Fit and active people who developed herniated discs - what are your stories?

I herniated four discs when I was turning 30 years old. A couple weeks after "that sneeze from hell" I woke up with sciatic nerve damage all up and down my right leg, it was horribly painful. I had about six months of back-and-forth with doctors debating what was "really" wrong, while the nerve damage slowly....very slowly....got better, but did settle permanently in my right foot (I now have "dropfoot" where it's hard to slowly/quietly place the ball of your foot down when you walk).

I would visit a neurosurgeon and almost beg him to operate. To his credit, he said "no" because I had too many problematic discs, and one surgery really wouldn't do much, AND I was slowly getting better. His philosophy was "think of back surgery as a way to make you feel less worse, not necessarily as a way to make you feel better." Mind you, this was in about 1992 or 1993, so over 20 years ago. Hopefully back surgery has improved since then!

After about 6 months of this--no doctor really doing much of anything at all, other than giving me some muscle relaxers that I was sick of taking, my parents told me to try a chiropractor.

This remarkable chiropractor I found literally saved me. I went to her 3x per week, visiting a massage therapist beforehand who would loosen up my back muscles, then I'd go get straightened out. After a few months of that (and it was painful, let me tell you; being "straight" was not something my back was used to), it all of a sudden clicked. I stayed "straight" and my back has been great.

I'm now 53, nearly 54; gone through a bunch of stuff over the last 2.5 decades. But I just started weightlifting a couple years ago. With care, I can squat, deadlift, bench, row, overhead press, you name it. I have some general weakness on my right side, which I'm trying to balance out with single-leg exercises, and I had to really nail down my form, and I'll never be a powerlifter. But so what. I'm happy to be able to throw a bit of weight on my back and squat, or deadlift almost my bodyweight....I'm ok with that.

Now, I don't recommend a chiropractor or don't want to suggest doing anything your doctor isn't recommending, at all. This is just my story. My chiropractor was the first person to take an xray (all the other doctors took MRIs or CT scans). The xray showed bone spurs on my vertebrae; the vertebrae were clearly not in alignment, and probably had not been in alignment since I was in puberty and doing gymnastics (big mistake! But Olga and Nadia were every girl's heroes back then!), it takes a very long time for your bones to develop spurs. So, using chiropractic to adjust my spine from neck to tailbone worked FOR ME. Matter of fact, this chiropractor knew I didn't have insurance so didn't charge me. I paid her whatever I could when I could, but it sure wasn't much.

I am probably in better shape than I was in my 30's at 54. When my back was bad and my dropfoot REALLY bad, I couldn't drive; couldn't sit in a car for more than a half-hour---it was terrible. I really thought that my life as I knew it was over, and that I'd be an invalid my whole life.

The only thing I can say is BE PATIENT. Do what you feel you CAN do, and know that it just takes time for backs to heal properly. You do NOT want to push yourself into something you physically can't handle. I was almost going to see a psychiatrist I was at the point where I was almost depressed about my life because of my back. But right about then, the chiropractic adjustments kicked in and all of a sudden, things were on a trajectory of solid improvement.

Just be patient, do what you have to do. I will say that if you're not getting any solid answers from your doctors, try to find other doctors to get second opinions (but go with your gut instinct--and listen to your body). Good luck. Things will get better!