Back Surgery to Repair Badly Herniated Disc in My Back

Written By:  Andrew Eide

I had back surgery on October 20, 2004, to repair a badly herniated disc in my back that was pinching my sciatic nerve and causing me excruciating pain. Here is my story.

In January 1996, three months before I was to retire from the United States Navy with 20 years of service, I twisted my back while carrying something. The pain was heavy and sharp but I figured it was a pulled muscle. Eventually it resolved and the pain was only an occasionally twinge now and then until February 2004.

I was rehearsing a skit for Church and when I walked up from the sanctuary level three steps to get to the podium the pain hit me so hard in my lower back I fell to the floor. I was able to get up but I had a difficult time walking.

The doctor diagnosed me with a herniated disc and he told me that it was pressing directly back into my spinal cord and pressing into the sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve is probably one of the longest nerves in the body. In my case the pinched nerve from the herniated disc was located in my lower back at a location called the L4/L5 area meaning the lumbar vertebrae numbers 4 & 5.

The pain was in my lower back, in my hip, down the front of my thigh and leg, and across the top of my foot. We tried every medication, soaking, and massage therapy available, but since the pain in my hip, thigh, leg, and foot was what is called a “phantom” pain it was never relieved.

My doctor initially put me on 5 mg of Morphine. With the average person with severe pain 5 mg of Morphine usually kills all the pain but not in my case. The doctor increased my dosage to 10 mg and still no results. He finally put me on 20 mg of Morphine and it sometimes knocked out 50 percent of the pain but sometimes it did nothing.

I finally had back surgery to repair the herniated disc on October 20, 2004. When I woke up from the surgery I was pain free. The Doctor told me that the part of the disc that was herniated actually broke off, and it was about an inch long, and that the piece that broke off went behind my sciatic nerve, while the disc itself was still herniated and pressing on the sciatic nerve from the other direction, so it was a double pinch of the sciatic nerve.

By removing the piece of the disc that broke off, and shaving down the remaining part of the disc that was still herniated, the pain was alleviated totally.

So if you have this situation you need to have disc repair surgery. It is fairly simple, requiring an incision of about one inch in your lower back, and it is done with a scope, so your recovery time is quick.