Have you been down with a Herniated Disc

[PlaneJane]

So I was in another thread talking about the Epcot resorts being a pain for someone with a herniated disc and got some input about the situation from another poster. So I pose the question in general... Has anyone gone down to WDW with a herniated disc? What kind of special precautions did you take? Got any tips? If you had an epidural shot before the trip did it help?

I just had my first epidural shot today and so far it feels pretty awesome, that could be the Valium talking. I am supposed to get a 2nd one in two weeks to knock the pain out. I'm hoping this will last for my April visit

 

[Mrs.Skellington]

I did not have nor have now a herniated disk but, I had severe neck problems. In 2009, I had three vertebrae fused. After that, I have been fine just no more Space Mountain for me. Being a fairly young person, in my younger 30's, never would I have thought I was going to need something like this done.
Now, for the things I do. If need be, don't hesitate to get a wheelchair or ECV. They saved my life before surgery. Ice and heat are definitely my friends. If your doctor gave you different techniques, use them. I find the decompression technique the best. Hanging upside down or right side up on a pull up bar helps to elongate the spine and helps realign it properly in my case. If you have any other questions feel free to inbox me. Hopefully your trip can be fun and semi pain free!

 

[BiggerTigger]

The worse for me is the walking. My legs will go numb to the point of pain and I need to sit down and rest for a little bit. (Just like Mrs. Skellington, I never imagined being this young and in this condition.) I have avoided the wheelchair, thus far, and hope to do so in the future, but do not hesitate to get one for yourself if you need one.
To avoid a lot of standing/walking, we plan out our day. We try not to back track, so meals will be planned close to our visitation habits. If we are doing Epcot, we might hit Future World in the morning, then head around the World Showcase stopping early for a planned lunch, we will grab a reservation at one of the early countries. This way we don't back track as much as possible. We also try to enjoy table service so we can sit and relax and not rush from ride to ride.

 

[wilkeliza]

If you need one get a wheelchair or EVC. If you don't want either of those perhaps try going to Customer Service and asking about the Non-visual disability cards that allow you to go through the EVC or Wheel chair ride line.

During my last visit someone had one of these and you would just go to the ride and they would give you a special version of the fast pass that would be for exactly whatever the wait time would have been and you just come back to fastpass and use that line instead of the standby line. It allows you to sit and wait so that you don't have to stand in line so long. This was new to me because they use to have you just go in the fast pass line no problem but the CM said something about people complaining about EVC, wheelchairs, and non-visual disabilities line cutting so they developed the write in fastpass as a way to show that you still waited to ride you just didn't wait in line.

 

[hiptwinmama]

disc

My husband had one last year when we went, talk to your doctor. My husbands said that given his specific case, that he couldn't do anymore damage so it was up to him and to base it on his pain tolerance. Every case is very specific, so just ask your MD.

 

[PlaneJane]

So good news so far.. I haven't used any pain medication since I had the procedure. So I might actually be able to not do the crippled walk at the end of the day of park hopping

 

[flynnibus]

The reaction to your steriod shots is going to be totally dependent on your body and your situation. It's hard to draw comparisons.

Last summer.. shot didn't even put a dent in mine. Ended up with micro discetomy to trim the ruptured disc. I didn't heal great and by end of year was pretty miserable. In Jan I had another shot and I felt like 99% healed.. but 2 weeks later and I was back in the downward slide.

I did do Universal in Oct with my back condition (as well as the Disney Cruise) where I was still suffering pretty bad where extended periods bothered me and transitioning could be tough. Basically what I did was avoid anything that had jarring movements or strong G-forces.

So that meant no roller coasters, but I did do Forbidden Journey without issue, and other high movement rides like spiderman.

In WDW, I would probably put the limit at something like Tower of Terror. No space mountain or RNRC... I would avoid EE and BTMRR too if I was worried about things getting worse.

I would be cautious... it's one thing to not ride BTMRR for a trip.. it's a hell of lot worse to be laid up in bed begging for stronger drugs while on vacation.

But it depends on how bad your condition is. If its just pain.. avoid escalating it. If it's pain that can cause you to not even be able to move or you have very bad leg pain or numbness.. take it easier.

Before my surgery I had periods where it basically felt as if a forklift was driving over my ankle when I was just sitting there. And had to get an ambulance once because I could find no position that was anything but 10/10 pain that I was basically screaming for 20+mins solid before I said 'uncle' and called 911.

This is what pain looks like

 

[jlevis]

The benefit from epidurals will vary from shot to shot. I have extensive disk degeneration and stenosis. I can't stand for more than ten minutes and walk for more than 50 to 100 yards without sitting down. For me vycodin and ECV's are my friends. The trick is to stay ahead of the pain. If you try to tough it out you'll be miserable.

 

[PlaneJane]

That's funny you posted your mri with the herniated disc. I have one that looks exactly like that but one disc down. Doctor even drew a line into the disc to show for certain that it was heniated. He said it was inflamed and really angry I'll have to post mine to show a comparison

 

[hiptwinmama]

If you haven't booked hotels yet, or if yo are able to switch. You might benefit from being on the monorail line. It would provide you with quick and easy access to your room, if you find yourself needing a long rest.

We are heading to WDW next week, my husband is now 10 months post op from spinal fusion. No, he won't be doing many of the thrill rides but he will be taking breaks to relax. We have scoped out good places in each park for him to go sit for a hour or so and relax. Recharge if you will.

Just make sure to keep those you are with posted on how you are feeling, that way they know when to say enough is enough... take a break.

Lastly, if you can, try the wishes dessert party. It will make nightly parade and fireworks much easier for you to enjoy. REALLY!

 

[thecompman]

My first trip ever to WDW I injured myself about a month before and herniated a disc. The pain was bad, but I wasn't going to let it stop me enjoy my first trip to WDW.

I used a ton of those Thermacare Heatwraps. The heat really seemed to help ease the pain, plus a lot of Advil. The one thing I found worked really well was walking actually.

In the morning when I'd get up the pain would be really bad, but I found after I walked a good amount, such as from the Epcot parking lot to World Showcase it really did take some of the edge off.

Over the years it's gotten better, although I did re-injure it about 6 years ago. That time I got the epidural injections. I ended up having 2 and they worked really well. I just have to be very careful when I try to lift something or get into certain positions.

Those were my tricks when I was in WDW. Hope they help.

 

[Tiggerrules]

I did not have nor have now a herniated disk but, I had severe neck problems. In 2009, I had three vertebrae fused. After that, I have been fine just no more Space Mountain for me. Being a fairly young person, in my younger 30's, never would I have thought I was going to need something like this done.
Now, for the things I do. If need be, don't hesitate to get a wheelchair or ECV. They saved my life before surgery. Ice and heat are definitely my friends. If your doctor gave you different techniques, use them. I find the decompression technique the best. Hanging upside down or right side up on a pull up bar helps to elongate the spine and helps realign it properly in my case. If you have any other questions feel free to inbox me. Hopefully your trip can be fun and semi pain free!

I can empathize with you, I had two levels done first time and had one more fused last year. No more roller coasters

To the OP hope it all works out for you.

 

[phnx118]

I have my first epidural injection scheduled for Tuesday and will arrive at ASMu on March 1st, so I will let you know! I am hoping the shot works, but planning for contingencies!:brick:

 

[Firepath]

Make sure your resort has good mattresses. I've found quite a variety and am always afraid to try a new resort because both me and the mister have bad backs. One night on a Pop Century mattress about did me in! FQ and BC have been good for us. Surprisingly, AK was really uncomfortable and although we loved the resort, won't stay there again. Best of luck to you!

 

[dvcnut39]

After I tore a piriformis muscle I found a TENS unit to be a great up. I used daily until I got my MRI which led to three epidurals, many cortizones, rehab, and finally a full recovery. Hopefully this helps and good luck.

 

[Amber]

The reaction to your steriod shots is going to be totally dependent on your body and your situation. It's hard to draw comparisons.

Last summer.. shot didn't even put a dent in mine. Ended up with micro discetomy to trim the ruptured disc. I didn't heal great and by end of year was pretty miserable. In Jan I had another shot and I felt like 99% healed.. but 2 weeks later and I was back in the downward slide.

I did do Universal in Oct with my back condition (as well as the Disney Cruise) where I was still suffering pretty bad where extended periods bothered me and transitioning could be tough. Basically what I did was avoid anything that had jarring movements or strong G-forces.

So that meant no roller coasters, but I did do Forbidden Journey without issue, and other high movement rides like spiderman.

In WDW, I would probably put the limit at something like Tower of Terror. No space mountain or RNRC... I would avoid EE and BTMRR too if I was worried about things getting worse.

I would be cautious... it's one thing to not ride BTMRR for a trip.. it's a hell of lot worse to be laid up in bed begging for stronger drugs while on vacation.

But it depends on how bad your condition is. If its just pain.. avoid escalating it. If it's pain that can cause you to not even be able to move or you have very bad leg pain or numbness.. take it easier.

Before my surgery I had periods where it basically felt as if a forklift was driving over my ankle when I was just sitting there. And had to get an ambulance once because I could find no position that was anything but 10/10 pain that I was basically screaming for 20+mins solid before I said 'uncle' and called 911.

This is what pain looks like

Mine looks about the same just one disk lower. Other than the outside of my right foot being numb most of the time, I usually don't have any problems at WDW except when I have to stand still for a long time.

 

[Florida Bill]

I'm 48yrs old and have had 6 back operations and 2 neck operations, all since 2001. I had a work injury, went to court and am now out of work on permanent disability with Social Security Disability and a Structured Settlement. The reason I had so many operations was that I had 2 herniated discs in my neck and 2 in my lower back and two in my mid back. First of all I couldn't get a good fusion, then one of the screws in the hardware started to come loose, then they decided to put an internal bone stimulator in to get a fusion...for awhile there it just seemed like one thing after another. I ended up with failed back surgery syndrome. I've had so many injections in my back, epidurals, nerve root blocks, trigger point injections, you name it, I've had it done!
I now see a pain management Doc. every month and I'm on some pretty heavy pain meds. and will be on for the rest of my life.
I guess I should consider myself lucky as I'm not in a wheelchair and I still get around o.k. (well, most of the time) with a cane for whenever the pain gets really bad.
I still go to WDW about once a month and enjoy myself, there's just certain rides I can't go on and I just have to really take my time and sit and relax quite often. I have a Guest Assistance Card and it helps ALOT! I never knew about the GAC until I read about it on here and it's really allowed me to enjoy myself again at the parks. If you need it, get it! It's a life saver! Here's an X Ray of my back: