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My L5/S1 disc is demolished and impinged the nerve that controls my right leg. I didn't have any insurance and urgent care would only give me a 3 day supply of hydrocodone. The pain became so bad that some nights I didn't sleep at all, for even a brief moment. I went from 190 pounds down to 160 pounds in 2 months because it hurt too bad to fix something to eat. There was one weekend where I didn't eat anything from Friday night until Monday morning.
My coworker saw my misery and gave me a bottle of codeine. He bought it over the counter in Canada. I'd take a half tab to get out of bed and shower, half a tab to go to sleep, and a half tab anytime during the day when the pain got too intense to listen to what people were saying; about 2.5 pills per day.
Not knowing if I'd ever get better and seeing myself waste away, I called my cousin and asked if marijuana would be effective at killing the pain. The same cousin that has wanted me to try marijuana for years told me that it wouldn't really help. I'd still feel the pain, I just wouldn't care.
The funny thing in all this excruciating pain was that I began dating a girl I had met before the injury. Since it hurt to do anything (even nothing), the only dates I would arrange would be to a hot tub. After about a month, she dumped me. Years later- this August, I ran into her at the Hood to Coast relay race. She smiled and said I'll always be Hot-tub Jon to her.
Anyhow, the inflammation subsided by itself after the 2 longest months of my life. I learned not to lift anything heavier than about 50 pounds, and that all of the advice I had been given was worthless. People said to try acupuncture, stretching, surgery, physical therapy, chiropractic, yoga, etc. I went to a chiropractor once and he told me the bad news is that my back is really messed up, but the good news is that 32 visits to his office would get me straightened out. Well, my back got better on its own during the same exact time-frame he said it would take to heal.
My advice- loose as much weight as you can while staying within the lower portion of "healthy" on the BMI scale. Then, keep active by walking or riding a bicycle. Lastly, visit Canada and stock up on bottles of Codeine, and take the absolute minimum dose to get through your day. You don't want an opiate addiction, and you certainly don't want the efficacy of the drug to wear out due to tolerance. Don't expect pain-free, just manageable pain.
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