Herniated Disc L5 S1 and Things to Drink for it

You never know when it’ll happen to you – at least I certainly didn’t. For 36 years I wandered around having a good old time; doing every lousy thing to my body I could think of – without ever really thinking. About 10 months ago I started to feel some pain in my leg and while it was annoying, I didn’t worry much. If it hurt I’d take some pain-killers or a beer with a shot of something and I was back to the races. Isn’t that how Canadian Club wants us to think Dad would have handled it?

Well, I tried to be like Canadian Club’s mythical Dad and after 10 months the pain became something new, something overwhealming. I went to see someone more like my dad; I went to see a doctor.

After hours and hours of waiting, several x-rays and not much else that was useful — its official, I have slipped a disc. Having googled my symptoms before I went to see the general practitioner OR the spine “expert”, I already suspected I had either hurt my L5S1 disc or L4L5. L5S1 it is.

The first thing the doctors are suggesting is some “physical therapy,” which I assume, from reading online, means I’ll get taught some exercises and the therapist will work with me to ensure I learn them right. The exercises will help me build core-strength and muscle in places that should help my back support itself better. Additionally, it seems not re-injuring myself is important (duh!) and keeping inflammation down is a big deal. When my dad slipped a disc he didn’t drink Canadian Club, he drank Aloe Vera Juice.

Holy crap is this stuff awful! It tastes like you’d expect paint thinner, white gas or turpentine to taste. I am literally amazed that humans can ingest something so foul tasting and its supposed to not just be helpful but wonderful. I found an article written by an entity known as Alien Sheng that suggests I’d find Aloe juice helpful:

The health benefits of aloe vera taken internally include: improved circulation, regulation of blood pressure, promotes healing of bones and joints, strengthens the immune system, defends the body against bacteria, heals internal tissue damage, heals ulcers, improves and even eliminates constipation, blood sugar regulation, and reduces itchiness in psoriasis helping it to heal.

And again, my Dad swears this is what fixed up his back. He also drinks Tullamore Dew. Regardless, I’ll keep you posted as to how this works. To read the myriad articles on it, I should be feeling like superman in just days.