I finally got an answer to my neck pain. An MRI showed a bulging disc. What do people do? Have surgery? Do nothing? I certainly do not want to be given more pain meds for this, but it sure is painful depending on my activity level.
Especially when I am resolved to get off pain meds soon.
Your stories would be helpful!
Dear A-Mom,
I have a couple in my neck and several in my back. (car accident) Since they were considered mild bulges nothing but ibuprophen and maybe a chiropractor were advised. Years later had MRI"s for different reasons in both areas and nothing had changed. What does your doctor advise. Geez, I am NOT advising you here as a Doctor, but how did they find out about the disk bulge. And the doctor is the one who should advise you. I know it can be painful and you have to be careful with physical therapy etc on your neck.
Wish I had more advice....
God Bless,
Jan
I have a couple in my neck and several in my back. (car accident) Since they were considered mild bulges nothing but ibuprophen and maybe a chiropractor were advised. Years later had MRI"s for different reasons in both areas and nothing had changed. What does your doctor advise. Geez, I am NOT advising you here as a Doctor, but how did they find out about the disk bulge. And the doctor is the one who should advise you. I know it can be painful and you have to be careful with physical therapy etc on your neck.
Wish I had more advice....
God Bless,
Jan
We bought a snow blower last December, and the first time I fired it up, it pulled (rather JERKED) me forward, and my neck has not felt good since.
x-rays (two sets) showed nothing, so I kept persisting in asking for an MRI. I feel vindicted that something physical is wrong and I am not crazy! Now my doctor wants me to see an ortho doc, haven't made the appointment yet since I just got the diagnosis today.
Thanks for your input. I already take tons of ibuprofen, and it helps. Some days are worse than others, tho.
x-rays (two sets) showed nothing, so I kept persisting in asking for an MRI. I feel vindicted that something physical is wrong and I am not crazy! Now my doctor wants me to see an ortho doc, haven't made the appointment yet since I just got the diagnosis today.
Thanks for your input. I already take tons of ibuprofen, and it helps. Some days are worse than others, tho.
Addict Mom until you see the doctor have you tried Ice? Should help if you have any pain.
You can google and find out how they treat it. Until you see your doctor I would take it easy.
Fell better--Jeff
You can google and find out how they treat it. Until you see your doctor I would take it easy.
Fell better--Jeff
Advice, well since you wrote you were advised to see an ortho, I would say ask to see a neurosurgeon, or use that option for second opinion.
I don't know if I trust ortho's that much with the neck area...
There are many options out there like PT, traction machines, and tens units that can be used at home
In place of pain meds acupuncture is a huge option, an lidocaine patches are cool as well my husband uses them for his neck pain and gets relief
Good luck,
Love
Tina
I don't know if I trust ortho's that much with the neck area...
There are many options out there like PT, traction machines, and tens units that can be used at home
In place of pain meds acupuncture is a huge option, an lidocaine patches are cool as well my husband uses them for his neck pain and gets relief
Good luck,
Love
Tina
Tina My Dad uses Lidocaine patches for his knees and they work real well. But if there is a disk hitting the nerves its excruciating pain.
Best thing is to see the doctor ASAP-you mentioned a neuro over an ortho -I think your right on --def get an opinion from a neuro doctor.
When they operated on my dads neck-the tumor was creating a bulge in of the discs and the nerves--UGH the worst place and its the neurosurgeon who called the shots.
Jeff
Best thing is to see the doctor ASAP-you mentioned a neuro over an ortho -I think your right on --def get an opinion from a neuro doctor.
When they operated on my dads neck-the tumor was creating a bulge in of the discs and the nerves--UGH the worst place and its the neurosurgeon who called the shots.
Jeff
I have one building disc,and 1 herniated disc,,and that gave me meat tenderizing injections,,and they worked plus geranium tabs ,,and it helped ,it can be fixed ,now I get pills for that plus artiste's,,,,in my back ,but I never hurt ,,only if I lift ,,which is alot in my line of work ,,but no pain ,just tell Dr ,and he give me 56 pills a month,,,I told him somewhat of my addiction ,but he says I need them have not told him the full truth didn't lie ,but didn't tell him the full storey ,last time I got clean ,told him some ,stopped many thing Internet ,so on and so fourth but ,there's that but,,sorry getting on and on ..anyway addiction mom...not clean no more ..so take care ok ,poopie
Hi, I'm new here and found this site while doing research, more for prevention than anything else. I am a petite 44 year old female (5' 0", 92 lbs). I have 4 herniated discs in my neck (degenerative disc disease), pinched nerves, spinal stenosis, and some carpel tunnel in both wrists. I had a couple of personal trainers about 15 years ago at a Gold's gym that I paid for training but I later found out they were not certifiied or qualified, either to train anybody, they had me lifting much too heavy weights. I sustained a shoulder/neck injury, which I ignored, because the trainers just said it was a "muscle strain." My husband was a doctor at the time but neither one of us thought much about it until several years later when I started having pain, numbness, and tingling coming from my neck and going down both shoulders, my arms, and down into my thumbs. My arms would sometimes stay "aleep" for hours. To make a long story short, my husband lost his license, ironically, due to treating chronic pain patients. Some of them were selling their meds, among other things, of which he had no knowledge. Due to other circumstances, we had no money saved, no retirement, no insurance, no anything and lost our home. My bone doctor, who happens to be a friend of ours, treats me for free but we haven't been able to go to any specialists for nerve-pain studies, epidural shots, surgery or anything else. The ONLY treatment I have been on for 6 years is Lortab 10s. The long-term injury I had sustained unknowingly at the gym years earlier had been made worse when I decided to go back to college in 2000 and had to carry an extremely heavy bookbag across my shoulders for 4 years. I have kept my painpills at a fairly low amount, only taking maybe as many as 6 (2 , 3 times a day) on particularly bad days. Having researched chronic pain conditions on the internet and not being able to afford any of the standard treatments other than what pain management I could get with painpills, I have been conscientious of not relying on pills any more than absolutely necessary. All I've ever got from the pills is pain relief, which is good. I don't particulary care for the "space-head" feeling they give and they're not always predictable in effect. Sometimes they make me sleepy and sometimes they do the opposite but meds tend to work differently on me anyway. I take stimulant medication for ADHD, not every day, because I am cautious of those also. I have ordered some Proglumide in order to keep my painpills at the lower level for as long as possible. If they help, I will post (if that is allowed) so that the information may help someone else. I tend to want to undermedicate myself because of what happened to my husband. Patients would sometimes try to "bully" him into giving them more and more painmeds and that's when he would refer them to the pain management doctors. Some patients would cry and he would feel sorry for them. I worked in his office and began trying to keep the number of painpills down for those who were suspected of abusing them and at least one patient said that if "they" didn't get their painmeds, that NOBODY else would either. It only takes ONE anonymous phonecall. Some doctors try to do the right thing and still end up paying for their effort.At any rate, I am researching all I can but I see that a lot of patients on most forums have had the shots, epidurals and points, as well as tinz and other things, that I won't be able to have so I feel it is especially important to keep a handle on my pain. I guess I feel in some weird way, that I was also made to "pay" by ending up with the very same kind of chronic pain conditions my husband was treating. Ironically, when he'd refer patients to the pain clinics, they would come back to HIM with much stronger and even more painmeds than HE was prescribing! I can't afford to go to a pain clinic but I haven't reached a point yet where I need to, either. I haven't rules out doing something about the loss of income, pain and suffering that we have suffered because of all this. The board sent my husband a letter 3 years after taking his license, saying they hadn't found him guilty of any wrong doing in at least 2/3 of what they were accusing him of. If anyone knows anything about long-term pain management without benefit of other treatments besides meds, I would be interested in hearing about it. I believe the doctor said that at least ONE of my discs was bulging, with the other 3 herniated and that there was NO fluid or cushion at all between the 4th, 5th, and 6th vertebrae, so it is bone-on-bone when I turn my neck and kind of reminds me a rusty door hinge. Just knowing that there are other people with genuine pain out here makes me feel like my husband was justified in his treatment of his patients.
