ruptured disk

hopefull

hopefull

Cathlete
My mother-in-law is suffering terribly with a ruptured disk. She is off work and on hold to be scheduled for surgery. She is in so much pain, she is practically bed ridden. She lays on a heat pad for a while then forces herself to get up and do something just to stave off the atrophy of her muscles that will occur from being bed ridden. She is taking pain medicine every 4 hours and can barely tolerate it until she can take her next dose. She is a very brave lady, tough, a go getter. I know she must really be hurting to have this slow her down so much. I was wondering if anyone knows anything else she can do to get some relief from the pain. It looks like it will be the end of July before they will be able to schedule her in for surgery. I worry about depression settling in because her normal active way of life has been shut down so dramatically. She is such a dear lady. It breaks my heart to see her hurting so much. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I know she is up to trying just about anything that sounds safe.

Thanks!
Hopefull
 
Hopefull,

My husband had a herniated disk in March. It took a while for the drs' to get the correct diagnosis. But, once they did, they increased his pain meds immediately and had him in for surgery within 4 days!

Waiting until the end of July is outrageous! They had my husband on Aleve (high doses) and hydrocodone. They had earlier prescribed pain meds did not help much.

I believe that icing will help more than heat. I would try to find an ice pack meant for the back. We got ours at Relax the Back.

I would recommend you find out why they cannot do surgery earlier. If the dr is just too busy, can she find another one? Hopefully they have surgeons that specialize in just back surgery where she is.

I feel for here. My hubby was miserable.

Take care. Hope she gets some relief.

Lisa
 
I really feel for her. I haven't posted here in a long time but I just had to respond to this post. I had a back injury that limited my mobility for a year and then as soon as I got back into things I reinjured myself. I have to say, the fact that I couldn't workout anymore was far more painful to me, mentally, than the actual pain from the injury.
The most important thing is that she takes care of herself and doesn't overdo it. For me, my injury lasted much longer because I wasn't willing to give up exercising completely. Once I did that, I healed up quite quickly and was back to doing my Cathe tapes. If I would have known that just taking it easy would have gotten me back to my workouts in a quicker time I wouldn't have pushed myself.
I put my energies into other things for a long time and that is what got me through the inactivity.
She really needs to follow her doctors orders and just look at it like a time of rest and to not focus on anything but that.
I'm pulling for her and wish her the best,
Kate
 
Jerry, my mother-in-law, has been told that the doctor she is with right now is one of the best and worth waiting for to do her surgery. She is also on hydrocodone, but not taking the Aleve with it. I am collecting ideas. I will print out your email and have her talk to her doctor about it. Thank you for responding. I think she needs to push the doctor a little bit more, maybe your story will encourage her to. He life has literally come to a screaching halt.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Paula
 
Hopeful, that is so sad. She is in my thoughts and prayers! Many years ago the journalist Bill Moyers did a series about healing and the mind. There are some wonderful sources of mindfulness and meditation which can greatly help people who are in pain. Jon Kabat-Zinn is one of the truly gifted healers of this kind. Many people who have suffered form chronic pain for years have found great relief with this type of therapy. She sounds like a very brave lady and I hope this all works out for her and she finds relief very soon!
Chicks's Rule! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif Bobbi
 
I know exactly what she is going through. I had to wait five plus weeks and was totally bed ridden. Sat up for five minutes once to write checks for utility bills and cried for a half hour after that from the pain.

I found ice much more comforting than heat. The worst part for me was withdrawl from the drugs after the surgery. Make sure someone coaches her on tapering down. I wanted to get off that stuff so bad that I went more or less cold turkey and had three weeks of shakes, no sleep, and hand-wringing anxiety.

If she has nerve damage and it is getting a lot worse they will have to take her in earlier. My surgeon said if I lost feeling in the groin area it was a 911 situation. Make sure she keeps track of her loss of strength and/or sensation.

Let her know that the pain is gone when you wake up. It's incredible. Good luck to you both. Sending positive thoughts,

--Ann
 
Hi Hopefull~just wanted to add my thoughts, prayers and good wishes for your MIL. She is truly lucky to have such a caring DIL! My MIL and one of my best friends just went thru back surgery and both are doing excellent. (very successful surgeries!) Keep us posted and I hope they are able to move her date up so she can get relief sooner. Take care!
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
Thanks so much for the feedback here. I have shared it all with my MIL. I got her this heating pad a few weeks ago. It is really neat. It is full of flax seed you can heat it in the microwave or put it in the freezer. She hasn't tried it cold, and was going to try it today. She was also going to get a little more assertive with her doctor. She is having to go to the bathroom, pee, a lot and she is afraid this could be a nerve problem connected with the rupture. I am going to go see her tomorrow. I hope to have some good news. Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts and prayers.

Paula
 
I'm so sorry your MIL is going through this!! I experience this last winter, so I know exactly how she feels. I think the Dr needs to be pushed a little. Is the pain in her leg? Mine was sicatica from a piece of disc on the nerve. Mine got so bad one day, that I could not find any position to relive it even a litte. I went to the emergency room and the guys checking me in tripped all over themselves getting me to a room when they checked my blood presure and saw the bottom number was over 120. They knew I wasn't faking. I was admitted to the hospital and had surgery in a few days. I woke up and NO MORE leg pain. It was the most wonderful thing. I wish they would do the same for your MIL! No one should have to suffer the way she is when there is something they can do about it.

Here's praying she gets relief soon!!

Susan
 
Where is a compasionate doctor when you need one. I am going to rant for a minute. Several of the people who have posted on this thread haven't been taken seriously until they were in a life threatening situation. This is scaring me a little. My MIL lives in the country, and is by herself when my FIL is at work. We pay so much for heatlth care. It seems like she should be getting better care!

Yes, her pain is sicatica? It runs down her legs and groin. Sometimes it grips her so bad it takes her breath away, and she gets panicy trying to get it to stop. She can't get into the doctor to schedule her surgery till the 14th of July. She is gritting her teeth and hanging in there. She is taking a lot of pain medicine, which to me is one of the scariest parts of this.

Thanks you for your thoughts and prayers. I will let her know you are thinking of her.

Paula
 
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