i was a police officer for nine years and finally went on disability. i'm only 32 and have already had an artificial disc replacement @ L4-L5 and plan on having a fusion on L5-S1 in a few months. I feel like such a wimp because i have to take so many pain pills. I can't believe so many people can work through severe back problems. i understand occasional flare ups and working, but mine is constant all day long and all night. taking care of my 2 1/2 and 1 year old kids is so tough. but also i couldn't imagine sitting at a desk all day. sitting is horrible for me no matter what. i don't know how you guys do it.

my back was a severe bulge (i guess) with a large tear. bone spurs and of course two pinched nerves. now six months later my other lumbar disc is acting up. it was a minor bulge but i have a feeling it is worse than the other. i'm having it removed no matter what, but i know the mri will show severe damage. i even have foot pain this time plus horrible buttocks pain. i mean horrible. well, just venting. thank the Lord for percocet because i couldn't go on because i'm so miserable.

what jobs do you guys do and whats the hardest part of your job and the pain. driving, sitting, and of course lifting.

good luck y'all.

Prays the Lord Jesus

Some people do manage to work. So much depends on the location of the trauma, whether nerves are damaged, and how success surgery is. I worked through my first 3 surgeries, and though I had pain it was managable. But after my last surgery, I knew my working days were over forever. I continue to develop one problem after another, never really without some kind of pain to some degree. But, I know I am luckier than many others, so I do my best to deal with things as they are. At least, I am on my feet every day, walk without aid, and can with limits, take care of my husband and home.

I know that all this has caused me to be depressed and I have had to deal with that issue, too; it's hard not to be low when everyday is just more of the same.

I wish that there were some way I could make you feel better....maybe just knowing you aren't alone.

Carol

I worked with that pain for many years, until of all things a plate that had been put in my neck broke and started causing so many severe problems, I had to go for surgery. It was a very difficult surgery and took me 6 months to even get back a small part of my life. I've had pretty bad back problems for over 5 years, went to chiroprator for accupuncture for 2 years, then to Pain Management for 3 years, finally couldn't take the pain anymore and had L5/S1 fusion done 4 weeks ago, so I've had 2 major surgeries in 6&1/2 months. My work only gave me 7 months for medical leave s o this coming week I'm being termed from a job I loved for 17 years. Like you I couldn't live without percocet or sit for any length time or ride in a car for very far, it's takes your life away.
I'm on the road to healing finally, percocet's cut in half, I feel good again and am gaining strength. I think I can try for my job again in 4 months when this brace comes off. You can only live one day at a time and strive to be better in whatever way you can. These boards have been the best for me with people understanding what you are going through.
I had the foot pain, leg burning and butt pain, most of this is nerve damage, going so long with no relief off nerve, if you have surgery, it should take care of that after a while. Just make sure you have a good spine surgeon even if you have to check around. Good Luck, be thinking of you.

Okie46

Back pain if severe enough will flatten all of us. When you can't go to the bathroom or put any weight on your foot you sure as heck aren't working through the pain. When you find yourself lying in a pool of sweat and the only activity that you can do is speak quietly, working is out of the question. Yes for lots of us it is that bad. So like everything else it depends just how intense the pain is. I remember once being knocked down to the floor with pain and I was unable to get up for hours until my husband came home to help me. Every case is different and it isn't because someone is that much more pain tolerant it is because they simply are not experiencing the same intensity of pain. Some peoples brains have a lot more of the natural morphine endorphins.

Some of us have to work to make ends meet. I have compression fractures from a bad car accident that never healed well at T-3,2,1 and at C-6,7, and from that I have degenerative disc disease, arthritis, bulging discs, bone spurs, scoliosis and kyphosis. On top of all of this, I just found out I have a spinal arteriovenous malformation that has been stealing my spinal arterial blood and compressing my spine in my T-12 area, causing major cramping and pain in my legs, making it difficult to walk - this in addition to the severe pain in my upper back. I have a desk job and working with my arms/hands makes my upper back hurt so bad that it is hard to breathe or eat, and many times I actually run a fever from the stress of being in pain when I have my really bad days.

But, because I am only 23, no one will even listen to a disability claim from me. I even had one doctor tell me that she would NEVER even fill out a form for someone my age-she ended up filling out the form, but I could never turn it in because, despite the obvious conditions, she wrote on the form that I was depressed (NOT SO, I am pretty happy, despite all of this, because I have such a wonderfully supportive husband and a beautiful kiddo) and that I was trying to get out of working, even though I really love my job working in education. She didn't even list ANY of the conditions we had discussed at a previous appointment where we were contemplating surgery.

So, I cannot bring myself to quit work and not bring in any income. My employer is very supportive and even though I miss a lot of work, sometimes a week at a time or more, they let me stay and are well aware of what I go through. I am very happy that you are able to stay home and not subject yourself to the daily grind. I hope that you are able to find a treatment that will help you, because I know it is hard to keep up with a family when you are in pain, much less drag yourself to work.

Keep on trucking, and I do hope you get some relief!! You are NOT a wimp, and only those who are in a lot of pain will truly understand that it takes a lot of strength to make it through when you hurt, and that constant pain affects more than just the part(s) that hurt.