I had a slipped herniated disc 18 months ago after years of playing high-impact sports. I also weight trained quite heavily back then (doctor said that both activities might be leading-causes for the pain). Not sure to what extend you weight lift or what kind of sports you play, but weight-lifting is definitely a cause for slipped discs.

For me I also had pain (more like numbness) on my entire left side. The pain started from my lower back and extended outwards to my knees and shoulders. It made things worse that I continued to weight-lift in whatever manner I can. I reduced the weight I lifted drastically for a while. I used to deadlift 2.75x my bodyweight, but reduced that to 2x my bodyweight. Until the doctor said I had to stop. Cold-turkey.

Even after I stopped working out, the pain worsened at night and it got to the point where I had pain from walking too long of a distance. Again only on the left side. Sometimes just sitting hurt me.

My doctor recommended a light exercise and pain-medication regimen. In the beginning, the physical regimen was difficult because the weak medication didn't alleviate the pain. They upgraded me to percocets, which nearly ruined my life. It was good pain relief in the beginning but after a while the pain relief effects subsided, and I found myself taking more and more just to feel a little bit of relief. Even worse, I was vomiting and feeling lightheaded every day. I almost gave up on the physical regimen, and everything completely.

Then I switched over to Kratom, a natural plant, which gave me the pain relief I needed. I did research on red strain kratom which was supposed to relief pain and it worked like a charm. With the help of kratom, I continued my doctor's physical regimen program which consisted of:


  • yoga
  • swimming
  • cycling


I also had to stop weight lifting completely for 3 months. I can't remember the last time I didn't weight lift for more than 2 weeks. So this was the biggest change for me.

After 6 months, my pain stopped. I couldn't believe it. I thought I wouldn't be able to walk again. But kratom combined with a strict "low movement, light weight" physical regimen saved my life.

Today, I stopped taking as much kratom as I did back then. But I still use it because there are different strains of kratom for different purposes (red strain=pain relief, white strain=energy, green strain=mood up-lifter). I use the white strain during the day like coffee. Gives me an immediately boost of energy and lasts for around 5-6 hours.

If you're in Canada, I recommend a store called canadakratomexpress.com--hands down the best quality I've ever had.

And don't always listen to your doctor. They know how to diagnose the situation most of the time. But in terms of treatment, they will always give you the brands that the clinic or hospital sells--even if they don't believe in their effects.

Good luck with everything. Living with pain is inevitable, but suffering shouldn't be. I hope you find relief soon.