care to start with and that usually consists of medication and PT.

A good muscle relaxer can really be of help to you, so please be sure to let the dr know you have a problem with the one that was given to you. If this new dr is not interested in giving you medications then go back to the referring dr and let him know about the muscle relaxer situation. If your current pain medication helps then let him know this too. As far as this being a lifelong situation it very well can be, no one can say for sure. Any time a person injures a part of their body that area becomes weakened from the injury itself. That can leave the person predisposed to further injury down the road. I imagine some of this stuff you probably know from your massage therapy schooling. Since none of us here are drs all we can give you is what our experiences have been from dealing with various types of injuries and illnesses.

I can tell you I have seen many people do very well from having back surgery, not all surgeries are failures. Most of the people here that have had back surgery has not done well for whatever reason and therefore, their thoughts on surgery is not always going to be on a positive note so you need to keep that in the back of your mind. Obviously, if they had done well after surgery, they would not be hanging out here. But never have surgery unless you get at least 2-3 opinions from drs that do not know each other.

In my state which is Texas, my homeowners policy has a $1,000 no fault med pay they will pay out if someone gets hurt on my property whether it is my fault or not they got hurt here. This is only good for if the person incurs medical expenses and the cap is $1,000.00. In order to file a claim for negligence against me if someone gets hurt here they must be able to prove I caused their accident. I hired a painter that came in and painted the inside of my home. He fell because he had his ladder set improperly along a staircase and it fell with him on it. Thankfully he only had some bumps and bruises nothing serious. But, he did try to file a claim against me for negligence and my ins co denied his claim because it was his ladder, not mine that caused him to fall. If it had been my ladder he was using then he could have made a claim. Each state has their laws on this type of thing and a call to a personal injury attorney can answer your questions on whether you have a claim or not.

I hope you appt goes well and I hope someone can help give you some relief. The best thing you can do is try to stay as active as you can without causing more pain. If you lay around in a bed you will end up stiff and sore all over. Don't go run a marathon, nothing like that but try to move around as much as you can. Take care & keep us posted.

thank you paula everyone is so nice im glad i found this place

Hi Chelsey Welcome to the forum. I'm glad you found us. I'm so sorry that you fell and hurt your back. I fell and hurt my back as well, although I fell on frozen ground. I really feel for you with the pain.

I hope you can get into the doctor today. It's now Monday. Be careful and not do too much, but we all advise to not just lay around. It will cause stiffness.

Good for you that you got the dishes done. Do make sure to take your MRI films or disc with you to the doctor. I hope you're able to get some good sleep tonight.

Good luck. Be sure to come and let us know how the appointment goes, ok? Take care.

hugs
Loretta

referral went through for spine doctor but i wont be able to be seen till tomorrow not a happy camper have to wait another day to find out anything and pain meds are not working.
regular doctor is out of office and cant get ahold of her .....

ty hun i hope we both have good news let me know what they say !!! ill let u know tomorrow as u plz do the same

          Good luck..on you're appointment today...it will be interesting to see what they have to say.

     Take care,

        SE