So no shiz there I was, In afghanistan...

[josh7328]

So no shit there I was, In afghanistan, sitting on RTO minding my own business when the LT asks me to come check out his printer's connectivity issues. I go to take a look, and as soon as I lean over to look at the cat5 cable, I get a shooting pain in my back. My right nut feels weird and my right leg starts hurting and gets weak. I go to the aid station and get told that I probably have a herniated disc... and kindly handed a bag of ibuprofen. How the heck does a 21 year old get a herniated disc?!

[bobbyfairbanks]

Stop bending over for other men![ROFL1]

[bogie]

OUCH! Sorry man, that really sucks. I wish you the quickest recovery possible.

[SuperiorDG]

Ranger Up! [Beer]

[josh7328]

So I think the consensus here is to stop bending over the mean rangers???

[sniper7]

You should have tazed the printer and told him it connected just fine!


hope you recover quickly. Never had that happen before so I'm not really sure how long it takes to fix it up

[zteknik]

Sucks man.
I remember carrying all the crap we had to and was amazed I didn't slip a disc or something.
Are they gonna pull you back to the rear for a while?
Heal well Bro!

[SideShow Bob]

Sorry to hear about your condition. There is no cure for a blown disc. Only a life of pain, or surgery are your options.
The possible risks of surgery are scary.
Now a bulged disc is a different story, full recovery is very possible.

[Wiggity]

I am 23 and have 4 degenerating discs in the lower back. Its not too too bad, the only way it really affects me is when I deadlift or squat.

[SideShow Bob]

I am 23 and have 4 degenerating discs in the lower back. Its not too too bad, the only way it really affects me is when I deadlift or squat.

Wait until you are my age with that condition, then let me know how you feel.
(Smilies still not working)

[josh7328]

well then... should I shoot myself now? or later? [Mad]

[Flatline]

well then... should I shoot myself now? or later? [Mad]

Wait on that until you see a competent orthopedic surgeon and find out what is actually wrong.

[airborneranger]

Wait on that until you see a competent orthopedic surgeon and find out what is actually wrong.

Or not. I have unfortunately suffered through lower back pain and have taken every known test without a definitive answer.

Get better soon.

[josh7328]

Just thought of something that makes me a little happier. V.A. benefits??? :D

[SideShow Bob]

well then... should I shoot myself now? or later? [Mad]

Just be sure to Will all of your firearms to me first, then it is your choice.......
(Laugh Out Loud Smilies.)

[josh7328]

Just be sure to Will all of your firearms to me first, then it is your choice.......
(Laugh Out Loud Smilies.)wait... would that mean I shot myself with your weapon, or with mine?

EDIT: Plus, I thought you heard about my tragic boating accident. I lost all my firearms. Tragic day....

[jerrymrc]

Wait until you are my age with that condition, then let me know how you feel.
(Smilies still not working)

Ding ding! We have a winner. I see many a troop with serious back issues. Mine started showing up around 45 and now at almost 54 it looks like it is time for surgery.

I got out at 33. Some make it ok but I have a co worker that has had 2 surgeries in the last 5 years and is now medically retired after 17 years.

Get the best care you can. If anything does not feel right with the doc get another. I have had a couple look at me and offer solutions.


Or not. I have unfortunately suffered through lower back pain and have taken every known test without a definitive answer.

An MRI did not show anything?

[trlcavscout]

I had 3 when I was 16 from throwing hay all day with poor form.

[GhostRider]

stop Bending Over For Other Men![rofl1]
lmao now thats just funny

[Scanker19]

Wait on that until you see a competent orthopedic surgeon and find out what is actually wrong.

Active duty and seeing Competent Orthopedic surgeon is like dog and cat.

Go to the aid station every day until they get tired of you and send you else where, or give you a 115 for "not maning up"

[275RLTW]

1) Why were you doing officer/computer work in the first place? You can't spell "officer" without "office." The appropriate response would have been "not now, sir...I'm actually doing work here."

2) DO NOT let the Army do ANY surgery...Nor the VA.

3) Nows the time to swallow your pride and fully use your profile. Let your back completely heal before pushing yourself. It's better to recover from that once than every 6 months...

[airborneranger]

1) Why were you doing officer/computer work in the first place? You can't spell "officer" without "office." The appropriate response would have been "not now, sir...I'm actually doing work here."

2) DO NOT let the Army do ANY surgery...Nor the VA.

3) Nows the time to swallow your pride and fully use your profile. Let your back completely heal before pushing yourself. It's better to recover from that once than every 6 months...

1) He is an RTO, so he is stuck in the TOC

2) Good advice

3) Better advice

[Flatline]

Active duty and seeing Competent Orthopedic surgeon is like dog and cat.

Go to the aid station every day until they get tired of you and send you else where, or give you a 115 for "not maning up"

Don't I know, I only ever had one good ortho in my experience with the military, he took care of my broken ankle, broken rib and finally (after I trusted he care from my previous injuries) my ACL reconstruction.

As it turns out tricare hates patients more than the military likes to keep incompetent surgeons, and I had to call my doc on his personnel phone to get an appointment with him.

Unfortunately he retired. If your at Evans I heard Dr White is the best ortho there, but there is very much a qualifier. If you can, try to go to the AFA, their docs a generally better than at Evans.

[Sharpienads]

So no shit there I was, In afghanistan, sitting on RTO minding my own business when the LT asks me to come check out his printer's connectivity issues. I go to take a look, and as soon as I lean over to look at the cat5 cable, I get a shooting pain in my back. My right nut feels weird and my right leg starts hurting and gets weak. I go to the aid station and get told that I probably have a herniated disc... and kindly handed a bag of ibuprofen. How the heck does a 21 year old get a herniated disc?!

Ahhh, ibuprofen, aka Vitamin M. The military's cure-all.

Hope it turns out it's nothing serious.

[Scanker19]

Don't I know, I only ever had one good ortho in my experience with the military, he took care of my broken ankle, broken rib and finally (after I trusted he care from my previous injuries) my ACL reconstruction.

As it turns out tricare hates patients more than the military likes to keep incompetent surgeons, and I had to call my doc on his personnel phone to get an appointment with him.

Unfortunately he retired. If your at Evans I heard Dr White is the best ortho there, but there is very much a qualifier. If you can, try to go to the AFA, their docs a generally better than at Evans.

Supposedly there is an even better guy there now. I have no faith in that ortho clinic on carson. I'll see soon enough as I doubt I'm getting back to Vail before I lose my tricare. I have not been a happy camper at the ortho clinic on post. However now that I am off AD I have an actual MD as a PCM so I don't really have to bullshit around with worthless PAs or sick call to get a simple referral. Nothing like the medical advice of a PV2.



Ahhh, ibuprofen, aka Vitamin M. The military's cure-all.

Hope it turns out it's nothing serious.

TMC- Tylenol, Motrin, and Crutches.

[TheBelly]

OP, there is a rotation of physical Therapy docs. they come through your ao every once in a while. the one we have is pretty good.

[Jefe's AR]

Didn't read all the post so sorry if I'm just repeating others input.

Same thing happened to me a when I was about 27. Felt like someone was squeezing my nut, the right one, just enough to make it hurt. Squeeze for a bit then let go, repeat. Forever. Went through it for years until I was finally given an MRI after it flared real bad and nailed my sciatic nerve real good. Woke me from a dead sleep. I stood straight up and then hit the ground. I was in so much pain I could barely move for hours. Had to piss in a diaper (had little kids then) because I couldn't stand up to get to the toilet. Believe me, I tried. More than once. It was excruciating.

I'm 43 now and it just a game of good days and bad. I did have a nice stint for a couple of years w/ little pain but then I got hit w/ 1.5 years of constant pain. It's weird how it's moved/changed. No more nut pain. Mostly muscle pain.

I have an inversion bed. It can help quite a bit at times. Stretching can help. Exercise is likely the best solution. You want to work on your core.

Saw this last week. Gives me some hope.
Click the link for video.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57428677/a-new-hope-for-back-pain-sufferers/?tag=contentBody%3BcbsCarousel


(CBS News) Back pain is one of the most common of human complaints, which is why new treatments in the works are raising so many hopes. Our Sunday Morning Cover Story is reported now by Martha Teichner:

Consider the human spine, in all its glory.

The 24 vertebrae, cushioned by gelatinous discs . . . the little facet joints that help make your back flexible . . . all the ligaments and muscles and nerves.

The spine's elegant complexity is a miracle of engineering, or a curse when something goes wrong.

Eight out of ten Americans will experience debilitating back pain sometime in their lives.

"My pain was very excruciating," said Lenda. "I couldn't walk, I couldn't bend over. I couldn't lie down."

"I'd say, 'Oh Lord, can't you help my back, it does hurt bad' - he didn't help me a bit," said Leila.

And the most common culprit?

"I think most people would think it's the inter-vertebral discs, whether it's herniated or whether it's just worn and arthritic and associated with pain," said Dr. Augustus White, a professor at Harvard Medical School. He has literally written the book on lower back pain.

He says the easiest way to understand a herniated disc is to think of a jelly doughnut: When what Dr. White calls "the jelly" gets squeezed out, it presses on nerves, which can mean excruciating pain. Barring serious illness, the first line of treatment may not be what the patient (who only wants a quick fix) wants to hear.

"You need to make sure the patient doesn't have tumor or infection," said Dr. White, "but once you rule those out, you can be confident that you're not going to harm the patient by saying, 'OK, give yourself four to six weeks.'"

Believe it or not, 90 percent of disc injuries heal themselves after a few weeks, especially with physical therapy. But waiting it out can be torture, and not everybody gets better. So that's where surgery comes in.

More than 1.2 million Americans undergo spinal surgery each year. That's more than TRIPLE the number of coronary by-pass surgeries (415,000), and nearly FOUR TIMES the number of hip replacements (327,000).

Approximately 300,000 of those back surgeries were spinal fusions, where vertebrae are joined surgically so they can't move. They're often held in place, permanently, with metal screws or rods.

[rondog]

It really doesn't take much to blow out a disc, sometimes they're just weak and the right combination of lifting, bending or twisting will do it. This is what one looks like, FWIW. Pretty easy to see, the one on the bottom with the red arrow is a herniated disc. The green arrow is a bulging disc, the blue arrow is a normal one. Injuries at the L5/S1 joint (where the red arrow is) are very common. Pick up something heavy and twist at your waist, and that can do it.

My wife had surgery for a herniated disc identical to this one in '97, and has been fine ever since. But she suffered horribly until they did the surgery. And she got the injury by lifting a case of soda and twisting to set it somewhere else.

Oh, BTW, I had back surgery in October and again in March. The first time they took it easy on me, and just tried a gentle fix, but the problem moved lower. The second time, they didn't fuck around. Took out pieces of my vertebrae that time, pretty gruesome. But the worst part, I think, is they have to cut through all the back muscles to get to the spine, and there's several layers and types of muscles. Then they have to sew them back together and they have to knit back together. That's where I get most of my pain from, is back muscles. But it's been 2 months and every day is better, as long as I don't overdo it and piss 'em off.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/L5-S1herniationMRI.jpg

This kinda shows the sources of various kinds of sciatica pain. If it hurts in a certain area, this gives an idea of which joint there may be a nerve getting pinched. Since you're talking about a nut, I'd guess a problem higher up, like L2 or L1 even. Nerves from different spine joints send pains to different areas. But only a real Orthopedic Surgeon could tell you for sure, and will likely need an MRI.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/sciatica_fig02_en_000.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/lumbardrawingrear.jpg

[josh7328]

wow I didn't know this forum was such a wealth of knowledge on back pain! Thanks, sir, I'll try to catch the ortho guy when he comes through here, or on my next trip to your place, whichever comes first.

[airborneranger]

wow I didn't know this forum was such a wealth of knowledge on back pain! Thanks, sir, I'll try to catch the ortho guy when he comes through here, or on my next trip to your place, whichever comes first.

If you get a referral off-post, ask for this guy:

Dr. Bee - http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-james-bee-3yl3w

[BPTactical]

I have 3 collapsed disc im my lower back. It sucks, I can do something as benign as putting down the cat dish and it will spaz out. Left foot always feels cold now too.
At 50 yo, considering the abuse I have given my body over the years I figure I am doing good......

[pepito]

You must be in one of the Cadillac fobs to have internet in stanz.

Get yourself checked out. Most of the big, pricey medical equipment is in Bagram and if they can't fix you there they will send you to Germany. Fix it. Dead lined for a few days- months is better than compromising the rest of your life. Besides, sounds like your post isn't exactly mission critical.

[Flatline]

If you get a referral off-post, ask for this guy:

Dr. Bee - http://www.healthgrades.com/physician/dr-james-bee-3yl3w

Off post referral, that will never happen.

[TheBelly]

wow I didn't know this forum was such a wealth of knowledge on back pain! Thanks, sir, I'll try to catch the ortho guy when he comes through here, or on my next trip to your place, whichever comes first.

Give a holler when you're about to go, I'll see if he can squeeze you in..walk you down there if necessary.

[Scanker19]

Off post referral, that will never happen.

Depends if they can do it on post or not. They sent me to Vail to have the guy who invented the hip do my surgery.

[rondog]

wow I didn't know this forum was such a wealth of knowledge on back pain! Thanks, sir, I'll try to catch the ortho guy when he comes through here, or on my next trip to your place, whichever comes first.

Are you still in The 'Stan? A co-worker of mine is a Capt. in the CONG, and recently got back from there. He was the XO for some big-ass medical unit and had people all over the ME and in Europe reporting to him, I believe he said he was based in Bagram. Want me to ask him if he knows anybody over there in the ortho field you could look for?

Oh yeah, I forgot this pic. This shows all the layers of muscles in your back. The oval area is where I was operated on, they cut through those muscles twice now to get to my spine. Needless to say, those muscles don't like me much anymore.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/backmuscles01.jpg

And this is what they did to my L3, L4 and L5 vertebrae. They cut the centers, or "spinous process", out of them to relieve pressure on the spinal cord. These pics show L3 and L4, but they also did L5 right below, cut where the red lines are. Keep in mind that what YOU need done probably isn't even CLOSE to this kind of surgery, fixing a herniated disc is a pretty simple procedure these days. So, if you can get it fixed, I'd highly recommend doing so. A few months of recovery pain ain't nothing compared to hurting for the rest of your life.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/lumbar_laminectomy_intro0102.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/health%20stuff/lumbar_stenosis_surgery0102.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/500px-Lumbar_vertebrae02.jpg

[Sharpienads]

Depends if they can do it on post or not. They sent me to Vail to have the guy who invented the hip do my surgery.

Didn't God invent the hip?

[BPTactical]

Didn't God invent the hip?

No silly, the HIPpies did

[TheBelly]

You must be in one of the Cadillac fobs to have internet in stanz.

Get yourself checked out. Most of the big, pricey medical equipment is in Bagram and if they can't fix you there they will send you to Germany. Fix it. Dead lined for a few days- months is better than compromising the rest of your life. Besides, sounds like your post isn't exactly mission critical.

most of the fobs, even some of the tinier ones have some form of internet.

[Ronin13]

Off post referral, that will never happen.

Been down this road- I had a herniated C5/6 disc that happened in Afghanistan (but wasn't symptomatic until 3 months after we redeployed)... pinched the damn nerve root and caused pain and paresthesia down my entire right arm (PT=No go). I talked to my primary care provider (A CPT) and she was able to get me a referral to an off-post neurosurgeon to determine if surgery was needed or not (it was). So just make sure you keep and document everything! Every sick call slip, request copies of any paper work the medical team takes down, save it all... Yes you could be entitled to VA benefits, just save everything so you can give it to the VA, but it's entirely possible to get outside of the army help, you just have to ask and work through the system, it's a PITA but it's not impossible. How much longer do you have left on your tour? Unless you're really screwed up there isn't a whole lot they can do for your in country, you might have to profile ranger it until you redeploy.
Good luck![Luck]

[WillysWagon]

How the heck does a 21 year old get a herniated disc?!

Being a mechanic in the Army did the trick for me.
Best of luck on getting it taken care of, back probs suck !!!

[airborneranger]

Off post referral, that will never happen.

It will happen. I am living proof of that. If he needs to see a back specialist, then he will be sent off post. If by some miracle EACH happens to have one, then he is stuck on post.