Skip68's MRI, not good X-mas news

[charge69]

Well ,I don't really know you but, at 41 and seriously down in your back, I would be VERY careful about any surgery you might have. No one I know has had the satifaction they thought they would have when they had the surgery done.  Your back is just not one of those things that ever heal up anywhere near 100% and I would only recommend it as a last resort. That said, I would still get the recommended solutions from my doctor and think about the things they said.

I feel for ya and hope you find relief in some easier way than surgery but, relief is about  as good as it will get. At your age , I was a little younger, it just doesn't get a lot better and taking care of it from now on is about the best thing you can do. Your back is what the vast majority hurts at one point and taking care of it from then on is the best thing you can do for it. Not a real good prognosis but, we all have our back problems as you can see.

The wisecrack about your legs and their length did have me laughing a lot and you let yourself in for that LOL ! by the way, I am well past 60 now and my back still hurts every time I try to do some manual labor and you do just get used to it and kinda expect it to happen.

[The70RT]

Get well Buddy 

[skip68]

Well guys and gals, i'm sorry if chuck freaked you all out. We wont know more till after the first, but to expedite things: "1968 Dodge Charger-General Lee For free to the most deserving dc.com member!" Rules of playing are available in russian, chinese, tiwanese, and alien." no purchase necessary, many will enter, few (if none) will win! LOL! Mrs.skip68

[Dans 68]

After I read the first post a few times I checked my calendar to see if it was the first of April....

I hope you get well, Chuck. Soon.

Dan

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Feel better man....back issues aint no joke.  Like others have said get many opinions.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

[b5blue]

"Gee Skipper" you scared the crap out of Ginger and Mary Ann! (and me TOO!) Stop playing Paul Bunion and Mover Mike now!    Get well soon! 

[mikepmcs]

Sorry to hear this Chuck.  I wish you a speedy recovery.
Hope your family has a wonderful christmas.

Jeff,
That 24" leg joke cracked me up big time. But then i realized it wasn't so funny cause i'm 5'7" 

[69bronzeT5]

Damn Chuckie....get better soon buddy!!!!

[Vainglory, Esq.]

Well ,I don't really know you but, at 41 and seriously down in your back, I would be VERY careful about any surgery you might have. No one I know has had the satifaction they thought they would have when they had the surgery done.  Your back is just not one of those things that ever heal up anywhere near 100% and I would only recommend it as a last resort. That said, I would still get the recommended solutions from my doctor and think about the things they said.

I feel for ya and hope you find relief in some easier way than surgery but, relief is about  as good as it will get. At your age , I was a little younger, it just doesn't get a lot better and taking care of it from now on is about the best thing you can do. Your back is what the vast majority hurts at one point and taking care of it from then on is the best thing you can do for it. Not a real good prognosis but, we all have our back problems as you can see.

The wisecrack about your legs and their length did have me laughing a lot and you let yourself in for that LOL ! by the way, I am well past 60 now and my back still hurts every time I try to do some manual labor and you do just get used to it and kinda expect it to happen.

I agree.  Be very cautious here.  I'm not particularly old, but last year I herniated three discs in my back: L4, L5, S1.  I had terrible sciatica all down my left leg, including total numbness on the left side of my foot.  

From what I have heard, surgery makes it worse about 1/3 of the time, it does nothing about 1/3 of the time, and it helps about 1/3 of the time.  If you can avoid it, I would look into every option.  I did, I never had surgery, and I am very well down the road to recovery with no invasive procedures.  Like I said, I'm younger, but still, it's something to think about.

If you want to know more about what I did, let me know, but either way, I wish you the very best.  Back injuries are godawful.

[General_01]

Hope your back gets better without the surgery Chuck. That would be best. If you do have surgery, I am hopeful for a full recovery for you.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Good luck with whatever you decide. I've had back issues since I blew mine out when I was in my early twenties.

Was a regular monthly visitor at the chiro for 2 decades and it did help.

Honestly, the best thing I ever did was strengthen my core. Lost 40 lbs and worked on strengthening the core. I've has zero issues for over a year now. No more chiro.

Not sure what shape you're in but if/when you feel up to it, something to consider.

Hope you feel better. Anyone who hasn't been in your shoes really has no clue. You never take stuff like walking to the bathroom for granted again.

[CB]

 
Sorry to hear that you got into this back problems Chuck.

I told you too much back riding ain't good for ya 

j/k hope you get better soon!!!

Christian

[skip68]

Thank you to all our Mopar friends for the kind words, and great info. We appreciate it! it's very hard to see your spouse be in this much pain for 5 months. And to know that there's more to come really sucks cause chuck IS the biggest baby when it comes to doctors!!! Lol! Thanks again you mopar fanatics! Mrs.skip68   

[dkn1997]

Hope you get better soon Chuck.  I'm same age as you and while Im fortunate not to have back problems, my dad has had a few and some friends too, including an electrician I worked for who had a few surgeries in his 40's (was in his 50's when I met him)

1.  If there is any way on this earth to prevent surgery, do it! Do not let them cut you open for a back problem. NEVER!!!!  If it was me, I would scour the ends of the earth for another solution.  I don't know anyone who has ever gotten better from back surgery.  Please go seek 3rd, 4th, and 5th opinions.  Dr's are like everyone else. There could be one out there who has the solution. 

2.  Building up your core is great advice.  I don't know anyone who's in good shape and works out regular who has a bad back.  I don't know what type of shape you are in, but building up the other muscles takes strain off the back. 

Here's to you getting better in the new year!   

[TeeWJay426]

1.  If there is any way on this earth to prevent surgery, do it! Do not let them cut you open for a back problem. NEVER!!!!  If it was me, I would scour the ends of the earth for another solution.  I don't know anyone who has ever gotten better from back surgery.  Please go seek 3rd, 4th, and 5th opinions.  Dr's are like everyone else. There could be one out there who has the solution. 

Well, call me the exception to that rule. Coming up on my 3rd anniversary of my back surgery, and I never regretted it. I herniated the L4-L5 disk, and my sciatic nerve was pinched so bad I had a range of motion of barely 30 degrees front to back in my left leg. 80 year old men got around better than I could. The pain was not only intense, but relentless. The most sleep I could get at one time was 5 hours, 'cuz that's how long the vicodin lasted before wearing off. If I wanted to sleep more than that, had to take another vicodin and wait for it to kick in. It was the most miserable I had felt physically in my life, and I welcomed the surgery. And when I say the relief was immediate, it was.... the first time in weeks that my leg didn't feel like it was on fire was when I was coming out of the anesthesia. It did take awhile to recover from the surgery itself, but the sciatic nerve was finally pain free once again.

That being said, do your research on the doctors that are available to you. I was getting physical therapy in an attempt to avoid the surgery, and all the therapists recommended the doctor I went to- they told me he was the best for spinal issues, and they were right. He also diagnosed arthritis in all my lumbar discs, so he told me that he was only fixing my immediate problem- exercise and diet would be key to minimizing the effects of the other bad discs. Walking is one of the best exercises you can do for back issues.

Feel free to PM me if you want any additional info on my experience, Chuck. While surgery isn't for everybody, I'm glad I didn't listen to the naysayers who said to avoid it at all costs- I would have suffered permanent nerve damage had I done that.

BTW, I'm 52 now... was 49 when I was operated on.

[Neal_J]

Chuck, get well soon.

[skip68]

Well guys and gals, tuesday afternoon is the appt with the spine specialist! Chuck is a big sissy when it comes to dr's so send him some encouragement if you will! We will keep our mopar friends updated on what goes down! Thanks, mrs.skip68

[b5blue]

We are all wishing you the best Chuck! 

[tan top]

We are all wishing you the best Chuck! 

yep X2

[68coronetGLwannabe]

Good luck buddy. Let us know how it turns out.

[Brock Samson]

      get better soon... please?..

[skip68]

Whats that about Brocky? Mrs.skip68

[skip68]

Never mind.

[Brock Samson]

  I'm headin' off to Tx. for ten days...,,  I'll checback to see you both are holding  up. In the meantime Take Care! 

[skip68]

Have a safe trip Brock! Lasoo (sp) a long horn for us! Lol! Mrs.skip68