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