Medical advice area?

[Bustanut joker]

Maybe we should have a medical advice section somewhere here. Seems like every day or so somebody here is either opened up, tore up, or somehow screwed up.

Figstr having surgery, designeraccd- two in the neck and Bells palsey (done it once myself) Galaxy Blue on the mend not to mention others I've forgotten.

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

:jester:

 

[otrfjr]

Maybe we should have a medical advice section somewhere here. Seems like every day or so somebody here is either opened up, tore up, or somehow screwed up.
Figstr having surgery, designeraccd- two in the neck and Bells palsey (done it once myself) Galaxy Blue on the mend not to mention others I've forgotten.

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

:jester:

I'm not a doctor, but I don't play one on TV. Had the lower back impingement about a month ago. My remedy--besides screaming & yelling, most notably when I got out of the car--was heating pad, lumbar support belt, and lying flat on my back for two days. Tried beer, which I thought cured everything, only to discover that I had to pee more often which meant screaming & yelling more often as I got out of bed.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Bustanut,

Perhaps I can shed some light on your request. 10 years ago, I was about to get my C5-C6 fused since I had a herniated disc. After getting an opinion from a non-surgical orthopedic MD he gave me the following suggestions that may help you as well.

1-Lose your belly if you are overweight in this area (too much stress on the spine)

2-Do excercises that strengthen your back/abdominal region. Any weak muscle in this area will cause the other muscles to pull the spine out of center.

3-If you have inflamation, take 1 Advi, it will reduce inflamation and help the healing

4-I had to do neck traction for several months but this won't help your lower back

After 3-4 months of diligently doing what he recommended, I have not had any relapses, thank goodness, and watch my diet and posture to avoid this ever to reoccur.

I did go to a GOOD chiropractor that GENTLY helped my spinal re-alignment.

Hope some of these ideas will help you to a healty recovery.

 

[RsvlFeej]

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

Not a doc, but had a laminectomy (discectomy) about 1 1/3 years ago (Dec. '05). I am now a happy boy. I am amazed at how Vicodin is cast as this incredibly addictive substance on TV - my experience with it was that it was fairly useless against real pain, only used it whenever the overdoses of Ibuprofen I had to gobble caused me to crap blood. My advice is to go talk to a neurosurgeon - NOT, NOT, NOT an osteo- and get an MRI. Bulging discs are easily visible, and best of all, a pretty simple fix.

The following is pure hearsay, but I've heard nothing but bad outcomes from people who went to bone docs for fusions and the like. Maybe the initial injuries were more severe, but ALL the outcomes I've heard about were, at best, more of the same pain and trouble, and often actually worsened the symptoms of the initial complaint (again, my $.02, YMMV).

 

[fjr]

Screw surgery. It doesn't always work(they pull the disc out with a needle noise pliers). At least the last I scrub in on. I'd try an inversion table first. There are actually some new therapies using a "rack" type system with good results. Surgery, of any kind should be a last resort, as it can and does, at times, go horribly wrong. Of course you won't hear a surgeon tell you that.

An example of a go wrong procedure.

A patient with back and leg pain suddenly develops difficulty with bowel and bladder function. Because this circumstance is considered emergent a imaging study is immediately performed and a very large disc herniation at the lumbar 4-5 level is found. The patient is immediately taken to surgery by an orthopedic surgeon. A standard limited laminotomy is performed. The surgeon notes that the ligamentum flavum is unusual in consistency and then comes upon herniated disc material. At this point the surgeon suddenly realizes that he has transected a compressed cauda equina. The patient was immediately rendered paraplegic and remained so. Woops.

 

[S76]

Screw surgery. It doesn't always work(they pull the disc out with a needle noise pliers). At least the last I scrub in on. I'd try an inversion table first. There are actually some new therapies using a "rack" type system with good results. Surgery, of any kind should be a last resort, as it can and does, at times, go horribly wrong. Of course you won't hear a surgeon tell you that.
An example of a go wrong procedure.

A patient with back and leg pain suddenly develops difficulty with bowel and bladder function. Because this circumstance is considered emergent a imaging study is immediately performed and a very large disc herniation at the lumbar 4-5 level is found. The patient is immediately taken to surgery by an orthopedic surgeon. A standard limited laminotomy is performed. The surgeon notes that the ligamentum flavum is unusual in consistency and then comes upon herniated disc material. At this point the surgeon suddenly realizes that he has transected a compressed cauda equina. The patient was immediately rendered paraplegic and remained so. Woops.

I don't know what he said but I get the Point!

 

[Scab]

Maybe we should have a medical advice section somewhere here. Seems like every day or so somebody here is either opened up, tore up, or somehow screwed up.
Figstr having surgery, designeraccd- two in the neck and Bells palsey (done it once myself) Galaxy Blue on the mend not to mention others I've forgotten.

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

:jester:

I'm not a doctor, but I did play doctor with "Patty" under the monkey-bars on the third grade playground.

Try naproxen-sodium (daily) and ice packs. Freeze it till you can't feel it.

Works for me.

 

[Bike Effects]

You came here for medical advice? That's like coming to me for financial advice.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

see a back specialist and get a second opinion.

 

[FJRay]

I have been fighting a cervical injury, C-5 through C-7 for 15 years and have found excercise and traction to be the best managment for me. I also use what the PT calls the speed bump. It is a 6" foam roll split the long way and you lay on it so it runs the lenght of your spine from butt to head. about 1o minutes a day works wonders. Good luck and stay away from the knife if at all possible.

 

[vectervp1]

I've got a sawzall. We could cut out any problems you may have!

 

[Bustanut joker]

Looks like Ice, a lumbar belt and a good Chiropractor are going to be first in line after my MRI Wed. morning. Gettin damn tired of my left leg feeling as though it's been run over by a bus then locking up so I can't move. :angry:

Thanks guys

:jester:

 

[Figstr]

A couple years ago my wife injured her back (don't remember how at the moment). She went to therapy for a couple months and was in pretty good shape until I went airborne with her on the back of my Warrior . We came up to an intersection with tracks and unfortunately the road took a nose-dive on the other side of the tracks. It looked like it went straight across and smooth, but just my luck it was an illusion. Even though I was doing the speed limit - 30 - 35, the bike hit down pretty hard and jarred my wife pretty badly. It eventually started feeling better, but she still had the pain that shot down her leg. Over Xmas we went to visit my folks who have a couple neighbors that are doctors. One of them worked my wife over pretty good in one of the bedrooms and got the pain to subside quite a bit. She told my wife to avoid surgery at all costs. She said once you have back surgery, it's never the same. The best thing is pain management. Actually, she's a pain management doctor. We saw the other neighbor a day or 2 later (he and his wife came over for dinner) and he said pretty much the same thing about back surgery. So if at all possible, find a way to manage the pain and use surgery only as a last resort. Best of luck.

 

[Silent]

I did go to a GOOD chiropractor that GENTLY helped my spinal re-alignment.

+1

+C4 +C5

Some Chyro's use an adjustment table and don't twist you like a pretzel, best kind IMHO

 

[odot]

You can always start smokin' weed again, bust.

 

[worldbound4now]

Maybe we should have a medical advice section somewhere here. Seems like every day or so somebody here is either opened up, tore up, or somehow screwed up.
Figstr having surgery, designeraccd- two in the neck and Bells palsey (done it once myself) Galaxy Blue on the mend not to mention others I've forgotten.

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

:jester:

The best nonsurgical advice to relieve your pain and prevent relapse is lose your gut (if you have it), strenghten your core muscles (abdomen, lower back, and don't forget those obliques) rest on your back on a firm surface (NO SOFT, SINKING PILLOWTOP MATTRESS... THE FLOOR ON A 1-1.5" thick foam mattress is perfect), avoid alcohol, and force yourself to maintain good posture and proper body mechanics. Your best friend right now would be a physical therapist. Hit up a physical therapist who also does occupational therapy and is accredited by CAPTA. Many insurance companies will allow you to see a PT/OT therapist without physician referral. It's worth a shot.

A chiropractor may help and may harm you... still not sure what to think about them since I've never met a good one. Have you ever heard of someone going to a chiropractor and was told that nothing was wrong, they needed no "adjustment" and they just needed to go home and rest. HELL NO. From a chiropractor standpoint the every human body is flawed and they can help almost anything. Bullshit.

Take it easy on the motorcycle and make sure you ride with proper posture as well. I see many riders sit lazy style... slouching forward with neck bent back and elbows out and locked instead of relaxed and near your side. Use the ergonomics of the FJR to your favor.

My 2 cents.

worldbound4now

BTW, I'm not a physician but have worked for years with Trauma, ortho surgery, and physical rehab patients.

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Maybe we should have a medical advice section somewhere here. Seems like every day or so somebody here is either opened up, tore up, or somehow screwed up.
Figstr having surgery, designeraccd- two in the neck and Bells palsey (done it once myself) Galaxy Blue on the mend not to mention others I've forgotten.

For the last two weeks a pinched nerve in my lower back has me eatin Vicodin like candy :dribble: just so I can function on a halfway normal level. Any suggestions on what I can do besides eat pills?

Any Doc's here?

:jester:

The best nonsurgical advice to relieve your pain and prevent relapse is lose your gut (if you have it), strenghten your core muscles (abdomen, lower back, and don't forget those obliques) rest on your back on a firm surface (NO SOFT, SINKING PILLOWTOP MATTRESS... THE FLOOR ON A 1-1.5" thick foam mattress is perfect), avoid alcohol, and force yourself to maintain good posture and proper body mechanics. Your best friend right now would be a physical therapist. Hit up a physical therapist who also does occupational therapy and is accredited by CAPTA. Many insurance companies will allow you to see a PT/OT therapist without physician referral. It's worth a shot.

A chiropractor may help and may harm you... still not sure what to think about them since I've never met a good one. Have you ever heard of someone going to a chiropractor and was told that nothing was wrong, they needed no "adjustment" and they just needed to go home and rest. HELL NO. From a chiropractor standpoint the every human body is flawed and they can help almost anything. Bullshit.

Take it easy on the motorcycle and make sure you ride with proper posture as well. I see many riders sit lazy style... slouching forward with neck bent back and elbows out and locked instead of relaxed and near your side. Use the ergonomics of the FJR to your favor.

My 2 cents.

worldbound4now

BTW, I'm not a physician but have worked for years with Trauma, ortho surgery, and physical rehab patients.

World,

WELL PUT...I forgot to put down, I too went to a physical therapist that assisted with my recovery. PLUS, I ditched the regular pillow and now use the Contoured High Grade Memory Foam pillow as was suggested. It works miracles and keeps your head from twisting during the night.

 

[FJRMGM]

+1 -- "Have you ever heard of someone going to a chiropractor and was told that nothing was wrong, they needed no "adjustment" and they just needed to go home and rest. HELL NO. From a chiropractor standpoint the every human body is flawed and they can help almost anything. Bullshit."

Chiros don't actually "fix" anything - I have a problem with a degenerative disc in my neck and sure, when I went to the chiro it felt good - for about 15 minutes after he quit - then it was back to pain.

Finally got to a physical therapist and they strengthen my neck and shoulder muscles and that really "fixed" it.

 

[Bustanut joker]

My two cents with regards to Chiro is pretty much the same worldbound, I didn't have any problems with my neck or cervical area yet he dinked with both and I had a head ache for three days and upper back pain for a week.

Didn't do a damn thing for the lumbar 4, 5, disks. Going to a therapist tonight see what happens also go an appointment with a pain management clinic.

Still hurtin' like a mofo but I have to work to pay the bills so It's making me real fun to be around, plus I get harrased by the younger guys 'cause it takes me five minutes to walk fifty feet

Odot, the weed thing don't help to much.... plus I know I'll end up with a gut from the munchies. :lol: Nope I ain't got one yet Do have some really powerfull pain pills my dad isn't going to be needing , but I need to function on somewhat of a normal level otherwise my subordinates will have a field day, everyday!

Thanks for all the advice so far guys.

:jester: