Quinn's Blog

My dad has had a lot of disc problems and it means a lot of back pain probably for the rest of your life :( I too suffer from back pain (I do not have a curved spin bone) I have no clue how to help, sorry.

My Mom has had a few in her neck and she had surgery to repair them. She's had the surgery 3 times though. The treatment is usually surgery as far as I know. I mean, the treatment for the neck and the back could be different. My Aunt had them in her back and she had the surgery and was up and at em' with a full recovery about 6 weeks later .

I've had a herniated disk in my lower back for almost six years.Surgery is often an option but sometimes they advise against it. Because I also have pretty bad scoliosis in the same area and the beginning of arthritis they opted against it for me since messing around in the area might make it worse. Instead they sent me to physical therapy to learn how to properly use my back (seriously, just learning how to sit and stand properly made a huge difference) and to strengthen the muscles around the area to alieviate the stress.They gave me percocet too but I turned out to be allergic (hives! itching! fun!). When mine is really bad I find two Aleve in the morning and one at night helps a lot. I don't know why Aleve helps it when Advil and Tylonel didn't but it does.Definitely get options from your doctor and find out if laser surgery is an option if they press surgery (less invasive, faster recovery). Feel better soon!

I guess I now have a full time job over break. Amy, Andy, and Quinn, I will be at your beckon call for a month. Just hold on 4 more days.

I've had back problems for over a year, and the physical therapy is a big blessing in disguise. If that is one of the options, definitely look into it. It took a few weeks, but once I really got into it, I was a new person.And I lost some weight!

Amy,*Big time empathy for your herniated discs. This happens when the little spongy things between your spine pop out into the spinal canal. They press on nerves , and that's what causes pain. Ouch. I had the surgery about eight years ago, and have never had another problem with my back. It's scary, but the thought of living in that kind of pain forever was scarier.*Good luck with whatever option ou chooseKim

Ouch!! I herniated a disc moving, had no back pain, but bad pain down my hip and leg. Had surgery, which got rid of the leg pain, but now I have chronic back pain. I have good and bad days, and over the 9 years since surgery, two spells that had me bedridden for 5 days each. A bulging disc can cause nerve damage... the outside of my foot and last 2 toes are still numb. Some docs advocate surgery, others like lots of physical therapy. I'd recommend a second opinion either way.*This is NOT a fun thing, and I am so sorry for you! *Susan in Atlanta *(who hasn't emailed you in forever, but I'm still following the life of Quinn with great gusto!)

i think my back thing is the same as yours, although mine has been referred to primarily as a "bulging" disc. Anyone suggest epidural steriod injections? I've had 2 and by the 2nd I got some relief. Not total, but its deal-able ("deal-able" makes me think of Richard Simmons "Deal-A-Meal". Just thought I'd throw that in) pain. Another option is a decompression procedure to take the pressure of the mis-placed disc off the nerve. Its NOT surgery and that is a good thing! There is a foot-long technical name for it, but dont ask me what it is. And even if I could remember it, there is no way I'd be able to spell it, ok? Got it? So dont ask, ya hear? ;-)Yes, I'm still breathing, but not enough to post on the board. So lets keep it between you and me, sweets! email/call to vent about the back thing if'n you want. I can call my doc to recoup the name of the decompression procedure at your request, k? bye!*LA

I know I'm a bit behind and this will seem a strange answer to many -- but -- find yourself a good chiropractor. the word good is absolutely key. my mother has two herniated discs and one disc that is completely destroyed (as in totally gone, as in vertebrae actually touching each other), and her chiropractor took her from being stooped over and in constant pain and in bed a fair amount of the time to being reasonably active and feeling mostly pretty good (and pretty good seems miraculous to all of us).he uses a technique known as "advanced biostructural correction", or the abc technique. i am absolutely stunned by the results. i know that there are many bad chiropractors and many quacks, but this guy is about as close to a miracle healer as they get. not bad for a small-town fella!