Low back pain

I am wondering if anyone had a herniated or slipped disc and what your symptoms are. I suspect I may have one but don't want to over react because it's not causing me tons of pain. It first started about a week ago when I got into bed. I sat on the edge and as I laid down on my side, it felt like something was poking me right along my waist at the L4/L5 or L5/S1 area. It was more of a dull pain rather than the sharp pain I associate with nerve stricture. When I read up on it, it said that there may not be any pain at all or not much and described how it can radiate down into the thigh and foot, depending on where the impengement is. But there can also be sciatic pain, which I have but on both sides and it should only be on one side. So I'm confused. Most of the time, it doesn't even bother me unless I sit wrong or get out of the car on the passenger side.

So I would be grateful for any insights you can share from anyone who has experience from this. There may not be anything that can be done especially since its not debilitating in any way, but if there is something I can do to prevent it from getting worse, that would be awesome.

Thank you!

More than likely it might just be a small slippage of the disk.   I originally had a herniated disk at L4-L5.  The symptoms were pretty intense.  I rolled over in bed one morning and heard a pop, then I started having shooting pain down my left leg.  Part of the muscle/flesh above my hip bone and across my butt went numb.  I could not put much weight on my leg.  After a few days in the hospital with a ton of painkillers and muscle relaxers  I felt better.   For the next few months, when I sat for long periods of time I would have that pain again.  The doc performed a small procedure to clip the disk so it would not protrude so much.   Within 6 months of that the symptoms came back 10 fold.  I did have pain on the right side after that but not to the degree of the left. 

I would get it checked out by a orthopaedic.  Just to be safe.  I don't wish that hell on my worst enemy.    This is my two cents.  If you have any other questions dont hesitate to ask!  :)

I have a herniated disc, at L4.  It does not hurt if I am in a comfortable position.  It hurts when I move.  It feels like a sharp pain and it is in the center of my lower back, like right over my spine.  The pain shoots down into my hips.  Not all the way into my legs, just my hips.  Certain movements are more painful than others, and over time it's gotten worse and worse.  I was misdiagnosed for a long time, told I had degenerative disc disease, which was not correct.

It's my understanding that a herniated disc can cause no pain, mild pain, moderate pain, severe pain, also numbness in the legs and feet, and even incontinence, depending on which disc is involved and how bad it is.  Typically NSAIDS would help, which of course is not a good option for us.  A course of oral steroids might help, though.

I would see your doc about it, just to try to keep it from getting worse.  They can do an MRI to see if it is indeed a herniated disc, and there are a number of treatment options, including oral steroids, steroid injections, physical therapy, etc.

Kelly, I figured you would have some good info for me knowing your problems with your back. I don't want to over react but I also don't want to under react. I will schedule an appointment with my PCP and go from there.

Thanks to both of you for responding!

I think in most cases, when people have minor back pain, it usually goes away on its own in a few days.  And if you're not in a lot of pain, it's sure not an emergency.  But it makes sense to get it looked at because back problems can, in some cases, become so bad. 

In the meantime, you can try heat and/or ice on it.  My orthopedic doc was big on alternating heat and ice, but heat always felt better to me.

i have had a bad back for as long as i can remember...pretty much dull ache all day long, more pain when i went to lift things like laundry basket up that type of movement...getting in and out of my water bed...well about 4 years ago, the pain got more intense....really intense...started getting shooting pain down my right side of my butt and down thigh and into calf and numbness in right foot like little toe to middle of my foot...then it got worse...like buring searing cutting type of pain...i can now see how people can OD on drugs..i was looking for something every 2 hours..but i was taking tylenol, ibprophen, and some siatic stuff from my local health food store...well ended up getting a MRI and have a very large herniated disc L5,S1...and it had elongated down the spinal column...that is what prompted me to get bypass...they wanted to operated on the disc, but i was like NOPE, so they said, we have to get this weight off your back...after several phsycal thearpies and 2 nerve block injections, my pain was gone, but my sugar had gotten out of control..so that also promped the bypass....now a year post op and i am so much better, no pain, just little here and there, dont even take tylenol but oh so often..it use to be daily....picking up laundry basket from down low and things off the floor still create just some minor pain, but not like it was nothing near like it was...
good luck, dont wait too long
debby