Hi all, bit of background first. We had our second child just over a year ago and since then my wife has been dealing with post natal anxiety. Roll on to September and she slipped a disc. She had the mri which showed it’s not looking good so our GP referred her to the neuro surgeon. Since then her health has been deteriorating further and we’ve now had a letter from the hospital that she won’t be seeing the surgeon for at least 18 weeks, which obviously hasn’t helped her mental health!
A friend mentioned we could potentially see a private consultant who could then refer us back to NHS. Has anyone ever done this? Or just any advice with coping with her back would help!

i can only say what worked for me, go see a good hands on physio or chiropractor (someone recommended) and tell her to learn the Psoas stretch (hard at first but gets easier with practice) and the PN depression is highly likely to be diet driven (too much carbs and sweet stuff) and not enough natural fats. HTH in some small way.
I had all the same stuff from the surgeons too, years on and my back is a 100 times better without any sugery 🙂

I’d try the Physio to see if they can provide some relief whilst waiting, keep away from Chiropractors.

Can’t help with mental health stuff, but ongoing grinding slipped disc pain does get you down. I had one for 18 months, it was truly awful, I used to cry out in pain when the train went over points on my commute. Saw chiros, physios and consultant but disc was having none of it.

Obvious things such as lying on the floor for relief, what did it for me ultimately was getting active again – it was why I restarted biking. She absolutely must get as much movement going as possible without impact.

I was going to say stay away from physios but then saw she had already had an mri. Our experience with my wife is that a physio working ‘blind’ (without scans) is potentially worse than nothing atall. The damage the physio my wife first saw when her back first went was potentially litigious and certainly set her back in her recovery.

The 18 week thing surprises me – I’m going through problems (that will end in surgery in the new year) with my hip and it all seems to be about 18 weeks these days. It appears that I will have to have my surgery within 18 weeks of having been referred to the surgeon/hospital. Now she has been referred to the surgeon I am quite surprised it will be 18 week until she is first seen, not treated. You sure you are reading the info correctly?

As an aside – don’t think that surgery will be the panacea and it will all be good afterwards. My wife had weeks of issues with constantly wanting to go to the loo (but actually not needing to) after her discectomy as it jangled the nerves that control those things. She also has sciatica issues now, 4 years on, she did not have before the surgery. Also – when they say you will probably be fit to return to work X weeks (in my wife’s case 6) after the operation don’t assume that means in X weeks you will be mended. She probably took 12 or 15 weeks before she felt ‘normal’ again – after 6 weeks she was capable of earning a crust in an office based job but was far from right.

I tweaked my back years ago and for two years my GP said it was muscle damage and I should man up.

The last time it went (still some years ago) I more or less forced him to refer me privately as I have private medical with work.

2 weeks later I got the consultation, the day after an MRI with diagnosis of herniated L5/S1 there and then. A few more days I had the first treatment which was a generic injection in my back.

Eased the pain for a week or so, then went back and got 4 x-ray guided injections direct into the area each side of my spine.

All done within a month once in the private system, and has been in the main trouble free since. I still get tweaks and occasionally to the dregree that results in a day or two on horse tablets.

In short, yes I’d strongly advise private if you can, but would visit a back specialist for a propper diagnosis before going straight to a Chiropractor.

Discs dont slip. The bulge or they bulge a bit more. Have a google for a book called “Treat Your Own Back” and try some of the things contained with in it. Might also be worth trying a TENS machine to get the pain under control. Relaxation exercises will also help.

Discs dont slip. The bulge or they bulge a bit more.

I think most people are fairly conversant with the fact that ‘slipped disc’ is just the layman’s term for a herniated disc aren’t they?

I think most people are fairly conversant with the fact that ‘slipped disc’ is just the layman’s term for a herniated disc aren’t they?

No – as you have just shown.

No – as you have just shown.

explain

There’s a difference between a disc bulge and a herniated disc. One has the inside coming out of the disc the other doesn’t. I’ve also lost count of the number of people whose pain is significantly reduced and their function improved when you explain what’s going on – i.e. the disc is damaged rather than the disc moving.

A ‘bulged’ disc =/= slipped disc in common nomenclature. I suppose it could be misdiagnosed or mis-referred to as one.

I think it’s a pretty standard understanding that a slipped disc is a reference to a herniated or prolapsed disc.

reference – ‘Herniated disks are also called ruptured disks or slipped disks.’

One is your own private practitioner – using the holistic approach is key..

It really isn’t convert people still think it is a disc that has slipped, it’s why the term isn’t used as much these days.

A ‘bulged’ disc =/= slipped disc in common nomenclature. I suppose it could be misdiagnosed as one.

A think it’s a pretty standard understanding that a slipped disc is a reference to a herniated or prolapsed disc.

Not in my experience. Far from it.

It really isn’t convert people still think it is a disc that has slipped, it’s why the term isn’t used as much these days.

That’s why most of the early sessions with patients who have back pain is focussed on explaining what it actually going on and realigning patient expectations from being often incredibly negative to more positive ones. It is truly amazing what you can achieve by not giving anyone exercises or hands on treatment.

Not in my experience. Far from it.

Maybe I just mix in a more educated/aware crowd 😉

Or one that damages itself so often that its a common topic of conversation!

Maybe I just mix in a more educated/aware crowd

Maybe, but I dont really get to choose my patients.

Just to clear up what I meant, she was told she had a prolapsed disc and her vertebrae were rubbing together.

Thanks for the advice, lots of stuff I’ve not heard before so food for thought

I’d avoid surgery like the plague, unless she is in constant agony or has bladder problems etc. Studies show at ten years people who have surgery and those who don’t end up in pretty much the same place.

Surgery can go wrong and in some cases people end up with permanent nerve problems.

I’d try 6 months to a year of proper rehab (she would have to be careful and do rehab for months after surgery anyway) before considering an operation.

@chamley, one of the quirks of the human body is that back pain and mental health seem to be very much intertwined (as evidenced by things like the correlation between the prevalence of back pain in work places with unpopular bosses). I would say yes, go private, it is definitely something worth spending your money on, and I would suggest an attack on both fronts- see a physio as well as a counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist for the post natal anxiety(if she isn’t already). There is every possibility that the two conditions are working together to aggravate each other, and equally you can expect them both to settle down together as your partner receives treatment. With a bit of luck she won’t need the surgery, which is rarely the solution people hope it is and also carries its own inherent risks which could ulimately result in more distress, rather than less.

OP – your missus might benefit from trying a crutch or a walking stick to help unload her spine.

If you can find/be recommended a good osteopath with a good knowledge of acupuncture there is some temporary relief to be had with it. (Modern and old style acupuncture was a godsend for me while I waited for an injection appointment at the hospital).

A friend mentioned we could potentially see a private consultant who could then refer us back to NHS.

By chance I spoke to a guy last weekend in exactly this situation.

He found out the name of the best (by word of mouth reputation, so may not have actually been the best IYSWIM) neuro-surgeon at the nearest big NHS hospital. Had a single private consultation with him (£200) and the neuro-surgeon put him straight on his NHS list.

So assuming this guy wasn’t bullshitting (he had a big recent scar on his back so I doubt it) it works.

Go private.

Get your GP to refer you (her) and get it sorted. They’ll usually go for steroids first rather than surgery as it calms things down whilst things heal naturally and is obviously least risk. I found this a waste of time and then went on to a discectomy.

The upside of private is the wait between elements of treatment (diagnosis/referral/mri/treatment/review etc) are reduced and you can concentrate on recovery rather than waiting.

I slipped (OK, ruptured for the pedants) two discs in Jan this year and am just about getting back to 90% after cortisone (pointless IME) and surgery. I still get sciatic pain (oddly?) manifesting itself in my hip/thigh/knee which is controllable via Brufen.

The pain preop was excruciating and I can identify with the comments above about mental health. It really, really pisses you off. I was on max everything drug wise and it just about controlled it. Coming off them, however, was very very unpleasant.

Get her fixed as quickly as possible and do this privately if you can fund it. Everyone will be happier.

Wife has just gone private. Saw GP and got referral letter, phoned private insurance and got appointment with neuro-surgeon 3 days later, then 2 day wait for MRIs and then back with consultant 2 days after that. Conclusion was that lower back pain isn’t likely to be disc related; she has some disc degeneration but no more than normal for someone over 30. We now have a 2 week wait to see a hip surgeon as she has a tear in the cartilage in her hip.

Having a discectomy to correct excruciating pain … With 20:20 hindsight, I wouldn’t have had the surgery. I went private (finally after 3 years of mahoossive pain and nhs misdiagnosis) and was operated on within a week. I herniated the same disc again about a year later and now they won’t operate again unless I’m in danger of not being able to walk.

I’ve suffered from that but just recently (after another 5 years of pain), I’ve finally been getting on top of it. Tried everything but it really has been a case of coming to terms with what I can and can’t do plus focusing on a very limited set of strength exercises.

It really does mess with your head … you can get stuck in a vicious circle of “why me” and not seeing a way out. The painkillers don’t help that.

My advice is to try to find a good physio in your area (very tough to find). Build a relationship with them to work out what aggravates your wife’s injury and try to work round the limitations to strengthen her core. As far as the mental impact goes … I just don’t know.

Realised I didn’t answer your question fully. Yes go private and then get them to refer you back to the NHS.

What I did was go to my physio (who is excellent) and I paid for a private MRI which cost about 140 quid.

My physio recommended a surgeon that he trusts in Portsmouth as the local guy is apparently a bit sloppy.

Once the Dr had seen my disc herniation he was happy to refer me to the hospital. I asked to be referred to the recommended surgeon and called up and sent my case history through and MRI.

I got an appointment with the best surgeon in the area for backs fairly quickly and it cost me about 200 quid. Ideally you need the MRI and send it through to the surgeon personally.

In the end I didn’t go through with the op, but I was able to get to see a top NHS back surgeon much quicker than normal by paying out of my own pocket initially.

OP, go and see your GP. Ask for a consultant referal, when the GP says that will take 6, 8, 12 ? weeks offer to pay for that appointment privately (likely the same consultant) this will cost £250-300 ? Then that analysis can be used to get NHS treatment.

NHS kept my mum with a back issue which meant she was house bound waiting 4 months with fob offs until we paid for a private MRI / consultant which lead to prompt treatment – a cortizone injection which is what we all felt she needed (in fact knew due to examination from a family member who is a specialist consultant in France)

The NHS is fabulous at many things but not everything and especially not issues like this

EDIT: just seen @kudos say exactly the same thing