Flippy - I Rant, You Read
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Six Month Surgery Anniversary Update
Like always, those of you who already know this stuff (or don’t care), feel free to skip this one. This is for the people searching for the results of an L4-5 microdiscectomy. And, surprisingly, there are a lot of them. I’ve heard from people all over the world with herniated discs - the worst stories are the people without any insurance. I don’t know how anyone can continue to live anything resembling a normal life with herniated disc pain. It gets bad. For me, the nerve root block injections were completely useless, and cost me (and luckily, mostly, the insurance company) the price of a mid-sized very nice SUV. Approximately $35,000 - so if you’re getting sent to get those injections, make sure you ask them beforehand how much they’ll cost you. I very naively thought they’d be maybe $500 each. Oh, hahahahaha! Joke’s on me. I’m still being hassled for bills. I think they keep sending bills with different amounts to confuse people, so they, oops, accidentally get more money. The surgery center started with a bill of $21k, then $14k, then $7k, then a threatening one for $3k. I wrote a nasty letter back - how on earth is anyone supposed to know what to pay when the amount changes constantly? Also, they charged an outrageous amount for what they did, plus it didn’t work, except for slightly after the first injection. There’s no way they should’ve even scheduled me for the second, much less the third when there was NO improvement after the second. It’s all such a scummy game between the insurance companies and the doctors, with the patients caught in the middle.
Okay, that wasn’t really what I’d planned to write about. The microdiscectomy was a success. I was skeptical the first couple of months, even though my surgeon said I was 75% better. I didn’t feel 75% better. The excruciating pain down my legs was lessened, but I didn’t feel great. Six months later, I still don’t feel great, but I feel A LOT better. I thought I’d feel better than I did, faster than I did, in the first couple of months. But, everything has calmed down. I still have some pain across my left inner thigh and across both hips, probably every day. I still take pain meds, but if they were cut off tomorrow, I probably wouldn’t jump off a building. Unfortunately, I have lots of general all over pain - I’m going to try to get a referral to Leigh-Ann’s pain management doctor because I have all the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Every single trigger point is super painful. So, if I was a normal person, I’d probably be completely healed from my surgery about now. So, don’t consider my case completely normal. At least I no longer have the numbness in my left calf, nor any pain (usually) in my right leg at all, and my sciatica is a lot better. My bladder is still iffy, but I just don’t have a clue what to do to fix that. It’s so off & on and is triggered by such odd things (taking a shower, sitting, caffeine, etc.) and can be eased by standing, laying down, and Ativan. Yeah, weird, huh? Maybe the pain management doctor would have some ideas. It’s really the most frustrating thing about this herniated disc (I’m pretty sure it’s nerve related) because the pain can be managed by meds, but there aren’t any bladder fixes.
The number one thing that has helped my back and leg pain, other than surgery, is my Earth Shoes tennis shoes - the negative heel has been amazing for me. Until I bought the shoes, I was still having lots of pain after walking in the grocery store. Ambling is really hard on me physically. The shoes have been a life-saver. They’re pricey ($112), but they’ve been so great. Unfortunately, except for their tennis shoes, their other negative heel shoes are kinda ugly. Some are okay, but only the tennis shoes look like everyone else’s shoes. You know, if you care about those things. But hey, they’re better looking and cheaper than Z-Coil shoes.
I love these, and I cannot say it enough. Leigh-Ann bought a pair too, and they’ve helped her, and she didn’t even have a herniated disc. So, if you’ve gotten here by doing a search for “negative heel” or “Earth Shoes” or “shoes that help back pain”, get some of these puppies. Oh, and they have other colors too, I just like the pink.
-
I am glad you are feeling better. My dad has had a few back surgeries and they are rough. I really hope your pain continues to lessen. Did they give you a year projected recovery time?
Earth shoes are amazing! I still don’t own a pair, but I tried some on at my local heath food store and I never wanted to take them off again. I didn’t have the money at the time, but they are most definatly on my MUST HAVE list.
SparklieSunShine on 10/27 at 01:36 AM -
I’m very glad to read your update. I’m having a new MRI in Nov, then see the “spine clinic”. For what, I dunno.
I, too, have all the symptoms of fibromyalgia, which only makes the 6 herniated discs worse. I am so annoyed with everything, all the time. I’m sure I’m horrible to live with. Let me know if you learn anything about the fibro...my family prac, pain management doc, and acupuncturist all agree I have it, but do nothing for it.
I do now have a lovely handicapped parking thing. I am having a lot of emotions about that, because at 41 I should be feeling great, I think.
Keep posting about your progress!!
on 10/27 at 08:44 AM -
I am glad that you are feeling better… I have never had back surgery, but I had 2 c-sections and know that the recovery time can be long. I hope that you find yourself feeling ‘GREAT’ soon.... As far as those earth shoes, you have peaked my curiousity. Although I must say that is not really saying much as I have a real love of shoes… or any kind of footwear…
on 10/27 at 02:58 PM -
SparklieSunShine, a few back surgeries? Doesn’t sound like fun. No, they didn’t give me any projected times, which is why I write about my experience here. Before I had my surgery, I read about it and read all kinds of stories about people going to work in a week and people having immediate relief from pain - that so wasn’t true in my case, and I don’t believe it’s true for most people.
MoonandSun, SIX herniated discs? Ack! Do you at least get good pain meds for them? I couldn’t imagine going on any longer with my ONE herniated disc. I couldn’t do anything. At the very least, are you able to go to a chiropractor? My chiropractor helped out a lot before I was able to get surgery. After awhile I had to stop going to him though because my insurance didn’t cover it and $35/3x/week started getting too expensive.
Kristine, Earth Shoes aren’t the prettiest shoes in the world, but they do make me feel better. I got a pair of Crocs because lots of people said it helped their back pain (my back surgeon included), but the Earth Shoes helped me so much more. I wanted the Crocs to really help because they’re less than half the price of the Earth Shoes, but alas, no. I still like them though.
on 10/28 at 10:08 PM -
btw, I have the ugly z-coil shoes and love them, ugliness and all.
Fortunately, my ins. covers chiro. and acupuncture. The copay for chiro is $10, but she only helps sometimes.
The ugliness of my back is having 4 hern discs in my neck, 2 in lower back. Therefore, I’m always cranky and miserable. Vicodin is a stupid drug that I hate and it makes me barfy. Muscle relaxants are great for relaxing, but not so great for getting me to actually work or parent in an effective manner. My dr talked about oxycontin and I just about flipped. I need to FUNCTION!!!! I have a child that needs a mama that is mentally present!! However, she has a mama that is crabby because everything hurts. It’s a mess.
The happy news is that I haven’t had your bladder problems. Who knew that I’d be so grateful for normal peeing abilities?
Take care of yourself!!
on 10/29 at 01:38 PM -
I know I’d probably like the Z-Coil shoes, and if I didn’t find success with my Earth Shoes, I definitely would’ve tried those next.
Muscle relaxants do absolutely nothing for me. When I was having my worst back pain, an orthopedist prescribed Skelaxin. Did nothing. Soma also, does nothing. I’m sadly one of those people who requires more meds to do the job. I generally need twice the dose that Leigh-Ann does of pain meds.
You should try the Oxycontin. It’s not as scary as the news has led you to believe. All it is is an extended release version of your Vicodin, minus the acetaminophen. There are low doses, as the dosages go from 10mg all the way up to 160mg. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Leigh-Ann’s Tired Girls blog, but Leigh-Ann has been prescribed Oxycontin twice in the past five years. The last time was last month. She’s been taking it every day and there is no noticeable difference in her, except that she hobbles a little less when she gets up in the morning.
She functions perfectly normally. I promise you, it’s not something that will render you useless or zombie-like at a low dose. The doctor also prescribed Vistaril (basically Benadryl) for the nausea, but she hasn’t needed it. You might. But if your doctor thinks it can help (and it can make a big difference for some people), try it. It’s worth it if it can relieve some of your pain. And your pain, I can’t even imagine. Have you had surgery (surgeries)?
Leigh-Ann’s blog entry about her appointment with her pain management doctor - http://www.tiredgirls.com/index.php/weblog/comments/im_in_love/
on 10/29 at 05:27 PM
