posted 04-16-2003 02:53 PM            

If it's not my disc, what else can be the cause? My sciatic pain is the WORST in the early morning as I can barely get out of bed and walk around. At times, it feels like a bad sprain in my SI joint. My pelvis MRI was negative & my stomach MRI was negative except it revealed a simple cyst on the left pole of the kidney.

Does anyone know of a REAL doctor in IL who can give me a clear answer?

Sleepless in Chicago

posted 04-17-2003 01:06 AM            

He insisted it was SI joint or iliopsoas pain, because it couldn't possibly be the disc because the IDET never made anybody worse!!!!!

I don't know why these doctors think we're idiots and can't feel anything in our own bodies

Best of luck finding another doctor.
Telzey

posted 04-17-2003 08:51 AM            

Christina

posted 07-06-2003 12:55 PM            

What an interesting thread. I also have abdominal pain. Mine comes with walking and gets so severe i could scream. Sometimes, it take hours to settle.

While my current problem is now in it's 19th month, and I still don't have a concrete diagnosis, I have to say I was told by a gastroenterologist that it is unlikely that it it caused by L3-S1. he said it was probably a problem much higher up, typically thoracic.
I have not had any argument from the other dr.'s (neurologist, orthopedic, family stating it is not a back problem - they just will never bother to even comment). Think I'm bitter, well your right. Do they think we're stupid, yes they do. I must say I'm taken more seriously when my husband comes with me and sits in on an app't. He doesn't even talk, just sits there. If I want a test ordered, it is the best way to get action.

My mri showed stenosis at L2-3, that is according to the radiologist that did it. Three other dr.'s claim that it is a useless mri, because of artefact from a stainless steel prosthesis.

posted 07-06-2003 01:42 PM            

Do you sleep on your side ? If there is any bulging disc pressing against the nerve, this may aggravate it.

I had similar symptoms minus the abdominal pain. Walking was good for me and mornings were incredibly difficult. As it got worse, even walking became painful but I did get some pain relief from walking for a few months before deteriorating further.

It did end up that I had a ruptured disc at L5/S1 and I had to have the micro-d on June 24th.

Supposedly, sleeping on your back or your stomach is supposed to help with morning pain. After sleeping on my side all my life, I'm finding it difficult to switch, but my effort continues. I'm not sure if it will work or not but this is what I'm trying.

posted 07-06-2003 08:09 PM            

One suggestion for all of you is to do pelvic tilts BEFORE getting out of bed. Do 3 sets of 6 pelvic tilts and if you need to do more, then do. The correct way to do a pelvic tilt is when you lay on your back, your knees are up with feet flat on ground. Now, imagine your belly button touching your spine....and release (keep breathing throughout entire exercise) There you go....that's your pelvic tilt! This seems to be my answer to getting up when there is a lot of pain in the morning. I usually have to do 2 sets before getting relief, but relief I do get.

Just thought ya'll might want to try something that may help you get out of bed in the morning. Good luck!

posted 07-06-2003 08:41 PM            

Don't know if you've received an ansewer to your problem since your original posting but I thought I might throw this out for consideration.

I, too, had problems 3-4 years ago with L4-L5. As it turned out, those two vertebrae were jammed with calcium deposits (don't remember the medical term) which were pinching the nerves and blood vessels. As a result, my legs were weak after walking for periods of time. My surgeon stated she didn't know how I was walking because the nerves were so pinched.

After surgery, relief was almost immediate and I was fine for about 18 months and the symptoms began to slowly come back; limited walking requiring me to sit and rest for several moments and a stiff muscles in the lower back in the morning.

Subsequent testing (MRI) revealed that scar tissue from the first surgery had pushed (is pushing) L4 over L5 and is pinching nerves and vessels causing the same problems I had before. My surgeon said the only alternative she has at this point is fusing. I'm not sure about that procedure and don't believe that fusing will permanently solve the problem or cause problems later somewhere else along my spine.

One solution I found that provides some relief are exercises designed especially for the lower back to strengthen those muscles.

I would think that if you had a problem similar to mine, it would have shown on the MRI. Nonetheless it is a possibility.

I would recommend my surgeon but you'd have to come all the way down to Central IL to see her.

Good luck finding a solution

posted 07-07-2003 02:32 AM            

As for my issues with pain, I am literally unable to do pelvic tilts in the morning. I am a black belt in a traditional Korean martial art, and I have been really flexible. And the pelvic tilt has been a good friend of mine to help with my posture. More effective for me has been a psoas muscle relaxation technique. Lie on the floor (bed is not as good, but works), feet flat on floor, about halfway between where they are normally at if legs straight and buttocks. Feet about shoulder width apart. I find that my feet tend to scoot across the floor, so I wear shoes or find something to block them. Now you merely relax. The psoas connects the top of the leg (femur) to the bottom of the spinal column. It is attached to most if not all of the lumbars. It's sole purpose is to flex the leg forward, as in walking, or to raise your torso, as in a situp. By lying in this position, one can feel the psoas, which is on the inside of your spine, under all of organs and muscles in the abdominal region, start to relax. About 20 min or so twice a day really helps. I also wedge myself between a coffee table and sofa in order to also relax my legs. They tend to want to flop out to the side. Could be the martial arts stretching, I dunno. Anyway, having had 10 years of mid/upper back problems, I can say that this one stretch has done more for me that weightlifting, chiropractors, or other types of stretches.

My current problem is so intense in the morning that I have to be on my belly and push myself off the end of the bed, and then inch by inch straighten myself up with my left leg, as my right sciatic fights all the way. The more I walk and move around, the better it gets. I find that if I can get my legs spread in a wide stance, kind of like the big sumo wrestlers start in, I can straighten up fairly quickly. Oherwise, pain.

As for the question of whether to fuse vertebrae, my answer for myself would be...never. I know quite a few people who have had that done. Prognosis: it could decrease the amount of pain. Or it could do nothing. Or it could increase the pain. Or it could actually relieve the pain.

However, a fused vertebrae will almost never unfuse and gain mobility. An unfused vertebrae has been known to heal. Maybe not all of the time, but I think I would take that chance. Of course I say that now, but if I have another 2 years of this kind of pain, I might change my mind. Optimism says that I will be able to carry on my life as normal one day. And that is what I plan on doing.

Does anyone with a diagnosed ruptured/herniated/degenerated disc problem find that the pain is worse in the morning, and the more the body is used, the less the pain? Kind of like lubing the muscles up when they are tight? Or how about sleeping? I sleep comfortably in any position. It is only when I roll over or something that I get the pain. Or when I get out of bed. Getting in bed at night seems rather normal, even when rolling over, for about 10 minutes. Then the nerves start getting hot on me.