I have been suffering from chronic lower back pain since an injury occured in 2006. Since then I would usually get one horrible attack a year that would render me immobile for several days. It would be the usual treatment of narcs and muscle relaxers. Since June of this year I have had four episodes of 10/10 pain all in a very small section of my lower left back with radiation down my left leg. A 2009 MRI showed a mild herniation of the disc between L4 and L5 and I thought this was rather surprising seeing as I was in agony. Recently I have been seeing an Orthopedic Surgeon, he performed an X-Ray which showed the spacing between L4 and L5 to be less than half of what it should be, this did not concern him. He suggested PT which was an epic failure in 2008. I am on prescription NSAIDS which seem to helping slightly but I still have horrible days where I can't even tie my own shoes. Is it normal to have this much pain with what seems to be a minor injury? The Doc has ordered another MRI and says he will just go the steroid injection route if I would prefer not to do PT. I have had over 15 kidney stones in my life and this pain is far worse than any of those. Im confused, this does not seem normal to me. Seeing as I am a Firefighter/Paramedic I am unable to return to work until this is solved. Does anyone have any thoughts on why the pain is so severe with what appears to be a mild herniation???View Thread
Any opiate will suppress the respiratory system if too much is ingested and that all depends on the individual taking it. If it is prescription meds and you take it according to what your Doc says than do not worry. Morphine is quite a bit stronger than Vicodin and Percocet so just be careful. If you are concerned you can get a prescription for Narcan which will immediately block the effects of the morphine. If you feel you might have ingested too much call 911View Thread