Bulged disc. maybe need a career change. Help!

[eque_price]

Hi all

I just stumbled across this forum. I have never come across one like this and it is refreshing to see. I know there has been postings about back injuries but I would like to add my own. I am feeling down and could use some advice and encouragement from fellow medics.

I have been diagnosed with a 12mm L5 to S1 herniated disc. I have been doing treatment for 3.5 months with no improvement. I am worried. I was diagnosed with this through a CT and so my MRI is going to be next week since I have not improved at all. I have seen a specialist who said that my symptoms are not severe enough for surgery. I have numbness and pins and needles in my left leg and have mild to moderate lower back pain. My physio therapist and even the specialist hinted that I may not be able to return to work. Could this be true? How long until i know for sure that my career is a write off?

I have no idea what else I would want to do for the rest of my life. I have 11 yrs of seniority and holidays with 2 young children that rely on me. I would love to become some sort of critical incident stress debriefer but I keep slamming up against closed doors. Any advice on how to proceed with this? This is the only thing I could think of doing.

I am going to miss the adventure, the respect and the pride of the job if I am no longer able to be a medic. Although I won't miss the endless transfers or the long distance transfers for that matter Am I over reacting? Will I be able to return and last 17 more yrs do you think? I feel so lost. On one hand I would love a regular job with regular hours so I won't miss a thing with my kids but on the other hand the cost to change jobs is out of my financial league and I would really miss the adrenaline when you are actually doing your job and saving those lives.

I look forward to your replies. Thank you in advance.

[island emt]

The best advice is to follow YOUR doctors advise , not the companies workers comp doc.

Only time will tell if you might be able to return to actively working as a Paramedic for an additional 17 years.

Back surgery is improving all the time and the results are sometimes miraculous.

Make sure to get a second opinion before letting anyone start cutting on your back.

[chbare]

Unfortunately, surgery is often not particularly effective as a method of pain management. If you look at the data, after a few years post injury, surgical versus conservative therapy appears to have similar outcomes when considering pain. Surgery does seem to work better for serious neurological problems. I cannot give any medical advice; however, you need to be very cautious about aggressive procedures and cure all your pain super procedures. There are allot of people out there claiming to have a less invasive miracle technique. If there was a miracle cure for back pain, it wouldn't be one of the most common problems that people deal with in the United States. Best of luck.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Following your doctors advice is great advice but to get anything truly done with workmans comp requires the work comp doc and their nasty protocol driven health care world to comply. IF you don't follow what they tell you then you can end up being on the hook for the cost of the care, not the company.

Best thing is to make sure your doctor is involved in your care plan but unfortunately, workmans comp really runs the show, at least in my area.

The last straw you can go to if you disagree with work comp is to hire a attorney and go that route but remember that if you do that, then your treatments will more than likely dry up and it will be a nightmare getting anything done. Lawyering up is a last resort.

But you can ask, and you SHOULD ask for a 2nd opinion prior to any major stuff being done. Don't just take the work comp doc's word at it.

As for your question of Am I finished in EMS???? Depends on how far you let this go and whether you follow the advice of your docs and physical therapists. If you don't, then you probably are finished. If you go back to work too soon(work comp loves to push people back to work too soon) and you re-injure yourself that could lead to a career ending injury or worse, it could lead to permanent disability.

Trust your body, listen to it, your body will let you know when you are ready.

If you don't think you are ready, then don't go back and push back against the docs.

But if you do all the stuff the guys with higher degrees than EMT or EMT-P tell you to do and you let yourself heal, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to return to work and work for many more years.

Just remember, once a body part is injured, it is very easy to injure it again. So be cognizent of what you do and how you do it, and when you feel that you are pushing it, stop.

Good luck.

[Herniated EMT]

I have the same injury.. only 8 month as EMT and Ive got herniated L5-S1 disk with about 9 mm protrusion... I'm on spinal decompression now and every day I do exercise during 40-45 minutes.. yoga really helps... start doing yoga every day if you dont have severe pain.. try to walk sa much as possible.. I know one guy who manage it with 14 mm herniated disk.. so we (all injuried emt/paramedic folks) can do it too.. dont go under knife.. it's the last mean.. after surgery you won't be able to lift a stretcher with patient on.. my doc said "no more lifting.. never ever" Put your body first