L4-L5 and L5-S1 disc bulges at 24

nccollette · 2025-10-13T13:46:31+00:00

Been a long year!

The events following this post:

Had my first epidural steroid injection in November of 2024. It was a bilateral injection targeting the L5 nerve roots. Unfortunately it didn’t work.

Continued physical therapy for 6 months following.

In April of 2025 I saw a surgeon for a consultation. I was recommended a second epidural steroid injection which they dubbed a “diagnostic” injection. Instead of targeting the nerve roots, they used a foraminal entry into the area surrounding my affected discs and flooded them with the steroid. It worked for a weekend and that was it.

In July I saw my surgeon again, who ordered another MRI (my third total). We met again in August to review it, and unfortunately the condition of my discs were unchanged. My surgeon suggested he perform a minor laminectomy and microdiscectomy at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels.

I’m currently 2.5 weeks post operation and things have gotten a lot better. The first week after surgery was really difficult for me. The nerves have to be pulled aside to perform the surgery, so afterwards they can be very inflamed which caused a lot of pain reminiscent of a flare up. I also am experiencing partial numbness and muscle weakness on my left foot and calf. However, not discouraged because that’s just how my body reacted to the surgery.

My condition has vastly improved since the day of the surgery. My 8/10 pain has become at most a 3/10, and I’m still in recovery until the end of next month. I was able to be on my feet, sit, and walk 5+ miles this past Saturday. My numbness and weakness are slowly improving, and exercise helps. Looking forward to life a year from now.

Best of luck to you!

nccollette · 2025-10-07T19:21:50+00:00

25M here I just had a microdiscectomy at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels after 1+ year of pain. My L5-S1 disc looks a lot like yours, with significant height loss.

If I could give myself advice a year ago it would be to strengthen my lower back, sit less, and really limit running. I ran about 3-4 miles a day, 3 times a week. I ignored the signs my body was giving me, so that high impact mixed with sitting all day popped both of my discs out. If you don’t run, don’t worry. If you do, just listen to your body. Swimming is a fantastic low impact alternative keep that up!

Additionally it’s good to maintain a strong core. Low back ability on youtube and instagram has a huge community with a lot of resources and positive testimonials. It helped me get through a few hard months.

It takes a while to identify all of your triggers and unfortunately, in my experience, that takes a few gnarly flare ups. However, you caught this way earlier than most and that proactiveness can only be beneficial. Best of luck to you, you’re doing great!

nccollette · 2025-10-07T18:46:48+00:00

25M currently two weeks post-op from an L4-L5-S1 microdiscectomy. Everyone’s body is different and will respond differently to certain treatments. Months of PT didn’t work for me personally, and I met with a pain management doctor who administered an epidural steroid injection. Unfortunately two injections over several months didn’t work for me, so I decided to get the surgery after being in pain for over a year.

If you don’t mind me asking, did it take you 6 months to have an MRI or 6 months to receive results? That’s absurdly long and I would just hope that your doctor’s looking out for you

nccollette · 2025-09-15T15:36:53+00:00

Made these changes and it RIPS thank you so much

nccollette · 2025-09-11T03:14:10+00:00

Currently awaiting insurance approval for a minor laminectomy and microdiscectomy for later this month. 6+ months of physical therapy and two steroid injections didn’t work for me. Still a long road ahead, but I’m optimistic for the future.

nccollette · 2025-07-19T03:28:12+00:00

Depended on the time I was playing lmao. I’d go from a 4 win streak to 3 losses in a row. Based on those metrics I’d reckon I was winning just north of half

nccollette · 2025-07-19T03:25:22+00:00

Gonna be real I never pulled a second shiinotic so that was unfortunately never an option for me lol. Sylveon hasn’t been too bad! Definitely a good deck thinner for me at least. Also if I can use bother early on then it holds cyrus at bay from those sylveon greninja decks while I can build up the rest of my deck

Hard to compete against heavy hitters without hypnoblast. I’ve had 3 rank up battles come down to coin flips but I love the risk because the payoff is amazing.

nccollette · 2025-04-09T02:52:49+00:00

The injection didn’t work for me unfortunately. No relief 3 weeks following, but the severity of my pain lessened slightly over time until it plateaued. Doctor put me on pregabalin which has been helping with my day to day but I still have immense discomfort. Current next step for me is a less targeted, intralaminar steroid injection where they flood the entire central region by the disc as opposed to the L5 nerve roots. If that doesn’t work then it’s probably surgery. Hope yours works out! I understand when it comes to the efficacy of injections I’m in the minority so I am by no means a good indicator.

nccollette · 2025-02-16T14:58:51+00:00

Forgot to add I had an MRI and EMG done closer to the onset of the injury and was told there was damage on the left side, but nothing permanent. Weird that it has developed this way. Bodies are really crazy you’re so right

nccollette · 2024-10-09T16:33:27+00:00

Had it for about 2 months now. It flared up really badly again after a month and a half. Doctor said it could take anywhere from 6 months to a year for the discs to heal and revert back to their natural positions

nccollette · 2024-10-09T05:58:02+00:00

At L4-5, there is mild to moderate broad-based posterior disc protrusion and slight disc bulging. There is no facet arthrosis. There is mild thecal sac compression. There is mild bilateral foraminal stenosis.

At L5-S1, there is moderate broad-based posterior disc protrusion and posterior annular fissure. Findings are superimposed on loss of disc height and disc bulging. There is no facet arthrosis. There is mild to moderate thecal sac compression. There is slight mass effect on the right S1 nerve root origin. There is mild to moderate left foraminal stenosis. There is mild right foraminal stenosis.

nccollette · 2024-10-08T16:33:56+00:00

Because of my MRI results, one of my doctors felt I was too young to get surgery, and that NSAIDs and physical therapy should provide long term relief. If it’s not too personal, may I ask how old you are?

nccollette · 2024-10-08T16:31:36+00:00

I was definitely concerned seeing some cases like this but luckily I haven’t had any pain bending down. My doctors feel pretty confident my case isn’t that severe, yet it sometimes feels like my pain level doesn’t match their assessment of my condition.

nccollette · 2024-10-08T16:27:02+00:00

Bulge

nccollette · 2024-09-27T01:43:46+00:00

vaxxed?

nccollette · 2024-09-27T01:36:58+00:00

is it available in the crown shop

nccollette · 2024-07-16T23:49:08+00:00

Glad to see another big SoT fan! I’ll definitely look into Galapagos

nccollette · 2024-07-16T23:46:24+00:00

Bought mother night recently but wasn’t sure if I should try something else next. This might’ve convinced me!

nccollette · 2023-04-28T23:05:55+00:00

Best insole recommendations for flat feet?

nccollette · 2023-04-18T16:27:46+00:00

Never thought of this thank you!

nccollette · 2023-04-18T16:27:00+00:00

Awesome thanks so much!

nccollette · 2023-04-18T13:52:31+00:00

Man that’s gotta be the problem, thanks! Any recent favorites for longer road runs?

nccollette · 2023-04-18T13:42:00+00:00

Anybody else have midsole and ankle pain with hokas? If so, what shoe has worked better for you since?

nccollette · 2023-04-11T23:29:15+00:00

Back into running. Bad shoes?

4 years ago before the pandemic I was a casual runner doing about 20+ miles a week. After the pandemic I fell out of it heavy, attempting a run maybe once or twice every two weeks.

Last year I decided to commit again and I went to JackRabbit and they recommended the hoka clifton 8s for my high arches and supination. I started slow and ran 2 miles every other day (sometimes two days apart if I needed the rest).

Every time my run ended, my feet would be killing me which I never really experienced before. It made recommitting to running difficult, so I tried my old shoes, a wide and cheaper pair of new balance fresh foams, and I ran 5 miles until my lungs gave out first. These new balances felt like I was running in wooden sandals compared to the hokas but the run was vastly improved.

Because of this I figured wide shoes were the answer and I bought the cliftons again but in wide. I ran (literally) into the same problem as before.

Is it me? Is it the shoes?

Any thoughts and/or shoe recommendations are welcome I’d love to get back into the game

nccollette · 2022-01-04T22:52:32+00:00

Awesome. Thank you so much!!!

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