I sure appreciate everyone's input here.
It's frustrating trying to talk about back
pain to someone with a healthy back, they
simply cannot relate. I find your
experiences--as sad and frustrating as
some of them are--relieving in the sense
that I feel there are people out there who
understand what i'm going through.
I am a 28 year-old dental student. My
problems began during my first year of
dental school--during which we sat 12+
hours/day. I began feeling persistent
pain in my lower back, with a recurring
left-leg pain and occasional numbness in
the outer calf. After months of fooling
around with anti-inflammatory and physical
therapy, I was finally approved for an
mri. The results showed two areas of
herniation: (prolapsed disks at l-4/l-5
& l-5/s-1, with nerve impingement on
the s-1 root). I have read and heard so
much about the discectomy procedures, yet
my doctors seem to suggest that such a
surgery would not be beneficial to me
because the herniation is not incredibly
serious. It’s as if they are saying
this problem is not that bad, and that it
really shouldn't cause much pain. (easy
for them to say)
my question to anyone who may know is
this: is it possible for the herniated
disks to bulge more while sitting (this is
when the pain is severe) versus lying
down? Obviously the mri was done while
lying down when I am in next to no pain.
I feel that when I sit up, the weight of
my entire body rests on the problem area,
causing it to bulge all the more. In
light of this, I feel that the drs aren't
getting the real picture of what's going
on.
Also, any advice on how to alleviate this
persistent pain would be wonderful.
Your companion in suffering and hope,
aaron
