runner's surgery blog, L4/5, 2008

[Kathy]

Runner- You are funny. Hubby does like beer, maybe they should get together and complain about us! Anytime my hubby says his back hurts or is sore, I tell him to toughen up and suck it up! How's that for paybacks! He has been pretty empathetic lately.

I'm glad that you are feeling better (emotionally). I usually have my day or two of sadness, then dust myself off and get up again to fight the fight.

That is hilarious that I looked petite! Never had that said. Guess cause hubby is alot taller than me, it makes me look small. I need to measure myself and see if I grew after surgery. My grandma did say that I seemed taller. I had 'shrank' pre-surgery from 5'10" to 5' 9 & 3/4" Maybe now I am back to 5'10" My daughter Emma, 5 years, is the youngest in her kindergarden class (mid-July birthday) and is the tallest, even taller than all the boys.

[phylly]

Kim,
Got your message and answered. How are you today? Please keep in touch all the time. This is just another bump and you are going to make it through. I kept believing that there had to be an answer to the pain. You will find out what is wrong and be able to get better. What a nice thing for your daughter to say. They sure come through when you need them to.

BTW cute doggies pull really hard on the leash even through they are small. I am icing my back right now. The dog trainer can't come soon enough for leash and poop lessons. Husband is NOT happy.

[Kathy]

Originally Posted by phylly

The dog trainer can't come soon enough for leash and poop lessons. Husband is NOT happy.

Maybe I should have called a dog trainer when I was potty training. My youngest, when she was 2, would poop in her diaper and then use the carpet as her toilet paper. One time, she came down the stairs on her butt and crap was rubbed all the way down. It was oh so much fun to clean. Hence why hubby ripped all the carpeting out of our house and put down hardwood and tile.

I don't even attempt to walk my dog anymore, he pulls so hard it is killer. That is, when he isn't biting the leash like he has never been walked before.

Kids and dogs, gotta love em'.

[runner]

To all of you who reached out to touch me,

I just wanted to post that I am feeling better today. I was in the deep bowels of despair on Thursday and I am sorry i scared some people. I am truly frustrated, but I know things take time.

Went to church today, and one of the members there told me his wife had something for me after church. I had no idea what it was.
Apparently, he had called my husband on Friday and my husband had told him I had lost my cross. Well, his wife gave me a gold cross of hers. (my husband forgot that I had told him that I had found my necklace).
I am really touched and I realized that, hey when I wasn't happy on Thursday, I could have called someone from church, but I didn't. People do care. Our pastor's sermon was on discouragement, of all things. How appropriate for what I am going through.

The back is feeling a little better today but I don't think i will be doing much on Monday either. My legs are hurting too, despite taking the Gabapentin and the narcotics. I still have back pain on the right and the left but I really didn't expect it to go away, but you can always wish. The discogram spots feel like bruises but occassionally i will get a sharp pain there too.
I have no idea if that is from the discogram, or the accident or the disc.

I thought about the pain I felt in the discogram and my pain doctor saying the pain wasn't all that bad and i realized that even in my first discogram where the disc did look worse and it was extravasated and the pain was different, i didn't sob or cry. It has to be something really painful and I guess my 10/10 is a lot higher.
I was thinking today, that I probably said the pain was moderate, because I just wanted to get the discogram over with. I was also somewhat surprised waking up out of the propofol haze. I don't think I was awake enough when they did the disco. It was like, "We are starting, you feel pain, where is it, how much and we are done." Just like that.

I guess I am dwelling on this too much, but my biggest fear going into the discogram was that they would find nothing or the test would be inconclusive. (Therefore, there would be no solution for my pain) I did feel pain and it was concordant and i know it had to come from something so it does sound like the test was positive. Several people on here have told me if you feel pain when they inject a disc that means the disc is a pain generator.

Maybe the pain doc is used to peeling people off the ceiling. Hey, I guess I don't do ceilings.
I did lift my leg up, however, which if I think i was in my right mind I would not do. I remember in the disco in 2007 that I reminded myself not to move my legs because, jeez, I have needles in my back.

My boys are upstairs making a ruckus. I am too comfortable to check what is going on, laying on my ice pad, and my husband is also upstairs so i think I can relax a little bit because if something crashes down, he will go investigate.

So yesterday, after speaking to someone from this forum, I did clarify with my husband if he knew I am probably facing another spinal surgery. He told me he already knew. I should really give him more credit, but when anything medical comes around, he usually defers to me to explain it or whatever.

When I see the surgeon, I will also explain to him that after the discogram I had a hard time sleeping Thursday and Friday because of the pain. If that makes any difference.

That's all for now,

Runner

[runner]

Hi guys,

I had discogram on Thursday and then developed right thigh pain late Sunday night.
I am taking more pain meds for the pain and it is fairly bad. I did call the doctor and my appt was moved up.
Now, I have had a disco before and it caused increased pain, but I have not experienced right thigh pain before. An area near the right knee would be painful when my back pain increased but that is it.
It seemed a little better today so I increased my activities slightly (set the sprinkler to water the lawn) and then it increased again so I went back to lying down. It hurts more with standing.
I figure it is disc related but it is constant. My back pain now is controlled but I tripled my pain med dose so my baseline is probably worse. My back did hurt pretty bad Thursday through Sunday.
Anybody have this happen?
Just wondering.

Runner

[treefrog]

Kim, I have L4/5 and L5/6 (or L5/S1, depending on who's talking) disc degeneration. I have had pain that runs from my hip then down the front of my thigh, toward the inside of my knee. I think this pain is from the L5/6 disc. Where exactly is the pain in your thigh and knee?

And I also had much more pain after my discogram, so bad that I could hardly walk. And it got extremely bad in my knee, I felt like a poker was being stabbed into my knee. I also started having some slight numbness and tingling in my lower leg and feet, as well as around my knee, after the discogram. It took about a week before it started to feel slightly better, and that was with taking more pain meds.

When do you go see the doctor about the discogram results? I wouldn't be surprised if you do have problems with L5/S1.

[runner]

Hi Cathy,

I have pain on my right thigh from the back/hip area to mostly the outside of the thigh (the right side is from where the needles were put in). I already have tingling and numbness and sciatica. I guess the pain kind of goes to the inside but it starts from the outside at the hip/back.

I see the pain doc on Friday and if things are the way they are now, i might come limping into the office. My main concern now is getting rid of this pain as I cannot even go for walks.

I have been uncomfortable sleeping, partly because I cannot sleep on my side due to the pain. I am spending most of my time since Sunday, lying down as when I stand up and move around, the pain increases. I do have to get up now and then to take care of my boys.
My thigh feels so tight, that I kneed it trying to get it to relax, but it doesn't work. I am still taking the increased pain meds and they wear off before the next one is due.

It makes me feel better that you have had right thigh pain with problems at L5/S1. This particular (thigh) pain is new to me.
BTW, L5/S1 is the suspect disc.

Thanks for answering my question,

runner