I have a herniated disc in the base of my neck from lifting children. I have been doing Physical Therapy for a year now, and have had multiple chiropractic appointments, all to no avail. The pain for the last four/five days has been so bad I can barely do ANYTHING. I know doing childcare only makes it worse. I'm so frustrated that this is preventing me from enjoying the one thing I have a passion for: Taking care of children! Thank God for an awesome assistant who has been so very helpful during this time!!

Tomorrow I go see pain management for the first time. I'm scared to death they'll give me a steroid shot, but know I might need to do it. Has anyone ever had this done? Any tips, side effects you've had or awesome testimonials?

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My mom had one. She had surgery for hers. Now she has no problem. But she has become the bionic woman. She's 61 and just had a total hip replacement in March. It's great that we live in such a medically advanced day and age that you can come into this world with one body and leave with an entirely new one. The worst part for my mom was that she started to break out in hives (or 1 great big hive from her head to her toes) a few days after leaving the hospital.. Come to find out, she developed an allergy to the *******, even though she had taken it in the past with no reactions.

I know it is horribly painful and I would talk to the doctor about a more long-term solution like surgery. I know none of us like surgery or the recovery period, but at least it would be done and over, rather than suffering for months or years and constantly going for treatment after treatment. Plus, as long as you are doing daycare, it will only get worse, IMO. It's your call, but I'd go for the quick fix, long-term solution, so I could get on with my life and doing what I love. By the way, who wants to live on pain meds?

Prayers for you! Hopefully your hubby can give good massages to alleviate the pain somewhat.

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I don't have any tips for you. I did want to let you know I hope you feel better soon & are able to get some help at the pain mgmt appt. Keep us posted

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I have 2 herniated discs in my lumbar vertabrae and that was from about 3 years ago. I know that it's getting worse but I'm too much of a chicken to get another MRI because if I get another MRI, then it'll make this whole denial thing much harder! Just a few suggestion, make sure that when you lift, you do it the right way, it really does help. I also do yoga and that helps keep me limber. Be prepared for a lot of pain, so be willing to try a bunch of different stuff. I take gabapentin (generic for Neurontin) and that helps me to wake up in the morning without a ton of back pain. Also, sleeping with a pillow between your knees can help. Theres also the idea of using a TENS unit, which is really effective when you don't have the option of bed rest. The TENS unit really allows you to function more. It's something to consider. I have sciatica, too, but for that there's not much to do except just bare the pain. I get cortisone shots on occasion and it helps but I'm hesitant to do it because of the possibility of weakening the strength of my bones. I really hope that you can find a way to get through this and if you have any questions that I might be able to help with, feel free to ask.

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Originally we were told that my fiance had a herniated disk (on his lower back) and he had to have a steroid shot. It ended up being a nerve issue so the shot didn't work on him but he didn't complain of any pain after getting the shot, just some discomfort (obviously). He knows someone that has your issue and she just got a steroid shot last week for the first time after no success with anything else (like you) and she's in love with them.

In essence a steroid shot is just like an epidural. If done correctly you should have no issues and little or no pain. I have heard however (not to try to frighten you, just want you to get some info) that if they hit the wrong spot it could be painful but it will wear off. My fiance was told that he couldn't move while they did it because if he did and they hit a certain spot that he could become paralyzed but it's a very rare thing. Plus his was given in his lower back not his neck so I don't know if that makes a difference. You may want to ask the next time you go in. Hope this helps, and again I hope I didn't scare the holy bejeezus out of you lol. Overall I hear good things when nothing else works.

I would try the shots before commiting to surgery. Surgery is a good option but should be left as a last resort. I'm not sure how old (or young) you are but with surgery for something like this you pretty much can't do anything really active and sporty afterwards. They gave my fiance this option as well (when they thought it was a disk) but since he's barely turned 30 and we're both avid quad riders, campers, hikers, horseback riders etc. and he loves to work out he decided to wait until he was older to actually get surgery since he was told that he would not be able to do any of these things anymore. If you don't do anything extreme then it sounds like another good option. Thank goodness he decided to wait and then ended up seeing a specialist (2nd opinion) and they found out then that it had nothing to do with his disks, but was actually a sciatic nerve issue. So don't be afraid to get a 2nd opinion if nothing seems to be helping and before commiting to surgery. Good luck.

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