Pain and Tingles

I still feel the exact same way I’ve felt since October of last year.  Pain and tingles come and go – and they’re back with seemingly no trigger.  They’re better today after a 1.5 hour walk, but were worse yesterday with not much physical activity.  The worst is the early morning… I wake up every morning with that tight ache in my lower back and can only sleep on my back.  Sides and stomach are too much and its been that way for years.  Just worse now than it was before.  I’m going to cut out the spinal stretch for now.

I’ve been reading a lot and am quite discouraged.  My formaminal stenosis and end plate changes are making me worried I may never be a candidate for an ADR.  Can an ADR even help that?

I’m back on the NSAID’s today and will keep using them until the pain begins to subside a little more.

I hate having to brace myself on my knee EVERY time I bend over, and flinch EVERY time I get in the car.

Conversely, I’ve read far too much about surgical complications with ADR, subsidence and migration.  Spinal surgery can be a nightmare and fusion sounds like it could make me worse off than I am now.  What’s a guy to do?  I’m working up enough guts to finally post on the spinal forums, but I really just want to talk to a professional that can tell me my real options.  Will I ever get better without some kind of intervention?  Will I ever return to the life I’m missing?

I got a call up for a Div 1 hockey game yesterday and was devastated when I had to tell a buddy of mine that I’m probably out for good.  I haven’t played in 6 months and I had been up to 3 games a week.

Yoga is still out of the question, though cat cow and low shoulder width squats help a little.

I can feel my core strength deserting me and I wasn’t able to lay any tracks this winter.

At least my kid is sill making me laugh.  Awesome style.

Spinal Stretch Part 2

I’ve used the Spinal stretch for a total of 40 minutes now and something feels different for sure, I just don’t know if it’s a good different.

It has certainly loosened up my lumbar region and feels great when using it, but it has also given me some brief numbness and tingles down the back of my left thigh… though it subsides quickly.  This  is how it felt back in December – maybe this device is giving me some height back on the disc?

Maybe I’ll see some concrete improvements with time?  I’ll keep doing it twice a day for the next couple of months.

Update  – no pain sitting down so far today… interesting.  I’ll take this for as long as it lasts!

-Brett

Supplement Trifecta Seems to Work a Little

Collagen, Gluscosamine and Omega fatty acid supplements seem to have decreased my pain a little.  I can sit comfortably for a little longer without the need for anti inflammatories.   Bending, twisting and lying in bed still ache.  I’m hoping things will get better over time, though I know deep down my disc is probably doomed and will never repair/regenerate/rehydrate.   I’m giving it the old college try, though!

The Rebuild Yor Back excercises are very close to my Ashtanga Yoga practice already… and I’ve had to stop yoga due to the pain.   Hopefully my supplement program will get me to a spot where I can start doing some light yoga again to mobilize/decompress the spine and encourage the transfer or nutrients to my L4-5.  This is one hell of a slow process as I enter my sixth month.

No word back from any of the surgeons or the fda clinical trial.

A return to sport seems to be a LONG way off at this point.

Updates (Stems and Collagen)

I started protien shakes and glutemine supplments before bed 3 nights ago and have been taking it easy.  Pain is down when sitting, but bending over still really hurts.  I’ve contacted Douglas Labs to see what they have to say about their porcine DIY stem cells…It’s a little pricey to try on a whim.

As I perused the message boards today over lunch, I found another product of interest.  Genacol. It is a collagen supplement that in theory, helps to rebuild cartilage.  Discs are basically cartilage with a jelly doughnut in the middle… maybe this could help?  I’ve fired an email salvo in Genacol’s direction and we’ll find out.

Here is the link I found in reference to Genacol.   From a site called Rebuild Your Back… It looks like the author has a book for sale, but his site has some pretty good content.  I’m going to try and pick up his book and I’ll report back.  There’s nothing better to do while I wait for the spine peeps in Cowtown and await the responses from the chorus of surgeons I’ve mailed. 😉

I’m working toward a google Phd in back pain! LoL

Still nothing back from the proposed fda clinical trial.