February 6, 2025 • 35 mins
Jessa shares her heartfelt journey of battling back pain due to a herniated disc, navigating from chiropractic care to ultimately undergoing successful surgery. Her story highlights the importance of seeking proper diagnosis, advocating for oneself, and finding community support in the journey towards recovery.
• Jessa’s history of back issues beginning in her 20s
• The challenges of receiving proper diagnosis and treatment
• Insight into chiropractic care versus medical intervention
• Emotional impact of living with ongoing pain
• Decision-making process leading to herniated disc surgery
• Recovery experience and the significance of post-surgical support
• Returning to physical activities while maintaining caution
• Jessa’s message of hope and encouragement for others facing similar struggles
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We'll admit you and we'll try and get you in for
surgery on Monday, because helooked at my MRI and he said you
don't need pain meds, you needthis herniation out.
It was the size of a golf ball,so it was.
It was so big.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome to Bed Back and Beyond, sharing positive
stories of recovery from seriousback or neck injury.
Your host is CK, a fellowchampion who draws on her own
experience with herniated discsurgery.
Join her as she talks withothers who have overcome the
physical and emotional trauma ofa painful injury and discover
(00:37):
for yourself how you can findhope and encouragement in
recovery.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hi Jessa.
Thank you so much for joiningme on this episode of Bed, back
and Beyond.
Before we dive into your injury, how about you tell us a little
bit about yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I just turned the big four zero last week.
Oh, happy birthday.
Oh, thank you, I've got twolittle girls.
We live in Florida.
I mean, regarding my back, I'vealways had back issues.
When I was 20, I was movingsomething really heavy of my
(01:14):
mom's for her, so I was likedoing like a bend over, move and
a pull and I felt it pop.
So it was always in the samespot on my right side but it
would always flare up and thenthe chiropractor would usually
always help me through that.
So that's like my back history,especially when I was pregnant
(01:37):
it really would flare up.
So I would go like weekly.
So I guess I've always had backissues.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
When your back would pop, was it, uh, like you would
throw your back out for a coupleweeks?
Speaker 1 (01:48):
no, like I.
Just that was like the initialinjury, I think I I felt it just
something happened in there, uh, okay, and then, whenever,
whenever it would flare up, um,it was just pain, pain in that
area.
Nothing, nothing horrible, butdefinitely uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, I think I had.
I had a history of justthrowing my back out for years
and my parents would throw theirback out and usually that was
just.
You know, the muscles get realpainful and weak and it would
usually take about three weeksfor it to go away.
But I never had any kind ofsciatica symptoms or anything
(02:27):
prior to my experience.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
No, neither did I, neither did I.
Okay, and that's interesting,you say that like your parents
did, cause my mom also.
My mom has had back surgery, sogenetic component to that weak,
weak spot in the body.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Now were you an active person.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh, yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, I grew up playing
basketball and volleyball.
Uh, I, I have very looseligaments.
Um, I had shoulder surgery inhigh school and had to stop
playing.
My ligaments are very likeGumby, so I would always
dislocate my shoulder, okay, andum, I mean I'm double jointed
(03:09):
and a lot of my joints, and so Ialways wondered if that had
something to do with it.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Um, do you have that syndrome, the uh no, I don't
think so.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Oh, okay, I think it's just.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I know what you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, no, but yeah, no, I've always been active.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I'm always at the gym .
This past, like the past timewhere it really affected me and
where I ended up needing surgery, I was playing tennis, so the
the tennis twisting movementreally, really got me.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Okay, did I see that you were on vacation when you
got first hit with the major?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
herniation pain.
No, I, just no.
I was playing tennis in thespring and it had progressively
gotten worse, so I started goingto the chiropractor during that
springtime.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And that was spring of 2023, right, yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Okay, yeah, cause, yes, yep.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I got a little tick-tock stalking this morning
to kind of refresh it.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I know, with the brand new year kind of screws
you Um, but I had noticed myback always feeling like the
typical hurt.
And this one day at tennis Iwas just like I cannot.
I literally had to stop playingbecause the pain and the
pressure was so bad and I alwaysfelt it was always a feeling
like I need to bend over, uh, torelieve pressure.
(04:42):
That was always my feeling.
So then, after I had to stopplaying tennis, I was going to
the chiropractor twice a weekand in retrospect I think what
had happened was I had alwayshad bulging discs and they were
able to help, and I think thistime I actually had a herniation
(05:03):
.
And I think that's whatactually had a herniation and I
think that's what made it worseis going to the chiropractor
once I had the herniation.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, did your chiropractor do any x-rays?
Speaker 1 (05:14):
No.
So I I actually now I'm liketotally advise people to just be
so careful about it, becausethere was no imaging done, so no
, Okay, all right.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So you tried the chiropractor and did you get
some relief or just no relief atall?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
No, I actually, like, was screaming in the office
when he did.
I don't know, have you been toa chiropractor?
Did you go down that route?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
I don't know, have you been to a chiropractor?
Did you go down that route?
So with my story, I had severepain in my glute Every time I
stood up.
It would just stab in my leftbutt cheek and it was really bad
.
One day I would stand up and Iwould have to hold my breath for
a couple seconds, but then itwould pass.
So I was driving home from workand I thought I should just see
(06:04):
a chiropractor.
So I pulled up to one office.
It would pass.
So I was driving home from workand I thought I should just see
a chiropractor.
So I pulled up to one office.
It was closed.
So then I drove to a secondoffice.
They didn't have anyappointments available and then
I thought, okay, one more.
If I see one more office I'llpull in there.
But it was on the opposite sideof the highway, so I didn't go.
So I got home and then the nextmorning I rolled over and had
(06:26):
my severe herniated experience.
And so my thinking was I thinkthe Lord just protected me from
a chiropractor.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Good for you, because you probably would have been in
so much more pain.
My goodness, yes, you weresaved.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
So then, what was your next step after the
chiropractor didn't help.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well, I was going twice a week and I probably went
for four to six weeks and Imean, I'm usually pretty in tune
with my body but since it hadalways helped in the past, I
don't think I was realizing thatit was getting worse, probably
because of it.
I don't even remember, but Iknow when it was the worst day,
(07:10):
it was when I was going to bedand I noticed I couldn't even
lay down.
I couldn't lay down or sleep.
It was so bad.
Long story short, once Ifinally got imaging way too long
later it was.
That was May, june, july,august, september.
So four months later I finallygot an MRI.
Wow, and I had a hugeherniation just sitting on my
(07:37):
nerve at the.
At the beginning I didn'trealize what it was because,
like you, I had a huge, like amassive pain in my butt and I
was getting those massage gunsand just trying to massage it
out.
It's like the pain radiates somuch into so many areas and like
the hip area that I didn't knowwhere it was, like stemming
(07:59):
from Is that how you felt.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, I was convinced I had first had that piriformis
muscle.
Yeah, yeah.
So I was doing stretches forthat to try and make it go away,
and I was convinced myself likeno, it's not a herniation,
until I rolled over in themorning and had to call an
ambulance.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Oh my goodness, yeah, yeah.
So what did you do to injureyourself?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Do you even know?
Yep, I was walking my twobeagles and I was bending over.
I was bending over to pick upafter one of them and I think
they saw a rabbit or a squirreland they took off behind me
While you're bending over.
Yeah, so they yanked mebackwards and so I had initially
just pain in my right glute andthen that moved, that moved up
(08:49):
into my lower back and then Ihad that through my back out
feeling, but it never got better.
And then the pain slowlyslipped, shifted to my left
glute.
So that was April.
Yeah, so it was April that theypulled me backwards, and then
it wasn't until June that I wokeup and needed an ambulance for
(09:09):
that.
The big herniation, wow.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Wow, so did you have it herniated on both sides?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
No, just the left.
L5 S1.
Yeah, so I don't know why itstarted in the right and the
moved.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
That is interesting.
Yeah, yeah, that's exactlywhere mine was.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
L5 S1.
Yeah, yeah, it's very common.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Yeah, no, it was so bad.
I honestly didn't know I hadactually dealt with arthritis.
Earlier in my life.
When I had my second baby, Igot this random.
They diagnosed me withrheumatoid arthritis and I ended
up healing myself.
I never went on the medication,but I went the natural route
(09:52):
and I mean I don't suffer withit anymore, thank God.
It was pretty bad.
But in my brain I'm like isthis coming back and attacking
my back?
Because I mean I would wake upcrippled.
And so I'm like in my brain itfelt like that, like something
was attacking my back and so Ithought that I had arthritis and
(10:16):
I really didn't think it was aherniated disc.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I really didn't, because I didn't really have an
injury.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I just had like pain and then all of a sudden it got
worse, out of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
So once you got your MRI, did they send you to
physical therapy or did theytell you no, you need surgery.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No, actually.
So for before, before I got myMRI, like the first doctor that
I saw about, it was anorthopedist and he recommended
an x-ray and PT.
That was the first line oftreatment.
So I got an x-ray.
It showed scoliosis, which iswild, because I don't have
(10:56):
scoliosis now.
I just had a severe like.
My herniation was so big thatit was bowing my back.
Wow, I went to PT twice and Iwas like, nope, this is not
working, not going to help.
And I was like, nope, this isnot working, not going to help.
And like I'm very active andI'm doing a lot of videos at
(11:18):
home on how to strengthen andlike heal a herniated disc.
And I, you know it was.
It's silly the deterrent why Ididn't get an MRI was of the
cost.
I was scared that it was goingto be thousands and thousands of
dollars, yeah, and it wasn't.
It was scared that it was goingto be thousands and thousands
(11:39):
of dollars yeah, and it wasn't,it was not.
Um, I think it ended up beinglike $400.
So had I known that, I wouldhave probably done it a lot
earlier.
I just lived through the entiresummer just in horrific pain and
then finally, uh, in September,I decided that I couldn't live
with it anymore.
I was getting up in the morningtrying to get my kids ready for
(12:01):
school and I was sleepingupstairs at that point because
the pain was so bad.
I kept moving at night.
I think I had gotten two hoursof sleep the night before.
I was laying horizontal on thefloor doing my daughter's hair,
like I couldn't stand up and Iwas getting jealous of this
80-year-old woman who would walkevery morning in my
(12:23):
neighborhood and I'm like Idon't know what's wrong with me.
Like I couldn't stand up.
The pain was so bad.
So I just told my husband I'mgoing to the emergency room and
of course they just pushed painmeds.
So I tried every pain med underthe sun and then that's when I
finally, through God's grace,found this neurosurgeon.
(12:46):
I was looking through myinsurance, who was covered, and
typically the appointments arelike so far out, right.
Well, uh, that was Wednesday.
I called and I mean I was indire straits at that point.
I should have called way, way,way long before that.
But, um, I ended up seeing himon on that on that Friday.
(13:09):
So I just knew there wassomebody who's watching out over
me you know, god was and so Iended up seeing him on Friday.
I was in so much pain I calledthe office that next morning
Just it was Saturday morning,and nobody was at the office but
there was a doctor on call andso he said for intractable pain,
(13:31):
you can be admitted.
If you can handle it, wait tillSunday, we'll admit you and
we'll try and get you in forsurgery on Monday.
Cause he looked at my MRI andhe said you don't need pain meds
, you need this herniation out.
It was the size of a golf ball,so it was.
It was so big, so, um, he'slike you don't need pain meds,
(13:53):
you just need help, you need usto take it out.
So anyways, I ended up havingsurgery that next Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
What kind of symptoms did you have as far as sciatica
goes it?
Speaker 1 (14:04):
had started up in my glute area like you had
experienced, but then after afew weeks it traveled down like
the side of my leg.
Then, after a few weeks, ittraveled down like the side of
my leg and I felt like the topof my ankle and my whole ankle.
It felt like it was being eatenalive, Literally from the
inside.
(14:24):
What?
Speaker 3 (14:24):
it felt like.
So you had originally seen anorthopedist, and then you ended
up with the neurosurgeon.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, so sorry, I kind of skipped around.
So yeah, when I saw theorthopedist that it was the
x-ray, the pt, I was at thebeginning of the summer or
actually late spring, and then Iended up seeing him again to
try some steroid shots.
Okay, and that was in sept,september, and the steroid shots
(14:54):
, like reacted very poorly forme, it almost set me off.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Made your pain worse.
Yes, and that is what startedthis spiral of it being like
unlivable Right.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Okay, you're the second or a third person I've
talked to where the steroid shotmade the pain so much more
worse, yeah, yeah, becauseyou're putting something into a
space that's already compressedand now you're adding more
material in there.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So I'm assuming- yeah , oh no, it was so bad and
actually I never I had gottenthe MRI done before.
He did that because you have tohave the imaging.
He never showed me the MRI andlike a dummy I didn't ask to see
it because he was just so hewas like one of those doctors in
(15:43):
and out, in and out people,patients.
And so I called back after Igot the steroid shot and I got
one of his texts and this wasthe first shot and I got one of
his texts and this was the firstinkling that I had to how big
it was.
I had two of his texts on twoseparate days.
Pull up my stuff, my file, andhe's like uh, ma'am, I've never
(16:11):
seen a herniation this large.
Two of them at his clinic saidthat.
And so then I got angry and Iwas like are you, are you
serious?
He, he had me in there forsurrogate shots.
He didn't say how large it was,he didn't say what a big.
I mean, he didn't communicateto me how, how big it was.
Um, and that probably should goget surgery.
So anyways, after that I didn'ttrust him at all anymore and so
(16:34):
I was just like you know what Ineed to see a surgeon.
Hell if I'm going to anorthopedist for back surgery, so
I just on my own.
We have a PPO, so I juststarted searching neurosurgeon.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
There was a young guy at my church who had gotten
surgery two years before myexperience, and so I just said
who did you see?
And he gave me his, his, thepractice name recommendation.
Yeah, but his doctor was bookedout, and so I just said who has
the soonest appointment?
And that's how I picked mydoctor, which is smart, but when
(17:12):
you're in pain, Right, I know,I was like that too.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
I'm kind of a hypochondriac medically and the
fact that I just was like yep,I'll see you.
Yep, that's fine, I don't evencare anymore, it was that bad.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I did one cortisone injection too, and I didn't have
a severe reaction to it.
But within two weeks I knew itwasn't going to help and I
didn't want to chase down.
It was supposed to be a seriesof three and I to me it just
felt like wasting my time.
I didn't want to wait three andthen say get surgery.
So I was like I'm just, I'mgoing surgery.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Oh, good for you.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
And you said that your recovery wasn't so good.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
My recovery wasn't too easy, I think, because you
know I went from April to Juneand then I tried some physical
therapy.
That didn't help, but my backmuscles just got so weak and I'm
not one of the lucky people whowoke up pain free, so I woke up
with still having leg pain.
You did Because technically mynerve is still pinched even
(18:18):
after the surgery.
But so it took me like sixmonths to feel better physically
and then probably a year tofeel better emotionally.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Oh geez.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
So you're still having pain now.
Every once in a while it flares, but my day-to-day life is
pain-free.
My numbness never went away, somy left leg is still numb, so
it only bothers me when I'mshaving, yeah, yeah, when I'm
shaving my toe.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
My pinky toe is numb and like the bottom of my foot,
where that is yeah, but it'snothing, nothing yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So how, when you went in for surgery was, was it just
in and out same day, or did youhave to stay in the night?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
no, I.
I went in, for I got uhadmitted on that sunday for
intractable pain.
Uh, they had me on morphinewhich didn't even touch it.
They were going to try and getme to have surgery Monday, and
so I was NPO while I was thereand there was just not room in
(19:24):
the schedule so I just had tolay there and wait.
So I think the next morning itwas Tuesday morning they were
able to squeeze me in.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Okay, so you stayed the night Monday to Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Stayed the night Monday yeah, so well, I stayed
the night technically Sunday.
I went in super late on Sunday.
Sunday night, monday night,tuesday night I think I'm
Wednesday night, so Okay, so youstayed one more night after
your procedure.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah , so it's.
It's terrible trying to sleepin the hospital, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, I mean nothing, nothing.
I slept perfectly after thesurgery because before I wasn't.
I, it wouldn't.
It was so bad.
After that steroid shot, um, Iwas getting like two to three
hours of sleep at night.
Wow, yeah, it's just awful.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So you woke up, pain-free.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Pain-free.
I, literally I remember beingin the recovery.
It wasn't even my room, it waslike where they wake you up from
surgery and I opened my eyesand I remember thinking, oh my
God, it's gone.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
It's gone, that's great.
Yeah, and how was your incisionpain?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Oh, nothing.
I mean after that, literallynothing.
I mean it was superuncomfortable and I was scared
to move during the recovery, butnothing was as bad as what I
was going through, you know.
So, right, but I mean it'sabout, I don't know, two and a
(21:04):
half to three inches right, yeah, pretty, pretty standard.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
It sounds like so were you, given the you know
bending lifting and twistingrules for so many weeks.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yep yep, yep, yeah.
So I had those.
Grabbers from Amazon were great.
That was fun.
I actually sat.
I have a hard time sitting.
I am like always on the go, sobeing forced to recover was
actually kind of nice.
So, yeah, I did a good job.
(21:35):
My mom came and helped and myhusband helped and it wasn't bad
.
And then I actually went on acruise six weeks after surgery.
Wow, did you have to fly therefour?
It might have been four, fourto six weeks?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
yeah, wow, did you have to fly to the cruise, or
was it no florida, okay?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
yeah, it was.
We drove two hours but mysurgeon said he's like, as long
as you're taking it easy, he'slike obviously you can't get in
the water, um, or do you know?
Water or anything active, aslong as you're just sitting and
relaxing, you're fine to go.
It was my husband's birthday soyeah, I know I didn't want to
(22:23):
ruin it for him, but it was fine, that's great.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, uh, were you working at the time or were you
a stay-at-home mom?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, I was a stay-at-home mom, so thank
goodness.
Uh, I got to just let myhusband help, just let my
husband help, yeah, yeah and heworks from home too, so it was a
lot nicer and, like I said, mymom came.
(22:53):
So there was a couple of girlsthat reached out to me on TikTok
that, oh no, it wasn't onTikTok, I guess this was.
We had surgery at the same timeand I met them on Facebook,
like in different groups, youknow.
Yeah, and she was a single mom.
She had literally divorced herhusband the month prior.
And so she was like so scaredabout, you know, having to lift
up little babies because herkids were super young.
(23:13):
I'm sure that would be superscary.
Because I did not want to.
I had PTSD afterwards for quitesome time because of the pain
that I endured for so long, so Idid not want to do anything to
re-endure myself.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, that's what I mean when I said it took me a
year to recover emotionallybecause of the PTSD afterwards,
any little shock or pinch oranything would send me into a
panic little.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Any little shock or pinch or anything would send me
into a panic.
Yeah, oh, I know Well andthat's interesting that you
still have to deal with likeflare ups.
I haven't had a flare up, butum, well, it's been.
I had surgery so last Septemberit was a year, so a little bit
over a year and when I wasrecovering the muscles right
(24:07):
around would get fatigued.
You know that feeling whereyou're just like I need to sit
down.
That was the worst thing that Iever had to deal with.
But, like last month, I feltthat again and so I was like, oh
my gosh, get the ice, go, sitdown.
You know, I don't know if I had, I don't know what I did, but
(24:32):
it scared me.
But then, you know, I slept andwoke up and I was fine.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Yeah, yeah, so usually if I have a flare up,
it's gone by the next day.
I just had one.
Yeah, I just had one like threenights ago.
I got home.
I got home from work and by thetime I got home from work I was
like hon, my back feels likeit's Before the herniation, when
my back would go out.
I always had indicators thatyour back is going to be going
(24:58):
out, like just little tinyspasms.
So I started to feel those theother night and I was like, oh
no, so I just took it easy and Ihave a really good heating pad,
so I heated my muscles and thenthe next day I'm fine.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
So, yeah, yeah, oh, I know I had, so I had reached
out to two of.
I reached out to everybody thatI knew that had gone through
this, because you know you feelalone, right, you feel like
nobody understands.
I was, yeah, like under 40 atthe time, you know, and so I'm
(25:32):
like feeling sorry for myselfthat you know I'm going to have
like issues my whole life.
So it turns out that my reallygood friend in college and a
good friend in high school bothhad the same surgery.
So I called them and connectedwith them and one of them, she
had a microdiscectomy and thenshe ended up having a fusion.
(25:55):
The second, like a second timearound, and so she made me feel
better because I'm like, okay,well, you know she's okay and
you know, like my doctor said,trying to get me over this PTSD,
he's like Jessa, you know whatit feels like if you're hurt,
you know who to go see and youknow what I can help you get
(26:21):
over, like it's going to be okay, like you don't have to live
like that anymore.
Yeah, you know what to do.
So I'm still very, verycautious when I work out,
especially like when I'm doingabs.
Make sure to always do themproperly.
Yeah, but you know what was thestat that your doctor gave you
(26:45):
on reherniation?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Around 15% reherniate yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Which isn't terribly high, but still, you know, right
Scary I mean.
I just I worry about.
Well, my x-ray showed disc lossor disc height loss Okay, in
the initial, and I know that'sprobably hereditary.
And so you know your bones arelike squishing closer together,
(27:17):
but I just think he removed somuch of my disc that there's
like not much else to likecushion, Right.
So you know, I am fearful formy future that I'm going to have
like this isn't going to belike the end of it, Right.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
I mean I'm taking collagen and doing.
I eat really healthy.
I'm a dietician, so it's like Itry and do everything I can but
it's like not the greatestfeeling, knowing that you know I
might have to go through itagain.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Right, right, hopefully, not, hopefully, not,
yeah.
And now there's these like abarricade, I think it's.
They have disc replacements,right.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I haven't talked to anyone yet who's had a disc
replacement.
I'd love to.
So instead of getting fusionsRight, yeah, do they prescribe
you physical therapy afterwards?
Or did they just say, nope, golive life.
Okay, did you?
They did, and I really thinkthe physical therapist was a
huge help for me emotionallyGetting me to yeah, because once
(28:25):
they say, okay, you can starttwisting again, I wasn't
twisting, I was still walkingreal stiff, just turning my
whole body.
So the physical therapy helpedme get past the fear of moving
again.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Yeah, yeah, I see that I was very surprised.
I was expecting him too.
Yeah, yeah, I was verysurprised, I was expecting him
to uh, but really differentdoctor to doctor really does.
And like I, I don't know,because he's on an orthopedist
but I was like, are you sure?
And he's like, no, and he hadme walking week one.
(29:00):
Yeah, he's like, well, as muchas you want, um, walk as fast as
you want.
Like, obviously don't go sofast, you're going to fall.
But so I was doing speedwalking for exercise and then I
was expecting him to kind ofsend me to PT and he's like you
(29:20):
know what to do?
Yeah, okay, kind of send me toPT, and he's like you know what
to do?
Yeah, okay.
So I just I started.
What I started to do is January, so September, october,
november, december, january, solike three months later, because
it was like right at the end ofSeptember, three months later,
I started bar classes okay,which I used to do before in my
(29:48):
life, and so I knew it was verylow impact and I knew I wasn't
going to hurt myself, but it'sstill super strengthening for
the legs and glutes and I stilldo that.
I still do bark classes.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Okay, and have you gone back to playing tennis?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
No.
So my doctor, he uh was famousin LA.
He did like a bunch of uhprofessional athletes, uh
surgery for them, and so he wasused to getting people back to
where they were, like playingsports.
So he's like you'll play tennisagain.
Like I only picked it upbecause we moved to Florida and
(30:26):
it was fun.
Um, it's not like I grew upplaying uh, very amateur, and so
I was like uh-uh, nope, I amnot doing that, I am not doing
that like, like, I'm not riskingit.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I'm fine, I'm fine.
But now you said over a year.
Now right, it was a year inSeptember.
Yes, it was a year in September.
So you would say pain-free,living my normal life, pain-free
.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Yes, I'm cognizant of what I do because I don't want
to get hurt again.
But I'm not doing like like I'mhaving my husband do the heavy
lifting kind of thing.
But it's probably smarteranyway, you know.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Normal life.
I have people having to say tome, christine, don't do that,
like, I'll pick it up.
I'm like, okay, I'm not a baby,but all right, thanks for
looking up.
I'm like, okay, I'm not a baby,but all right, thanks for
looking out.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I know it is hard and actually I felt the the biggest
part of my body that I feltlike deteriorated.
I definitely had a lot ofmuscle wasting because you know
there was like almost six monthsthere where I wasn't working
out like I used to and then Ihad lost so much weight during
(31:45):
like that end part and thensurgery.
But like my right calf, mywhole right side definitely lost
a ton of muscle.
My left calf or, excuse me, mycalf still doesn't feel like
it's connected.
It's.
It's the weirdest thing.
Like I try and clench my calfmuscle and it's it's like nope.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
No, no, no, I don't, I don't experience that I can
clench, fine, I just have thewhole numbness still.
Yeah, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
I don't know I there was definitely a lot of nerve
damage down in this lower partof my leg, so my calves are
different sizes.
Uh, okay, I have heard of that,yes yeah, um, but my lower abs,
I think, took the brunt of theinjury, like, with regards to,
(32:38):
that was the last thing to comeback.
So I feel like just now I'mfinally getting them stronger.
Okay, yeah, but like before, Iwas very, very cautious, didn't
really want to do any like lowerab exercises, because usually
it's like it puts pressure onyour lower back when you do it.
(32:59):
So what do you do?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I do weight, some weightlifting, and I did have to
.
If I'm doing flat on my backchest presses, that hurts my
lower back and so I don't dothose anymore.
I do incline lifts and thingslike that.
Oh okay, yeah, Well, that'sgreat.
So it sounds like if you knowsomeone who needs a
microdiscectomy, you would saydon't be scared to get the
(33:23):
surgery.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah, I think, just like anything in life, you have
to weigh, you know, your painversus the scariness of the
surgery and at some point likeit's going to tip, you know.
So if you can't live with itanymore, definitely have the
surgery.
(33:44):
I was terrified to have backsurgery because you know if the
surgeon screws up, like there'snot much room for error, and I
didn't want to be paralyzedbased on somebody else's mistake
.
You know so it is.
It's very scary to trustsomebody in that region, but at
(34:05):
some point it's like my lifewasn't livable, so like it was a
risk I had to take.
So Right, that's how I felt, andeven with looking back and
knowing that my recovery was alittle bit hard and I would go
(34:26):
through it again to get out ofthat pain.
Yeah, oh yeah.
Yeah, I know the nerve pain isno joke.
It's wild.
I mean I had natural childbirthand I I don't know it's.
It's different because it'slike so acute and hard, but I
mean the nerve pain is, it'sindescribable.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Yep Agree.
Well, Jessa, I'm so happy tohear that you're doing well and
that surgery was a success foryou.
I really appreciate you beingwilling to come on and share
your journey with us on Bed Backand Beyond.
If you are a listener and youhave a positive story of
recovery from a herniated disc,head over to bedbackBeyondcom
(35:05):
and click.
Share your story.
I would love to include yourvoice on the show.
Jessa, it was so nice meetingyou, Thank you.
We'll admit you and we'll try and get you in for
surgery on Monday, because helooked at my MRI and he said you
don't need pain meds, you needthis herniation out.
It was the size of a golf ball,so it was.
It was so big.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Welcome to Bed Back and Beyond, sharing positive
stories of recovery from seriousback or neck injury.
Your host is CK, a fellowchampion who draws on her own
experience with herniated discsurgery.
Join her as she talks withothers who have overcome the
physical and emotional trauma ofa painful injury and discover
(00:37):
for yourself how you can findhope and encouragement in
recovery.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Hi Jessa.
Thank you so much for joiningme on this episode of Bed, back
and Beyond.
Before we dive into your injury, how about you tell us a little
bit about yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Well, I just turned the big four zero last week.
Oh, happy birthday.
Oh, thank you, I've got twolittle girls.
We live in Florida.
I mean, regarding my back, I'vealways had back issues.
When I was 20, I was movingsomething really heavy of my
(01:14):
mom's for her, so I was likedoing like a bend over, move and
a pull and I felt it pop.
So it was always in the samespot on my right side but it
would always flare up and thenthe chiropractor would usually
always help me through that.
So that's like my back history,especially when I was pregnant
(01:37):
it really would flare up.
So I would go like weekly.
So I guess I've always had backissues.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
When your back would pop, was it, uh, like you would
throw your back out for a coupleweeks?
Speaker 1 (01:48):
no, like I.
Just that was like the initialinjury, I think I I felt it just
something happened in there, uh, okay, and then, whenever,
whenever it would flare up, um,it was just pain, pain in that
area.
Nothing, nothing horrible, butdefinitely uncomfortable.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, I think I had.
I had a history of justthrowing my back out for years
and my parents would throw theirback out and usually that was
just.
You know, the muscles get realpainful and weak and it would
usually take about three weeksfor it to go away.
But I never had any kind ofsciatica symptoms or anything
(02:27):
prior to my experience.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
No, neither did I, neither did I.
Okay, and that's interesting,you say that like your parents
did, cause my mom also.
My mom has had back surgery, sogenetic component to that weak,
weak spot in the body.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Now were you an active person.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Oh, yeah, okay, yeah, yeah, I grew up playing
basketball and volleyball.
Uh, I, I have very looseligaments.
Um, I had shoulder surgery inhigh school and had to stop
playing.
My ligaments are very likeGumby, so I would always
dislocate my shoulder, okay, andum, I mean I'm double jointed
(03:09):
and a lot of my joints, and so Ialways wondered if that had
something to do with it.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
Um, do you have that syndrome, the uh no, I don't
think so.
Speaker 1 (03:20):
Oh, okay, I think it's just.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I know what you're talking about?
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Yeah, no, but yeah, no, I've always been active.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
I'm always at the gym .
This past, like the past timewhere it really affected me and
where I ended up needing surgery, I was playing tennis, so the
the tennis twisting movementreally, really got me.
Speaker 3 (03:45):
Okay, did I see that you were on vacation when you
got first hit with the major?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
herniation pain.
No, I, just no.
I was playing tennis in thespring and it had progressively
gotten worse, so I started goingto the chiropractor during that
springtime.
Speaker 3 (04:07):
And that was spring of 2023, right, yep, yep.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
Okay, yeah, cause, yes, yep.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I got a little tick-tock stalking this morning
to kind of refresh it.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
I know, with the brand new year kind of screws
you Um, but I had noticed myback always feeling like the
typical hurt.
And this one day at tennis Iwas just like I cannot.
I literally had to stop playingbecause the pain and the
pressure was so bad and I alwaysfelt it was always a feeling
like I need to bend over, uh, torelieve pressure.
(04:42):
That was always my feeling.
So then, after I had to stopplaying tennis, I was going to
the chiropractor twice a weekand in retrospect I think what
had happened was I had alwayshad bulging discs and they were
able to help, and I think thistime I actually had a herniation
(05:03):
.
And I think that's whatactually had a herniation and I
think that's what made it worseis going to the chiropractor
once I had the herniation.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Okay, did your chiropractor do any x-rays?
Speaker 1 (05:14):
No.
So I I actually now I'm liketotally advise people to just be
so careful about it, becausethere was no imaging done, so no
, Okay, all right.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
So you tried the chiropractor and did you get
some relief or just no relief atall?
Speaker 1 (05:34):
No, I actually, like, was screaming in the office
when he did.
I don't know, have you been toa chiropractor?
Did you go down that route?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
I don't know, have you been to a chiropractor?
Did you go down that route?
So with my story, I had severepain in my glute Every time I
stood up.
It would just stab in my leftbutt cheek and it was really bad
.
One day I would stand up and Iwould have to hold my breath for
a couple seconds, but then itwould pass.
So I was driving home from workand I thought I should just see
(06:04):
a chiropractor.
So I pulled up to one office.
It would pass.
So I was driving home from workand I thought I should just see
a chiropractor.
So I pulled up to one office.
It was closed.
So then I drove to a secondoffice.
They didn't have anyappointments available and then
I thought, okay, one more.
If I see one more office I'llpull in there.
But it was on the opposite sideof the highway, so I didn't go.
So I got home and then the nextmorning I rolled over and had
(06:26):
my severe herniated experience.
And so my thinking was I thinkthe Lord just protected me from
a chiropractor.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
Good for you, because you probably would have been in
so much more pain.
My goodness, yes, you weresaved.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
So then, what was your next step after the
chiropractor didn't help.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Well, I was going twice a week and I probably went
for four to six weeks and Imean, I'm usually pretty in tune
with my body but since it hadalways helped in the past, I
don't think I was realizing thatit was getting worse, probably
because of it.
I don't even remember, but Iknow when it was the worst day,
(07:10):
it was when I was going to bedand I noticed I couldn't even
lay down.
I couldn't lay down or sleep.
It was so bad.
Long story short, once Ifinally got imaging way too long
later it was.
That was May, june, july,august, september.
So four months later I finallygot an MRI.
Wow, and I had a hugeherniation just sitting on my
(07:37):
nerve at the.
At the beginning I didn'trealize what it was because,
like you, I had a huge, like amassive pain in my butt and I
was getting those massage gunsand just trying to massage it
out.
It's like the pain radiates somuch into so many areas and like
the hip area that I didn't knowwhere it was, like stemming
(07:59):
from Is that how you felt.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, I was convinced I had first had that piriformis
muscle.
Yeah, yeah.
So I was doing stretches forthat to try and make it go away,
and I was convinced myself likeno, it's not a herniation,
until I rolled over in themorning and had to call an
ambulance.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Oh my goodness, yeah, yeah.
So what did you do to injureyourself?
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Do you even know?
Yep, I was walking my twobeagles and I was bending over.
I was bending over to pick upafter one of them and I think
they saw a rabbit or a squirreland they took off behind me
While you're bending over.
Yeah, so they yanked mebackwards and so I had initially
just pain in my right glute andthen that moved, that moved up
(08:49):
into my lower back and then Ihad that through my back out
feeling, but it never got better.
And then the pain slowlyslipped, shifted to my left
glute.
So that was April.
Yeah, so it was April that theypulled me backwards, and then
it wasn't until June that I wokeup and needed an ambulance for
(09:09):
that.
The big herniation, wow.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Wow, so did you have it herniated on both sides?
Speaker 3 (09:15):
No, just the left.
L5 S1.
Yeah, so I don't know why itstarted in the right and the
moved.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
That is interesting.
Yeah, yeah, that's exactlywhere mine was.
Speaker 3 (09:26):
L5 S1.
Yeah, yeah, it's very common.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
Yeah, no, it was so bad.
I honestly didn't know I hadactually dealt with arthritis.
Earlier in my life.
When I had my second baby, Igot this random.
They diagnosed me withrheumatoid arthritis and I ended
up healing myself.
I never went on the medication,but I went the natural route
(09:52):
and I mean I don't suffer withit anymore, thank God.
It was pretty bad.
But in my brain I'm like isthis coming back and attacking
my back?
Because I mean I would wake upcrippled.
And so I'm like in my brain itfelt like that, like something
was attacking my back and so Ithought that I had arthritis and
(10:16):
I really didn't think it was aherniated disc.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
I really didn't, because I didn't really have an
injury.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
I just had like pain and then all of a sudden it got
worse, out of nowhere.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
So once you got your MRI, did they send you to
physical therapy or did theytell you no, you need surgery.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
No, actually.
So for before, before I got myMRI, like the first doctor that
I saw about, it was anorthopedist and he recommended
an x-ray and PT.
That was the first line oftreatment.
So I got an x-ray.
It showed scoliosis, which iswild, because I don't have
(10:56):
scoliosis now.
I just had a severe like.
My herniation was so big thatit was bowing my back.
Wow, I went to PT twice and Iwas like, nope, this is not
working, not going to help.
And I was like, nope, this isnot working, not going to help.
And like I'm very active andI'm doing a lot of videos at
(11:18):
home on how to strengthen andlike heal a herniated disc.
And I, you know it was.
It's silly the deterrent why Ididn't get an MRI was of the
cost.
I was scared that it was goingto be thousands and thousands of
dollars, yeah, and it wasn't.
It was scared that it was goingto be thousands and thousands
(11:39):
of dollars yeah, and it wasn't,it was not.
Um, I think it ended up beinglike $400.
So had I known that, I wouldhave probably done it a lot
earlier.
I just lived through the entiresummer just in horrific pain and
then finally, uh, in September,I decided that I couldn't live
with it anymore.
I was getting up in the morningtrying to get my kids ready for
(12:01):
school and I was sleepingupstairs at that point because
the pain was so bad.
I kept moving at night.
I think I had gotten two hoursof sleep the night before.
I was laying horizontal on thefloor doing my daughter's hair,
like I couldn't stand up and Iwas getting jealous of this
80-year-old woman who would walkevery morning in my
(12:23):
neighborhood and I'm like Idon't know what's wrong with me.
Like I couldn't stand up.
The pain was so bad.
So I just told my husband I'mgoing to the emergency room and
of course they just pushed painmeds.
So I tried every pain med underthe sun and then that's when I
finally, through God's grace,found this neurosurgeon.
(12:46):
I was looking through myinsurance, who was covered, and
typically the appointments arelike so far out, right.
Well, uh, that was Wednesday.
I called and I mean I was indire straits at that point.
I should have called way, way,way long before that.
But, um, I ended up seeing himon on that on that Friday.
(13:09):
So I just knew there wassomebody who's watching out over
me you know, god was and so Iended up seeing him on Friday.
I was in so much pain I calledthe office that next morning
Just it was Saturday morning,and nobody was at the office but
there was a doctor on call andso he said for intractable pain,
(13:31):
you can be admitted.
If you can handle it, wait tillSunday, we'll admit you and
we'll try and get you in forsurgery on Monday.
Cause he looked at my MRI andhe said you don't need pain meds
, you need this herniation out.
It was the size of a golf ball,so it was.
It was so big, so, um, he'slike you don't need pain meds,
(13:53):
you just need help, you need usto take it out.
So anyways, I ended up havingsurgery that next Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
What kind of symptoms did you have as far as sciatica
goes it?
Speaker 1 (14:04):
had started up in my glute area like you had
experienced, but then after afew weeks it traveled down like
the side of my leg.
Then, after a few weeks, ittraveled down like the side of
my leg and I felt like the topof my ankle and my whole ankle.
It felt like it was being eatenalive, Literally from the
inside.
(14:24):
What?
Speaker 3 (14:24):
it felt like.
So you had originally seen anorthopedist, and then you ended
up with the neurosurgeon.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Yeah, so sorry, I kind of skipped around.
So yeah, when I saw theorthopedist that it was the
x-ray, the pt, I was at thebeginning of the summer or
actually late spring, and then Iended up seeing him again to
try some steroid shots.
Okay, and that was in sept,september, and the steroid shots
(14:54):
, like reacted very poorly forme, it almost set me off.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Made your pain worse.
Yes, and that is what startedthis spiral of it being like
unlivable Right.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Okay, you're the second or a third person I've
talked to where the steroid shotmade the pain so much more
worse, yeah, yeah, becauseyou're putting something into a
space that's already compressedand now you're adding more
material in there.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So I'm assuming- yeah , oh no, it was so bad and
actually I never I had gottenthe MRI done before.
He did that because you have tohave the imaging.
He never showed me the MRI andlike a dummy I didn't ask to see
it because he was just so hewas like one of those doctors in
(15:43):
and out, in and out people,patients.
And so I called back after Igot the steroid shot and I got
one of his texts and this wasthe first shot and I got one of
his texts and this was the firstinkling that I had to how big
it was.
I had two of his texts on twoseparate days.
Pull up my stuff, my file, andhe's like uh, ma'am, I've never
(16:11):
seen a herniation this large.
Two of them at his clinic saidthat.
And so then I got angry and Iwas like are you, are you
serious?
He, he had me in there forsurrogate shots.
He didn't say how large it was,he didn't say what a big.
I mean, he didn't communicateto me how, how big it was.
Um, and that probably should goget surgery.
So anyways, after that I didn'ttrust him at all anymore and so
(16:34):
I was just like you know what Ineed to see a surgeon.
Hell if I'm going to anorthopedist for back surgery, so
I just on my own.
We have a PPO, so I juststarted searching neurosurgeon.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
There was a young guy at my church who had gotten
surgery two years before myexperience, and so I just said
who did you see?
And he gave me his, his, thepractice name recommendation.
Yeah, but his doctor was bookedout, and so I just said who has
the soonest appointment?
And that's how I picked mydoctor, which is smart, but when
(17:12):
you're in pain, Right, I know,I was like that too.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
I'm kind of a hypochondriac medically and the
fact that I just was like yep,I'll see you.
Yep, that's fine, I don't evencare anymore, it was that bad.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
I did one cortisone injection too, and I didn't have
a severe reaction to it.
But within two weeks I knew itwasn't going to help and I
didn't want to chase down.
It was supposed to be a seriesof three and I to me it just
felt like wasting my time.
I didn't want to wait three andthen say get surgery.
So I was like I'm just, I'mgoing surgery.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Oh, good for you.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
And you said that your recovery wasn't so good.
Speaker 3 (17:56):
My recovery wasn't too easy, I think, because you
know I went from April to Juneand then I tried some physical
therapy.
That didn't help, but my backmuscles just got so weak and I'm
not one of the lucky people whowoke up pain free, so I woke up
with still having leg pain.
You did Because technically mynerve is still pinched even
(18:18):
after the surgery.
But so it took me like sixmonths to feel better physically
and then probably a year tofeel better emotionally.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
Oh geez.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
So you're still having pain now.
Every once in a while it flares, but my day-to-day life is
pain-free.
My numbness never went away, somy left leg is still numb, so
it only bothers me when I'mshaving, yeah, yeah, when I'm
shaving my toe.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
My pinky toe is numb and like the bottom of my foot,
where that is yeah, but it'snothing, nothing yeah, so.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
So how, when you went in for surgery was, was it just
in and out same day, or did youhave to stay in the night?
Speaker 1 (19:04):
no, I.
I went in, for I got uhadmitted on that sunday for
intractable pain.
Uh, they had me on morphinewhich didn't even touch it.
They were going to try and getme to have surgery Monday, and
so I was NPO while I was thereand there was just not room in
(19:24):
the schedule so I just had tolay there and wait.
So I think the next morning itwas Tuesday morning they were
able to squeeze me in.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
Okay, so you stayed the night Monday to Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Stayed the night Monday yeah, so well, I stayed
the night technically Sunday.
I went in super late on Sunday.
Sunday night, monday night,tuesday night I think I'm
Wednesday night, so Okay, so youstayed one more night after
your procedure.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah , so it's.
It's terrible trying to sleepin the hospital, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Well, I mean nothing, nothing.
I slept perfectly after thesurgery because before I wasn't.
I, it wouldn't.
It was so bad.
After that steroid shot, um, Iwas getting like two to three
hours of sleep at night.
Wow, yeah, it's just awful.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
So you woke up, pain-free.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Pain-free.
I, literally I remember beingin the recovery.
It wasn't even my room, it waslike where they wake you up from
surgery and I opened my eyesand I remember thinking, oh my
God, it's gone.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
It's gone, that's great.
Yeah, and how was your incisionpain?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
Oh, nothing.
I mean after that, literallynothing.
I mean it was superuncomfortable and I was scared
to move during the recovery, butnothing was as bad as what I
was going through, you know.
So, right, but I mean it'sabout, I don't know, two and a
(21:04):
half to three inches right, yeah, pretty, pretty standard.
Speaker 3 (21:07):
It sounds like so were you, given the you know
bending lifting and twistingrules for so many weeks.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yep yep, yep, yeah.
So I had those.
Grabbers from Amazon were great.
That was fun.
I actually sat.
I have a hard time sitting.
I am like always on the go, sobeing forced to recover was
actually kind of nice.
So, yeah, I did a good job.
(21:35):
My mom came and helped and myhusband helped and it wasn't bad
.
And then I actually went on acruise six weeks after surgery.
Wow, did you have to fly therefour?
It might have been four, fourto six weeks?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
yeah, wow, did you have to fly to the cruise, or
was it no florida, okay?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
yeah, it was.
We drove two hours but mysurgeon said he's like, as long
as you're taking it easy, he'slike obviously you can't get in
the water, um, or do you know?
Water or anything active, aslong as you're just sitting and
relaxing, you're fine to go.
It was my husband's birthday soyeah, I know I didn't want to
(22:23):
ruin it for him, but it was fine, that's great.
Speaker 3 (22:27):
Yeah, uh, were you working at the time or were you
a stay-at-home mom?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, I was a stay-at-home mom, so thank
goodness.
Uh, I got to just let myhusband help, just let my
husband help, yeah, yeah and heworks from home too, so it was a
lot nicer and, like I said, mymom came.
(22:53):
So there was a couple of girlsthat reached out to me on TikTok
that, oh no, it wasn't onTikTok, I guess this was.
We had surgery at the same timeand I met them on Facebook,
like in different groups, youknow.
Yeah, and she was a single mom.
She had literally divorced herhusband the month prior.
And so she was like so scaredabout, you know, having to lift
up little babies because herkids were super young.
(23:13):
I'm sure that would be superscary.
Because I did not want to.
I had PTSD afterwards for quitesome time because of the pain
that I endured for so long, so Idid not want to do anything to
re-endure myself.
Speaker 3 (23:30):
Yeah, that's what I mean when I said it took me a
year to recover emotionallybecause of the PTSD afterwards,
any little shock or pinch oranything would send me into a
panic little.
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Any little shock or pinch or anything would send me
into a panic.
Yeah, oh, I know Well andthat's interesting that you
still have to deal with likeflare ups.
I haven't had a flare up, butum, well, it's been.
I had surgery so last Septemberit was a year, so a little bit
over a year and when I wasrecovering the muscles right
(24:07):
around would get fatigued.
You know that feeling whereyou're just like I need to sit
down.
That was the worst thing that Iever had to deal with.
But, like last month, I feltthat again and so I was like, oh
my gosh, get the ice, go, sitdown.
You know, I don't know if I had, I don't know what I did, but
(24:32):
it scared me.
But then, you know, I slept andwoke up and I was fine.
Speaker 3 (24:36):
Yeah, yeah, so usually if I have a flare up,
it's gone by the next day.
I just had one.
Yeah, I just had one like threenights ago.
I got home.
I got home from work and by thetime I got home from work I was
like hon, my back feels likeit's Before the herniation, when
my back would go out.
I always had indicators thatyour back is going to be going
(24:58):
out, like just little tinyspasms.
So I started to feel those theother night and I was like, oh
no, so I just took it easy and Ihave a really good heating pad,
so I heated my muscles and thenthe next day I'm fine.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
So, yeah, yeah, oh, I know I had, so I had reached
out to two of.
I reached out to everybody thatI knew that had gone through
this, because you know you feelalone, right, you feel like
nobody understands.
I was, yeah, like under 40 atthe time, you know, and so I'm
(25:32):
like feeling sorry for myselfthat you know I'm going to have
like issues my whole life.
So it turns out that my reallygood friend in college and a
good friend in high school bothhad the same surgery.
So I called them and connectedwith them and one of them, she
had a microdiscectomy and thenshe ended up having a fusion.
(25:55):
The second, like a second timearound, and so she made me feel
better because I'm like, okay,well, you know she's okay and
you know, like my doctor said,trying to get me over this PTSD,
he's like Jessa, you know whatit feels like if you're hurt,
you know who to go see and youknow what I can help you get
(26:21):
over, like it's going to be okay, like you don't have to live
like that anymore.
Yeah, you know what to do.
So I'm still very, verycautious when I work out,
especially like when I'm doingabs.
Make sure to always do themproperly.
Yeah, but you know what was thestat that your doctor gave you
(26:45):
on reherniation?
Speaker 3 (26:48):
Around 15% reherniate yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:52):
Which isn't terribly high, but still, you know, right
Scary I mean.
I just I worry about.
Well, my x-ray showed disc lossor disc height loss Okay, in
the initial, and I know that'sprobably hereditary.
And so you know your bones arelike squishing closer together,
(27:17):
but I just think he removed somuch of my disc that there's
like not much else to likecushion, Right.
So you know, I am fearful formy future that I'm going to have
like this isn't going to belike the end of it, Right.
Speaker 2 (27:35):
So I don't know.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
I mean I'm taking collagen and doing.
I eat really healthy.
I'm a dietician, so it's like Itry and do everything I can but
it's like not the greatestfeeling, knowing that you know I
might have to go through itagain.
Speaker 3 (27:50):
Right, right, hopefully, not, hopefully, not,
yeah.
And now there's these like abarricade, I think it's.
They have disc replacements,right.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (28:01):
I haven't talked to anyone yet who's had a disc
replacement.
I'd love to.
So instead of getting fusionsRight, yeah, do they prescribe
you physical therapy afterwards?
Or did they just say, nope, golive life.
Okay, did you?
They did, and I really thinkthe physical therapist was a
huge help for me emotionallyGetting me to yeah, because once
(28:25):
they say, okay, you can starttwisting again, I wasn't
twisting, I was still walkingreal stiff, just turning my
whole body.
So the physical therapy helpedme get past the fear of moving
again.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Yeah, yeah, I see that I was very surprised.
I was expecting him too.
Yeah, yeah, I was verysurprised, I was expecting him
to uh, but really differentdoctor to doctor really does.
And like I, I don't know,because he's on an orthopedist
but I was like, are you sure?
And he's like, no, and he hadme walking week one.
(29:00):
Yeah, he's like, well, as muchas you want, um, walk as fast as
you want.
Like, obviously don't go sofast, you're going to fall.
But so I was doing speedwalking for exercise and then I
was expecting him to kind ofsend me to PT and he's like you
(29:20):
know what to do?
Yeah, okay, kind of send me toPT, and he's like you know what
to do?
Yeah, okay.
So I just I started.
What I started to do is January, so September, october,
november, december, january, solike three months later, because
it was like right at the end ofSeptember, three months later,
I started bar classes okay,which I used to do before in my
(29:48):
life, and so I knew it was verylow impact and I knew I wasn't
going to hurt myself, but it'sstill super strengthening for
the legs and glutes and I stilldo that.
I still do bark classes.
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Okay, and have you gone back to playing tennis?
Speaker 1 (30:05):
No.
So my doctor, he uh was famousin LA.
He did like a bunch of uhprofessional athletes, uh
surgery for them, and so he wasused to getting people back to
where they were, like playingsports.
So he's like you'll play tennisagain.
Like I only picked it upbecause we moved to Florida and
(30:26):
it was fun.
Um, it's not like I grew upplaying uh, very amateur, and so
I was like uh-uh, nope, I amnot doing that, I am not doing
that like, like, I'm not riskingit.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
I'm fine, I'm fine.
But now you said over a year.
Now right, it was a year inSeptember.
Yes, it was a year in September.
So you would say pain-free,living my normal life, pain-free
.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Yes, I'm cognizant of what I do because I don't want
to get hurt again.
But I'm not doing like like I'mhaving my husband do the heavy
lifting kind of thing.
But it's probably smarteranyway, you know.
Speaker 3 (31:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:12):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Normal life.
I have people having to say tome, christine, don't do that,
like, I'll pick it up.
I'm like, okay, I'm not a baby,but all right, thanks for
looking up.
I'm like, okay, I'm not a baby,but all right, thanks for
looking out.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
I know it is hard and actually I felt the the biggest
part of my body that I feltlike deteriorated.
I definitely had a lot ofmuscle wasting because you know
there was like almost six monthsthere where I wasn't working
out like I used to and then Ihad lost so much weight during
(31:45):
like that end part and thensurgery.
But like my right calf, mywhole right side definitely lost
a ton of muscle.
My left calf or, excuse me, mycalf still doesn't feel like
it's connected.
It's.
It's the weirdest thing.
Like I try and clench my calfmuscle and it's it's like nope.
Speaker 3 (32:09):
No, no, no, I don't, I don't experience that I can
clench, fine, I just have thewhole numbness still.
Yeah, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
I don't know I there was definitely a lot of nerve
damage down in this lower partof my leg, so my calves are
different sizes.
Uh, okay, I have heard of that,yes yeah, um, but my lower abs,
I think, took the brunt of theinjury, like, with regards to,
(32:38):
that was the last thing to comeback.
So I feel like just now I'mfinally getting them stronger.
Okay, yeah, but like before, Iwas very, very cautious, didn't
really want to do any like lowerab exercises, because usually
it's like it puts pressure onyour lower back when you do it.
(32:59):
So what do you do?
Speaker 3 (33:01):
I do weight, some weightlifting, and I did have to
.
If I'm doing flat on my backchest presses, that hurts my
lower back and so I don't dothose anymore.
I do incline lifts and thingslike that.
Oh okay, yeah, Well, that'sgreat.
So it sounds like if you knowsomeone who needs a
microdiscectomy, you would saydon't be scared to get the
(33:23):
surgery.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Yeah, I think, just like anything in life, you have
to weigh, you know, your painversus the scariness of the
surgery and at some point likeit's going to tip, you know.
So if you can't live with itanymore, definitely have the
surgery.
(33:44):
I was terrified to have backsurgery because you know if the
surgeon screws up, like there'snot much room for error, and I
didn't want to be paralyzedbased on somebody else's mistake
.
You know so it is.
It's very scary to trustsomebody in that region, but at
(34:05):
some point it's like my lifewasn't livable, so like it was a
risk I had to take.
So Right, that's how I felt, andeven with looking back and
knowing that my recovery was alittle bit hard and I would go
(34:26):
through it again to get out ofthat pain.
Yeah, oh yeah.
Yeah, I know the nerve pain isno joke.
It's wild.
I mean I had natural childbirthand I I don't know it's.
It's different because it'slike so acute and hard, but I
mean the nerve pain is, it'sindescribable.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
Yep Agree.
Well, Jessa, I'm so happy tohear that you're doing well and
that surgery was a success foryou.
I really appreciate you beingwilling to come on and share
your journey with us on Bed Backand Beyond.
If you are a listener and youhave a positive story of
recovery from a herniated disc,head over to bedbackBeyondcom
(35:05):
and click.
Share your story.
I would love to include yourvoice on the show.
Jessa, it was so nice meetingyou, Thank you.
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