[Closed] Just slipped a disc in my back - OUCH!

get yourself on a swiss ball and do some gentle sit ups - it's the only thing that stops my back from spasming. Good luck fella.

I'm guessing you have done this before, but if not could it not be a muscular spasm?

[i]Managed to drive home and neck a diazepam, which will hopefully relax me enough for the naughty disc to slip back in.[/i]

That's not what a slipped disc is, hope you sorted soon though.

Feels exactly the same as the last time I slipped a disc.

Still got the diazepam the doc prescribed. She said if I take it within 48 hours, the disc can work its way back in.

I'm not a medical man though. Muscles were spasming all over the shop as I tried to get in the car.

Slipped disc is not a disc slipping out it means it prolapsed, popped the soft squishy bits have come out. They don't slip back in.

Drac is right and if it does you will know pain you have never felt before.

You probably need to do extension excersices. as it is often posture problems that cause this .Morphine had no effect on mine .
i had to get my disc out after years of torture and what a releif .
dont let yoursef get to that stage
jim

Everyone summed up my thoughts there 😀

I think you get the issue described more correctly with the line

Muscles were spasming all over the shop as I tried to get in the car.

Get to a remedial masseur who should be able to give you some specialised advice and treatment.........don't just rely on painkillers that just allow you to carry on and cause more damage ! Honestly, don't keep goig on with this problem when you could be getting help 🙂

If you've slipped a disc, you'll almost certainly have pain down buttock/leg (sciatica). As Clarey.. said, get it looked at properly - I'd recommend a decent osteopath. I slipped a disc 3 years ago and have only just managed to start running again (across the road, not marathons). Avoid making it worse and developing sciatica - it's like bad toothache, right down your leg.

Had a prolapsed (slipped) disc a couple of years ago. It doesn't sort itself out overnight that's for sure. Weeks/months of sciatic pains more like.

If you Have slipped a disc, you should notice some improvement in 6 weeks, then you won't be considered for an op (probably a good thing), a good recovery in 12 months if you take it easy.

Diazapam - what a strange drug tp prescribe for a prolapsed disc! It's normally prescribed for sevre anxiety.............!

I had Diazepam prescribe when I fractured my back last year woodsman.

Perhaps I don't have a slipped disc, but both the cause and paralysing pain were the same as I had a couple of years ago - and the GP diagnosed and prescribed diazepam - saying it could unprolapse itself if caught quickly.

Pretty sure that's what was said, although I was in quite bad pain so memory not perfect.

I recovered in about a fortnight the first time. Strengthened back by swimming and riding more and all was well for a while.

It went again a couple of years ago, but that time I got given codeine and diclofenac - and it took a lot longer to get back to normal. More than a month.

Of course it's quite possible the GP was mistaken, I think I'll get an appointment for next week and get a second opinion.

Thanks for the pointers and concerns. Feeling a tad better - and very mellow - now.

[i]Diazapam - what a strange drug tp prescribe for a prolapsed disc![/i]

Not all all in fact very common.

Diazepam is a relaxant, so in some ways it will relieve the feelings of pain, and I guess relaxing the muscles can only help. It isn't a repeat prescription (being a controlled drug). It is sometimes prescribed for pre-op medication to relax people. It's also presribed for acute depression and sleeping related problems.

It just seems strange to me, I wouldn't have thought it that's all. If it works then great!

It wasn't given to me for pain relief woodsman, I had tramadol for that. It was given to me as a muscle relaxant.

Makes sense now enrie. Hope it worked for you, and that you're well on the road to recovery.

diclofenac is an anti inflammatory. Diazepam is a muscle relaxant. = reduce swelling and relax muscles. Normal basics for prolapsed disc.

You may have to push for more agressive tretsment if it doesn't improve as care policy has just chasnged for backs.

Believe me you don't want to suffer for 9 years like i have.

Good luck.

Thanks for the lecture on Diazapam I never really knew why I could prescribe it. 🙄

And I never really knew why it was valued as a recreational drug - just make you fall asleep surely, Dr?

I went into hospital at the beginning of this year with excruciating chest pains.

They tested me in various ways and said I'd probably got one or more of:
a) pneumomia
b) pneumothorax
c) a massive, old blood clot on my intercostal muscles
d) pleurisy
e) cracked ribs
f) muscle spasm
g) hypochondria

They kicked me out of hospital after three days with no diagnosis but a massive cocktail of drugs

1) antibiotics
2) anti-inflammatories
3) steroids (to counteract the antibiotics)
4) anti-depressants (I only discovered this afterwards when I looked up the drug name)
5) powerful analgesics (took me four days of cold turkey to get off them when, after three weeks, I felt better)

Modern medicine - pah!

I'd have settled for leeches and cupping

I can see exactly why diazepam is a popular recreational drug, especially to those of a more nervous disposition - or who might have got themselves a bit agitated by using stimulants.

Currently typing this very slowly from a fluffy could of contentedness, despite having woken up at 7am in quite bad pain I still managed to snooze 'til 9 after taking another tablet.

Eldrige - That's a bit concerning. Did you just get better in the end?

Sounds like a muscular problem. Listen to Drac... he knows what he is talking about (at least I hope he does :wink:).

I prolapsed a disk when i was 20, which was only resolved by surgery. It was excruciatingly painful. Since had a few muscular spasms and the pain isnt even in the same league.

I can fully sympathise with you chakaping. I "pulled" my back on Wednesday lifting the dog into my van! My manipulative sports therapist can normally cure this quite quickly but this time he just had a sharp intake of breath and said "oh dear". Takes me about 20 mins to be able to stand up straight in morning but eases as day goes on. Yesterday I stood on a nail that went straight through my foot, and a week today Im meant to be going to the south of france to do the Raid Pyrenean!!

[i]Listen to Drac... he knows what he is talking about (at least I hope he does :wink:).[/i]

lol cheers, I'm not guessing what it is at all though does sounds muscular just trying to explain confusion with the term slipped disc and why they don't 'pop back in'.

Sillyoldhector ehce forth not to be known as "Lucky"

Sods law-right before a holiday. I feel for you as I was about to go on holiday and a car hit me-whiplash. Nearly ruined my holiday.

Don't do situps etc. You're best seeing a doctor or going to a drop in centre.

Prolapsed discs can go back if it's just a buldge but thats using traction weights which don't work for everyone and not overnight.

If you're not in sciatic pain (running down your butt or leg) I hope it's just muscular.

What bummer.

Thanks for the lecture on Diazapam I never really knew why I could prescribe it

Why the need for the sarcastic remark Drac ? No one was '[i]lecturing you[/i]' on anything.

Your need to ridicule people who clearly don't deserve to be ridiculed, quite frankly puzzles me - do you suffer from low self-esteem or something ?

Did you just get better in the end?

thanks for your concern, chakaping

I'm still getting better - hours on the bike this year are about 25% of last year, mainly because the lungs don't seem to work as well as they did

Getting off the painkillers was the worst thing - they don't tell you what the cold turkey can be like

[i]Your need to ridicule people who clearly don't deserve to be ridiculed, quite frankly puzzles me - do you suffer from low self-esteem or something ?[/i]

Ah the irony of grizzly gus coming into a thread and only posting comments about me.

Yeah, that's right ........ I'm having a go at [i]you[/i].

Only I reckon you deserve it. Your ridicule of Cubed however, was completely unwarranted imo (I assume that it was aimed at him since your post was directly after his) because for a start, he wasn't even talking to you.

Comments such as : "You may have to push for more aggressive treatment if it doesn't improve" and "Believe me you don't want to suffer for 9 years like i have" and "Good luck" suggests that he was talking to chakaping, not you.

And I reckon Cubed is perfectly entitled to post comments which he considers might be helpful, without being subjected to smart-arse put-downs.

Osteopath and acupuncture are usually what I used to do. I say used to because I had a foraminal (sp?) nerve block carried out 18 months ago. Which has stopped the muscle spasms and allowed me to get my back/core strong enough to support the prolapse. I had mine done privately as the GP was no help ingetting an NHS referral and it cost about £3k all in ( guesstimate as insurance paid the bills).

You assumed wrong GG.

Chill Guys!!

Everyones allowed an opinion.

I was diagnosed with prolapsed discs at L4/ L5 9 years ago. From experience i find that docs have little concept of the pain this type of problem causes. I also find that most docs give poor explanantions on drug use, length of drug use and the uncomfotable side of coming off them.Unfortunately i react to ibuprofen and diclofenac so the normal drug regime is out, although i can highly recommend pethedine and diazaepam. I also find that docs rarely tell you of the resorces available for pain management - ie pain management clinics, back reabilitation units, physio etc.

Having gone down the conservative treatment route as advised at the time i have had multiple relapses and further prolapse at l5/S1.

The only real method of diagnosis is an MRI - but sciatica/ numbness are indications of diagnosis and not a full diagnosis.

I am empathising with chakaping as after a bad month of being ravaged by every bug going i spent last weekend being fed morphine due to a relapse and am currently awaiting a referral back to the orthopaedic consult. Currently i am stuck at home on crutches as i can barely stand let alaone get on a bike. ( Yes i was having a good year getting the miles in - now frankly i'm going to be lucky if i can walk properly by the end of september).

The point i was making is that NICE the NHS treatment guideline body has changed the suggested methods of treatment - and as such you may have to push to get the right resolution for you.

You assumed wrong GG.

OK, it was a rather belated put-down aimed at woodsman then. Makes no odds imo, I don't see why there should be any need to make woodsman look stupid.

He obviously didn't know what you do for a living, and I can't see the problem with him saying, [i]"It just seems strange to me, I wouldn't have thought it that's all. If it works then great!"[/i] with reference to Diazepam ... it seems a fair enough comment to me. He certainly doesn't deserve to be made to look stupid for saying it.

And if people are subjected to ridicule when they are trying to be helpful, then the likely outcome of that is less people posting suggestions/answers/advice ......not exactly conducive to the aims of a forum I would have thought.

Sorry to hear about your horrendous back problems Cubed, they are certainly in a completely different league to anything which I have experienced 😯 Hope you get it sorted out soon, and it all becomes just a bad distant memory ........

Go see a physio.

Crikey! Seems I'm not the only one who could benefit from popping a valium or two.

Actually I ran out on Saturday morning and have been taking codeine and diclofenac from my stash on the advice of the GP out-of-hours phone person - with quite positive results.

Despite the intense initial pain, it hasn't progessed down the side of my body like the first time - so either I didn't prolapse again or my GP was correct in telling me that taking a valium swiftly could reverse the damage.

Cubed and Eldridge - Both your experiences sound awful, and much worse than mine. Fingers crossed you're both on the mend now.

Drac - What is your job btw, if you don't mind me asking? I didn't really post because I was looking for advice, but when it is proferred it's good to get some credentials.

[i]Drac - What is your job btw, if you don't mind me asking? I didn't really post because I was looking for advice, but when it is proferred it's good to get some credentials.[/i]

Paramedic so limited some what with some things but have good knowledge of others, I'm careful with advice though as it's a public forum.

Very wise I think.

But those who diagnosed a spasm rather than prolapse appear to have been on the money. Nurse practitioner said pretty much same thing - that disc might have prolapsed momentarily on Friday afternoon.

Feeling much better apart from vague diclofenac nausea, even managed an hour of pootling round on the bike this eve.

🙂

cha****ng, same problem as you, various times over the last 10 years. My experience is physio doesn't help as it is due to my pelvis becoming misaligned. Diplofenac and diazapam certainly help manage the pain but the osteopath actually deals with the issue.

Can't rate osteopaths highly enough, however this is of course my experience and not a medical advice.

My doc investigated me several times as I keep having lower back issues when road riding. Then after I was carrying some hay around I really did it in and couldn't stand straight for a week, the only time I got relief from the pain was when I curled up in bed on my side. Toddled off to the docs and he lay me out and went up my spine pushing on each bone in turn with some considerable weight. None of them caused pain and so he concluded that it was muscle based and I should MTFU and take some syndol (wonderful stuff!). Problem is I keep getting the mild form re-occuring so I'm going back to see him again, though I've no idea what I can really say!

coffeeking

Those were my symptoms EXACTLY, it was moving a fridge that did it for me.

One visit to the osteopath and he found my pelvis our of alighnment and clicked it back in, immediate relief. Now regular application of ice (10 mins on, 20 mins off) and 2 more visits and I'm pretty much back to normal.

If you don't deal with the root cause of the issue it will come back.

IME GPs are very hit and miss with back pain, the fact that he checked your spine and didn't even consider your pelvis (major cause of lower back pain) says it all really...

Osteopaths can now be referred to by the GP however if I was you I would spend the 40 quid and get myself to an osteopath asap.

Woodey is offering sound advice, it didn't "just happen" lifting the dog in, back injuries tend to accumulation of things over months and even years. Worth asking to your GP for Physio or finding a good one private to try and get to the route of the problem.

I think I'll be booking a visit to the GP and point a few things out. Don't really have £40 knocking about spare each week/month but I suppose I could stop buying bike bits for a while!