Degenerative disc disease & pain management

@chrissie1960, so glad to hear that you did not have surgery. They no longer recommend surgery for me either. I take Cymbalta & Tramadol and they both help, though not as much as I would like. I have thought about asking for an update to replace the Cymbalta. Do you think that amitriptyline is effective? Blessings! ❤️

@sandiw77 thank you for sharing what works for you. I have just been diagnosed with DDD and was feelng very depressed for the first 24 hours. I am -was worried about my quality of life, if I am going to need surgery, and if I can even continue working. Reading your response has alleviated my anxieties. I go to the orthopedist doctor tomorrow for an exam and treatment plan. Thanks again.

@deedeejohnson, feel free to reach out after that visit if you have questions or concerns. I hear you on quality of life! Believing for all the best for you! ❤️

I think I may need help with next steps. My wife has had back and hip pain for 20+ years (she is now 74). She had recently been diagnosed with DDD. Her doctor has put her on pain meds including Zytram 150mg and Tramadol 50mg. If she does any light physical activity, it aggravates her back and she ends up taking excessive amounts of these drugs just to dull the pain a bit. Her symptoms include numbness in her lower legs and lately her balance is going. She has fallen a number of times and when she does that can cause a pain somewhere else that requires more medication. I am hoping I can get some feedback here because I am at a loss on what to do for her and am beside myself with concern regarding her outcome. Thanks for letting me vent.

@bobbythebrain has she had a MRI of Lumbar spine

@eagoss No she hasn’t. She only has an X-Ray that she was diagnosed from.

@bobbythebrain
DDD is kind of a catch-all diognosis.
" It's the name for what happens when your spinal disks begin to wear down"

There are lots of reasons that discs degenerate and without having a complete workup of her back and hips it's impossible to know where to start treating it.

Throwing pain pills at it is just covering up an underlying issue and is totally irresponsible in my opinion. My wife is on opiods so I have seen what they do.

I would go to a non-surgical spine Dr. and get a complete exam and they should order MRI's and X-rays of the Lumbar and Hips to see what may be wrong and come up with a plan.

Good luck

@bobbythebrain only speaking from my experience.
In September 2021, everything started to happen so fast in my body.
I also only had x-rays in September, The orthopedic doctor that took the x-rays .
Said there was nothing wrong with my cervical part of my body everything on my body gradually started to go numb. They did a Lumbar MRI Diagnosed with DDD. My symptoms were not going away.
I took it upon myself to research as much as I could . The answers that were coming back to me was I needed to seek out surgeon in neurology. I live in mountains of northern California , 3 excellent spine centers nearby.
I called three different surgeons office described my situation.
No response,
I took all of my information and went to the office and pretty much begged them to see me.
The doctor did see me and he said he did not have enough information to make an accurate diagnosis
He sent me downstairs to do a full MRI on my cervical thoracic and Lumbar
The cervical MRI came back with a 14 mm herniated disc bulge in my neck, that was causing SpinalMyelopathy.
The x-rays missed that.
As I have Read on some other Peoples treatment plans and their severity of their issues with neuropathy and spinal cord and DDD .
Someone has pointed out to me , on this blog “ I only need to do me “
So if I am saying anything here , that is offensive I’m very sorry this is the first time I’ve ever been on a blog.
I do believe everyone needs to take their own case history and make a decision which best fits themselves.
For me, this was all very new. I took Yoga for 25 years. I had acupuncture. I’m a hiker. I eat healthy. I thought I was doing all of the right things. I felt like this came out of nowhere.
I was extremely scared. I was going to be paralyzed.
I never had any pain in my neck. I only had symptoms in my body. My arms and hands were going numb, my feet, Felt like I was walking on glass.
Then my legs were going numb. Then my torso started to go numb.
And the x-rays came back , with nothing
Again, this is only my experience
The MRIs are what saved me
I hope your wife gets more answers it’s awesome you’re supportive of her.☺️

Hi @eagoss - welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, and thanks for sharing these experiences with DDD.

Glad the MRI saved you and you finally have the information you need.

You are right - each patient has to decide, with their medical provider's guidance, what is best for them. It's very individual.

You have said nothing at all offensive.

Unless I missed it in my rereading what you wrote, did you end up having surgery, in the end? If so, what was done, and how was the recovery?

@lisalucier Thank you for your message . Yes had surgery in January 2022 C6-7
Also surgery February 2023 Lumbar L4-5 . Also diagnosed with DDD.
I’m sure I probably add to the worsting of my spine conditions, doing way too much physically.
After the surgery in 2022 unfortunately I was left with Myelomalacia
The new MRIs revealed that C5-6 are slipping due to this condition along with the advancement of Modic 1.
My biggest mistake was not looking inside my body to see how my bones and nerves and spine health was progressing.
I thought I was doing all the correct things, for my physically healthy.
Now Having to see a physiatrist, a neurologist, also surgeon in neurology.
I totally understand why some people choose not to have surgery .
In my case the herniated disc was so large it was damaging the nerves affecting my spinal cord.
I am no longer candidate For hydronic gel shots , Lipo Gems , or PRP shots.
Unfortunately, again this is just me, Gabapentin does not work for me,
Ice & heat also physical therapy helps with the pain, Lidocaine patches also
I have had epidural shots in my Lumbar spine ,
Two spinal cord compressions , epidurals help somewhat , but again they are only Band-Aids.
I continue to look for non-invasive treatments. Also looking For any advanced trial studies . My biggest fear is irreversible nerve damage.
I’m still trying to find a happy balance where I still can participate in activities with my grandchildren take care of my property in the mountains and also take care of my physical and mental health .
Thank you again🌻 I joined Connect Mayo Clinic. Question & Answer & blog group. Hoping to read Other People’s experiences, with the intend to gain knowledge from various discussions . Maybe learning about Different techniques, Procedure’s that are helping others, with the same issues .
I’m sure with respect everyone has the same goal , to have a healthy spine.🍀