Joy -- degenerative disc disease diagnosis!

Other than the sharpei body skin I know I'm gonna have, I thought after having WLS I'd dodged the fun health issues that being super morbidly obese brings when you get older. Alas, it was not to be.

Last Friday I tweaked my back. I stuck it out until Wednesday with Tylenol. But the stabbing pain and resulting 185-decibel screaming when I had to get up off the couch or pick up the dog's water bowl got to be too much.

Wednesday night the P.A. at Urgent Care looked at an X-ray and diagnosed me with degenerative disc disease. I saw my PCP today and she gave me prescriptions for Vicodin and a muscle relaxant. She's very nonchalant about the whole thing -- and thinks rest and drugs will fix it. The P.A. Wednesday night was a little more excited -- talking about having to get surgery to fix it. (I don't think my PCP was able to look at my X-rays. I am changing PCPs after the first of the year.)

I know more weight loss will help.

Anyway, my questions are:
If the vicodin/muscle relaxants dont work, are there treatments out there that will hinder my weight loss?
Anyone have this get better without any treatment other than rest and managing the pain?

P.S. -- If you young'un's have any doubt about whether having WLS when you're 25 is a good idea, let me assure you it is. Get it done before you wreck your infrastructure!

I have had that for years and the doctors that I have seen say it is very common.  I have found for myself there are times when it's ok and others when really pain med's and rest is the best.  I have done physical therapy and that has been very beneficial.  I would imagine that after you "rest" from just hurting yourself you should not be in so much pain.  It continues as time goes on so the fact that you were doing ok prior makes me think that it could be ok. Best of luck to you, back pain is not fun.

Hi Patti ! So sorry to hear you are in pain. Pretty much everybody past a certain age has degenerative disc disease. It's a pretty non-specific diagnosis. It is caused by the wear and tear of daily life being upright and is accelerated when we are too heavy. Have you had an MRI of your spine ? Do you know if any of the discs are herniated? I would try every conservative treatment including Physical Therapy.Exercises to strengthen your abs, quads, and back were really helpful to me. Rest and meds are very important during the acute back pain, but then it's important to strengthen the muscles that support your frame. Some people are helped by chiropractic care. I would try everything conservative first like heat, ice, gentle massage, meds, PT, a new bed, before even thinking about surgery. I get nervous when a doc gets "excited" about doing surgery anywhere near my spinal cord!

My back, hips, and knees used to hurt all the time. Every pound lost has helped. I hope you feel better soon!

I hate it when stuff like this happens and you don't know how seriously to take it. When one person is freaking out on your behalf and the other is nonchalant, how to do you know how serious it is?

I try to do conservative stuff first and give TIME a chance to heal me. I always try to get copies of my test results and the notes, so that, if I end up at a specialist, we don't have to start over again.
It's sad that most of us don't have a primary doc who will help us coordinate my care. I have a good one, but she's very busy these days and really doesn't care about my arthritis, which is HUGE in my life now. So I'm sending myself to a rheumatologist in 2010, but I make sure my primary doc gets all the records too.

So I try to have a complete set of records and I try for my primary doc to have a complete set because life is COMPLICATED.

Your DJD is pretty common and it's hard to say how much of an issue it will be in the long run. Hang in there and you will probably have to flunk PT before anyone will want to operate. Sorry about this....It definitely MIGHT get better with rest and meds. I'd feel hopeful about that.

I've had disc problems for 25+ years. Right now I have 3 major problem areas...my neck, mid back and lower back. Every medical Dr. I have ever seen has either wanted to cut on me or keep me doped up. Not happenin, although there are days the dope sounds like a grand idea! I've been going to my chiropractor since the first Dr. mentioned surgery. I was raised that chiro's were quacks but I went to one as a last resort before surgery and I'm so glad I did. I should go for regular adjustments, and I do feel better when I do, but it seems I only go when something gets out of whack. All it take is a couple of adjustments and I'm back in the thick of things.

So please....before you consider surgery or a life on pain meds, check out a good chiropractor. You may just be as glad as I am!

Patti.

Stay away from surgery at all costs.. only if it is an emergency would I do that..
I have had spondylolisthesis since I was in 8th grade.. It progressed with age to a grade 3 which meant that I only had 1/4 of a vertebra left for the top vertebra to slip off of and cut the spinal cord in to.. I had to have emergency surgery because it was moving daily toward that happening..
Spondylolisthesis is a form of degenerative disc disease.. when the discs degenerate it will allow the vertebra to move.. Most people get it as they get older.. I was born with a degenerated disc and it progressed as I got older.. now more are degenerating..
I know that with out the surgery then I would be in a wheel chair now but it was not a good thing.. They took the back off the vertebra to relieve the pressure on the spinal cord and put on a plate with pedical screws to hold the vertebra in place.. they used 4 screws  and with my weight 2 of them broke.. now with my extra weigh gain from not being able to do a lot of exercises they can not fix the problem.. I live with pain every day.. yes I can walk but everystep is pain.. laying down is pain. getting up is pain.. I take 10/500 vicodin and muscle relaxers to survive the really bad times.. I have learned to adapt to the pain..and try not to overdo as you can become addicted very easily..
The best thing I ever did was physical therapy in water.. when I do something stupid and move the wrong way and it flairs up like you are now. I go to the pool.. you take all the pressure off your spine in the water.. you can exercise those legs by doggy paddling.. it does help it just takes time..
You may have slipped the thinning disk and it may be pushing on the spinal cord.. been there done that too.. again rest and pool.. It took about 4 months the last time to finally get relief but the disc did go back in place.. see they swell when we hurt them just like any other part of the body.. time lets the swelling go down and allows the discs to return to the proper place. You can try a chiroprator too.. a lot of times they have helped me .. not with manipulations but with ultra sound therapy and heat therapy and electro therapy.. dont let them manupilate without you having a mri first..

There are so many things you can do before jumping to surgery.. do not give up on you PCP.. Too many people have degenerative disc disease to get too excited about..PCP's are not specialists.. they are great for colds and flus and such but not spinal issues..  If it does not get better you need to go to a neurologist and let them do an MRI..and check the nerve reactions.. not a neuro surgeon.. they want to make money and after all they are surgeons.. same thing with orthopedic surgeons right away they jump to surgery..

I will be praying for you for some relief.. I know exacly what you are going through.. quit bending over to get the dog bowl.. let someone else do that.. rest that spine.. get weight off of it in a pool.. do not bend or twist..rest rest rest that spne.. walking is actually good.. but let your body tell you what hurts.. gettingoff the couch is not what is causing the pain it is the time you sat there on the soft cushions.. try sitting in a hard chair.. try sitting in a low chair kinda the height of a kids so your knees are higher than your hips.. that gives relief a lot.. Also I lay in the floor with my back flat and my legs up in a chair..bent at the knees.. try to flatten the back out on a hard surface.. I always roll over and get up like an elephant to get out of the floor..

I pray that you find the relief soon.. If not seek out that MRi.. make sure you have not ruptured a disc..

I wish you all the best.. I am sorry that you are in pain.. wish I could make it go away..
hugs..

Hi Patty

Love your new picture.  You are doing great

I have had degenerative disc disease for years and that was one of my many co morbidities.  I have had back pain that would put me in agony, went to a chiropractor to get adjustments and put frozen peas on my back and took tylenol (the adjustment would last 1 day), had pt and the only thing that has helped is weight loss. 

Painkillers and muscle relaxants generally worked for me although I haven't taken them post WLS.  The last time I took muscle relaxants was when I was rear ended and messed up my upper back (the disc disease took care of the lower back) and all they did was put me to sleep so don't go anywhere if you take them.

You could always try a chiropractor but they didn't do much for me with the degenerative disc disease or physical therapy but the only way to strengthen your back is with exercise and weight loss.  My back has felt better.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Sylvia

 

 

Everyone,

Thanks for the reassuring info and the support. I'm feeling a little better. The muscle relaxant was a Godsend. I don't like taking Vicodin, but it makes it easier to sleep at night.

My DH is being super vigilant about making sure I don't lift anything. I've had to tell the 3-year-old I can't do whatever for her about 85,000 times. She's now suffering back issues, just like she had stomach issues when I started eating mushies.

But I was able to get some things done today with the Christmas decorating. Tomorrow I will make my Buddhist husband put the tree up. LOL!

After the first of the year I will make an appointment with my new PCP as soon as I can and get it all sorted out. I was thinking about a chiropractor before all of this started. And I will see about getting an MRI before I do anything with a bonecracker.

My current PCP is okay, a decent doctor, but she was a poor fit for me when I first chose her. Her office staff is too much for me to handle. They're not linked into the electronic records system at my medical group -- that made for a lot of pain when I was trying to get all my paperwork together for WLS. The only reason I haven't changed before this is because I was trying to get my WLS approved and changing midstream would probably have screwed things up worse. And at my medical group you can only change once a year.

Thanks so much for all your wisdom!!!

Patti

Hi Patti!

Sorry to hear you are having back issues. Be glad you didn't wait until my age - MY infrastructure is pretty darn shot too. I was down with cellulitis and major foot ankle issues. Coming back.

I love my muscle relaxer too. And I totally agree about the pool. I swam yesterday for the 1st time in a month and just flexing and moving my feet and ankles while I was swimming broke up so much stiffness.

Enjoy your multi-cultural holiday! Do Buddists have a winter festival in December or do they wait till Asian New Year?

Patty

My inlaws get really excited about New Years Day (January 1st). I'm anticipating a package soon with tiger stuff in it for the new year. (I think it's year of the Tiger?) Chinese won't celebrate until Feb 14 (according to Wikipedia), but the Buddhist inlaws are Japanese.

For most Japanese, Christmas is all about Santa Claus and Christmas cake. Very commercial. But we invited them for dinner and watching the grandkid open her presents when they stilled lived in the U.S.

They're coming for along month long visit on January 12. I wonder if my MIL will bring the New Years food? I don't think I can handle eating candied guppies again. But this time I can blame my surgery!