u/FineOKSwell

I’m just hitting the two week mark. I unfortunately can’t pay for PT at the moment, but I’ve been through a milder version of this before and suspect the cause is a bulging disc around L5.

Week 1, it was all bed, ice, ibuprofen, etc. Week 2, I went back to the office for half days but HR said I need to work remotely until I’m cleared.

I do some stretches, try to remember to get up and walk around the house every hour, but I’m wondering if I’m resting too much. When I was in the office last week, afternoons were hellish because I’d pushed too much sitting at a desk but I actually had some good mornings (comparatively). This weekend, though, I can’t walk/stand more than ten minutes without sparking level 5 pain in lower back and shin. I’m wondering if it’s because I’ve been too horizontal.

How do you know when it’s time to push yourself more?
What pain level is the stop point for walking?

I know I’ll need an ortho referral, but I guess I just want advice on what to do / not to do in the meantime.

I’m on Day 6 of a major flare up. I had sciatica years ago due a bulging disc and I didn’t take it seriously enough to lose weight / gain a core / improve my posture. This flare up is the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt. Luckily, I was able to have a telehealth appointment and a family member in town who could pick up my ibuprofen, prednisone, and muscle relaxer. Now I’m on my own again and out of pills. I don’t know if it’s getting better or if the pills were just masking the problem- guess I’ll find out once they’re out of my system. Luckily, I can meet with my gp this week.

The pain itself isn’t really why I’m overwhelmed, though. It hurts like hell, especially my hip and shin, but ibuprofen and rest and heat and ice are taming it a bit. I can walk a few laps around the house. It could be worse. It’s just - It seems everything in my body is breaking at the same time. I’m waiting on a neuro appointment for a potential brain problem and a cardio appointment for a potential heart problem and medical bills are piling up and I now can’t go into work to sit at my desk from 8-5. If this flare up means I
need to pay for PT or an MRI for pain management, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Really wishing I had family living close by to lean on and wishing I didn’t live paycheck to paycheck. This seems like a depressing glimpse at my impending old age.