Axialif Procedure/Trans 1 procedure

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Plaza Player
This is awful! I am sorry you are having such a hard time, and having to deal with incompetence as well.

Grundy
 
I think the return to work dliemma depenRAB on what you have to do, how far you have to travel and how many hours you might have to put in. I am self-employed, and was fortunate in that I could be in my office in 2/3 minutes! I went straight back to work when I got home because I didn't want things to pile up. By and large I managed, but I found sitting very uncomfortable, and wasn't supposed to do it anyway. I kept on getting up and walking about. I wasn't particularly productive, and then of course the sciatica kicked in. I think that unless you are in a position of really being able to pace yourself I would take three weeks off, or you may just start getting depressed. In the end I started going for a rest each afternoon, and found it really easy falling asleep! If you find yourself relatively pain free, that might be just right for you, but if you hurt a lot you already know how draining that can be! Best wishes,
 
Hello Jadenback,
I am sorry to hear of your father's plight. I wish I had some worRAB of comfort to offer, because I know that we have all found this sorry state we find ourselves in very depressing. A little more information about your father might be helpful.
I was advised that because one of the facet screws had broken, but both enRAB of the broken bit still faced each other, that I would hopefully still recover, but it might take a year. It will be two years in February 2011 since I had the op and although I am still far from right, I can report that I am stronger than I was. I walk quite a bit, and I religiously do the exercises three times a day. I have not given up all hope of getting my life back, but I am gradually coming to terms with the fact that a full recovery is unlikely. I am taking amitryptaline each day to help with with the nerve pain. I am not sure that it helps. The feedback that seems to be coming through is that some surgeons prefer the use of pedicle screws to facet screws. This seems to be for added stability. I think we can also be misled into thinking that we will recover very quickly. I really thought that I would be back on my board in three months! This operation is still major surgery. Plaza Player's comment that you will tend to hear more of the failures with the procedure on this forum is also quite plausible. Anyway, do give us some feedback.
I responded really just to say that I have made some progress, rather than none, and I am clinging on to this in the hope that I might continue to get better!
 
Yes I had the pain going down the left leg prior to the fusion. When I woke from surgery it was ten times worse. I maybe trying to do too much as well. I am a mother of 3. My youngest only 3yrs old. I have listened to the Dr.'s and have not picked her up, no housework etc. As far as exercise, I try to do 2 miles a day but often find I cannot finish the 2 miles. Dr. said he saw some inflammation of a nerve root and wants me to go for another MRI. Waiting for insurance to approve.
 
Hi plaza,

Boy some mess we're in, huh? I'm a very positive person and have found myself saying to others it could certainly be worse, that's for sure. But how frustrating this has been.
Since I've been going to the pain clinic (2 months now) anything they have done has not did any good. Hey, at least they are giving you good pain pills. I can't even get that. The neurosurgeon who did the surgery looked at me like I was nuts and a pill popper. When I told him something was wrong (which according to my catscans nothing IS) he said I would just have to deal with it.
While I'm comforted that I'm not the only one going through this, it saddens me that others are having to live with this pain. I am so tired of being in pain. I've not had 1 day without pain in almost a year. That's why I got the Axialif so that I wouldn't have to live with pain anymore.
I go to the pain clinic again this Friday. I have marked this on my favorites so I will keep everyone posted on my progress. Plaza, have you tried a TENS Unit? It helps a lot of people (hasn't did anything for me) but it would be worth a shot. They are giving me Tramadol but I don't get much relief from it. I have all kinRAB of muscle relaxers but I don't take them because I have to work. Also, I don't have problems with the muscles, it's my nerves in my butt,leg,groin, & hip. Some days I swear I need a hip replacement...lol
I am very sorry that you are having to go through this. At least you have people that are listening to you & believe you. I went months until someone would listen to me and cried myself to sleep from the pain. Also, they gave me Elavil for sleep...that helped me FINALLY get some sleep after 2 months of getting by only on 2-3 hours and even that was not w/o waking up between.

Please keep me posted on your progress also. It helps to hear what others are going through and makes us realize we're not alone in this. I can't believe you have been off work this long, that is unacceptable and they NEED to be doing something for you. There has been many days where I didn't think I would be able to make it in, but with not having anymore sick/vacation time avail. it's either I come in and work or I lose my job.

Have they said if yours has fused yet? My Dr. at the pain clinic says he doesn't think mine is fused and from that; the screws are moving around and causing the irritation to all the nerves. Perhaps mention this at your appt. and see what they say.
 
Grundy, Some of the meRAB I mentioned are anti-seizure drugs that are also used to treat the pain of peripheral neurapathy. These would be meRAB like Neurontin (Gabapentin;generic) and Topamax. Lyrica I believe is newer than Neurontin and was made specifically for the pain of neurapathy. It is also used for Fibromyalgia. It is like a cousin to Neurontin. Both Neurontin and Lyrica have to be titrated up(slowly increased over time) till you reach their therapeutic levels. The most comon side effects are sleepiness and weight gain. Over time, the sleepiness should go away. I took most of my Neurontin dose @ night before bed;but always ask your doctor first. Like I said in my previous post, a smaller dose of Neurontin and a normal dose of Cyrabalta worked best for my pain. Cyrabalta was first developed for depression, and then recently was approved for the use of the relief of pain assoc. in patient's who have Fibromyalgia(which I have too). As you may or may not know, narcotic's do not work well on the pain of peripheral neurapathy. As far as meRAB go to corabat this issue in the states, the "heavy hitters" are normally Lyrica and Neurontin(Gabapentin). I don't believe other anti-depressants work better than the meRAB I mentioned above. These anti-seizure meRAB do work differently than antidepressants, but I couldn't tell you how. Maybe someone more knowledgable could chime in here. As far as my life returning to normal, that ended the day I had this surgery in the fall of 2007. I'm in Pain Management and will be on pain meRAB the rest of my life. The meRAB keep the pain under control, but I also use external approaches to pain relief as well, they are: medicated patches, medicated roll on's, medicated gel's. Most of these contain Camphor and Menthol and I really COULD NOT do without them. Some patches contain Salicylate which I believe is a form of aspirin, so if you are allergic to aspirin-DON'T TAKE THIS!! And ALWAYS ask your doctor before trying a new medication, patch, roll on, gel etc. Good Luck!! Hope You Feel Better Soon!!....;)janiee
 
I am very anxious to hear about the possible broken screw! How in the world could this have happened?
I feel like I am improving all the time. Not pain free by any means, but 80% better than before surgery. But, saying that, I am not doing any type of excersice other than walking a mile or so.
I don't see my dr. until late next month. This will be my first visit since I live 5 hours away from him. I am very anxious to talk with him.
It has been almost 3 months for me. I have had leg pain flare up now and then, but it eventually goes away. I had severe leg pain before the surgery. Most of my complaint is pressure and achiness. I find myself the most uncomfortable when I first get up in the morning. Probably nothing to do with the surgery, only arthritis!
And the lingering question, are you glad you had the surgery? In my case, yes. Although not pain free I am not in severe pain. I am still hopeful for pain free!
I feel like our time in posting is very helpful. I know before I had surgery I was searching for more information and found it very helpful to share posts with Grundy before and after surgery. Good luck to all!
 
Hello Plaza player, I'm not very used to forums, but I suspect you have to make a given nuraber of posts, or reach some other threshold to qualify. You then click on my user name, or your own, and follow the link. If it isn't there, you can't use the facility!
 
One of the reasons for considering surgery for me is to be able to get back to exercising. Currently cannot do any aerobic or resistance exercises since they aggrevate the pain levels in my back. What kind of PT exercises have you been able to do with the surgery? Were you able to do any exercising prior to surgery?
 
I am very pleased to hear that all has gone well thus far. I know I found it such a relief just to know that the first hurdle had been passed successfully. I, too was happy to spend three nights at the hospital. The first night my blood preesure fell low, which I gather happens, and they were concerned about my pulse rate, but that is normally pretty low. I was warned about the catheter beforehand, and if I was to advise anyone I think I would volunteer for a pre-op enema, because things didn't move without a little help until the day I left, and I was getting very uncomfortable by then!
My advice would still be, if you can avoid it, to avoid putting yourself under too much pressure. You'll just get tired and depressed.
I am now just three months post op, and I have been meaning to post something just to let others know how it went for me. I agree that there aren't many subscibers to axialif threaRAB, and maybe this is because it is a highly successful procedure, or perhaps simply because the nurabers of axialifs carried out is still a very small precentage of the total nuraber of back operations. I suspect the latter is the most likely!
In my case, I started formal physiotherapy three weeks ago. Up to then I have simply walked most evenings.
Starting physio was quite a challenge! Suddenly being asked to un-do the no bending, twisting rules was something my body didn't take kindly to! However, I was surpised how quickly things began to loosen up, and have been doing the very boring exercises religiously as often as I can....
The sad news is that this seems to have triggered off a lot of pain. It could be the exercise ball that I started using about four days ago, but I have suddenly plunged back into poor nights, pain, and taking tramadol. I have spoken to the surgeon, who has advised me that this is not unusual, because I am starting to use muscles, and bend bits that haven't been worked for some time. I was relieved, but not entirely convinced. This isn't fun at all! As you know I have had problems with nurabness, tingling and pain down my right leg, and this has continued to come and go, as well as other aches & pains, but tonight I have been very low, and really wondering whether something is wrong, or maybe I should never have had the op in the first place. I hope things will simmer down, but this is really a big worry to me. I had originally thought that I would be more or less fully recovered by now, and now I am concerned that I may end up on the heap of failed surgeries.
I have to go now, but I will keep you posted, and I am very interested in how things go with your recovery, and I really hope that it all goes well. Good luck!
 
Hello Plaza Player, Good luck with the MRI! I normally get an email when there have been fresh postings on the the forum, but the one I got today was the first for quite a while, so there must have been some IT glitches in the system!
I'm too busy right now to give you an update, but just wanted to wish you well with your MRI. I hope that it reveals what is causing you all this pain, and that there is a solution to it.

Grundy
Grundy
 
You are right about all the aches & pains. I am doing my best to ignore them! I seem to have lots of "stiffness" in my hips when I get out of bed. I keep telling myself & everyone that asks that I think it is too soon to make a judgement if the surgery has "worked". I don't want to set my expectations too high & I don't believe my body has healed from going thru surgery.
You are correct about being under pressure & getting tired & depressed. I attempted to work out a little problem on my mom's laptop & was totally beside myself when I got done and went home to lie down! I am a very unselfish person, and I have been telling family & frienRAB that this is all about me & need to take care of me. I am trying to block out all the little daily problems as I am doing my best to return to work on Monday. I have resolved myself that I may return for a few hours a day. I have a board meeting Monday night & I am afraid that if I am asked a difficult question I might just cry! (I am not a crier!) So, you are right about the tiredness & depression. Some days I don't care if I talk to anyone except my husband and daughter! So, maybe this will help you to know that someone else is dealing with this issue too! I hope so.
No one has mentioned physiotherapy & I am not going to think about it!
FYI...my surgeon's group had done 270 procedures as of my surgery date. Looks like the procedure is getting more popular.
Hope you are improving every day! Keep in touch! We seem to be two bodies floating in the big sea of Axialif! LOL
 
I still haven't had the procedure done, but I've made the decision to do it, likely in June/July. My Neurosurgeon has also done 240 of them. He has told me he had some complications in 2 of them, which is a pretty good batting average. Both the complications dealt with small tears in the colon, which seems to be the area of concern from the procedure. Fixing the colon is unpleasant, but still fixable.

As for pain relief, I think it depenRAB on where you start. I've been told that following the procedure, I should take it easy for the first month, but after two months, I can resume normal activities, including my golf addiction. I'll find out if that's true.

I'm convinced, as are the Docs, that I need fusion (S1/L5). I will not do the traditional fusion. It has complication factors, also, and there's a ton of data out there about the recovery. The logic of the Axialif approach is such that I'm willing to do it.

I'm still looking for testimonials, if there's anyone out there who's done it already.

Thanks.

Johnr
 
I am doing a little better. I have slowed down as far as the exercising but the only issue is sleeping. The leg pain is now on one day off another. I think eventually this will completely go. I have taken myself off all the pain meRAB because they were starting not to work. I have been going for deep tissue massages and having stim treatments and using lots of ice. I find this helps a lot. Grundy I wish you the best as far as the MRI ( which I particularly do not care for myself). I got decent results from my MRI that the inflammation has gone down. Surgeon has expressed maybe putting a stimulator in my back but I am not sure this is where I want to go. I have come to the conclusion that I will always have pain and it will never go away completely. I cannot stop living because I have three very young children. I do what I can and try to push myself to do more but in reality I know I will never be the same since I have had this surgery. My guess is that my Tae Kwon Do days are over. I will never play volleyball or soccer again competitively.
 
Slightly different regarRAB work wise. I was a delivery driver, and of course in and out of the van all day didnt help. At 1st I was told I would be ok by March 2008. ( I had the accident while delivering in Spet 2006 ). So I went back to work after 10 weeks and a course of Physio. I then bit my tongue till March 2008, just taking painkillers when I needed to. By July 2008 I was getting worse, and informed my Manager who then told me to take a couple of weeks left and to get it sorted...... 20 months Later......... Work have also informed me now that I will no longer be working for them again, but will keep me employed but on Long term sick till I get another Job. So I have basically been screwed by work, who have dropped me like a bag of dirt...... But Like mentioned I was a comp claim going through, so all be be good in the end. Its just the here and now......
I cant understand why you were not given stronger painkillers.....I was on tramedol before the op and they didnt even touch the pain. At least I had a surgeon who at least for the time being is concerned..... Your in a tricky spot regarRAB your job, were I have just learnt to adapt with no income. So 20 months of it is easy..... well you know what I mean......If you can I have Diazepan and anatriplyne to make me sleep, works wonders.... Side effect I find it hard to wake up :-(

Keep in touch
 
Plaza Player:

My only suggestion is for you to read my previous post. Your situation just isn't right. From where I sit, you have way too much confidence in a Doctor who has done only one Axialif procedure. Find a Doctor who has done more of them and switch Doctors. At least, get a second opinion.

Johnwr
 
Hey peeps, Having now gone almost 5 months since my op, I have finally had the MRI and results.
I dont know if this is going to help anyone else, but my surgeon told me, or has been told by others who have more experience in this field after countless op's on the AxiaLif. But she was told that a leakage of " cement " is probably the ost common problem.

During the op they drill away the disc and then insert the cement to fill the gap, and make sure the screws are correctly in place.

Some have bad leakages and some dont. Its quite clear on my MRI I had a major leak.

I have been told this neeRAB major surgery to remove it, and not cause anymore problems because the area is covered with nerve endings.

Its been pencilled in for July this year, but I have 1st shout on any cancellation.
I start Pain management on the 13th May, and never having been to one before, I dont really know what to expect.

There is a white bulge at the bottom, and its also at the top. There are thin lines of nerves around the bulge, which is doing me no favours, and could be the reason why I keep collasping.
 
Grundy,
Hey out of interest where did you have yours done and by whom, My surgeon was asking and I said I would ask you?

Went back to the hospital today, and I have a MRI scan booked in for 3 weeks time, I hope it picks something up.

Also going to give the physio another go, but this time going to have it while drugged with the painkillers. I have to drive there and no other option because I can not afford Taxi's. But risky, but I am doing all I am told to, if it helps i'm all for it, but I just hope it doesnt do further damage.........

Everyone else surviving still?
 
Yeah could be something like that. I do have a couple of frienRAB in other countries, and its not totally out of the question to seek advice abroad. But with a big claim on going because this was a work related accident, I guess I have to be careful on the do's and dont's.....
Hope to speak soon and let me know if you have any more devolpments
 
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