Disaster 

"PS9" (PS9) 06/20/2018 at 12:30 • Filed to: None

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Late last month on Memorial Day, I bent down into my mini-fridge and felt a sharp pain in my left leg. Another sharp pain appeared in my right leg. Moments later, I couldn’t stand up anymore.

What followed was 24 Hours of excruciating pain as all the muscles in my left leg and lower back spasmed. I was admitted into the hospital where an MRI revealed that I have a herniated disc. The material in the disc is pinching a major nerve trunk running down the left leg. That’s right; my clutch leg is fucked up.

An ‘Asteroid Corvette’

I was hoping to get some good news from the doctor on monday, but instead he tells me I’m not going to be able to work for another six weeks and not to lift anything heavier than a jug of milk. Also, the single epidural shot I was supposed to get is now going to be 3, and if I don’t improve after that, it’s going to be back surgery.

FML, man.

HammerheadFistpunch > PS9 06/20/2018 at 12:39

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That sucks. Sorry.

Kanaric > PS9 06/20/2018 at 12:42

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That is always bad. Definitely try to get this fixed ASAP. My dad had a neck injury from a head on collision that was causing similar problems and waited 30 years to fix it. Now he has permanent nerve damage. I hope things work out for you.  

Myself I had a serious left foot injury in a motorcycle accident and have recurring issues. Like you said, my clutch leg. I have a project car with a fairly heavy clutch and if i’m doing a day of autocross by the end if it I will feel it especially since you have to stand all day and “work” and run for cones on top of that. Not as bad as nerve pain but still it factored into my buying an Audi S3 as a DD because it has a DSG. Fortunately dual clutch cars are so common now and they are very responsive if you like fun driving and have injuries that would make manuals difficult. Even relatively inexpensive tuner cars like the GTI and upcoming Veloster N have them these days, which is great.

random001 > PS9 06/20/2018 at 12:42

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Shit. I had this happen once, too. It was and epic amount of awful. I hope you feel better sooner rather than later.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > PS9 06/20/2018 at 12:44

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Back injuries are THE WORST. Have had lower back problems for years and had to let go of motorcycling as a result.

Sorry about that

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > PS9 06/20/2018 at 12:52

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I will write you a note authorizing you to operate automobiles with automatic transmissions until you heal.

ttyymmnn > PS9 06/20/2018 at 13:03

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I feel your pain. Literally. I’ve had back problems for years, and the first major spasm occurred when I bent down to pit a jug of milk in the fridge. Time will heal the disk, but the real danger is when you don’t take it easy and continue to reinjure the disk. Take it easy, do your exercises to strengthen your back, and get better.

Chariotoflove > PS9 06/20/2018 at 13:04

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My wife has been dealing with this, although not the exact same cause. It’s pretty debilitating. They tried injections for a while and then finally went for surgery. That’s helped a lot. Crossing my fingers for you.

Mid Engine > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 06/20/2018 at 13:33

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That’s cruel :)

RallyWrench > PS9 06/20/2018 at 14:17

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Damn, I’m sorry to hear that! I have felt your exact pain, total empathy for you. I know it feels like the end of the world.  My collapse was 6 years ago at the top of a hill when getting off a bicycle for a breather. The entire right side of my body locked up and I couldn’t stand, my buddies had to shoulder me over to lay down in the dirt for an hour and pound way too many ibuprofen (always carry for an emergency, turns out that was a good idea) before I could try to swing my leg over the bike and coast to the bottom to be picked up. The subsequent MRI showed my L5S1 was blown out 12x15mm due to a mountain bike crash 1 month prior, but I didn’t know it. Previous MRIs for back pain had just showed bulging discs from a lifetime of being a mechanic, which I had more or less under control. After blowing it, the disc was pinching the nerves down my right leg, felt like the worst pain and cramp I’ve ever experienced from my lower back all the way down, spasms as you describe.

The decision to go with therapy vs. surgery is a tough one, also being faced now by another cyclist friend who was hit by a car. We had a long talk about it last weekend. Give it a lot of careful thought. Some surgeons push for it, others don’t. The cortisone steroid shot was presented to me as an ongoing option with physical treatment, but with the birth of my first child one month away I settled on surgery after interviewing with 3 surgeons and long talks with my chiropractor and therapy guy. I felt it presented me the best chance to be myself again as quickly as possible, to be a mobile and active dad and continue to work on cars, cycle, surf, hike, and everything else. I don’t like the idea of masking problems with drugs, especially long-term with strong ones. I also didn’t like the idea of potentially worsening any nerve damage by playing it out.

The surgery was a microdiscectomy with microlamenotomy (sp?), the first to basically cut the offending edges off the disc, the second to remove a bit of bone to relieve nerve pressure, which I think is a decision they make once you’re cut open and they can see better. The incision is only about 3", so minimally invasive. The recovery wasn’t easy, and took me longer than it would have were I more fit and didn’t have a baby in the middle of it, but I got to walking miles again pretty quickly, and was lift and carry my child. The weirdest part at first was that my core just felt like jelly at first, but again, with daily walks and yoga stretches it improved quickly. It was worth it for me.

You change your life around thinking about your back differently, just little stuff like getting out of cars, off the toilet, bending down to grab a beer. You change the mechanics of the way you move. Small price to pay to be pain-free, though. And finally, finally, my recurring low back pain, which I’ve been dealing with since my early 20's, is greatly reduced. Now it’s just the usual creakiness that comes with age. I do still get phantom pains and the occasional cramp in my right calf at odd times (just laying in bed, usually), which is from the nerve damage according to the doc.

My buddy who I mentioned earlier, who was hit by the car, has been doing the epidural injections and therapy for two years now, and both he and his doctor were optimistic it was working, although he’s been in almost constant pain on some level. Then a checkup MRI last week showed it worsening, really impacting the nerves. This guy is super fit too, does everything right, therapy by the book, crazy core strength, and he still got worse. He’s only slightly younger than me and wants an active future too, so it’ll be surgery for him.

For you, do your homework on available surgeons, get multiple opinions and interviews. If you don’t find anyone satisfactory nearby, look out of area if needed. Find one that understands your position and goal. You’ll hear a lot of voices against surgery at all costs, but I think a lot of that is people thinking of old techniques such as spinal fusion. I don’t regret my decision one bit. Hope you find a good path forward soon, recover quickly, and find yourself without pain soon. Sorry you’re going through this, all the best to you and good luck!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mid Engine 06/20/2018 at 20:43

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Just gotta get ‘im over the hump.