Anyone else with herniated discs before??

Look around for a new chiropractor. mine has experience with athletic injuries, and did more than manipulation. he applied heat packs, did traction, and hooked me up to some machine that sent shocks into my muscles, which caused them to spasm and then naturally relax. All in all, I probably spent 6 weeks three times a week at the beginning and then on and off for a year. i herniated a disc in my upper back/neck area. it was incredibly painful. He also performed this special deep tissue massage, which really helped. i was told to ice the area at home and lie on the floor with a towel under my neck. I was told to pull my chin in to stretch out the back of my neck, whenever I thought of it during the day.

i still ahve back pain, but i can't afford to see anyone about it right now. fortunately the disc is no longer herniated, but the muscles around it really took a beating and are taking a long time to heal. i try to stretch every day to help things along, but I wouldn't suggest that for you right now.

Find someone else, this can be relieved.

Herniated disks will heal but they take TIME! You have to be very careful not to strain or stress the injury in any way.
Chiropractic can help, but may not help everyone.
Acupuncture is another wonderful treatment. Energy healing, such as healing hands or reiki may be very helpful.
Magnet therapy could do wonders. Shiatsu and massage would be great as well.
Surgery is NOT a good idea. It will leave you w/ permanent scars near your spine... they must cut nerves, which can leave you in more pain for life than if you took the steps to help the disks heal.
There are some important supplements you should be taking: Glucosamine/Chondroitin, MSM, Tumeric caps (for inflammation), and high doses of Omega 3-6-9 oils (find a good mix of 3-6-9).
Some exercise techniques that would be helpful is hatha yoga or any other gentle yoga and Tai Chih. Swimming could be good as well.

I have degenerative disc disease in 4 discs. I know all about the pain you have. Hopefully it will get easier for you to deal with. I've had this disease since I was 25. I'm 35 now. I've had chronic pain since the age of 15 (shoulder and tailbone).

The pain in my back got really, really bad about a year ago. I have done hours and hours of chiropractic work and I can now say, for the past week or 2 weeks, that there are days that I forget I have a problem. This after months and months of constant pain.

My first advice is to get off the drugs.

My second is to find a really good chiropractor.

My third is to be patient. There were many days when I thought I would never get better, never improve even 1 percent point.

My fourth is to rest. Don't carry your kids (very hard, I know), don't do weeding in the garden or heavy work, don't carry laundry baskets, get some time on the couch or in bed. This is all stuff that you'll have to work out with your dh. Also, watch out about riding in the car too much - that's the only time now that my back really hurts (but we have major potholes and bumpy roads).

PM me if you want to talk.

PS I wouldn't start any exercise regime until you have consent from your chiro. Sometimes the spine will be too fragile yet, and you'll have to just let some of the muscle build up around it by itself before you can really work out. I'm on a 3-month no exercise, no adjustments rest period.