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Pain in my butt

Late in July I stepped into an 18" deep rabbit hole atop Blackford Hill in Edinburgh. Thought not much of it, as it was a competely axial fall...nothing twisted nor bent! Phew!
Except over the successive weeks I developed acute sciatica from what was confirmed by MRI as a herniated disc at L4-5!
I was up to 8 Percosets/day without sufficient relief to sit nor walk much, and now only after two weeks following an epidural steroid injection am I able to sit at my computer (nevermind my listening chair or my Steinway!) to check in with you guys!
Surgery is out, as there's only a 1/3 success rate, and steroidal epidurals are limited to three, 6 weeks apart. So lighter-weight pain-killers are taking the edge off once they take hold by late morning. Perhaps it's fortunate that my used Subaru biz in the dumps of late, as I can't work much anyway.
So I wish to thank those of you who have asked about my absence and well-being, and hope I can stick around here awhile. Oh yeah...I have to ask a question: How are you all?
Cheers. Ernie
subaruguru
calvin1
25 posts
 
Hello,
Wanted to say sorry for your back problem, I had surgery 5 years ago for an L4/5 herniated disk, and although the sciatica pressure was relieved, other problems can arise from surgery such as
problems from scar tissue, muscle weakness,possible arthritis,and constant pain. I wanted to add another alternative to surgery, which may be available which involves injection of a papaya enzyme into the nucleus of the disc, and over a several week period shrinks the disc and impending bulge. The downside is that if there is an allergic reaction to the enzyme,death can occur, but I understand that there is a test which can be performed to rule that out. Good luck on your recovery, and hope you can avoid surgery!
Jerry
trelja
3,224 posts
 
Ernie, I am really sorry about what has happened. My prayers to you to return to normal as soon as possible.

You should give acupuncture and arnica montana a try, both are supposedly worthwhile. Also, whatever you do, keep your wallet out of your back pocket. This goes for everyone as most cases of sciatica are from men carrying their wallets in their back pockets. Sitting on them does a lot of damage over the years. A good friend of mine who is the former trainer of the Philadelphia Flyers told me this a decade ago.

GOOD LUCK!
driver's avatar
driver
750 posts
 
Sorry to hear of your problems & wish you the best of luck. Hope you can get off those pain killers too.

A good friend of mine & I were involved in a very bad accident in 1980. Lots of broken bones, internal injuries, etc. After 4 years of sporadic medical treatment, I finally began to heal & went back to a "normal" life. Unfortunately, my friend continued to take pain killers as he still had problems. He died in a house fire a few years ago & nobody knows for sure if he was under the influence.

This is an extreme example but just goes to show we never know from one day to the next what's in store for us.
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