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Thoughts on herniated disc treatment options at Mayo?
Hello, I had a discectomy in 2005 for L5-S1 herniated disc. It failed and herniated again shortly after. I have been managing since the. Non surgical options ( injections, PT, massage, dry needling, cupping, medicine) with little relief. Now my herniated disc is 3x the size as of 2 months ago. Constant pain. 1 doctor wants a fusion, 1 doc says another discectomy. I have now been accepted by Mayo as a non surgical patient. They feel that I don't need surgery. But can't been seen for another 3 month. I can have a discectomy in 1 week.
Can anyone tell me what their non surgical visits were like at the Mayo? I need to decide on waiting for months in tons of pain or just doing surgery. Any input would be greatful
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I had to wait almost 6 weeks for my initial consultation for shoulder replacement surgery! My surgery was about a month after that. I am so happy that i went with Mayo Clinic ! Everyone from the door greeter to the surgeon were so nice to me and I got a first class world renowned surgeon ! I am so happy with the care that I received that I am having my other shoulder done pretty soon !
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2 ReactionsCall every day to check on cancellation at Mayo would be one option.
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1 Reaction@aeisenschenk Welcome to Connect. I know waiting is difficult when you’re in pain, but there is always a wait for good specialists. It sounds like discectomy that just trims off a herniation is a somewhat temporary fix. I don’t know what they can do to try to save a disc vs removing it. There may be new procedures like injecting material inside the disc. You won’t know what is possible unless you wait for the consult at Mayo. Then you are in a better position to make an informed decision.
I have numerous things going wrong with my spine but now the past 4 months I've developed a very painful herniated disc. Does anyone know how this would be alleviated in the most minimal way?
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1 ReactionI had a herniated disc 20 years ago. Caused by pulling up linoleum in my kitchen.. Extremely painful. This led quickly to debilitating sciatica which was eventually treated with 2 steroid injections into that area of my spine. The first injection was very effective, the second stopped the remaining pain.
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1 Reactionhi annie1, sometimes herniated discs repair themselves. Best not to put them under pressure. Physical therapy can help modulate exercise that might exacerbate the disc. Sleeping on your side with a pillow between your knees can be helpful because it keeps your spine aligned. NSAIDs unless they are otherwise contraindicated. Ice for numbness and heat to relax the muscles. You might try a lidocaine patch. I hope it heals quickly.
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6 Reactions@tillymack
Did anything help with the actual pain from the herniated disc not the sciatica? I'm seeing a pain management doctor tomorrow so I hope he'll have something to help me.
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4 ReactionsIn my case it was nerve pain I was feeling. Pressure on the nerve by the herniated disc.
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5 ReactionsHad the same 35 years ago. Traction is my way of controlling the pain that, in the beginning, was the worst thing I’d ever felt.
Now days I use an inversion table when I feel anything coming on. And once in a while to keep the disc from bulging out.
If you can avoid surgery do. As I met others with back issues like this, all of the ones that had surgery were doing worse than others. Here’s a picture of the table. Cheap on fb marketplace
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