I question everything this ER NP has told you. You're correct, if your report says L4-L5 and L5-S1 that's two discs. Not sure why they said that those disc bulges are causing the pain. It's well known that imaging findings in back pain, particularly minor and common findings of disc degeneration, do not correlate well with back pain. That is to say, imaging findings like yours are not necessarily the pain generator. Was a physical exam done with a lower extremity Neuro exam?
Hey! Im a 33F. 59, 215lbs. Diagnosed with arthritis in my back in 2020. No daily medications normally. ER just started me on prednisone 60mg daily, metaxalone 800mg TID and diclofenac 75mg BID. I have had chronic back pain for years now. I work as a nurse and as you all know the constant pulling and lifting of patients is hard on the back. I did some dumb things as a new grad working short in long term care and ended up with lots of back pain. I went in 2020 to have it evaluated. My NP did an X-ray and it just showed arthritis. She ordered PT but at that time I was working a covid unit and they started mandatory extra shifts and I wasnt able to schedule the PT. About 6 months ago I started having issues where when I would go to stand up my back would catch and Id be stuck bent over for several minutes until it loosened up. I kept saying I was going to schedule an appointment but never did. (I know, I know. ) At work the other night my toes/foot went numb. I ended up going to the ED. They did a CT scan of my lumbar spine and told me I had bulging discs. When the ER NP came in, he told me I had 4 bulging discs in my lumbar spine and he felt they were causing nerve compression which was causing my numbness/tingling. He said I was at risk of herniating and put me on a 10 lb weight restriction until I follow up with primary care for a MRI. (They are a small ED and have no MRI available.) The CT report just came through on MyChart and it says I have bulges at L4-L5 and L5-S1. So am I understanding that that would only be 2 bulging discs? Im thinking my husband and I maybe just misunderstood him when he came in. This is a different side of nursing for me and Im not too sure about the risks and such with disc issues. Is the risk of herniating really high? My job wont put me on light duty because it didnt happen there and they just told me to ask for help with transfers/boosts. I work on a very heavy floor thats not considered ICU but they still call it critical care. Its lots of post ops and amputations. It tends to require a lot of lifting and pulling. Im just feeling really anxious about work and I guess am just looking for reassurance/ guidance. Interestingly enough two days before my foot went numb I was having nerve pain going across my shoulders and radiating down my arms. So Im sure Ive got stuff going on higher up as well. I was able to get a PCP follow up on Wednesday so Im hoping to get more information there.Also- is it common for the numbness tingling to come and go? Im assuming its the meds helping? Because at first it was continuous. Now sometimes it travels up my leg into my thigh but It wont last very long. Maybe an hour or so and then goes away.Sorry for the novel- thank you if youve gotten this far.