Will Flexarill stop severe lower back pain?

Dear frog -
about 14 years ago, I had my first bout with back problems. Went to the Dr. and my Dr. told me my pain was due to the buldging disks in my lower back, and the sciatica. I was very lucky to have my Dr.. Without our discussing it, he, OF COURSE could tell I was a drunk and a former addict, so he said, go home, and have bedrest for two weeks with pillows underneath you knees, forming the triangle. I do not remember, but I do not think he gave me anything for pain. Wiseman. It would have cracked wide open my natural inclination to get myself into fixes.
After two weeks, my sciatica and that low back pressure and pain was gone. I was careful with my back - watched my posture. Did not really have any problems til now - with my new, fatter, non-smokin (in both senses) body.

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So now, sober from alcohol since 2004, with bodywide bone issues (DJD and Osteoarthritis and possibly Rheumatoid, as well - find out Monday), I am super conservative with meds (at least I think so), and it would take a whole lot of convincing to get me to have surgery. My little brother had multiple back surgeries (like 5 or so) til he got a benefit from the proceedure. So I am real cautious about surgeries. My best freind, as well, had hip replacement and she will have to live with sciatica and other pain from it for the rest of her life. She is not old - just had the rotten luck to have cr@ppy hip joints, and a doctor, it turns out who was dying in a way that effected his brain and judgement and ability to act as a surgeon. Her mobility is limited, and sometimes she uses a cane, or when it is really bad, she has a walker.

So, I , who have had two major surgeries for other issues, am not at all in any hurry to have surgical intervention for bones issues. Instead, I go to PT, I have an application in at the local pool to join the other old ladies in the pool to do arthritis-approved exersizes, I try to walk , but I have a pinched nerve in my frikken big toe that acts up when I walk, I do things in stages with rest periods between (and things do pile up, but it beats surgery), like 5 minutes of dishes, rest five, etc., and, per my Dr. I take Glucosamine, Calcium w/ vitamin D, and this stuff called Calcitrol, and Forteo - all to prevent further deterioration of the rest of me.

For me... the problem with front-loading the pain meds is being anesthatized (sp?) will undoubtedly make me feel like it is a-okay to do all the dishes, rearrange the shelves in the kitchen, and move on to the bathroom, then the laundry, bla, bla, bla, and then when the pill wears off there's hell to pay, because I undoubtably would have done much more than I should have. Pain is there for a reason in this kind of case - to tell you to kick it for a while, and concentrate on getting well. If you have family who can help - like bring you groceries, do chores, run your car around the block - take advantage of it.

Best of luck. Sorry I said so much

Flexeril can help with lower back pain if it is due to muscle spasm, like others said. I would not jump into surgery too fast. It is misinformation that a herniated disc needs surgery to fix it! Most of the time surgery is NOT necessary in most cases. If you are having progressive numbness in the legs and loss of bowel or bladder control then surgery is definitely indicated. I refuse to let anyone cut on me until it is an absolute last resort! I've seen too many people messed up worse from back surgeries and one back surgery, in many many cases, leads to another. There are some times back surgery is indicated but for the majority of back issues it is not. Bed rest is usually limited to a few days only, a week at very most unless otherwise indicated by a physician. If the pain is primarily due to the sciatic nerve compression the Flexeril probably wont do much and you may want to try gabapentin or Lyrica which work better for nerve pain.

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Exercise and gentle stretching,if your physician oks, should be done as much as possible early on. Try strengthening the core muscles in the back and abdomen. These muscles help to support your back and are responsible for most of the holding up of your body. Having these muscles strong helps to take pressure off the spine and helps relieve pain. Educate yourself about the back as much as you can. There are many websites with great information. Try the American Chronic Pain Society, The American Pain Association, The American Pain Foundation, The American Pain Society, The Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, In the Face of Pain, Medline Plus-under back pain, and National Pain Foundation web sites to start with. Learn all you can about the back, how it works, and everything you can do to treat back pain and how to prevent it. If your pain comes and goes and is easily managed, you will be fine with the help of your primary care physician but if the pain is chronic you may want to look into a pain management physician. A good pain management Dr will use different approaches to manage your pain. If they only offer medicines as their only approach, find yourself someone different. Pain should be managed by multidiscipline approach meaning you may see an anesthesiologist, a chiropractor, a physical therapist, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a massage therapist,a physiatrist etc in combination to manage your pain. For many with sciatic pain epidurals can be quite effective. They usually work best to reduce pain running down the leg more than pain isolated just to the low back.
Welcome to the low back pain club! There are many of us on the site and a great bunch of very supportive people! Do all you can to gain knowledge about your pain and what to do and you will avoid doing something you may regret later. Good Luck to you and keep us posted on how you are doing!