66
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2024
66 points (98.5% liked)
Ask Lemmy
27036 readers
713 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
54M with a L4/L5 bulge here. Happened 4 years ago.
Been on 900mg Gabapentin ever since. The bulge is non-operable as it is not large enough. I know what you're thinking, if it's so small, what's my problem? The bulge is sitting perfectly on the nerve (sciatic?) going down my right leg. Ever since, my right leg has felt partially asleep and with out the gabapentin I get a lot of lower back pain.
I have a few other issues due to it as well. Using the full strength in my right leg results in painful cramps throughout the entire leg. I don't have the full control over the leg. Walking over rough ground can be interesting, because the leg isn't doing exactly what I tell it to do. It's not enough to stop me from doing things, but it can make hiking interesting at times.
Yes, I did physical therapy. Even to this day, I still do the exercises the therapist had me doing.
I'm about 15 pounds overweight, but I am active.
This is the way I'm going to be for the rest of my life, barring some procedure being developed that makes correcting a bulge like mine safe to correct.
If the gabapentin helps, have you looked at pregabalin? My doc suggested it and it's like a super gabapentin. Much more effective, less side effects.
It's been a huge help for me... Made the difference between active and not active most days.
Steroid epidurals also helped me a lot, but your needs might vary.
I've not had any side effects from gaba, so haven't explored alternatives.
I did have the steroid shot procedure, but it had zero effect. Day to day my condition is manageable, I just won't be skydiving any longer. One hard opening and it could make my situation a lot worse and yes I am a former skydiver. So that's not really a joke.
Ahhh I feel for you and I dread my case now! Thanks for sharing