Pins and needles

hi tfu

good luck for monday, when will you get the results? you,ve been through so much this last year you deserve a break fingers crossed that all will be ok for you or the very least something that can be sorted without the need for another op, be thinking of you. gail

hi kelly

so good to hear that your doing well, i was thinking of you, i have had my op and am recovering well, hows life with you? im back at work now and enjoying every second although its still nice to catch up with peps on the site, i keep in touch with mandy every now and again. look forward to your post. gail

Hi Tfu,

Good Luck for monday, hope you have good news for a change. Keep in touch.

Angela

Well I went back to work in August after being off for 6 months and although i am only doing light dutys things are so great.

Basiclly my disc went back in by its self and althouygh i am still taking lots of medication I feel that finally my life is my own again.

I know that there is a huge risk of it popping back out but at least for now with the help of medication i am able to lead a normal life.

Gail i am so glad that you have had your op and that you are back at work, Obviously things are now good for you too. I have been unable to access the net scince sept due to tech reasons but come back on line yesterday and like you want to keep in touch with everyone. Take Care of yourself and so glad you are better xxx

this may sound stupid but ive been asked to go on holiday as a surprise 50th present with someone and im scared to say yes due to my disc problems

im waiting for the surgeon to discuss opreation which seems inevitable

the appointment may take up to 2months to arrive

my head says yes who woundnt to florida!! but my body says maybe if i take it slowly

has any one travelled this far and does it matter if you take perscribed paainkillers with you i couldnt tell insurance co of these discs could it would cost a fortune

im thinking im in pain here why not in usa i wouldnt go on the rides etc theres also a car thrown in

ive to decide by mon

any help would be great

hi here, havent went far for holidays but when i was 1st diagnosed with double prolapse discs i was due 2 go 2 spain asked my consultant if i should cancel he sais dont c why u should, i said but with the pain in my back and legs what if something happens he said just do the same as u did when the discs went when u were at home, which was basicaly rest untill it eases abit. Dont no if that is any good 2 u r not good luck xcolyx

Hi Oscar,

I went on holiday to canada and Alaska in August 2007 whilst waiting for surgery for a herniated L5/S1 disc. We Went for 3 weeks and had a great time ( it had been planned before the disc went for hubby's 60th and we were also getting married in Canada).

The surgeon had no concerns about my travelling out there, however the insurance was a nightmare. I had already purchased holiday insurance when I purchased the flights prior to the disc problem, so the insurance co told me they would cover me for anything that was not related to my back. I had to purchase another policy to cover my back problems which cost around £360.

You could take the chance of not taking out insurance but as it's the US, any tretment would be really costly.

As it was, I had no further problems with my back whilst out there but it just gave peace of mind as we were travelling in some very remote places which can only be accessed by air travel.

I guess you just need to weigh up the benefits and risks/costs, check with your consultant, and take it from there.

Also if you do go, Take copies of your prescriptions and carry all meds in your hand luggage. I was on Morphine at the time, but had no problems taking this through customs.

Hope it all works out,

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi, i went to the dom republic last oct having been in total agony since april 07 when i put disc l5/s1 out on morphine / diazapam and inti inflams :cry: i had to up grade to business class and the dr would only sign me off to fly if i did that :roll: , i had to carry a drs letter for the controlled drugs if you are on anything like that or any thing with codine in it you MUST have a drs note especially going to florida they are really stricked over there, :roll: it is a hard flight ive done it three times to florida i really would think hard about flying that far the dom rep was 8 hrs florida direct is anything from 8.5/9.5hrs but please if you do go please please please take drs note for the meds if you don't have one, the american police will put you in prison for carrying drugs :x sorry to sound like a drama queen but it is very very important, having said all that and totally put you off, if you do decide to go please have a very nice time it is good to get away for some warm sunshine on your back take care enjoy xxJulie

Hi its me again just one last thing my insurance wouldn't cover me for anything to do with my back i tried other insurance companies it was no no no no all down the line i just took a chance fool you may say but we soooo needed a holiday having not had one for 2 1/2 years xxJulie

Hi its me again just one last thing my insurance wouldn't cover me for anything to do with my back i tried other insurance companies it was no no no no all down the line i just took a chance fool you may say but we soooo needed a holiday having not had one for 2 1/2 years xxJulie

hi there

i was waiting for an appointment to arrive for surgery, so i phoned the hospital and spoke to the surgeons secretary who said my op wouldnt be for some months so we booked to go to the dom rep last may, BUT the insurence company wouldnt insure me for anything to do with my neck (cervical prolapses discs) so i thought ok i,ll be mega careful my gp advised no swimming only go in the water up to chest deep, and i took all my pain meds with me. I have to admit i dont think id do it again i was so scared the entire time i was there in case something happened, but only you can decide if the risk is worth it, gail

Hi Oscar,

I had a Discectomy in Jan 07 which didn't work so I was waiting to have another Op, I went to New York in July for my 40th, I didn't get Insurance as it was going to be really expensive, I chanced it and I was fine. I done alot of walking too. I kept having a sit down every now and then but I still took all my usual tablets. I think if you take things easy then you should be ok.

I travelled Upper Class as my sister works for Virgin Atlantic, so I did have plenty of leg room to move around but if you're travelling economy it could be a squeeze, but if you keep getting up and moving around I'm sure you'll be ok.

Hope this helps.

Angela

Hi Oscar,

Just thought I'd let you know, the insurance co I used are called Medicover, and they covered everything to do with my back problem. As I said earlier, it cast around £360. It took ages to find a company to insure me as many do not cover pre-existimg conditions let alone if you are receiving hospital care or on a surgery waiting list. Hope this helps. Good luck,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi Oscar,

I have been to the USA many times. In fact it is my number 1 holiday destination. Last year though, due to my back problems, I chose not to go, partly because of the insurance issue and partly because of the long flight. I would add that even when I am fighting fit, I probably spend over half of the flight standing at the back of the plane, because Economy is so uncomtfortable for 7-11 hours, depending on where you are flying to. I would definately recommend spending a fair amount of time standing!!

Obviously though Florida is a relatively short hop, which is good. Are you going to Orlando??? The reason I ask is because I have been about 6 times now and as much as I love it, if you are going to theme parks it is an awful lot of walking. For me it would be pure torture not going on the rides. I love the big roller coasters....Incredible Hulk and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster are my favourites. Happy days!!! Or maybe you are going for more of a beach holiday.

On a final note, I didn't go abroad last year because of my back, thinking I would make up for it this year. I have sort of been planning a trip to Las Vegas/San Francisco or San Diego for April/May time, but now I realise that I have exactly the same issues as last year!!!! So do I go or not??? In hindsight I wish I had gone last year, before I gave it too much intellectual thought!!!!

Good luck, whatever you decide

TFU

Hi guys,

Thanks for your support. Jules I had a good chuckle at your comment on the other posting that I am a \"wise bird\".

I am committed to going now for the MRI tomorrow. During my third hospital admission I met a really great lady, we were in a 2 bed ward together for 10 days. We really bonded and have kept in touch. Anyway, she is coming with me tomorrow. Somehow, being with her helps, because she understands what I went through and we were there for each other through the pain, tears and vulnerabilty.

I don't think it is the anxiety that keeps me awake at night and therefore tired during the day. it's just the pain/numbness in my leg. I don't really get much pain in my back during the night, only if I actually lie on my back, which I do sometimes because that position kills the numbness in my leg!!

During the experiment to come off the meds for 24 hours, I was very shocked at how bad things got. Today I was thinking, what about if I had kept it up for 48 hours, or 72 hours?? A dentist friend of mine told me that because of the amount of Co-codamol I was taking and the length of time I had been on it, it would take at least a week to get it out of my system. He didn't know about how long it would take the Diclofenac to be non-effective. Now I have come to realise that if I let both drugs completely leave my body, then the chances are I would be back to where I was last May. I have been lucky after trying all sorts of drugs, max Co-codamol and Diclofenac work really well for me. Pre being given these drugs on May 24 last year, I had been in a very very bad way and it was on 13 May that I ended up at a mental hospital from the pain/Tramadol. Now I just think that the meds are masking all the pain and that post two ops things are actually no better at all!!

I probably shouldn't be back at work, at least not full time. My eyes look dreadful where I am so doped up from the drugs and by the afternoon I am just absolutely shattered. I don't function very well, but thus far I don't think anybody has really noticed yet. Thankfully this is a really quiet time of year. As I said before, if I could just get some meaningful sleep each night it would help. I am up at 6.30 each morning, getting stuff done before work and I rarely sit down before 8.30 in the evening. I figure though sitting at a desk all day or sitting at home, really doesn't make much difference and I had to go back for financial reasons. I wish that wasn't the case, but I have had months and months off unpaid since this all kicked off in January 2007. To be honest I don't think it would make a bit of difference if I had another five years off work, I don't think I am ever going to get better, I can't foresee a day when I'll be free of the meds and so I may as well just get on with it!!!! It's 10 weeks today since the second op and there has been no improvement at all.

I'm going to ask the Neuroradiologist tomorrow if she'll tell me what she has found, so at least I have some idea of my fate!!! I'll keep you posted.

TFU