Hi all,
So I've (26) been dealing with multi level disc herniation since August. I got imaging late October and a neurosurgeon referral early November. I have congenital spinal stenosis, moderate L2-L3 herniation that's causing severe spinal stenosis and moderate L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 that's causing moderate spinal stenosis. First neuro i saw recommended that I do a microdiscectomy, the second opinion i got recommended to try PT. I really don't want to do any surgery and can deal with the pain so long as I know it'll go away. My pain has been improving, it is just VERY slow. Before I had bilateral pelvic pain with changing postions, turning head, coughing, sneezing, laughing and i couldn't turn in my sleep bc of pain. Now i only have left hip pain, i can sleep slightly better but i still cannot walk long distances or walk fast. I am not taking any meds for it at the time.
If you've experienced something similar and DIDN'T get surgery, can you please send some words of encouragement.
My first post ever, not sure how this works. I apologise for any reddit-related-post-impertinence on my end!
A little history, I was diagnosed with facet arthropathy at 15 when I was playing a lot of sports. Back didn't really hurt for the next few years except occasional dull aching pain. Went bungee jumping last month until a few days later my back started to hurt. Pain got progressively worse & I could barely stand up to walk, everything hurt- from lying down to standing or sitting down, it absolutely sucked.
Went to the A&E & got diagnosed with spinal stenosis after X-ray and was recommended physiotherapy. I've went for 3 times now and every time they recommended a new stretch. I feel a bit better and am able to walk now, my posture is still tilted to the right.
I'm just really sick of being dependent on painkillers, suppressing my coughs and sneezes because it hurts. I can't even laugh because I feel the pain shooting all the way down to my legs. And this week, the pain got worse, so I'm back to being unable to walk again. It's been a whole month of pain.
I'm a freelance photographer & have an upcoming shoot this week but I can barely even walk to the toilet.
I just want to know, does it ever get better? I'm getting really frustrated and impatient with recovery and I'd like to know if there are better alternatives to stretching and painkillers.
Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated!
I've spent the last 5 years training and competing in amateur mma. Mostly bjj boxing and Muay Thai. A few months back I noticed my eye twitching and hands going numb. It was rapidly progressing to dropping things and bad muscle spasms so I went and got it looked at. The doctor diagnosed me with spinal stenosis severe and on December 3rd I went in to have my c5 and c7 replaced. They fused 5,6, and 7 together. While healing I began to wonder will I ever be able to train again? I'm still in a hard collar but was curious if anyone else has had a similar issue. Obviously I know the cage fighting is over but martial arts gave my life a purpose again. Any suggestions?
Hey all, I have spinal stenosis and because naltrexone inhibits the uptake of opioids I am afraid to take it. I take codeine to manage my back pain. I thought I could take naltrexone about 4pm (my usual drinking time) and it should wear off by the morning? I really don’t know what to do here and reaching out for suggestions
Recently got this diagnosis back after going back to the doctor for a change in pain in a different spot than my original scoliosis. I just wanted to see if anyone here has had a similar diagnosis or issue. I've done my research so I understand it and I start physical therapy next week. If the PT doesn't work, we will be trying cortisone shots. It kinda blew my mind because we had never heard anything about congenital anything lol. I developed my scoliosis around 12/13 and had my surgery at 16, now 25. I also found a new curve below my rods along with all of this which explains the new pain i've been experiencing. It was just kinda a shock to the system to find out I was born with a narrower spinal canal than normal which is an inherited form of spinal stenosis...and never knew about it until now lol. My doctor told me its very common to develop issues above and below your surgery due to the pressure and wear and tear from the rods and the fusion so it was at least nice to know my pain wasn't crazy and i wasn't feeling things and that there is a real reason for my spine issues besides the scoliosis. I know stenosis is very common and I had a little bit of a breakdown thinking this is just going to get worse as I age, but I know if you take care of it it doesn’t have to. Anyone have this issue too? Success with treatments?
If I lay on my back or side I can go without pain for the whole day. But this confines me to bed.
But if I get up and do anything the pain starts and slowly gets worse until I lay down again.
I can bear the pain with Meds but is it best I don't? Will it maybe get better with more rest. Cuz I'm bored shitless.
How do people manage this?
i have no had tremendous pain when walking without crutches since 2017..surgeon witch i have seen privately told me he would make a plan to go into my stomach then into my back twice because i have 4 screw bolts holding some of my spine together since the op in 2012....he also said he might not be able to do the op after i turned 69....i am now 71 ...not a word...had enough... can not do anything without the pain...had enough
Over the summer I did an MRI and i was told I had lumbar spinal stenosis, the problem is I almost never have pain in my lower back. My pain is always in my mid back for some reason and it hurts BAD. I've been trying to go to the gym a lot recently and do weight training but that hasn't rlly helped apart from making me less depressed lol. any tips anyone could give? I tried physical therapy and it did help for a bit but I stopped going. thank you
I'm really hoping someone on here is dealing with the same thing. I haven't found much on this subreddit (or any other for that matter) about stenosis. I'm really hoping if I continue this woe, that I will have recovery in combination with physical therapy. Here's to hoping ig...
Tl;dr : Back and femoral nerve pain, need money to get a surgery (microdisctectomy), no job since June, asking advice to find job and survive it.
Hello there, new poster here, constant poster on the sciatica sub.
Background : Male, 28 years old, L2-L3 and L3-L4 severe spinal stenosis giving me back and hip/front of thigh/knee pain since April. Quitted my job and lived on economies in June because the stress of my condition made me do stupid decisions like that and I thought complete rest would make this go away. I can confirme, in December, it hasn’t.
Pain triggers : sitting (haven’t sat properly since the beginning of this), standing or walking for a long time, sneezing/coughing/laughing, bending. Only pain free laying on my back but even then it’s not often the case.
I tried all kind of meds, muscle relaxant doesn’t works but helps me sleep, NSAiDS (ibuprofen, naproxen, celebrex) does nothing and opioids (dilaudid, oxy) gets me high but doesn’t touch the pain. Did 3 months of PT which did help my mobility overall but didn’t touch the nerve pain.
I am overweight since my teens (now 5"10’ 220 pounds) when my problem started I was 250 pounds. Lost 30 pounds with good diet and walking but I’m stuck at 220 since I can’t do more cardio.
My goal: Get surgery, microdisctectomy. I’m in Canada but getting screwed by the free healthcare system long waiting list. I’m on a waiting list for steroid shot (up to 6 months of wait) which I think will only be temporary band aid rather than surgery. Even if I get on surgery waiting list that would mean another 1-2 years before getting it. Also with covid getting more intense, these numbers are the optimistic projection.
I can’t trust the system so I will have to go private or out of the country. Not exactly sure of the cost but estimating something between 15-20K$ minimum.
To get that money I will need to search for a job (remote work job) instead of spending my days in bed trying to avoid pain. I will only spend for the necessities and stack and ask for a loan to cover what will be missing.
While I’m motivated to do so, I am scared as hell because I will have to endure the stress and of course my habitual pain.
For those who are working while in pain, do you have some tips that could help me? Do your employers know about your condition?
I had surgery in November for a crushed L4 and had total pain relief for 8 months. Following lifting something heavy and causing a small amount of pain in my back (which has now gone away) the slow build up of sciatica nerve pain started and is now unbearable. I cannot stand or walk at all. It could not possibly be worse.
So far:
Gabapentin Norco Ibrupeofen Muscle relaxants Massage Inversion Correction Stretching daily
All offer ZERO relief. It’s been three weeks of agony.
Muscle has started atrophy and is about 20% smaller.
X-RAY shows degeneration of L5/S1 and a narrowing of the space (I knew this before my last survey which focused on the L4 issue).
MRI results are being discussed tomorrow but are going to show the same as last time.
My question(s) is:
Since I have no back pain and only extreme pain in the butt cheek and down the leg leg, does anyone here think this could likely be Piriformis Sydrome? I have discussed this with my doctor and everything is a big maybe. So I would like to hear from others like me.
I’m thinking of getting a cortisone shot in the muscle and pushing for one in the spine (which will take time to organize) to cove both. Thoughts on this?
Another odd thing is I can walk quite fine if I bend at a 30 degree angle (like an old man). If you had similar symptoms what was your fix?
I appreciate any help or insights any of you might have or just suggestions.
Any drugs that I might consider other than ones I have tried for pain? I would stress I am a 37yo, very fit, male with no other health conditions. This pain has ruined my life.
Don’t play rugby kids.
Spinal stenosis is defined as a narrowing of the spinal space and/or compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots as they exit each vertebra. A common cause is changes in your spine as you age. Back and/or neck pain, as well as numbness, tingling, and weakness in the arms and legs, are symptoms.
What is spinal stenosis?
Spinal stenosis refers to the narrowing of one or more sections of your spine. The amount of space available to your spinal cord and nerves spreading off it is reduced. As a result of the narrowed space, the spinal cord or nerves may become inflamed or pinched, causing back pain and claudication pain known as neurogenic claudication.
Spinal stenosis usually develops over a long period of time, especially beyond the age of 50. The most prevalent cause is osteoarthritis, or “wear and tear” changes in the spine that occur naturally as people age. As a result, if certain changes are detected on X-rays or other imaging tests done for a different reason, you may not experience any symptoms for a long time.
To get proper treatments for spinal stenosis visit Pentagon Hospital, which has the best brain and spine Surgeon in Aurangabad.
What parts of the body does spinal stenosis affect?
Spinal stenosis can affect any section of the spine, however it most commonly affects two:
- Neck (cervical spinal stenosis)
- Lower back (lumbar canal stenosis)
Who has spinal stenosis affected?
Although anybody can get spinal stenosis, it is most common in men and women over the age of 50. Younger people who were born with a narrow spinal canal can develop spinal stenosis. A range of illnesses that affect the spine, such as scoliosis or a spinal injury, can induce spinal stenosis.
Spinal stenosis can be caused by a variety of factors.
Spinal stenosis can occur for a variety of reasons. They all have one thing in common: they change the structure of your spine, narrowing the space around your spinal cord and the nerve roots that exit through it. Symptoms such as low back pain and sciatica are caused by compression or pinching of the spinal cord or nerve roots.
The causes are:
- Bulging disks/herniated discs: the vertebral disc is a flat, circular cushioning pad that rests between each vertebra and acts as a stress absorber along the spine. Due to age-related drying out and flattening of vertebral discs, as well as cracking in the exterior border of the dis
I have 10 percent for lumbar strain and after xrays have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis .. that in turn explains radiculopathy in both legs and some other issues. Do I need to get stenosis as a secondary to my lumbar strain before claim my the radiculopathy and other issues.
So I’ve been feeling a lot of confusion and memory loss lately. I’m performing poorly at my job in education. I went to my neurologist to figure things out. I have a bulging disc which is bringing me pain and soreness in my neck. I have 3 shunts. Has anyone here already had nph and then developed spinal stenosis after? I feel like I’m just deteriorating.
Hello, I am currently rated at 60% overall which I received in June. I received a 20% rating for my back (lumbosacral sprain) and 10% for my hip, along with other things not related to my back. This was back in June.
Since then I still have problems with my back and leg and have difficulty putting on shoes and bending my back at all. I went to a specialist and got an MRI showing I have spinal stenosis and my nerve roots are being contacted in my spine. Is there a possibility I can get an increase?
I have also thought about working with the DAV to help this time, as I did the claim myself when I got my first rating.
Additional Info:
I went to the doctor in 2016 while I was in and told them I had numbness and pain in my right leg. They did an X-ray and nothing more. The VA had no MRI to look at since I just got one after I received my rating.
I had back surgeries when I was 19 and 20 (44 years ago). Laminectomy and then fusion at L4-L5. Both failed to do anything for my sciatica. Struggled with this for another 5 years, until I saw a chiropractor that fixed my issue (sacroiliac was the issue all along) In 2010 my legs began to feel cold all the time and a sensation of electricity running up and down the backs of my legs presented. Found spinal stenosis (and a plethora of other pathologies, spondylosis, scarring, etc.) along L1-L5 and spreading!. Found Laser Spine Institute in Tampa, FL (now closed) and they performed a foraminotomy (L3), which restored the strength in my legs. This helped for 10 years. Symptoms returned in 2020. Now it my spinal canal is almost closed at L4 and the pain is quite intense at times.). Bone deposits have spread across sacral, lumbar and now, thoracic level. Removal of the vertebrae is the only option presented me. I will not do this unless I absolutely must! Is there any hope of another treatment? I found someone in FL that claims to have a device to cut bone and leave soft tissue intact. (CantorSpine) But once they found out my insurance would not cover his service (I'm limited by insurance to have this performed in VA), his office stopped replying to my pleas for a consultation. I paid for the surgery in 2010 out of pocket and was willing to do this again. But they never replied again. Can you help me find out more about this tech and where I can have it in VA?
So finally got an mri and sounds like I have some Cervical spinal stenosis. It doesn’t hurt a lot but pinches if I don’t keep my posture right. Does this mean I can’t lift heavy weights anymore? Are there any tips that will still allow me to do bodybuilding safely? I’m fine now but of course I want to continue cautiously so it doesn’t get worse.
27M here.
Was Diagnosed with Mild Spinal Stenosis,
MRI Scans Showed Mild Disc Bulge in the L3-L4 Region along with mild facet joint hypertrophy. Resulting in mild narrowing of the left lateral recess .
Mild Disc Bulge in the L4-L5 Region along with mild facet joint hypertrophy which is more prominent in the left side relative to right. Resulting in mild narrowing of bilateral recesses.
Very Mild Disc Bulge in S1-L5 Region along with mild facet joint hyptertrophy . No Narrowing Observed.
May I know how fast usually will this condition progress before i become disabled and paralysed?
I just got diagnosed with this condition which is known to be degenerative and there is no cure for it . I am feeling really emotionally unstable right now as I just got started with my career and suddenly got diagnosed with this. ;(
I’ve been dealing with sciatica pain for 9 months now. I just recently got my MRI done, and the results came back pretty much as expected. The pain has gotten so bad that I am bed bound and have been for 2 weeks now. Nothing helps. I did PT for about 2 months (all insurance would pay for) and I continued to do the stretches they showed me at home as well. This didn’t help at all. Ibuprofen doesn’t work, and neither does meloxicam. They also had me on prednisone for a little bit and then put me on another round of methylprednisolone. Neither of these helped either. My PCP indicated that the narrowing of my spine is what is causing most of the pain, so I am finally being referred to an orthopedic surgeon, and I have no idea what to expect. Whether he suggests surgery or the cortisone shot. At this point, I’m leaning towards hopefully having surgery. But since they are just bulging discs, I don’t know if it will come to that. Thoughts?
I know that this can only be fixed with surgery but getting appts has been HARD. First opening with the neurosurgeon was late August! So then I saw a rehab doctor and a pain management doctor and my PCP and somehow the appt has been moved to July 2.
But I'm really scared. I know RA can do especially bad things to the upper cervical spine. And surgical outcomes are trickier for us. So I'm tentatively working the system as hard as I can without becoming a pain in the ass.
Have any of you had cervical spine surgery? How did it work out for you?
I've treated this seriously ever since I started having pain while sitting down in late 2020. I've been given the runaround, dismissed with prednisone, and have had great difficulty getting approval for surgery all throughout 2021. And now, I no longer get any urges to go the bathroom. At all. And somehow, this is not enough to alarm any health care providers I've seen.
Sometimes when I adjust, I can feel the presence of urine in my body. If I go through the motions and force movement below my waist, I can manage to remove SOME urine, but not much. Bowel movements are worse. It has become normal to go up to three days without a BM. I have no idea how much waste is just trapped in my body, or how it may be affecting me. I have not had any involuntary releases. I've come close, but I haven't had full loss of control just yet. There's just something seriously wrong with the removal process.
(also, I can sit down without feeling any immediate or direct pain, but I think this is mostly because I'm slightly losing feeling down there. It's as if I can still tell that something is wrong, though.)
Right now, going to the hospital isn't really an option because in my state, COVID cases have completely swamped nearly every hospital. I actually went to the hospital twice in early July and then again in late July. The second time, I specifically asked to be transfered elsewhere so I could get an emergent MRI done, but this was right when cases were beginning to rise and I was told that a transfer wouldn't be possible due to hospital beds being full.
I just don't know what to do. I've done all I can to try and prevent permanent damage, but I can't help but feel as if it has already occurred.
So I finally had the neurological appointment I've been waiting on for 4 months and they sent me for more MRI and XRays. The results were that I had mild and severe spinal stenosis in C2, C3, C4, C5, C6, and C7 in my neck. Their referring me to another neurologist. Everything I see online seems to have the tone of "this is normal wear and tear for a 60yo" which is so reassuring being 30. Although it is a good lead because I have had life long bladder control issues and always assumed it just is what it is. Finding now it could definitely be related. Just wondering if anyone else with chiari also has spinal stenosis in the neck and if so is there anything that can be done about it?
I'm looking into and considering an anti inflammatory diet granted thats no cure but I feel like it couldn't possibly hurt. Has anyone tried that also?
Hey there everyone, this is my first ever post on reddit, hope I (28) do a good job.
So my 67 year old father developed some small tremors in his hands over the past few months and went to the doctor, got an MRI and was diagnosed with a cervical spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spaces within your spine, putting pressure on the nerves that travel through the spine, limiting motor function as it gets worse. Right now, it's not too bad as he's just got small tremors, which my aunt (his sister) also has had for quite some time. The doc said he eventually may begin to drop stuff on accident, feeding himself may get hard, and if it get's so bad he won't be able to drive, which sucks cause he loves cars.
I've done my fair share of research and had my own experiences with psychedelics, both full trip doses and about 2.5 years of microdosing. Understanding the benefits that psychedelics and microdosing has on neurogenesis, do you guys think it'd be worthwhile to consider a microdosing protocol for a few months to see if it could limit further degeneration or perhaps even improve his condition?
I'm familiar with the stamets protocol of microdosing psilocybin mushrooms, so that's what I was thinking; 4-5 days on, 2-3 days off of .05-1g psilocybin containing mushrooms, lions mane mushrooms, and niacin to see if it might help. I've yet to discuss this with him, just wondering if my hypothesis might have some legitimacy or possibility to it; I realize the neurogenesis won't undo the physical narrowing of his cervical joints, but perhaps it could help rewire some things, who knows, am I full of shit thinking this?
Him and I have briefly discussed the use of psychedelics before, both my use and his use; him and my mom were definitely hippies back in the day. He had a brush with death a three years ago as he was diagnosed with lung cancer and it definitely gave him a good fight as he's been a smoker since his teenage years. He's been in remission for about two years now, and lives a pretty lowkey life; works a blue collar 9-5, comes home, eats dinner, watches tv, falls asleep on the couch and repeats, it's been that way for my entire life. Basically, I'm hoping the microdosing experiment may help his spinal stenosis, in addition to just help him better enjoy what time he may have left.
tldr; dad's motor function is decreasing because of spinal stenosis, will stamet's protocol of microdosing psilocybin help limit the neurodegeneration?
bro I don't even know what to do anymore. I have been living with back pain for the past 5 years of my life and it has been getting progressively worse each year. I am currently in Europe and I've been having the absolute worse back pain I've ever had in a while and it doesn't help that I'm under a lot of stress and my sleep schedule is rlly messed up. regardless, my grandma took me to get an mri done of my back and about a week later the results came back saying I have spinal stenosis. I'm not sure what type of spinal stenosis because most of my pain is in my mid back so maybe it's cervical spinal stenosis. anyways, the doctor here said that I have it from birth with is just fucking great. I thought all this time that my back pain problems were exclusively from sitting down all the time and laying in weird positions. oh did I mention that I'm only 19 fucking years old! if I'm in this much pain now I don't even wanna know how bad it can get in the future. I just don't fucking understand why I'm on this earth if I've just been set up to fail from birth. any activity I do besides sleeping is met with pain in my middle back and it keeps me from wanting to do the things that I love. I was a pretty active person up until a year ago so I still don't understand why this pain is so awful sometimes. Ive gone to physical therapy for about a month and I did see some progress when I would stop waking up sore but then I had to go to Europe and my progress diminished. Ive been trying so hard to take the pain away, and maybe it's my rlly awful sleep schedule that's been causing me to feel 10x worse. but every time I wake up I go straight into a plank. I want to work out my core because I've read that strengthening your core helps back pain so much. oh but get this, my neck gets so tensed up whenever I do core and gets rlly sore the next day to the point where I have to stop for a day and wait for my neck to go back to normal. i think that might be a symptom of cervical spinal stenosis. anyways Im fucking lost and don't know what to do, I'm not rlly too keen on surgery but if it will give me my painless life back then I'd do it. I just don't want to have to put up with this anymore and I'm not going to keep struggling if I'm not getting better.
I’ve been trying to find something that addresses this and haven’t been able to. My mom was diagnosed with CSS last year after going to the ER twice with debilitating headaches, nausea and vomiting. After take a weeks worth of steroids, and breaking the pain cycle with with injected pain relief and anti-nausea medication.
Right now we’re waiting on the line to talk to her doctor because she’s been suffering the same issues all over again. The key issue is the vomiting. She can’t keep pain meds or her anti-nausea medication down. Every time she takes something, she immediately throws it up. It’s hard to see her like this, since last night she’s been weeping and vomiting.
Does anyone else with spinal stenosis struggle with this? Is there anything that helps?
TLDR; Mom’s spinal stenosis causes her to vomit, which doesn’t allow her to take medication to get it under control or make it tolerable. Tips are appreciated.
I hope this post finds everybody as well as they can be today. I am looking for some advice. I am having a flare up and I am stuck in bed today. I have bone spurs crushing my spinal cord and some days the flare up is more than I can take. I know that everyone here is familiar with that feeling. My pain meds don't even touch this pain when it gets this bad. Does anybody here have any tips that give them relief from this? I've done my physical therapy exercises, but it is not helping. I have a terrible headache from it also.
Anybody else suffering from spinal stenosis? How has your pregnancy been going and what have you been doing to relieve pain?
27M here.
Was Diagnosed with Mild Spinal Stenosis,
MRI Scans Showed Mild Disc Bulge in the L3-L4 Region along with mild facet joint hypertrophy. Resulting in mild narrowing of the left lateral recess .
Mild Disc Bulge in the L4-L5 Region along with mild facet joint hypertrophy which is more prominent in the left side relative to right. Resulting in mild narrowing of bilateral recesses.
Very Mild Disc Bulge in S1-L5 Region along with mild facet joint hyptertrophy . No Narrowing Observed.
May I know how fast usually will this condition progress before i become disabled and paralysed?
I just got diagnosed with this condition which is known to be degenerative and there is no cure for it . I am feeling really emotionally unstable right now as I just got started with my career and suddenly got diagnosed with this. ;(
