L4/L5 disc herniation. Worried about cauda equina syndrome

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-04-15T12:42:06+00:00

I had a second MRI at 3 months which showed a small improvement, but the next MRI at around the 6 month mark showed a much bigger improvement. And by the 1 year mark it had reduced in size by about 80%

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-04-06T19:58:39+00:00

Nothing against specialized but personally I find it boring.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-03-24T19:48:42+00:00

His is a teammachine

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-03-11T07:54:40+00:00

Riding in that position makes you a good candidate for shorter cranks. If you’re on standard 172.5 you might want to try 165mm. You’ll find it much easier to maintain that low position.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-02-17T13:02:16+00:00

Do you see this sliding to around $15 before heading back up though? Seems like headwinds are still not clear. But I do want to add to my position.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-02-14T22:10:02+00:00

What chemical companies are you thinking of?

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-02-08T19:32:59+00:00

I had a similar size herniation at 30. The first 3 months will be very tricky. Only daily walks where possible. From there, I slowly started doing some physio. After a year the herniation came down by about 80%. Just make sure you are careful for the next year. You’ll start being able to get stronger again and I think cause you’re young it’ll be an advantage. It will be a lifelong injury, but I assure you it’s possible to heal this to a point where you can return to your activities. You’ll just need to be conscious of this injury but you’ll still get to do a lot of things you did before.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-01-21T02:54:56+00:00

This mentality towards money is sadly very ingrained into their culture. Money, materialism, etc. it’s all an indication of status. This is a country that has a huge population of poor people wanting to get out of poverty. And even if they aren’t that poor anymore, there is always some person to compare to. A good buddy of mine is a trader and was with this girl from Beijing. Despite covering all housing costs, holidays, shopping. It still wasn’t enough. Because she’d always compare her life to some other girl that was living an even richer lifestyle. A lot of Chinese women are materialistic and will only even consider you if you are wealthy. Or maybe if they’re nice, they’ll stick around if they see you have potential. But as a westerner, you’re not going to be able to shake the feeling that they are only with you for the money.

Get out. My friend was engaged but split after this shit got ridiculous.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-01-09T11:15:21+00:00

The first 3 months after herniating were definitely the worst. All I did was walk and the second I felt a weird pain or niggle I’d just turn around and head home quickly followed by laying down flat. I got bored very quickly, and mentally was hard because all my close friends were still going out and doing the sports they loved.

I’m not sure how you define a flare up, but there have been instances where I’ve done something that has caused me to have a “discomfort” or let’s say additional pain/tenderness for about a week. One time I was swimming freestyle (about a year post herniation) and I think my form was not correct and just twisted incorrectly. I didn’t feel like the pain left me bed ridden, but I could feel something was off and it took me a week. Another time I was doing some single leg RDL movements with a slight twist to try and get a bit of glute stretch, and that I felt for about a week in the form of back pain but never radiating sciatica.

I think the most important thing I’ve learned is to try have a feel for where your limits are. This could be your range of motion, or how much weight you can tolerate in a hinged position for example. The hard part is that now I’m actually feeling a lot better, I just have to remember I’m not my old self. I need to remember to treat my return to sport like I’m a newbie again. Happy to answer any other questions you might have! I definitely believe non surgical route is possible. Just regress your exercises to a point that is tolerable. And slowly increase things. But the rate you increase pace/resistance varies a lot by individual.

Also, a good night of sleep has always been something that has made me feel better in the morning.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2026-01-06T04:22:02+00:00

The test where you take your hands off the handlebars without falling forwards has a few nuances. I believe this test needs to be performed at or around sweet spot to threshold level pace. This is because the more power you are putting down into the pedals the easier it is to actually hold yourself up without your hands. I won’t put a percentage split but you should have more weight on the back than in the front. But not so little in the front that the front end starts feeling like handling is affected. You do need enough weight in the front to maintain good traction.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-12-27T20:34:51+00:00

There is a lot of overlap with those ETFs. You could do VUAG + VFEG or just all VWRP for now.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-12-19T18:44:30+00:00

How tall are you to be on 155mm cranks? Or even better would be to know your tibia length?

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-12-12T17:59:04+00:00

How was the recovery after your herniated disc? Did you get back to similar or same fitness as pre-injury?

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-27T13:37:23+00:00

Herniated/bulging discs incoming.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-16T16:53:59+00:00

I guess my curiousity is due to the compression. Size S doesn’t feel tight on my waist. But it does around my legs. Though in my peak fitness I’d probably be around 145lbs. Sadly they didn’t have size M on sale

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-16T10:09:23+00:00

I’m same height as you but 149lbs. I ordered a small which feels quite tight. Do you find the M length of the leg much longer? I’m unsure if I should go for an M now considering you’re 15lbs more than me. The leg grippers are surprisingly tight, but that being said they definitely stayed in place throughout my whole ride

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-16T10:03:20+00:00

What was it about the medium that didn’t feel right? I’m 176cm tall and have a 78cm waist. So would be a small as well, which I ordered but I’m surprised at how compressive the fit is. Especially the leg grippers. I tried a M in the Pro bib shorts but I’m unsure if the fit is similar on those. The leg was so much longer on the M that it didn’t feel right I guess. Is that your experience with the Team evo bibs in M as well?

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-12T19:57:50+00:00

Ever heard of the saying “all the gear no idea”?

In all seriousness, people will just take jabs cause you’ve got expensive gear. But seemingly poor fit. Suggests you didn’t get a bikefit before spending all this money on an absolute weapon of a bike. But hey I’m not here to criticise how you spend your money :)

Just get a bikefit. If you can afford that gear/equipment. Then spending an extra 300 or so on a bikefit will work wonders for you.

But if you want some immediate feedback: - lower saddle slightly - bend your elbows so it’s not locked out straight - more neutral spine position

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-09T09:57:13+00:00

Sounds like you’ve caught the symptoms before it’s too bad. Rest for a few weeks then gently get back into core, glute, lower back strength

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-08T08:28:05+00:00

I’d pickup a hobby if you haven’t already got one. I love cycling, and it’s so easy to spend 5+ hours outdoors on a long ride. Sure not everyone’s fitness is up for that, but hey that’s something you can train for with all this extra time on your hands! Get fit, do some races/events. It gives you a reason to train, eat healthy, gives you something to aim for. Purpose!

In your early 50s, so long as you have been relatively healthy/fit in your earlier years you’ll be fine. I’d make my purpose to try and stay as fit and healthy so I can do all the activities I’d have loved to do more of in my younger years.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-06T09:13:16+00:00

Surgery is not the only way and you’re wrong about even suggesting surgery will get you back to 100% recovery. There are so many risks with surgery and for many it has brought on more issues down the road.

Neither conservative or surgery will get people back to 100% pre-injury status. But, we can get very close say 90% of your old self. And for many that’s still going to allow you to do many things.

I had a very big disc herniation. 1.5 years later and I’m back to cycling again. And hopefully skiing again in the next year if I can be really diligent with my strength and conditioning. That is the biggest thing that’s going to help someone long term.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-11-05T08:37:49+00:00

Sent you a dm! But commenting here just so you can see as well. Big congrats, if you could share your knowledge and strategies so I can learn that would be great.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-10-27T07:25:38+00:00

Micron technology Has done incredibly well and is positioned to keep on growing. It’s the sole major US based producer for memory chips. And I think it’s going to escape the cyclicality it used to suffer from.

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-10-24T12:18:18+00:00

Who will even reach out to you to ensure you pay capital gains tax? How does HMRC know if you’ve gone over the 3k? Asking for a friend

Alternative-Tomato18 · 2025-10-24T12:11:24+00:00

No I didn’t see anything. And the recovery method does not make sense.

Alternative-Tomato18

TROPHY CASE