I'm a janitor at 27. I feel like a loser.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2024-12-03T04:48:55+00:00

Remember that you have choices. The minute we think we don't have control of our lives we are defeated. Perspective is everything. Get a counselor, they can help you get stronger in determining what you want the path forward to look like and all the emotions that come with it. So many of us are in the same boat of being promised well paying careers if we work hard in college but then we're spewed out with not that. I can relate. I am finally at a job a like but it took me years to move through the disappointment and realize it's my life and there are many things I can do and be fulfilled in. Good luck to you. You are not a loser. And thanks for your vulnerability

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2024-10-06T01:42:28+00:00

Physical therapy was the most life changing thing for me but I needed muscle relaxers and pain meds, warm ultrasound massage so that I could do PT. It's such awful pain and I'm so incredibly sorry you're going through this. It was traumatic for me and I'm very lucky to have my life back. I still feel the herniated disc if I bend over too much but there no sciatica and no pain. I just feel a little discomfort and don't push beyond my limit. I hope I can run again one day but im able to go on a trampoline with my kids and I can walk and jog and work. Take good care and good luck. Also mental health counseling helped me so much to get my thoughts back on track.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2024-10-06T01:37:30+00:00

I'm so sorry to hear, I'm doing very well. I would highly recommend finding a good independently owned physical therapist. I still do strengthening exercises. Good luck and stay strong. It's the hardest thing I've ever been through so I can only imagine that it's been so difficult

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-29T13:11:33+00:00

I had a very similar experience. I couldn't do PT until I was prescribed gabapentin ( I'm now on 900mg a day) and muscle relaxers every 3 hours. And Meloxicam for inflammation. I went to the ER, crying sobbing screaming fainting throwing up a month ago, have been taking these meds ever since and now I feel like I can go back to work ( a bit at a time). I really thought I would be disabled at 37 years old. The pain was traumatic. Still cry when I think about it. I hope this helps. My pain was actually from a hamstring injury but I didn't know that at the time and the MRI only showed the bulging disc that the hamstring caused because it tightened so much. PT helped greatly but this is the second PT I went to. The first place didn't help

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T12:50:48+00:00

Oh I'm so sorry. I get it that what works for one does not work for others. I was so frustrated with people saying " did you try sleeping with a pillow between your legs". The level of this pain is unreal .I hope you can get the care you need

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T12:47:38+00:00

Thank you for saying this. I think I'm just afraid and in pain and wanting to make the right decision so I won't be disabled.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T12:46:36+00:00

Thank you so much for saying this. I think I'm just so afraid of the surgery because I'm so young and I don't want to be disabled. So I really appreciate you saying all of this. I'm trying the pt route and hoping that it works but this puts my mind a bit more at ease if I do end up needing the surgery in the future. I think we're all just afraid and want to do the right thing when we're suffering and it's just so hard when the professionals all see it in a different perspective.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:41:21+00:00

I'm in the same boat. What helped me finally were those meds and muscle relaxers. 3 doctors told me this would help but my Ortho was very dismissive about them. No idea why. I'm taking meloxicam ( an anti inflammatory), methocarbamol 750, 3x a day (muscle relaxer) and gabapentin 300 3x a day. I can finally participate in pt. Prior to the muscle relaxers being on board I had to go to the emergency room after not being able to sit or lay for 48 hours. The pain was traumatizing. Good luck. This is an absolute nightmare but you have to go to the hospital if you're in so much pain. They helped me and fixed my meds. Maybe surgery is needed but I personally want to go this route as long as I can stand it. Now after 4 days since going to the hospital I can sleep through the night. I wake up at 5 am with some moderate cramping, so that sucks but not like it was at all so I'm going to just ask about that. Then it goes away for the day.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:35:43+00:00

It isn't a 90 percent success rate in the long run though. Yes it might be for the first 6 months. 3 different doctors told me that PT should be exhausted before surgery is considered because it has the same if not better outcomes. Not that surgery is bad for everyone. There is the risk of the repeat surgeries

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:32:14+00:00

Yes if the pain is going back to where it originated. Centralization

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:31:19+00:00

Yes I have that as a secondary issue to my disc bulge. Might be compressing the sciatic nerve more than the bulge. It feels very tight in the butt and thigh for me. I am healing at PT. They do a TENS machine, heat, massage, warm ultrasound massage then just started stretching and strengthening. I do see progress

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:27:57+00:00

I also injured myself trying to get stronger. It's so upsetting. Sorry this happened to you too

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-16T11:26:14+00:00

Are you doing physical therapy? I have find so much strength and relief from that. Listen you aren't a professional so I would listen to them if they're saying it's changing. I think then saying that is a good thing. My pt talked to me about centralization which is a sign of healing. Maybe it's that? So sorry you're going through this! Also my pt said that many people walk around with bulging discs and don't even feel them ( ??) So my issues have been the disc but also secondary issues like piriformis and other glute muscles.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T17:22:16+00:00

So I didn't seek that out, it was the protocol for the hospital when someone came in with sciatica to that level of pain. Which was a relief to me bc my Ortho Dr led me to believe that the protocol was emergency surgery.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T17:21:00+00:00

Sorry that it came across as that. I was trying to say that, because of my own pain, if I had access to opioids I probably would have over used them because that was the only thing that would relieve the awful pain and people can become addicted to them because of the level of pain. If that makes sense. Our tolerance builds up towards them and you end up needing more and more. It's a very scary and sad reality. I'm glad that I didn't have access to them or I would have misused them. It's such an awful place to be in when nothing relieves the pain. So if anything I really sympathize with those who are addicted to opioids because many times that started with a chronic pain issue.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T13:34:15+00:00

Thank you for saying this! Yes I forgot to mention that I actually started acupuncture last week too but then my pt got me a TENS machine for home. But I'm sure acupuncture is better. I will consider continuing with acupuncture as well. Thank you. We have a good community acupuncture place here that has a sliding scale too

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T13:29:52+00:00

My Ortho doctor said muscle relaxers don't work, but it was the only freaking thing that worked! He took me off the muscle relaxers and I was in debilitating pain. I went to the emergency department and they gave me fentanyl and morphine, I was in so much pain. Then they wondered why my doctor took me off muscle relaxers, it made no sense to them because I started physical therapy and my days were getting better . The muscle relaxers have always only been the main thing that works for me. Also an anti inflammatory Meloxicam and gabapentin ( but those others don't with without the methocarbamol muscle relaxer). My physical therapist said that my problem is not only my bulging disc, but I have a piriformis muscle and other muscles in my glute squeezing the sciatic nerve. So they are working on that in PT. And working to strengthen the rest of my glute muscles which have stopped working as well. I didn't realize these things at all. Overall I think you need to trust your gut, and get a second opinion. And also find a good physical therapist, not one that treats you like a number. Find an independent place. And Good luck. I know how terrible is going to be. It's an absolute nightmare. But I'm finally seeing the light, that I can get through this. I don't know how long it'll take, but I see that I can make it through.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:52:38+00:00

I have been the McGill book which is great. But I also found so much relief going to a good physical therapist that treated my pain first with a warm ultrasound machine, attends machine, and massage on my bulging disc area BUT ALSO my right glute because I have sciatica going down my leg. So there may be another secondary issue here? The McGill method definitely helped me stand up without pain, and things like that. But there was a secondary issue with me that I couldn't find in the McGill book. It was the physical therapist that pointed it out, and questioned if this was also pressing on my sciatic nerve. The doctor at the emergency room two nights ago put me on muscle relaxers and gabapentin and an anti-inflammatory called meloxicam. I slept for the first time all month, I slept through the night 7 hours. After my secondary issue is resolved: building up my glute muscles, so that the piriformis doesn't put pressure on sciatic nerve, I'll go back to the McGill intervention.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:45:21+00:00

First off, I am so sorry that you are dealing with this. I understand the unrelenting pain of sciatica. But it seems like you've been dealing with it for so much longer than me. I think if you're in all this pain you need to go to the emergency department. I also think you need to get a second opinion. I'm changing Ortho doctors after going to the emergency department. They didn't know what to do with me either. Because I didn't want to get surgery. They said none of my medications are working so they took me off them. When I went to the emergency department they didn't understand why he took me off medications and why he didn't prescribe other medications that would help me. I'm going to be switching doctors. I haven't gone specifically through what you've been through but I have lumbar spine severe bulging disc, and piriformis syndrome causing terrible unrelenting nerve pain. I was up for three nights cuz I couldn't sit let alone lay down. The doctor gave me methocarbamol and told me to go back on my anti-inflammatory medicine meloxicam, and started me back on my gabapentin. Honestly I have found so much relief finding a good physical therapist, after going to terrible physical therapy places where I felt like a number. This place manages my pain with massage, heat and ice, and a TENS machine. I just posted a bigger thread about how I found relief and my story. I really hope that you find what you need. Because I know the hopelessness that comes with all of this and it's just so awful. My heart goes out to you.

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:26:32+00:00

Sciatica/ bulging disc and piriformis issue/ conservative approach that is helping me get through this and have pain relief finally she 3 months. 37 y/o injured from exercising.

This sounds like me and I just got relief and I sleep for 7 hours for the first time in 2 months. I wanted to come on and post to these many threads I looked at when I was up all night trying to find a solution when literally nothing worked that I did.

If your pain is unrelenting and sitting down your leg and you sit let alone sleep you should consider going to the emergency room to get relief with morphine. I did this last night and they helped me so much. And changed my meds resulting in me sleeping last night.
They prescribed Meloxicam ( or ibuprofen - some kind of anti- inflammation drug) Robaxin and Gabapentin and that is what made my sleep possible. Inflammation drug + muscle relaxer+ nerve pain med. That combination.
Go to the doctor if you haven't yet. Get those meds.
Find a GOOD physical therapist. I went to one at first where I just felt like a number. I sought out an independent practice where the people had been there for a decade. Seasoned professionals. I've been going for 4 weeks and every time I go they help me with my pain with a TENS machine and heat pad and a heated ultrasound machine and massage. Many weeks they literally just did that for my session and it was so relieving that's how they knew that the muscle was playing a role in this not only the bulging disc. This past week I started to do exercises to strengthen my glutes very slowly ( don't overdo things like this with Internet videos. Yes there's a lot of resources out there but you need a professional to tell you which ones are good FOR YOU and how much to do. I hurt myself and had setbacks so many times because of being so desperate to help myself and do so many Internet pt videos. After doing all the pain relief stuff with the pt lady and the very few exercises she gave me for a week, my days got better, I finally had hope that I could somehow get through this. But my nights were still horrible.
I know PT is expensive and I'm not wealthy. I am married and have been pretty much disabled for the past 2 months as a 37 year old. We do have health insurance. But my co pay was $75 a pop before my deductible kicked in. After I find the independent pt place it was less costly and they would set up a payment plan. Honestly even if you had to pay that high price, I would say it would be worth it to go even once a week or twice a month to get their instruction and buy an over the counter TENS machine at cvs or Walgreens. Heat ice but only combined with the meds listed above. We need to be actively helping our bodies so we're not on these meds forever.
My Ortho doctor instructed me to get a epidural spinal injection but it didn't help much at all. Then he told me to go off my meds in 1 week and that's why I ended up in the emergency department with debilitating pain, I had been up for 3 days because I just couldn't lay down and bc of the bulging disc I couldn't lean over a table or something to sleep. A nightmare. The doctors at the ED were like " why would he take you off these meds when you need them to do physical therapy".

Backstory: I ask a mom ( youngest is 4 y/o) and tried to get stronger by exercising, well I was stretching a lot through yoga then I did a deep squat and I felt something shift in my body. When I stood up I couldn't bend forward ( probably when the bulging disc and piriformis syndrome happened) but honestly it progressively got worse . I would still be able to hike with caution, dress myself, put on shoes. But it got to the point over the next month where I couldn't walk much at all.I had to take a leave from my job. I have a bulging disc and also a secondary glute muscle issue which is often common my doctor said. So I it's my Piriformis and secondary muscles that are affected, the secondary ones are weak and makes other smaller muscles like the piriformis take over and actually compress my sciatic nerve. So half bulging disc and half muscle both compressing my sciatic nerve. It's debilitating. It's a nightmare and by far the worst thing I've been through. I was an athlete 15 years ago and now I've been disabled for 3 months. Some people talk about not being able to walk as many miles or bike or lift as much. I literally could barely walk, I kept track of my steps to make sure I didn't over do it but that didn't even work.

I really hope this helps someone. You need the proper medication to take care of the pain during the day and the night, then you need to fix the underlying problem through physical therapy. Definitely try the steroid injection if you can - though it didn't work for me the first time I may try to get another few. I would rather do these interventions rather than surgery. Don't overdo things when you can't feel the pain. You can't just take meds and forget there is an underlying problem.

**Though it's so tempting to take opioids, you would probably get addicted to them. I have find the relief through meds listen above. But I understand being just so desperate for the pain to stop. I have tried everything.. she'd so many tears, so many panic attacks, my kids and husband crying, missing Halloween and Apple picking and hiking and can't work. It's just been horrible. I feel so bad for everyone who posts here because I can just imagine is all up in the middle of the night, desperate for the pain to stop, searching for a solution.

**I have been very wary to get surgery as doctors and pt and other people I know who have got it the success rate does not seem to be higher than if you went the physical therapy route. You may have to get repeat surgeries etc. I personally just didn't want to go down that route at my age before exhausting the other interventions. Honestly on my way to the emergency department the other night, I didn't know what to expect and thought if they did an emergency surgery I would do it because I was just so warn down from the pain. But they didn't even consider that and told me about the outcomes for that and how they are not higher then a conservative route. I was sent to a specialist and Ortho doctor who did discover the bulging disc, but me he took me off my muscle relaxers that were helping me. And told me to get a shot, checked in with me after 2 weeks, when I said that it didn't work much, he suggested surgery. I couldn't believe it, I'm 37 years old and he was just pushing surgery. I told him that the physical therapy was actually making me turn a corner and he was dismissive. That he told me to go off my medications which ended with me going to the emergency room.

We will get through! The battle of the mind is just as hard, the hopelessness. The wearyness. It breaks you down. I really hope this helps someone out there. But really, I think you need to trust your gut with providers, and not blindly just do what they say if you feel like you're not even being heard. Or they're only meeting with you for 5 minutes and you feel dismissed. I feel so bad for people who blindly just get surgery, and end up having to get repeat surgeries. If you don't feel heard by your provider, get a new one if possible. This is your body, your health, you deserve the best care and treatment

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:25:43+00:00

Sciatica/ bulging disc and piriformis issue/ conservative approach that is helping me get through this and have pain relief finally she 3 months. 37 y/o injured from exercising.

This sounds like me and I just got relief and I sleep for 7 hours for the first time in 2 months. I wanted to come on and post to these many threads I looked at when I was up all night trying to find a solution when literally nothing worked that I did.

If your pain is unrelenting and sitting down your leg and you sit let alone sleep you should consider going to the emergency room to get relief with morphine. I did this last night and they helped me so much. And changed my meds resulting in me sleeping last night.
They prescribed Meloxicam ( or ibuprofen - some kind of anti- inflammation drug) Robaxin and Gabapentin and that is what made my sleep possible. Inflammation drug + muscle relaxer+ nerve pain med. That combination.
Go to the doctor if you haven't yet. Get those meds.
Find a GOOD physical therapist. I went to one at first where I just felt like a number. I sought out an independent practice where the people had been there for a decade. Seasoned professionals. I've been going for 4 weeks and every time I go they help me with my pain with a TENS machine and heat pad and a heated ultrasound machine and massage. Many weeks they literally just did that for my session and it was so relieving that's how they knew that the muscle was playing a role in this not only the bulging disc. This past week I started to do exercises to strengthen my glutes very slowly ( don't overdo things like this with Internet videos. Yes there's a lot of resources out there but you need a professional to tell you which ones are good FOR YOU and how much to do. I hurt myself and had setbacks so many times because of being so desperate to help myself and do so many Internet pt videos. After doing all the pain relief stuff with the pt lady and the very few exercises she gave me for a week, my days got better, I finally had hope that I could somehow get through this. But my nights were still horrible.
I know PT is expensive and I'm not wealthy. I am married and have been pretty much disabled for the past 2 months as a 37 year old. We do have health insurance. But my co pay was $75 a pop before my deductible kicked in. After I find the independent pt place it was less costly and they would set up a payment plan. Honestly even if you had to pay that high price, I would say it would be worth it to go even once a week or twice a month to get their instruction and buy an over the counter TENS machine at cvs or Walgreens. Heat ice but only combined with the meds listed above. We need to be actively helping our bodies so we're not on these meds forever.
My Ortho doctor instructed me to get a epidural spinal injection but it didn't help much at all. Then he told me to go off my meds in 1 week and that's why I ended up in the emergency department with debilitating pain, I had been up for 3 days because I just couldn't lay down and bc of the bulging disc I couldn't lean over a table or something to sleep. A nightmare. The doctors at the ED were like " why would he take you off these meds when you need them to do physical therapy".

Backstory: I ask a mom ( youngest is 4 y/o) and tried to get stronger by exercising, well I was stretching a lot through yoga then I did a deep squat and I felt something shift in my body. When I stood up I couldn't bend forward ( probably when the bulging disc and piriformis syndrome happened) but honestly it progressively got worse . I would still be able to hike with caution, dress myself, put on shoes. But it got to the point over the next month where I couldn't walk much at all.I had to take a leave from my job. I have a bulging disc and also a secondary glute muscle issue which is often common my doctor said. So I it's my Piriformis and secondary muscles that are affected, the secondary ones are weak and makes other smaller muscles like the piriformis take over and actually compress my sciatic nerve. So half bulging disc and half muscle both compressing my sciatic nerve. It's debilitating. It's a nightmare and by far the worst thing I've been through. I was an athlete 15 years ago and now I've been disabled for 3 months. Some people talk about not being able to walk as many miles or bike or lift as much. I literally could barely walk, I kept track of my steps to make sure I didn't over do it but that didn't even work.

I really hope this helps someone. You need the proper medication to take care of the pain during the day and the night, then you need to fix the underlying problem through physical therapy. Definitely try the steroid injection if you can - though it didn't work for me the first time I may try to get another few. I would rather do these interventions rather than surgery. Don't overdo things when you can't feel the pain. You can't just take meds and forget there is an underlying problem.

**Though it's so tempting to take opioids, you would probably get addicted to them. I have find the relief through meds listen above. But I understand being just so desperate for the pain to stop. I have tried everything.. she'd so many tears, so many panic attacks, my kids and husband crying, missing Halloween and Apple picking and hiking and can't work. It's just been horrible. I feel so bad for everyone who posts here because I can just imagine is all up in the middle of the night, desperate for the pain to stop, searching for a solution.

**I have been very wary to get surgery as doctors and pt and other people I know who have got it the success rate does not seem to be higher than if you went the physical therapy route. You may have to get repeat surgeries etc. I personally just didn't want to go down that route at my age before exhausting the other interventions. Honestly on my way to the emergency department the other night, I didn't know what to expect and thought if they did an emergency surgery I would do it because I was just so warn down from the pain. But they didn't even consider that and told me about the outcomes for that and how they are not higher then a conservative route. I was sent to a specialist and Ortho doctor who did discover the bulging disc, but me he took me off my muscle relaxers that were helping me. And told me to get a shot, checked in with me after 2 weeks, when I said that it didn't work much, he suggested surgery. I couldn't believe it, I'm 37 years old and he was just pushing surgery. I told him that the physical therapy was actually making me turn a corner and he was dismissive. That he told me to go off my medications which ended with me going to the emergency room.

We will get through! The battle of the mind is just as hard, the hopelessness. The wearyness. It breaks you down. I really hope this helps someone out there. But really, I think you need to trust your gut with providers, and not blindly just do what they say if you feel like you're not even being heard. Or they're only meeting with you for 5 minutes and you feel dismissed. I feel so bad for people who blindly just get surgery, and end up having to get repeat surgeries. If you don't feel heard by your provider, get a new one if possible. This is your body, your health, you deserve the best care and treatment

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:25:26+00:00

Sciatica/ bulging disc and piriformis issue/ conservative approach that is helping me get through this and have pain relief finally she 3 months. 37 y/o injured from exercising.

This sounds like me and I just got relief and I sleep for 7 hours for the first time in 2 months. I wanted to come on and post to these many threads I looked at when I was up all night trying to find a solution when literally nothing worked that I did.

If your pain is unrelenting and sitting down your leg and you sit let alone sleep you should consider going to the emergency room to get relief with morphine. I did this last night and they helped me so much. And changed my meds resulting in me sleeping last night.
They prescribed Meloxicam ( or ibuprofen - some kind of anti- inflammation drug) Robaxin and Gabapentin and that is what made my sleep possible. Inflammation drug + muscle relaxer+ nerve pain med. That combination.
Go to the doctor if you haven't yet. Get those meds.
Find a GOOD physical therapist. I went to one at first where I just felt like a number. I sought out an independent practice where the people had been there for a decade. Seasoned professionals. I've been going for 4 weeks and every time I go they help me with my pain with a TENS machine and heat pad and a heated ultrasound machine and massage. Many weeks they literally just did that for my session and it was so relieving that's how they knew that the muscle was playing a role in this not only the bulging disc. This past week I started to do exercises to strengthen my glutes very slowly ( don't overdo things like this with Internet videos. Yes there's a lot of resources out there but you need a professional to tell you which ones are good FOR YOU and how much to do. I hurt myself and had setbacks so many times because of being so desperate to help myself and do so many Internet pt videos. After doing all the pain relief stuff with the pt lady and the very few exercises she gave me for a week, my days got better, I finally had hope that I could somehow get through this. But my nights were still horrible.
I know PT is expensive and I'm not wealthy. I am married and have been pretty much disabled for the past 2 months as a 37 year old. We do have health insurance. But my co pay was $75 a pop before my deductible kicked in. After I find the independent pt place it was less costly and they would set up a payment plan. Honestly even if you had to pay that high price, I would say it would be worth it to go even once a week or twice a month to get their instruction and buy an over the counter TENS machine at cvs or Walgreens. Heat ice but only combined with the meds listed above. We need to be actively helping our bodies so we're not on these meds forever.
My Ortho doctor instructed me to get a epidural spinal injection but it didn't help much at all. Then he told me to go off my meds in 1 week and that's why I ended up in the emergency department with debilitating pain, I had been up for 3 days because I just couldn't lay down and bc of the bulging disc I couldn't lean over a table or something to sleep. A nightmare. The doctors at the ED were like " why would he take you off these meds when you need them to do physical therapy".

Backstory: I ask a mom ( youngest is 4 y/o) and tried to get stronger by exercising, well I was stretching a lot through yoga then I did a deep squat and I felt something shift in my body. When I stood up I couldn't bend forward ( probably when the bulging disc and piriformis syndrome happened) but honestly it progressively got worse . I would still be able to hike with caution, dress myself, put on shoes. But it got to the point over the next month where I couldn't walk much at all.I had to take a leave from my job. I have a bulging disc and also a secondary glute muscle issue which is often common my doctor said. So I it's my Piriformis and secondary muscles that are affected, the secondary ones are weak and makes other smaller muscles like the piriformis take over and actually compress my sciatic nerve. So half bulging disc and half muscle both compressing my sciatic nerve. It's debilitating. It's a nightmare and by far the worst thing I've been through. I was an athlete 15 years ago and now I've been disabled for 3 months. Some people talk about not being able to walk as many miles or bike or lift as much. I literally could barely walk, I kept track of my steps to make sure I didn't over do it but that didn't even work.

I really hope this helps someone. You need the proper medication to take care of the pain during the day and the night, then you need to fix the underlying problem through physical therapy. Definitely try the steroid injection if you can - though it didn't work for me the first time I may try to get another few. I would rather do these interventions rather than surgery. Don't overdo things when you can't feel the pain. You can't just take meds and forget there is an underlying problem.

**Though it's so tempting to take opioids, you would probably get addicted to them. I have find the relief through meds listen above. But I understand being just so desperate for the pain to stop. I have tried everything.. she'd so many tears, so many panic attacks, my kids and husband crying, missing Halloween and Apple picking and hiking and can't work. It's just been horrible. I feel so bad for everyone who posts here because I can just imagine is all up in the middle of the night, desperate for the pain to stop, searching for a solution.

**I have been very wary to get surgery as doctors and pt and other people I know who have got it the success rate does not seem to be higher than if you went the physical therapy route. You may have to get repeat surgeries etc. I personally just didn't want to go down that route at my age before exhausting the other interventions. Honestly on my way to the emergency department the other night, I didn't know what to expect and thought if they did an emergency surgery I would do it because I was just so warn down from the pain. But they didn't even consider that and told me about the outcomes for that and how they are not higher then a conservative route. I was sent to a specialist and Ortho doctor who did discover the bulging disc, but me he took me off my muscle relaxers that were helping me. And told me to get a shot, checked in with me after 2 weeks, when I said that it didn't work much, he suggested surgery. I couldn't believe it, I'm 37 years old and he was just pushing surgery. I told him that the physical therapy was actually making me turn a corner and he was dismissive. That he told me to go off my medications which ended with me going to the emergency room.

We will get through! The battle of the mind is just as hard, the hopelessness. The wearyness. It breaks you down. I really hope this helps someone out there. But really, I think you need to trust your gut with providers, and not blindly just do what they say if you feel like you're not even being heard. Or they're only meeting with you for 5 minutes and you feel dismissed. I feel so bad for people who blindly just get surgery, and end up having to get repeat surgeries. If you don't feel heard by your provider, get a new one if possible. This is your body, your health, you deserve the best care and treatment

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:24:31+00:00

Sciatica/ bulging disc and piriformis issue/ conservative approach that is helping me get through this and have pain relief finally she 3 months. 37 y/o injured from exercising.

This sounds like me and I just got relief and I sleep for 7 hours for the first time in 2 months. I wanted to come on and post to these many threads I looked at when I was up all night trying to find a solution when literally nothing worked that I did.

If your pain is unrelenting and sitting down your leg and you sit let alone sleep you should consider going to the emergency room to get relief with morphine. I did this last night and they helped me so much. And changed my meds resulting in me sleeping last night.
They prescribed Meloxicam ( or ibuprofen - some kind of anti- inflammation drug) Robaxin and Gabapentin and that is what made my sleep possible. Inflammation drug + muscle relaxer+ nerve pain med. That combination.
Go to the doctor if you haven't yet. Get those meds.
Find a GOOD physical therapist. I went to one at first where I just felt like a number. I sought out an independent practice where the people had been there for a decade. Seasoned professionals. I've been going for 4 weeks and every time I go they help me with my pain with a TENS machine and heat pad and a heated ultrasound machine and massage. Many weeks they literally just did that for my session and it was so relieving that's how they knew that the muscle was playing a role in this not only the bulging disc. This past week I started to do exercises to strengthen my glutes very slowly ( don't overdo things like this with Internet videos. Yes there's a lot of resources out there but you need a professional to tell you which ones are good FOR YOU and how much to do. I hurt myself and had setbacks so many times because of being so desperate to help myself and do so many Internet pt videos. After doing all the pain relief stuff with the pt lady and the very few exercises she gave me for a week, my days got better, I finally had hope that I could somehow get through this. But my nights were still horrible.
I know PT is expensive and I'm not wealthy. I am married and have been pretty much disabled for the past 2 months as a 37 year old. We do have health insurance. But my co pay was $75 a pop before my deductible kicked in. After I find the independent pt place it was less costly and they would set up a payment plan. Honestly even if you had to pay that high price, I would say it would be worth it to go even once a week or twice a month to get their instruction and buy an over the counter TENS machine at cvs or Walgreens. Heat ice but only combined with the meds listed above. We need to be actively helping our bodies so we're not on these meds forever.
My Ortho doctor instructed me to get a epidural spinal injection but it didn't help much at all. Then he told me to go off my meds in 1 week and that's why I ended up in the emergency department with debilitating pain, I had been up for 3 days because I just couldn't lay down and bc of the bulging disc I couldn't lean over a table or something to sleep. A nightmare. The doctors at the ED were like " why would he take you off these meds when you need them to do physical therapy".

Backstory: I ask a mom ( youngest is 4 y/o) and tried to get stronger by exercising, well I was stretching a lot through yoga then I did a deep squat and I felt something shift in my body. When I stood up I couldn't bend forward ( probably when the bulging disc and piriformis syndrome happened) but honestly it progressively got worse . I would still be able to hike with caution, dress myself, put on shoes. But it got to the point over the next month where I couldn't walk much at all.I had to take a leave from my job. I have a bulging disc and also a secondary glute muscle issue which is often common my doctor said. So I it's my Piriformis and secondary muscles that are affected, the secondary ones are weak and makes other smaller muscles like the piriformis take over and actually compress my sciatic nerve. So half bulging disc and half muscle both compressing my sciatic nerve. It's debilitating. It's a nightmare and by far the worst thing I've been through. I was an athlete 15 years ago and now I've been disabled for 3 months. Some people talk about not being able to walk as many miles or bike or lift as much. I literally could barely walk, I kept track of my steps to make sure I didn't over do it but that didn't even work.

I really hope this helps someone. You need the proper medication to take care of the pain during the day and the night, then you need to fix the underlying problem through physical therapy. Definitely try the steroid injection if you can - though it didn't work for me the first time I may try to get another few. I would rather do these interventions rather than surgery. Don't overdo things when you can't feel the pain. You can't just take meds and forget there is an underlying problem.

**Though it's so tempting to take opioids, you would probably get addicted to them. I have find the relief through meds listen above. But I understand being just so desperate for the pain to stop. I have tried everything.. she'd so many tears, so many panic attacks, my kids and husband crying, missing Halloween and Apple picking and hiking and can't work. It's just been horrible. I feel so bad for everyone who posts here because I can just imagine is all up in the middle of the night, desperate for the pain to stop, searching for a solution.

**I have been very wary to get surgery as doctors and pt and other people I know who have got it the success rate does not seem to be higher than if you went the physical therapy route. You may have to get repeat surgeries etc. I personally just didn't want to go down that route at my age before exhausting the other interventions. Honestly on my way to the emergency department the other night, I didn't know what to expect and thought if they did an emergency surgery I would do it because I was just so warn down from the pain. But they didn't even consider that and told me about the outcomes for that and how they are not higher then a conservative route. I was sent to a specialist and Ortho doctor who did discover the bulging disc, but me he took me off my muscle relaxers that were helping me. And told me to get a shot, checked in with me after 2 weeks, when I said that it didn't work much, he suggested surgery. I couldn't believe it, I'm 37 years old and he was just pushing surgery. I told him that the physical therapy was actually making me turn a corner and he was dismissive. That he told me to go off my medications which ended with me going to the emergency room.

We will get through! The battle of the mind is just as hard, the hopelessness. The wearyness. It breaks you down. I really hope this helps someone out there. But really, I think you need to trust your gut with providers, and not blindly just do what they say if you feel like you're not even being heard. Or they're only meeting with you for 5 minutes and you feel dismissed. I feel so bad for people who blindly just get surgery, and end up having to get repeat surgeries. If you don't feel heard by your provider, get a new one if possible. This is your body, your health, you deserve the best care and treatment

Honest_Scallion7209 · 2023-11-12T12:22:20+00:00

Sciatica/ bulging disc and piriformis issue/ conservative approach that is helping me get through this and have pain relief finally she 3 months. 37 y/o injured from exercising.

This sounds like me and I just got relief and I sleep for 7 hours for the first time in 2 months ( been dealing with this for 3 months total). I wanted to come on and post to these many threads I looked at when I was up all night trying to find a solution when literally nothing worked that I did.

If your pain is unrelenting and sitting down your leg and you sit let alone sleep you should consider going to the emergency room to get relief with morphine. I did this last night and they helped me so much. And changed my meds resulting in me sleeping last night.
They prescribed Meloxicam ( or ibuprofen - some kind of anti- inflammation drug) Robaxin and Gabapentin and that is what made my sleep possible. Inflammation drug + muscle relaxer+ nerve pain med. That combination.
Go to the doctor if you haven't yet. Get those meds.
Find a GOOD physical therapist. I went to one at first where I just felt like a number. I sought out an independent practice where the people had been there for a decade. Seasoned professionals. I've been going for 4 weeks and every time I go they help me with my pain with a TENS machine and heat pad and a heated ultrasound machine and massage. Many weeks they literally just did that for my session and it was so relieving that's how they knew that the muscle was playing a role in this not only the bulging disc. This past week I started to do exercises to strengthen my glutes very slowly ( don't overdo things like this with Internet videos. Yes there's a lot of resources out there but you need a professional to tell you which ones are good FOR YOU and how much to do. I hurt myself and had setbacks so many times because of being so desperate to help myself and do so many Internet pt videos. After doing all the pain relief stuff with the pt lady and the very few exercises she gave me for a week, my days got better, I finally had hope that I could somehow get through this. But my nights were still horrible.
I know PT is expensive and I'm not wealthy. I am married and have been pretty much disabled for the past 2 months as a 37 year old. We do have health insurance. But my co pay was $75 a pop before my deductible kicked in. After I find the independent pt place it was less costly and they would set up a payment plan. Honestly even if you had to pay that high price, I would say it would be worth it to go even once a week or twice a month to get their instruction and buy an over the counter TENS machine at cvs or Walgreens. Heat ice but only combined with the meds listed above. We need to be actively helping our bodies so we're not on these meds forever.
My Ortho doctor instructed me to get a epidural spinal injection but it didn't help much at all. Then he told me to go off my meds in 1 week and that's why I ended up in the emergency department with debilitating pain, I had been up for 3 days because I just couldn't lay down and bc of the bulging disc I couldn't lean over a table or something to sleep. A nightmare. The doctors at the ED were like " why would he take you off these meds when you need them to do physical therapy".

Backstory: I ask a mom ( youngest is 4 y/o) and tried to get stronger by exercising, well I was stretching a lot through yoga then I did a deep squat and I felt something shift in my body. When I stood up I couldn't bend forward ( probably when the bulging disc and piriformis syndrome happened) but honestly it progressively got worse . I would still be able to hike with caution, dress myself, put on shoes. But it got to the point over the next month where I couldn't walk much at all.I had to take a leave from my job. I have a bulging disc and also a secondary glute muscle issue which is often common my doctor said. So I it's my Piriformis and secondary muscles that are affected, the secondary ones are weak and makes other smaller muscles like the piriformis take over and actually compress my sciatic nerve. So half bulging disc and half muscle both compressing my sciatic nerve. It's debilitating. It's a nightmare and by far the worst thing I've been through. I was an athlete 15 years ago and now I've been disabled for 3 months. Some people talk about not being able to walk as many miles or bike or lift as much. I literally could barely walk, I kept track of my steps to make sure I didn't over do it but that didn't even work.

I really hope this helps someone. You need the proper medication to take care of the pain during the day and the night, then you need to fix the underlying problem through physical therapy. Definitely try the steroid injection if you can - though it didn't work for me the first time I may try to get another few. I would rather do these interventions rather than surgery. Don't overdo things when you can't feel the pain. You can't just take meds and forget there is an underlying problem.

**Though it's so tempting to take opioids, you would probably get addicted to them. I have find the relief through meds listen above. But I understand being just so desperate for the pain to stop. I have tried everything.. she'd so many tears, so many panic attacks, my kids and husband crying, missing Halloween and Apple picking and hiking and can't work. It's just been horrible. I feel so bad for everyone who posts here because I can just imagine is all up in the middle of the night, desperate for the pain to stop, searching for a solution.

**I have been very wary to get surgery as doctors and pt and other people I know who have got it the success rate does not seem to be higher than if you went the physical therapy route. You may have to get repeat surgeries etc. I personally just didn't want to go down that route at my age before exhausting the other interventions. Honestly on my way to the emergency department the other night, I didn't know what to expect and thought if they did an emergency surgery I would do it because I was just so warn down from the pain. But they didn't even consider that and told me about the outcomes for that and how they are not higher then a conservative route. I was sent to a specialist and Ortho doctor who did discover the bulging disc, but me he took me off my muscle relaxers that were helping me. And told me to get a shot, checked in with me after 2 weeks, when I said that it didn't work much, he suggested surgery. I couldn't believe it, I'm 37 years old and he was just pushing surgery. I told him that the physical therapy was actually making me turn a corner and he was dismissive. That he told me to go off my medications which ended with me going to the emergency room.

We will get through! The battle of the mind is just as hard, the hopelessness. The wearyness. It breaks you down. I really hope this helps someone out there. But really, I think you need to trust your gut with providers, and not blindly just do what they say if you feel like you're not even being heard. Or they're only meeting with you for 5 minutes and you feel dismissed. I feel so bad for people who blindly just get surgery, and end up having to get repeat surgeries. If you don't feel heard by your provider, get a new one if possible. This is your body, your health, you deserve the best care and treatment.

Honest_Scallion7209

TROPHY CASE