You herniated a disk in your neck. You recovered. Tell me how it went.

March 20, 2015 11:44 AM

Tips? Ideas? Commiseration? Humorous anecdotes? Heartfelt grievances? All gladly accepted. Bulleted summary below the fold.

* I think I had a bit of a precursor in there, because I remember last summer I would feel kind of a sharp, focused pain in the back of the neck if I looked up too far.

* The pain I have now, I noticed in mid-October, after lifting weights. It didn't go away after a month, so I went to the doc and got an MRI. Herniated disk.

* The doc seems hopeful that I will be able to avoid surgery. Evidently the disk isn't bulging TOO much, and I don't have numbness or tingling in my fingers or anything like that.

* the pain i do have isn't constant. Sometimes I'm mostly ok. Sitting really seems to aggravate it, so I stand a lot.

* The pain itself, while not exactly crippling, is definitely wearing me down after five months.

* I did PT for a while. I can honestly say that it didn't (as far as I could tell) seem to make any difference. Although being in the traction device did make the pain go away, while I was in it.

Any guidance gratefully accepted.

posted by Alaska Jack to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Best answer: I herniated a disc in my neck that sent constant, throbbing, shooting, horrible pain down my left arm. It was the worst thing I've ever experienced (and I once saw Billy Idol in concert) and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It was always present, always awful, and there was nothing I could do to ease it.

It gradually got worse until one morning I woke up in agony, called in sick for work and went to the ER. They diagnosed it as a "pinched nerve" and gave me Percocets that did nothing but put me to sleep and constipate me. Didn't ease the pain at all.

My PCP sent me to a spine specialist, who diagnosed it as a C7 (or C6, maybe) herniated disc. He gave me a prescription for Gabapentin, which is specifically for nerve pain. After a week or so that helped ease the pain a bit but it never went away.

The spine doctor gave me the best advice any doctor has ever given me. At first it sounded like the worst advice, but once I followed it I realized it was actually the best advice. "Live your life as if you're not experiencing any pain."

Of course that's impossible, I mean, I always felt pain. But once I stopped feeling sorry for myself and got off the couch and actually accomplished things, even something like doing the dishes, my attitude improved. The pain was the same whether I was lying down or moving, so it made sense to move.

I tried yoga, physical therapy, and in my desperation I even tried a chiropractor. The chiropractor was either a scam artist or delusional, because she would say things like "Oh... I can feel it... yes... that thing I did just now really helped..." but once I had an MRI and used actual science to see what was wrong I realized the nature of my injury was such that there's no way in hell she'd have been able to feel it. I also think she made matters worse as after I saw her my neck was in a lot more pain.

I had the MRI in preparation for a cortisone injection but when I got to the room to have the injection I mentioned that it had improved slightly. The doctor immediately decided not to give the injection and to wait. It wasn't worth any risks if I was showing signs of improving.

In the end I think it was just time that helped. PT always seemed like they were addressing the symptoms (my arm and neck) rather than the problem.

That said, I think doing yoga and PT helped me feel like I was taking control of the situation an it's possible it helped my attitude a bit, which I believe helped a bit with the pain management.

A lot of people recommended acupuncture. I'm skeptical of most "alternative" medicines so I read up on it and I concluded that, since it was basically a placebo effect, and I was already skeptical, then it wouldn't help me. If you are the type who is opened to that, maybe it will help you. I think it's probably the same with the chiropractor.

After a few months the pain eased up a lot, though depending on the position of my arm or neck I would feel it. About a year after it went away the pain came back, almost as bad as before. This time I just went back on the Gabapentin and waited. No yoga, no PT. It's now maybe two or three months later and the pain is just about all gone. I know it will come back some day though. My spine doctor said these things don't really un-herniate, the nerves just sort of work their way around them.

So, in short, give it time. It WILL get better, though there might not be much you can actually do to help it go away more quickly.
posted by bondcliff at 12:48 PM on March 20, 2015

Best answer: I had a thing at C5/C6. it hurt a lot, and made my thumb and index finger on my dominant hand go numb.

The traction machine I got from EMPI was worth every cent of the $750 I had to pay for it. I had to pay because the supplier (or EMPI itself?) wasn't on my insurer's approved supplier list.

I still use it 3 years later occasionally, as needed.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:10 PM on March 20, 2015

Best answer: I herniated two discs in my spine. The pain was intense, horrific, and constant. I had already lost muscle in the affected arm, and ended up having surgery.

It took a year, and it was not a fantastic year, but I recovered. I've got titanium hardware stitching my spine together at C5-C7, but the only real life difference is I can't swivel my head 180 degrees to see what cute thing my cat is doing behind me anymore. (I can make about 90 degrees though, and spraining my eyeballs + scooching around a bit gives me another 10 or 15 degrees if I really need it.)

If there were any possible way for me to have avoided surgery, I would have avoided it. But if it turns out you can't, you will be fine.

Be aware that pain is hard emotionally as well as physically, and take care of yourself on both fronts. If you are given exercises to do, do the exercises like it's your religion. If you feel like your life is changed forever and there's nothing left for you because the pain is consuming your thoughts and feelings -- that's depression, and it's a normal part of being in chronic pain, and you should get help for it. (Wish someone had told me that.)
posted by kythuen at 3:15 PM on March 20, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. Since I posted this, I've done two things.

First, I checked this book out from my library:

7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life, by Robin McKenzie. Reviewers on Amazon seem to like this author's work. I'm going to try to be very disciplined about doing these in the morning and at night.

Second, I ordered an inflatable cervical traction device: Dr. Bob's Portable Neck Traction. My idea is that, because it really seems to aggravate my neck when I sit, I could use this in my office during those times when I have to sit.

Again, thanks to all. This is going to be a challenge, as I am usually one of those annoyingly active people. Ok, breathe. One day at a time!
posted by Alaska Jack at 6:44 PM on March 21, 2015