Yes Maria it's the pain. I think that the average person would not have put up with the pain that I've endured over a 25 year period.
Right or wrong I've always refused surgery... so far.
But a life in pain is hell!
Anyway I'm less worried now. Found this study over the weekend. It had taken 7 months for the pain to go away in this case .
Case 1
A 46 year old, non-smoker, male plumber and gas fitter with body mass index (BMI) of 27.3, presented in January 2011 with discogenic type low back pain, left lower limb sciatica to the calf, lateral foot, toes and hyperalgesia to the sole of the foot, which were managed with manual therapy and oral analgesics. In June 2011 symptoms returned after he had been playing with his son and was admitted to the emergency department due to severe low back spasm. An MRI showed a large uncontained L4/5 disc herniation compressing the spinal canal and the left L5 root compatible with his symptoms (Figure 1a,b). He refused surgery and was referred for percutaneous intradiscal O2O3 treatment in June 2011 with an Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) of 24% suggesting mild to moderate disability. He had been on oral Tramadol 200mg BD and Naproxyn 500mg PRN. There was weakness to resisted left big toe dorsiflexion due to L5 nerve compression. Following written informed consent explaining the risks and outcomes, under CT guidance using a sterile technique, and local anaesthetic in a prone position, 20cc medical grade Oxygen Ozone (27µg/ml) was injected into the nucleus pulposus of the disc through a 22g spinal needle (Figure 1c,d). The needle was withdrawn out of the disc and Celestone Chronodose (5.7mg) was injected into the anterior epidural space. Two months post intradiscal O2O3, ODI was 8% (77% reduction from pretreatment) and at seven months his pain had completely resolved. He returned to normal activities with cessation of all analgesics. Mild paraesthesia of the left L5 distribution persisted with resumption of usual work and activities at this time. MRI at seven months showed dramatic resolution of disc herniation and decompression of the spinal canal (Figure 1e,f).
Case report: Intradiscal oxygen ozone therapy in uncontained lumbar disc herniation - F1000Research
Then I had my Dr appointment today. He said that's it unusual to still have pain after a month but said that he's had patients that have had pain increase before getting better.
Also said that people who do take longer to respond do better with the ozone treatment than the others. I believe that my body is reacting to the ozone, Because I've had too large of increase in pain since the ozone injection. Very doubtful that it's a coincidence.
I was prescribed PoDiaPN a few months back by my Sports Med doc. It is supposedly helpful for neuropathy. I never used it but I'll try it for the short term.
PoDiaPN™
Best Wishes