You are young but then your body took a beating.in the Marines. Did you have any injuries or medical discharge. Does this disease run in your family? It can you know, young people get it. That you are still going and working in a warehouse is a credit to your fitness from your tours with the Marines.

It sounds like your body is saying enough. Sometime you can be in a accident that causes trauma to one side of your body. For me that was the case. My problems didn't present until much later in life. All is on right side,

I have gotten to the severe degenerative disc disease in the cervical area. Over ten years ago it was my back. I had a nerve impingement at L5-S1 and my right leg was numb down to my foot. Lucky that an steroid epidural injection hit the right spot and I was able to do PT and get the feeling back. Not so lucky with the cervical area.

But never mind me. Right now lets talk about you. I hope you are seeing a doctor who will look into your spine and see what is going on. You are young so it isn't the typical aging and having the usual bone spurs we get as we age.

It can be slow here so be patient. There are young folks who suffer and quite a few with back,

I wish you luck. I will be checking back in to see how you are doing, heat is always go. There are stretches you can do after the heat . You can look the exercises up on the Internet. Lying in bed with heat on your back and pillows under your knees will help relax your back a bit.

Good luck.

hippy

Thank you for the reply, i didn't receive a medical discharge or have any injuries that would explain what im going through. I just woke up one day and my back started hurting a little bit and has just gotten worse as time goes on. There is only two people in my family with bad backs and they have osteoporosis.

I was granted free medical for my lower back b/c it was service connected, but now its my entire back that hurts so im nervous as to the cost b/c of no insurance.

The biggest thing though is that im not dealing with the pain as well as i once was, I've always been a happy person and lately im just not. I won't take any narcotics, so im hoping he can give me something that will help that won't mess me up. I drive heavy machinery and i won't put people at risk just b/c im in pain. I did put pillows under my knees last night and it helped alot. I have a hard time sleeping, so i just wanted to thank you for that piece of advice.

Mine started at 27 from bending over picking something up out of a basket. Now at 41 I have had L3-S1 fused and both SI joints fused. My doc doing my back was schocked when he got in there because he said nothing was right and so a 8 hr surgery turned into a 12 hr. The degeneration has progressed more and is now up to my neck but we are trying to forgo surgery for now as I started degenerating within a yr of the first surgery. I was always told that I was too young to have these problems but unfortunately our bodies don't know that we are too young. Nobody in my family has ever had anything like this so I get to be the first. I commend you for being able to work in a warehouse for 70 hrs a week, honestly don't know how you do it. From Army wife to Marine I say thank you for your service. Don't let your friends get you down because nobody knows the amount of pain that your going through and DDD is painful. I haven't been able to work in over 5 yrs and it drives my crazy but have kids and hubby to take care of and they are wonderful support. Invest, if you can, in a good bed because it really does help. We have tempurpedic, cheapest model, with adjustable base that massages and it's wonderful. You can also try pillows between your knees when you sleep. I hope you have a good doctor that will listen and do MRI and ct scan to find exactly where the pain is coming from. If there is any question if pain is coming from your discs then ask for a discogram, it hurts like a mother but it gives great answers. Wishing you relief.

Thank you for your reply, I am seeing a doctor for the first time here in a week and am very excited. I should not have waited this long to go but there are reasons why i did. I've pretty much been in denial for a while about this b/c i've always made a living from my body, and with my body quitting on me its very very stressful to wonder what i will do. Also thank you for the info, I do have one question for everyone though, everything i read has said that degenerative disc disease is not progressive, but it started in my lower back and now i have pain all the way from my head to my toe on my right side. Did anyone else that was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease feel like it spread to other areas? And also i wanted to talk to everyone about mental effects from this, what i mean by that is does anyone else have issues with confusion and memory loss? Thank you all again for reading this and taking time out of your day to help.

I want to thank you for your service to our country! I do not suffer with this disease so I will leave the advice to those that know first hand. I want you to know that I am with you and will support you and do what I can. it is good you posted, the people on here are a wonderful help. I am so glad you are seeing a doctor, it is easy to live in denial but your body is screaming for help and some relief. as said above age doesn't play a factor in our bodies and we have to find the best way to live life as best we can. I wish you the very best and good luck with the doctor, keep us posted! hugs

Thank you for your post. I will keep you posted. Im trying my best to keep a positive attitude. Im hopeful the doctor will be able to do something. Honestly anything will be better than what im doing lol.

DDD is progressive unfortunately and of course after you have surgery it's a 50/50 on if it will help slow it down. I'm glad that your seeing a doctor and I hope they have some new for you. Being in denial is perfectly acceptable but I'm glad you've gotten as far as you have. For the memory problems and confusion I have to say yes on my part at least. Found a study that said people with chronic pain lose 10% more memory a year than a normal person. So by now I should be a zombie it function anyway. Listen to your body and when it needs rest you must give it rest or your gonna overdo and may hurt yourself more. Please keep us informed on what's going on. Good luck.

I went to my doctor today and i have to say im happy and at the same time unsure of what is going to happen in the future. Im not sure if i explained what was going on 100% i told him i was having alot of weakness and pain on the right side of my body. He's sending me for a ct scan and bloodwork and thinks it could be something that is pushing on my nerve root in my spine. He offered me flexoral and i said no. I didn't ask for anything else and idk why, i just don't want anything that makes me feel weird. But to be honest the discomfort is making me crazy. So for now im waiting to get these tests done and go from there. Im going to keep taking alieve like candy and hope i can deal with it untill then. Thank you all for listening. And posting responses it means the world to me :). I hope everyone here gets some relief and im praying for you all.

I hope the test show the doc what is going on and that you get some answers. I understand that you don't want to feel fuzzy but honestly you need to take something stronger than aleeve, even if it's only when your at home at don't have to go anywhere. The pain makes you tense your back more which causes more pain. When I had my first surgery I had to stay completely doped up 24/7 for Round 4 months as the doctors said I could not be in pain as it would make me tense up which would make things worse. I really comend you on your willpower of not taking anything stronger than you take but you need to let yourself find some relief. Maybe even try a Swedish massage, nothing stronger as it will make back pain worse. Please feel better as we pray for you also.

Firstly, although I am not from the US I would say thank you for serving your country. I feel for you having this at such a young age (I was 37 before I found out my problems were DDD).

In my opinion, the issue many of us face is that the standard advice given by specialists and doctors alike is that the pain will subside. HOWEVER, that doesn't seem to be what many of us sufferers actually experience. I'm not sure why the specialists are so off the mark but i'm sure they will point to research.

That research means very little to me when I have yet another bout on that downward spiral.

That said, you've done the right thing reaching out to fellow sufferers. If you only listen to unsympathetic doctors, you will feel that you are an exception to the rule. But you are not.

All we can do at this stage is support each other and swap stories if anything works for one of us, IMHO. You are not alone in what you are experiencing.

I have just recently been diagnosed with DDD. I also have foot/calf pain on my right side. I was active up to 3 months ago when I reached up and my leg gave out. I understand the frustration with a body part not working and being in so much pain. I hope you can find an answer from your doctor and some relief. I also don't like taking narcotics. I did a round of prednisone and take gabapentin which is non narcotic. Been seeing a chiropractor and start physical therapy tomorrow. Been working less and laying low on my free time. My pain used to be severe and now my days start with low pain and middle of the day the moderate pain begins. But I can almost walk normal now. This whole thing has changed my lifestyle. I don't want to burn my friends out with my health issues either. So if you need someone to talk to - vent away!

Thank you all for the response. Im going to ask him for something for the pain, your right i do need some relief idk why i told him no. Hopefully he can give me something that works and wont mess me up to bad. I took non-narcotic tramadol when i was in the service but to be honest it really didn't help all that much, just made me feel weird and the pain was still there so i guess that's why im sketchy about it. And i hear you spinal tap one of the reasons why its been so long that i've been back to the doctor is b/c the doc in the service told me i shouldn't be in this much pain. Which made me feel like a pos, but the fact is i am in this much pain and i hope this doctor understands that. I do need to vent too valotte lol, It just not cool when you feel like this, thats all i can really say about it. it just flat out sucks. I've modified my lifestyle to basically hanging out by myself b/c im just miserable(i kept a good attitude the first three years). idk what my back is going to do next, my pain as well fluctuates and it seems like no matter what i do its always there, i've been through physical therapy and it did help, i do the stretches everyday atleast twice a day but it feels good to stretch and then right after everything just goes right back. I wish i could work less but im worried about my future so im just saving up every penny i can. Its gotten progressively worse in the years i've been going through this and if it keeps going i don't know if i'll be able to work in a warehouse much longer. So im just going to keep saving and saving until what i don't want to happen finally happens. You can only take so much pain and when it becomes too much to work i know thats a whole other can of worms that i'll have to deal with

I hope your doctor visit goes well and that you can find some answers and relief for your pain. The thing about spine issues is there is no clear fix for it. Everyone is different. People can have the same issue with different levels of pain. It must be frustrating having a doctor tell you that you shouldn't be in so much pain. I had an orthopedic doctor pretty much dismiss me and send me back to podiatrist who wanted to do cortisone shot on my foot when it was my back all along. I declined the shot. I'm the cleaning lady in a warehouse and respect your work. Alot of people have to take time off due to injuries - it's hard work! It's a challenge to think of anything else when you are consumed with pain. I have become a hermit of sorts just to get through. Friends have taken me by surprise as to how they react to my health stuff - and not in a good way. Well, here's to another day and wishing you less pain.

Am glad that your going to ask for something to help the pain. Docs can't look at X-ray or ct scan or whatever and tell you how much pain to be in, only you know your pain. Something else you could ask about is a TENs unit to wear while you work. It can help keep pain levels lower while working but once you take it off pain will come right back. Best wishes.

Thank you for the support valotte and cdfrance. Latley my stress level has been at an all time high and when i read these and see that people actually care it makes me feel better then i have in a long time:). Valotte, you sound like my type of person:), warehouse work does take alot out of you no doubt about it. And i hear you on the hermit thing, its hard to hang out with people when your mind is preoccupied by pain. Anytime you get bored or need someone to talk to im here. And i've been thinking about a tens unit cdfrance, but i drive a forklift and idk if i would be able to wear it while driving? I did something similar at physical therapy and it felt pretty good for a little while i have to say. Thank you both again and im praying for everyone that they get some relief, no one should have to live in constant discomfort, its a shame doctors charge so much money and still are unable to fix us. I hope one day in the future the spine is figured out so future generations don't have to live in pain and then be frustrated when they find out there is no permanent fix....