Can i please get some thoughts and opinions please about my problems.

I am a 42 yo male pulled back out at work 8 weeks ago, been seeing a Orthopedic now for 8weeks.

Mri showed a Herniated Disc L5 S1 with Impinging on Spinal canal, I have gone to Therapy ( makes me feel worse). Been taken pain pills , Comp refused Injections.

I have pain in my lower right back and leg, Weakness and pain in upper right thigh. When i get up from sitting for awhile i get pins and needles in leg for about 4 seconds are so.

I would like to get back to works soon, i do heavy work and i an afraid what can happen and besides i am confussed as i why my thigh hurts and feels very weak and heavy when walking.

Can somone pleas egive me some insight as to what is going on....

Thanks Mike

I had a herniated L5-S1 Disk about a year ago, there was also a 6mm bulge on the same side. It hit my sciatic nerve which runs down your leg. I felt pain from my right glute down the back of my hamstring and just below the knee it moved to the front of my leg all the way down to my toes. Some people may feel pain and some may feel other symptons like tingling or weakness, the tingling feeling after you sit down is most likely your nerve. Sitting puts a lot of pressure on your back and the herniated disk is probably releasing fluid which is hitting the nerve. You mention you have a job with heavy lifting? That you may have to put on hold for a while during your bodies healing process. I found an alternative that helped me greatly, it was my very last hope before back surgery and thankfully it did wonders! I tried chiropractic care, it got worse, I tried decompression therapy did'nt make a difference, I had the shot done the prescribed 3 times and that did not work either. My last attempt was something called Acuscope Treatments, its a form of electro therapy but apparently much different then tens units and ultra sound, I would recomend that but make sure it is acuscope! It's hard to find but for me it was the fastest way to a healthy and strong back. Email me if you have anymore questions! Good Luck!

Hey Mike,
If the herniation is impinging on the spinal canal...nerves... then you may not feel better anytime soon. The symptoms you describe are nerve pain. I would not go back to work, especially since your work involves heavy physical labor. Ask for a second opinion if you have to. You do not want to end up with permanent nerve damage which can happen the longer the nerve root is compromised. Check the W/C laws for your state and find out your rights as far as a second opinion is concerned. In Va. they have to give you a choice of several doctors to see. Good luck Mike and keep us posted. I'm a little concerned about you with your symptoms so please don't delay seeing another doctor.

Deb

Mike,

I feel for ya, I really do! But my best advice to you is to get..or at least talk to.. a board certified workers comp attorney. Dont settle with the first one you talk to...make sure that there's a "connection" felt. You've only dealt with wc for 8 weeks.......believe me, thats not going to go away anytime soon...they are are JERKS to deal with, and if they can deny treatments....they WILL. its your body...you need to get them to approve treatments that will possibly help you, to avoid having surgery. An attorney can most likely put them in a position to make them give you injections. There really arent many alternatives as far as treatment goes, so wc needs to allow you to do whatever you can to avoid having surgery. I dont know what kind of job you do...but I can tell you this...you will be very lucky if you ever get to do heavy work again. Sometimes, wc drs will send you back to work well before you are ready...they are "paid" by wc to hurry up and send you back to work, whether you are better or not. so you REALLY need to find out the laws of your particular state...as the laws vary ALOT in every state. In the meantime, you need to get your dr on board and tell him to do whatever he has to do to get wc to approve the injections. there are no justifiable reasons for them to deny the injections. I do hope that you are keeping DAILY journals of your injury....date you got hurt, how you got hurt, who you reported it to, when they sent you to the dr, what the dr said, treatments given, who reported it to wc, who you talk to with wc and what they say, etc....include EVERYTHING..no matter how little you think it is....dont leave any detail out. this will go on for a very long time, and you will be shocked as to how much you will forget in time...and every detail will be extremely important to your case. you also need to get copies of all of your medical reports, mri reports, etc. and get a copy of them each and every time you go to the dr. we wouldnt want any documents to get "lost". and another reason for getting these documents, is so that if the dr says something in the reports that is not true....you can write it in your journal, that way you can keep up with the facts. some attorneys might say that its too soon in your case to actually hire them right now...but....they should be able to help you learn your rights, and provide documents or a website for you to go to to learn more about the wc ways of how they screw people.

You really need to post in the Insurance forum though. the moderators likes for wc issues to be posted in that forum. good luck and keep us informed. we all know what its like to suffer with disc troubles. its NOT fun! and wc is NOT fair!!

Hi Road worker,
I had that problem back in 95,my doc had to go in to remove some of the sap pressing on sciatic,boy what pain that is.it helped for 10 years now my back is shot.working like a pack mule too long.Anyway do not go off comp unless you really better,they want you to get off.Let them pay you.I'm on since 2005,going for permanent disability so I no longer get checks,but I don't always able to get my meds or any other treatment,terrible way comp is operated.have a lawyer too.

Hi Mike, I can only go on my own experience, went to an ortho specialist who basically stated that pain relief management was the only option for me (I have L4/L5/Sl double stenosis as 2 discs are impinging on spinal canal with no spinal fluid past L4). In agony 24/7 and not prepared to accept pills etc for rest of my life, I insisted on a 2nd opinion and saw a neurosurgeon. Finally after nearly 3 yrs and many scans I was offered a 2 level TLIF and decompression. I have accepted this and am waiting to go into hospital. My experience is that this problem only gets worse and I can barely walk more than 1 minute without pain. My advise to you is to get a second opinion or more and look at all options, research it and be guided by other peoples experiences - I have learnt much from forums such as this.

Then make your decision. The outcome of my surgery is yet to be seen of course, but my decision has been based on my quality of life mainly and the need to continue working as I am only 53yrs old.

Good luck in whatever you decide, and I will update as and when I have had the procedure.

:)

Can i please get some thoughts and opinions please about my problems.

I am a 42 yo male pulled back out at work 8 weeks ago, been seeing a Orthopedic now for 8weeks.

Mri showed a Herniated Disc L5 S1 with Impinging on Spinal canal, I have gone to Therapy ( makes me feel worse). Been taken pain pills , Comp refused Injections.

I have pain in my lower right back and leg, Weakness and pain in upper right thigh. When i get up from sitting for awhile i get pins and needles in leg for about 4 seconds are so.

I would like to get back to works soon, i do heavy work and i an afraid what can happen and besides i am confussed as i why my thigh hurts and feels very weak and heavy when walking.

Can somone pleas egive me some insight as to what is going on....

Thanks Mike