Am I going to die? (Not Covid)

[Bailey Guns]

Should have had it addressed sooner, sometimes speed of being addressed will affect long term recovery.

Excellent advice there. I hurt my back out at Buckley ANGB way back in the Desert Storm days. I went to the clinic the day of the injury, got the basic "take two of these and call me in the morning" exam/diagnosis, and just learned to live with the occasional discomfort I started having. 15 years later occasional had turned to chronic. "Well, I'm just getting older", I told myself. By 2017 I couldn't walk more than a few minutes without excruciating pain. The stenosis in my lower back is now so bad that it causes all kinds of nerve problems in my legs and elsewhere. I have persistent issues with falling because I'll take a step and one of my legs will go numb...like it's not even there. The entire front side of my left thigh oftentimes starts to feel like it's got an extremely cold ice pack on my bare skin...even though it feels normal to the touch the sensation in my brain is that my thigh is freezing cold.

Do yourself a favor and have it checked out sooner rather than later.

[ray1970]

Like some of you, I have been dealing with lower back issues for a while. (Herniated disc) Everything was fine and dandy until I pushed off with my leg on a steep, uphill incline and got a sudden pain in my calf. I?m fairly certain I strained or tore something in my lower leg and the foot numbness/tingling/burning started immediately afterwards. I could be totally wrong, but I?m certain tweaking something in my lower leg started this mess and it isn?t something going on with my lower back.

I have things to get done at work today and tomorrow and then I?ll reevaluate the situation.

[VDW]

I?m coming out of my self imposed break to offer some hard learned advice on this subject. For those of you who have no prior experience with spinal injuries, make sure you get an MRI. CTs and X-RAYs don?t show soft tissue (disc and spinal cord) damage. Sometimes you have to insist on it, against the resistance of the all knowing, all caring doctors. Once you have that information, I would highly recommend a good chiropractor (assuming you don?t have spinal cord damage) and/or epidural injections of steroids before considering surgery. That being said, sometimes surgery is necessary, but don?t expect a cure all. I have a lot of long term damage from multiple spine surgeries. Surgery is also dangerous and may cause other issues and/or death.

Bailey, you need an MRI and most likely surgery. Complete loss of feeling indicates an impinged spinal cord which could lead to permanent nerve damage and/or paralysis.

Feel free to PM me for more life lessons on this subject, and I?ll be happy to share what I?ve learned the hard way.

[VDW]

Ray1970, you need to call a doctor. It sounds like a reasonable possibility of a blood clot, but a doctor would be the one to tell. If it is and breaks loose, there won?t be anything anyone can do before it?s all over.

This is also one of those things I learned about the hard way as a result of spinal surgery. 🙄

[Bailey Guns]

Bailey, you need an MRI and most likely surgery. Complete loss of feeling indicates an impinged spinal cord which could lead to permanent nerve damage and/or paralysis.

Feel free to PM me for more life lessons on this subject, and I?ll be happy to share what I?ve learned the hard way.

Sent you a note. I've had 6 or 7 MRIs since 2015 and I've seen two neuro guys, the last within the past 8 months. I have options, it's just none of them are particularly appealing.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Like some of you, I have been dealing with lower back issues for a while. (Herniated disc) Everything was fine and dandy until I pushed off with my leg on a steep, uphill incline and got a sudden pain in my calf. I?m fairly certain I strained or tore something in my lower leg and the foot numbness/tingling/burning started immediately afterwards. I could be totally wrong, but I?m certain tweaking something in my lower leg started this mess and it isn?t something going on with my lower back.

I have things to get done at work today and tomorrow and then I?ll reevaluate the situation.

Ray, get it looked at. My pain has primarily been in the calf but when I described it, my sister (correctly) diagnosed it immediately as sciatica and X-rays and an MRI confirmed impingement on 2 of my discs. I just started physical therapy and am scheduled for a shot this week. Pushing off with your leg on the incline may have just been the last straw for your herniated disc to act up.

[ray1970]

Thanks. I actually spent hours on the phone today trying to get someone to look at me but didn?t have any luck. Called several places that weren?t seeing new patients, got stuck on hold in the automated system at a couple of places until I finally just decided to hang up. Had one place say they could get me in in a couple of weeks. I told them I?d just keep calling around because I?d likely be better by then or dead.