Nerve Root Compression of L5

**James** · 03-09-2001, 02:02 AM

I have tried just about every treatment possible for IC with very limited success.
I have always thought that the damage done to my spine in a car accident 2 years ago was the cause. No one listened to me as every Dr
has his or her own theories. All my symptoms of IC and Fibro began within weeks of my accident( severe whiplash). Well finally Dr
Henry of Kingston who started the Lidocaine treatments has discovered that in fact accidents may be a factor. In a study at the
University of CALIFORNIA Irvine 10 people with IC had spinal MRI'S and each was determined to have nerve root compression in the L5. Decomprssive surgery was performed on
all 10 and 9 were totally healed of pain and
the frequency was significantly reduced. Needless to say I am having a full spinal MRI
on May 14 to see if there is any damage. I know there is already due to previous xrays.
This may lead nowhere just like everything else I have tried, but I put my faith in God
and respect that his will be done. The more
I find out I will kepp you informed.

James

**Lorie** · 03-09-2001, 02:51 AM

James

Go for it. I wish you well. I had a car accident in 1995. I had symptoms of IC for many years before that,but was not diagnosed until 1998. My symptoms became worse after the accident,however nothing significant showed up on the xray. I have always thought the accident especially is related to increased frequency.

Good luck to you. Like you,I have tried many txs and nothing really helps.

Healing thoughts to you

Lorena

**MelanieJ** · 03-09-2001, 05:20 AM

Wow! I'd love to see the abstract/summary of that research, James. Did Dr. Henry publish his findings?

I'll be extremely interested to hear how your MRI goes. Best of luck and hang in there!

Melanie J.

**DebbieB** · 03-09-2001, 09:04 AM

Hi James:
Dr.Henry is sure a wonderful doctor and a smart at that too!!!
I often wonder myself ,I had a bad car accident about 20 years ago and was hit from behind and I was in a neck collar for a year and had awful back aches.. and that it could of cause my urethral tube to go partly parailized too..
It sure makes me wonder if that is why for 18 years I had bad pain and bladder infections all the time..
It sure makes me think now , that could be my problem from the car accident.... and why the InterStim Implant is working so wonderful for me , as it is on the sarcal nerve S2!!!!
Good luck on May 14 for your MRI and I hope it shows you something to get to the bottom of your problem as well..
Keep us posted ok James..

How was your trip to your Mom , I hope you had a wonderful visit with her as well

~~~~Debbie~~~~

**BrendaD** · 03-09-2001, 09:37 AM

James, please keep us informed on your progress. This sounds very promising. I also suffer with lower back problems.

**Sparky2** · 03-09-2001, 04:16 PM

Hi James:

I take it that your doctor was referring to the study published in the British Journal of Urology entitled "Lumbar Nerve Root Entrapment and Interstitial Cystitis: A Response to Decompressive Surgery"? This study was co-authored by Lariann Gillespie. Ms. Gillespie lost her medical license for recommending spinal surgery to IC patients who didn't always have identifiable back problems like herniated discs, bone spurs, etc... (documented by MRI).

The original study, though, had NOTHING to do with her losing her license. As far as I know, it was legit, all the other doctors who participated in the study were very reputable, and ALL 10 patients in the study DID have significant herniations that warranted surgery.

James, spinal problems can cause bladder problems, but be very careful. Why? Because lumbar problems usually always result in a flaccid type of bladder problem (i.e., the bladder does not empty well and its capacity is usually increased as opposed to decreased). If you read the study carefully, you will notice that the ten patients did not fit the typical profile of an IC patient in that they had rather large bladder capacities.

Just to let you know, I learned about this study in my quest to determine why my severe back problems seemeed to coincide with the onset of my own bladder problems. My L5-S1 disc herniated twice and I've had two microdiscectomies at that level. After the first surgery, my bladder problems abated for a period of about three weeks, then slowly began to resurface. After the second surgery, I actually had more problems with my bladder.

At present, I still don't know exactly what the connection is between my bad back and my bladder. Though I was at first diagnosed with IC, urodynamic testing, done after my second back surgery, indicated that I have severe detruser instability (bladder spasms constantly and can't hold much). Not likely to occur as a result of a herniated lumbar disc as I've mentioned. Additionally, I've been told that if I do have IC also, it's very mild.

As a final note, I should mention that I'm finally getting some pain relief (after 2 years) from a combination of two antibiotics (Bactrim/Septra), which is very puzzling to my doctors as I have tried all kinds of muscle relaxers, pain killers, anti-spasmodics, etc... to no avail.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know the scoop on my herniations and subsequent surgeries. In all honesty, I don't think that either did much for my IC/DI. I did need them, though, and do not regret undergoing them.

Take care,
Lynne