Facet Joints - Injected, Updated Update, Page 5

I'm glad to hear you made it!  I could have used some sedation for my epidurals...then I might have gone back!  

He's thinking now that the herniated disc may be involved more than he initially thought, since sitting is one of the main complaints. He still wants to try the facet joints, though, because it's less invasive than the disc stuff.

 
I'm so glad that the procedure went smoothly but I'm sorry it hasn't given you any relief.  I hate to keep up with the "my friend...." stuff, but so many things are similar, I can't help myself.  As I'd mentioned, it took several months before her Dr's decided it must be the bulging disc causing the problem.  She said her surgeon referred her to a couple of back injury websites prior to her surgery and they all said "if it hasn't resolved in 6 weeks, surgery should be considered".  The one thing I didn't know was that many people having bulging discs that give them little or no problems.  So, I guess they don't immediately see one and say "ah-ha, that's the problem".  Anyway, I hope these injections are the answer to your problem and you can get on with your life []

So how are you feeling today?  now two days later?

If you have a bulging disc and not herniated or ruptured, then there is a procedure that uses lasers to vaporize some of the disc fluid so the bulging part can move back into proper place.  I don't think many places do it yet and I think it's still experimental but if surgery is given as your option, I would strongly look into it.

I"m about ready to head back to the docs.  This weekend was a bad one for me.  I was at a trial and had a hard time leaning over to pet my dogs, so I'd have to squat, which is what I should do anyway but still.  But then standing back up was painful too.  Sometimes I think that if I just took a week off and spent it in bed with muscle relaxers, I might actually get better, but I doubt it.

Thanks everybody!

Gina, every time I see that, I laugh. LOL.
 
Shelly, drugs are a wonderful thing, sometimes. Now I'm not terrified to go back!
 
Marty - you should definitely request sedation if/when there's a next time. My doctor required it, and that's fine by me!
 
Cathy, I love to hear about the "friend" stuff - it gives me a comparison and makes me not feel like such a "faulty model". I, too, started looking at some back pain sites and was disturbed when I read that anything over 6 weeks should be alternatively handled - especially since I've been going on with this for over a year!
 
Leslie, I'm doing a bit better today - the swelling and tenderness are going down. While I may feel a bit less painful overall, I still am uncomfortable sitting for any duration. My disc is herniated, so those lasers won't work for me. I wish you luck going to the doctor's. While a week off would be nice, who really has time for that?

Kel, I am really late to this thread. I am glad they gave you sedation, because those shots hurt like you wouldn't believe! They didn't work for me, I hope they do for you and please let surgery be only if you can't walk anymore, because it really doesn't work for women it does for most men, my theory is that the muscles around their spines are stronger than ours. the thing that helped me w/ the sitting and I can't find it for the life of me I have three of them one for my kitchen chair one for my office and one for the car is this pillow the one that I have was like 14 dollars and it's foam w/ a fleece cover I thought I got it from that as seen on tv site, but I searched for you and can't find it I found something simular so you can get the idea
[linkhttp://www.activeforever.com/p-1323-dmi-seat-mate-sloping-coccyx-cushion.aspx?source=google-adwords&engine=adwords!9444&keyword=(seat%20cushions)&match_type=&gclid=CInjoOvVx4wCFRGCGgodf1wjaw]http://www.activeforever.com/p-1323-dmi-seat-mate-sloping-coccyx-cushion.aspx?source=google-adwords&engine=adwords!9444&keyword=(seat%20cushions)&match_type=&gclid=CInjoOvVx4wCFRGCGgodf1wjaw[/link]
 
Also I think the thing that really saved me was the corset the soft one w/ velcro no steel bars, my chiropractor sold it to me but you can get it in any surgical supply store. 
I hope this helps I really truly know what you are going through.

Deb - that cushion looks awesome! It would be a much better alternative than laying down behind my desk, LOL.
 
My husband and I were actually discussing the differences in muscle mass between men and women last night. He wants me to do some more strengthening exercises, as an experiment. My problem with that is that my core strength is already pretty good, since I ride horses. I find your theory on surgery differences between men and women intriguing and valid, though.
 
The back brace - did you get the one with the shoulder straps? My hubby has one laying around that I was toying with trying...

The back brace - did you get the one with the shoulder straps? My hubby has one laying around that I was toying with trying...

Something like this one, but I think mine comes up a little higher on the front maybe not though.
[linkrev=/images%3Fq%3Dlumbar%2Bcorset%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2]http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.countrforce.com/images/corsetlarge1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.countrforce.com/lumbarsports.html&h=343&w=321&sz=29&tbnid=mfPmhZ9_NtrV0M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=112&rev=/images%3Fq%3Dlumbar%2Bcorset%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2[/link]>http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.countrforce.com/images/corsetlarge1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.countrforce.com/lumbarsports.html&h=343&w=321&sz=29&tbnid=mfPmhZ9_NtrV0M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=112&rev=/images%3Fq%3Dlumbar%2Bcorset%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2]http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.countrforce.com/images/corsetlarge1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.countrforce.com/lumbarsports.html&h=343&w=321&sz=29&tbnid=mfPmhZ9_NtrV0M:&tbnh=120&tbnw=112&rev=/images%3Fq%3Dlumbar%2Bcorset%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2[/link]

A few years ago my doc told me that the back braces with the shoulder straps can end up weakening your upper back and shoulder muscles if not properly fitted  or worn for too long. Careful if you decide to wear one.

Deb and KC, thanks for the pics/advise. I'll skip the suspender-style ones, then. I don't need any more problems!

Wow Kelly! I'm just now reading this thread. I'm so sorry you are going through this, and at such a young age. []
 
There have been a lot of informative posts in this thread from so many. It's good to hear of actual experiences and weigh it with what the medical professionals suggest.
 
All I can really add is what helped me about ten years ago. My problem was a combination of a fall off a horse combined with too much lifting which left me with compressed discs in my lower back, a weird kind of rotation out of allignment, and constant pain with muscle spasms which sent me to the emergency room for injections to stop the spasms. It would get so bad that I would lose the use of my legs in midstep. This went on for three years.
 
Amazingly enough, during the trip to emergency a physical therapist outlined some of the exercises which were discussed in this thread and also got me to pay close attention to how I was sleeping. I discovered a strange thing which was keeping me from getting better. It had to do with laying on my left side with my right hip and leg hiked up while sleeping and then rolling over to my other side and getting out of bed when I woke up. This movement was actually twisting out me out of allignment each morning.
 
I have gradually gotten better, although if I sleep wrong or get up wrong, I will start to have an episode.
 
I don't know if this will help at all, but how you sleep, sit, stand, move, and/or change positions might make a difference.
 
Good luck with this very tough situation, and I hope things are getting better...any improvements lately?
 
 

I don't know if this will help at all, but how you sleep, sit, stand, move, and/or change positions might make a difference.

Okay, this made me think of another thing that my friend learned thru her experience.  Her 1st really bad episode began after a 10 hour drive from Tampa to Raleigh, NC and then back a few days later.  The physical therapist told her that her position when driving was probably contributing to her problem.  My friend likes to drive with the seat as far back as possible while still being able to reach the gas pedal.  She has long legs, and that's just what's seemed comfortable to her.  She was told to move the seat forward so that her knee was bent and she wasn't reaching for the pedals.  She said it doesn't feel normal for her but it has helped her.  Funny the stuff you never give much thought to until something like this happens []

Let me first say I`m no Dr. If your MRI and EMG and Mylogram (no fun) are positive for a ruptured or seriously herniated disc the injections, therapy and strength building are just buying time. How much time, weeks, months, maybe if you`re lucky a lifetime. Because of a lifetime of sports, racing, motorcycles and trucking I`ve had the pleasure of cortisone injections in the knees, shoulders and in the bottom of the heel for planter fasciitis. I`ve also had nerve root injections in the neck. I carry my MRI and Xrays with me when I travel or visit the doc. (now they`re on CD`s)
Best of luck. I hope you get long term relief if not theres always flexeril and percodan.

Good Monday morning ... bleh. LOL.
 
An update: I think that the injections helped, a bit. My low lower back still gets sore when I do too much. My "too much" isn't near what I've been able to do in the past, though.
 
Angelique, I'll have to try sleeping a bit different. I am a side-sleeper - I can't sleep on my back, never have been able to. I have been sleeping with a pillow between my knees since this has happened, and that's really helped. I'm sure that we could use a new mattress, too, but we don't have a ton of extra cash laying around right now. How I sit at work really impacts it, too.
 
Cathy, I drive just like your friend! I'll have to try moving my seat up - will that feel strange!
 
hdkutz, the MRI is positive for a centrally herniated disc at L5-S1. It's not huge, but it is worse now (April 07 MRI) than it was last year (March 06 MRI showed a tear, no herniation). What you're describing is my fear - that the injections are a band-aid, so to speak. The pain management guy said that, even if my disc is causing the problems, rather than the facets, by injecting the facets, it may reduce the inflammatory cycle, which will allow the herniated disc to dry up and shrink, reducing pain. Have you heard of this? Long term relief is REQUIRED, because I've yet to find a painkiller (Percoset, Vicodin, Tramadol) that I can take without vomiting. Bleh.

Kelly,

I'm just now reading all this and all I can say is that I'm so sorry to learn about what you are having to deal with. I wish you relief!

There are 2 basic things I know of to build good core strength and improve how we use our bodies for more strength and less strain.

Anusara yoga focuses on "core strength" in the pelvis and spine. I had done yoga for 15 years when I discovered Anusara, and was truley awed by how much more strength and flexibility I gained in the new practice. It's not "pwer yoga", and definately is suited for people with injuries. Much attention is focused on how we hold and align our bodies - not to contort into a pose, but to be best in our own skin. Here's a snippet of conversation for flavor:http://www.yoga.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=24606&posts=8

The other practice, that healed me from a longstanding and destructive whiplash injury is the Feldenkrais Method http://www.feldenkrais.com/ ). You can order tapes which train your body new ways to move in simple tasks, like from sitting to standing or from laying down to sitting. The method was developed by an Israeli physicist, and works with the primitive part of your brain to retrain habitual neuromuscular patterns. It teaches you to move with less effort.

Previously, I had been managing pain, for years, through chiropracty, braces, and accupuncture. These 2 methods brought me beyond pain management, and into permanently good body mechanics.

My dad (a surgeon and runner - ouch, back!) had disc surgery, but still uses nearly daily yoga for pain management.

Kelly,

Wanted to check in and see how things were going.  I have had another MRI done but have yet to see the films.  I'm going to have to get a copy of them soon though so I can compare to the one in 2001/02.  My doc suggested injections and the MRI does show arthritis (according to the report that I haven't seen yet) in the facet joints, so wanted to see if you'd had a second set or how you think it helped you.