Does anyone here have spinal problems?

[LuckyCharms]

Near crippling pain for almost two years. Can actually feel my spine when I move.. Can pinpoint the pain. MRIs yesterday (thoracic and lumbar).

Nerve impingement from bulging disk at S1/L5, but that is not where the worst of the pain is.

Pain is mid-thoracic. MRI showed two bulging disks at that location, but no nerve impingement.

So what the hell man? What the hell? Anyone who has a possible explanation gets a cookie.

[jodymarie aimee]

1. I was diag in 2009

by both my Western and Eastern Docs as having the back, neck, arthritis, discs etc...of a 99 year old. So back is really old now. I was told to work out daily or be in a wheelchair in 3 years. I have worked out everyday of my life since 1972..before that I was a kid and my transportation was my body !!

they won't do surgery on me, as body is too old....I don't like painkillers...you just live with it the best you can....I never sit at DEM meetings, movies, church etc... folks are used to that..sitting is the worst for me...

Use it or lose it, my friend...

[LuckyCharms]

6. I worked out religiously for many years when I was younger...

but now, I just walk 2 to 3 miles about 4 times a week. I'm sorry about your back...that's how I feel, like a 99 year old. I also have arthritis everywhere. Even my jaw! I had never heard about jaw arthritis until a dental specialist confirmed it. I think that if it was possible, I would have arthritis of the hair.

Keep working out, and good for you!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Dude, you remodeled your kitchen. Of course your back is a mess.

Can I have my cookie now?

[LuckyCharms]

4. .

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Ooh, nice!

That photo is making me drool on my keyboard.

Srsly, tho, hope your back gets better. Back pain sucks.

[LuckyCharms]

7. I drool on my keyboard all the time because

I'm a drooler. Seriously...I drool all over everything. Started when I was doing the kitchen. It's...annoying.

[safeinOhio]

3. I had lower back pain for over 30 years.

All that time I always used my legs to lift heavy items. Then my knees went out, so i started to use my back to lift. My back pain went away.

Go figure.

[LuckyCharms]

8. I had it drilled in me to use my legs...

so I always do. And I still managed to destroy my back!

[elfin]

9. cluster crap of 5 conditions at base

osteoarthritis, bottom curve of scoliosis, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, degenerative disc disease etc. Causing unbelievable sciatica and screeching pain.

So far no herniation or bulging discs. Have lost 2-3 inches in height.

At each Xray, I am asked if I have ever been paralyzed or have suddenly lost control of my bowels. Thankfully No to each so far.

At one time I could hardly walk and needed pain pills to the max. Just to get through the night in case I had to roll over. That was so scary bad.

Escaped surgery through walking in water (not covered by insurance, but found a good health club) and frequent PT appointments (covered by insurance) -- was lucky that I am retired and could spend the time to make the therapies work.

Got off the pain meds as soon as I could, but it was very gradual.

So far, so manageable. A cane now and then and exercises every day.

Walking IN warm water is the best, even if you need to private pay. Something about anti-gravity.

I will do nearly anything to escape surgery. But listen to your doc and get more than one extra opinion. Good Luck!

[LuckyCharms]

10. Oh wow, I'm so sorry and I feel for you...

I can sympathize when you talk about rolling over. It is at its worst when I sleep. If I move a bit when I am sleeping, I wake up screaming. It's a horror show.

As you did, I take pain pills, but only one at night before I go to bed to try to stop the need to scream. It doesn't help too much. The weird thing is, around the time I developed spine problems, I also started and still have weird symptoms...drooling, hand numbness and mini-seizure like like movements in my arms. I've seen every type of doctor, and they just diagnosed a limb movement disorder based on a 24 hour EEG while I was on camera.

Keep up the good work with the water walking...that sounds like something I might look into.

Hang tough!

[LearnedHand]

13. Heh. Co-spondo here

Lots of slippage but it’s fairly stable and I don’t have much pain. Still sucks.

[dweller]

11. herniated disc at L5S1 twice

2 operations, painful year of sciatica resulting in losing all the feeling in my left leg, sciatic nerve burned out from hernia impinging on it too long... some feeling came back in my leg, but foot still mostly numb...
I was given a permanent partial disability status of my back and leg
been 10 yrs now mostly pain free with occasional flare up of sciatica
if it blows again, 3rd operation is automatic fusion of the discs there
(3 total one above and below) so I'm very careful with lifting anything

recently been having thoracic disc pains with pains running down my arm and up my neck 😠 my surgeon warned me about degenerative disc disease
not looking forward to the next visit ☹️

✌🏼️

[LuckyCharms]

12. Oh man I'm really sorry.

I'm glad you are being careful.

Do you have pains at the sides of your chest when taking a deep breath as it relates to your thoracic pain?

[dweller]

15. well no

not in my chest at all, arm shoulder and neck mostly
but numerous nerves run all over that area for chest neck arms etc

hang in there, acupuncture has helped many for pain, have you tried that?

✌🏼️

[csziggy]

14. I have an "unstable" L5

Probably I fractured it about 35 years ago falling off a horse. Now it is impinging on the nerves to my legs. The good news is that the MRI shows no problems with the disks or vertebrae above that last vertebrae.

Where I am lucky is that it mostly doesn't hurt - it feels as though someone is pouring ice cold or boiling hot water down the right leg all the time and sometimes on the left one. If I do too much bending, the lower back seizes up which does hurt. If I try to walk very long my gait gets unsteady and I start losing precise control of where I put my feet.

I was diagnosed last summer but was told I had to get my BMI below 23 before they could fuse the vertebrae. I'd already lost a lot of weight since I had my aortic valve replaced in October 2017 but I went on a more serious diet. I used MyFitnessPal.com to track calories and have been staying under 1100 calories a day. That worked until mid December when I hit a plateau so I changed to a modified Atkins diet - cut my carbs to less than 50 and stayed just over 1000 calories.

The day they told me to lose weight I was at 273. I plateaued at 253. This morning I weighed 233. I'm scheduled to see the surgeon on Mar. 6 and the surgery is scheduled on Mar. 28.

Since my valve procedure (TAVR - non-invasive up through the femoral artery) I've been numb from mid rib cage down the legs. I was fine before the surgery, then had to lie completely flat for four hours while the "plugs" they closed the incision in the artery took hold. I have laid flat for 35 year and it was very painful. I think that was when the vertebrae started to become unstable, then the exercise program I went on pushed it over the edge.

[Poiuyt]

16. My wife has had several compression fractures in her spine

These cause considerable pain. She's had vertebroplasty to inject some acrylic cement in the fractures, but she's lost about 4-5 inches in height over the last two years. No vertebroplasty for her last one (the insurance co wouldn't authorize an MRI until after a 15 day wait. By that time, the fracture had started to heal).

She did all the right things when she was younger, but it's hard to fight osteoporosis, scoliosis, etc.

[MissB]

17. Anklosing spondylitis?