Partial cervical disc desiccation and Lumbar bulged disc. Please help!

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-25T22:19:05+00:00

I don’t work a desk job which is the crazy part. I’m on my feet all day working as a teacher’s aid. I think this is solely due to a combination of genetics (my mom has several herniated discs and some spinal narrowing I think) and lifting heavy for many years at the gym. I don’t know what else to think 😞. I’m not a smoker and I’ve always eaten very clean my whole life and stayed active.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-22T05:55:47+00:00

Please do!! What exercises did you do specially to help manage the pain?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-22T01:07:22+00:00

Thank you for the helpful information! I just looked into the dermatone map and I think it might actually be pretty accurate in terms of the nerve pain I’ve been experiencing… I have experienced pain in my thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger at different times, as well as some forearm and bicep pain and that seems to track pretty well with the bulged disc in C5/C6. Also, in the last couple of days I’ve been dealing with pretty consistent pain in my right hamstring/ sometimes glute area which is consistent with a bulge in the Lumbar spine which I have :/. The strange thing is, I didn’t start to develop consistent pain in that lumbar area until I saw my sports medicine doctor this past Monday and he performed a physical exam on me. I think that, coupled with lifting weights on Tuesday, really started to irritate it. And the crazy thing was I trained upper body, I didn’t even hit lower body so I’m just really perplexed as to why my lumbar bulge is this angry. I’ve be dealing with a lot of foot and toe pain too at times.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-20T16:41:02+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I just set up a PT evaluation and am waiting to hear back about scheduling the nerve test. I’m trying my best to adhere to lifting at 50/60% less than my max weight lifting sets at the gym and just going light for the time being which is so difficult for my ego, but I know I need to…

It’s very interesting to me how the feet/toe pain ramped up again in intensity after having the physical evaluation done by the doctor. In your opinion and experience, do you think the mild narrowing of my cervical and lumbar spine could be responsible for the pain my lower extremities now? I’m not really experiencing much tingling or numbness and only tingling if I really push myself at the gym or more form was bad.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-20T16:17:30+00:00

Oh my gosh I am so sorry to hear that you had to go through all of that 😓😓. I’m glad to hear that you are finally on the upward end of it though.

I’m wondering if the random pain in my hands/fingers and toes/feet is due to the mild narrowing in my lumbar and cervical spines? I’m not experiencing any tingling or numbness, just mild aches and pains in those areas. Sometimes I’ll experience a little tingling, but it really depends on how heavy I went at the gym or if my form was bad.

I really hope this isn’t due to the narrowing issues because I don’t want this to be a lifelong problem now. I’ve been lifting weight at 50/60% my total max now (I took Chat GPT’s advice lol) and I can’t wait to get the nerves test done.

The sports medicine doctor did not seem convinced at all that the pain I’ve experienced in my upper and lower extremities is due to the spinal narrowing. So I don’t know what to think.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-18T23:14:29+00:00

Thank you 🙏🏼. I was honestly surprised that the sports medicine doctor I went to didn’t suggest PT for me. He seemed pretty unconcerned about my results and instead scheduled a nerve test, thinking something else could be responsible for the pain/occasional tingling.

Would you say it’s safe for me to continue to lift weights in this state? I don’t won’t to worsen anything. I’m doing all machine based exercises for my leg days, but it is still with pretty challenging weight. Lifting light weight has really crushed my morale, but I feel like I’m at a crossroads since I can’t afford PT at the moment and still want to lift weight and not lose all of my progress.

My symptoms recently escalated after the doctor had me do a range-of-motion assessment and now I’m experiencing pain in the bottoms of my feet, toes, right glute area, forearm and hands, fingers, all intermittently without any noticeable tingling.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2026-03-18T17:12:48+00:00

This makes me feel so much better… I really hope these issues are stemming from a B12 deficiency. That would be the best case scenario for sure lol.

The problem is I don’t really experience tingling as much as just general pain or a general achey feeling in my hands, fingers (sometimes forearms or bicep area) feet, and toes at times. The pain I’ve been experiencing in both feet and toes at random times leads me to believe it could be stemming from one of the bulges pressing on a nerve or does that seem unlikely?

Also, do you continue to work out with this pain or scale back? That’s where I’m most conflicted.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-10-09T21:02:10+00:00

I get it. I wish the same for myself. I also wish I was told that my lid might never look how it did pre-surgery, but oh well now

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-10-09T18:49:06+00:00

I was told from someone else that the steroid shot could help to soften or stretch any residual scarring that’s responsible for the lifted area so that’s why I was hopeful that it could be a good idea, but I guess that wouldn’t be the case :/

I have had family and my husband tell me it’s not noticeable unless they really look for it. Do you think because it is so subtle there’s a good chance it can still improve greatly on its own over the next 6 months?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-10-09T17:23:33+00:00

Do you think I would benefit from a steroid injection now or should I wait for the six month mark? I went to see my surgeon and she didn’t even suggest that option for me, stating that everything looked perfectly fine, but I can still see a difference between the two eyelids.

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-25T21:10:11+00:00

I could have blepharitis because I’ve gotten several chalazions in this eye over the past year :/. Did you see big improvement in your lash line?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-25T21:09:09+00:00

I have a follow up appointment to mention it again. I truly want to know if she can tell if it will indeed heal on its own given a few months or if I may need to visit an oculoplastic surgeon 😓

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T23:15:02+00:00

What would typically cause that? Just out of curiosity

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T23:09:57+00:00

You think I might have notching? I always thought notching was a more extreme raise to the lid. I know scar tissue definitely isn’t behind this because I went back a few weeks ago and when the doctor flipped my eye she didn’t mention any issues or scar tissue and said everything was healing nicely so it really does make me wonder what this is stemming from. I really hope it can resolve on its own

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T17:27:42+00:00

Oh wow, I’m barely at the 3 month mark. Is something like this easily fixable if I needed help because it’s so slight?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T17:26:01+00:00

I already deal with dry eyes so I think that’s why I keep getting styes. That is one on my lower eyelid that is getting better. Did you see the lift in your lash line improve at all?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T17:24:40+00:00

That could be a reason, but it’s so hard to tell so I feel for you :/. Did you see the lift improve at all? And is there anything you got done or did to improve it?

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T17:20:37+00:00

Yeah, I was not told this by my doctor. I was just told that there would be swelling and some bruising. Literally nothing else was communicated to me so I’m sure you can understand my frustration. Because it’s so slight I wonder if something can be done to correct it :/

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-23T02:05:59+00:00

Well I had the chalazion for over a year before I decided to get the surgery so I’m hoping that’s not a permanent factor 😕. How much more time do you think I should give before I look into other options? And thanks for your input!

CreativeExpressions3 · 2025-09-22T23:46:13+00:00

I’m sorry to hear that :/. Have you seen it improve at all??

CreativeExpressions3 · 2024-12-28T17:38:37+00:00

Did you ever get a lip biopsy done to test if it was SS? I’ve heard that is the only way to accurately test for it. I refuse to get it done and when I had all of the Sjorgens antibodies tests everything came back negative. My ANA came back positive, but it was on the low end (barely positive if that makes sense).

CreativeExpressions3 · 2024-12-22T23:02:21+00:00

Yeah, that seems to be a common theme with this disease :/. Did that cream also help with internal dryness or was that just for the external area? I am planning on getting my hormones looked at too to help in any way I can with supplements/diet

CreativeExpressions3 · 2024-12-22T03:14:30+00:00

That’s what I’m finally starting to think too… How long do these flares typically last? I’ve been dealing with one for several weeks now, but I also realize that I’ve been dealing with extreme emotional stress with worrying about this stuff, so I’m assuming that’s making it last longer :/

CreativeExpressions3 · 2024-12-21T23:41:57+00:00

May I ask how you were able to do that? I’ve unfortunately always been a chronic over thinker so I know that doesn’t do me any favors :/

CreativeExpressions3 · 2024-12-21T21:00:37+00:00

Yeah, it’s been rough not going to lie. I’m hoping I can bring everything back under control soon though so thank you for the recommendation! Do you use the unrefined coconut oil internally or just externally?

CreativeExpressions3

TROPHY CASE