Posted by jack cain on Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 9:01PM :
In Reply to: off topic posted by Clint Dixon on Thursday, July 18, 2002 at 8:23PM :
Had the same disc go bad on me. Had excruciating pain that started in my right hip and went all the way down to my ankle.
I tried to "ignore" it for about six months. By that time my right leg had shrunk to about half the size of my left.
I went to see a Neurologist in Dallas that had done work on some of the Dallas Defendants - err, the Dallas Cowboys.
An MRI showd that the disc was compressing a nerve that was causing the pain and atrophy in my right leg. A "discectomy" was performed the following week that removed just a sliver of the disc near the nerve. The operation was around 45 minutes in duration and I was out of recovery two hours later and on my way home. No hospitilization required.
Relief from the debilitating pain was immediate. It's been seven years and I have no regrets about having the surgery. However before you go the surgery route make sure that your Surgeon has done this procedure a lot and keep in mind that there is always a risk, albeit small, from the anesthesia and infection.
If there is a experienced Neurologist near you I would suggest that he/she be your next stop.