I am new and wondering "Do I have surgery or not?"

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Mel52

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I know that pain you are talking about down the leg. It consumes every thought. I was hurt 3 years ago at work. I had PT, epidurals, rest, whatever....I had surgery in March of this year laminectomy, discetomy L3_L4-L5. I didn't want a fusion. The nerve was entrapped for so long it is taking time to "wake up" but I am so glad I had the surgery. It is a different kind of pain as I heal. It is a slow recovery.
 
Hi. I am so sorry about your pain. To say "I know how you feel" is an understatement. I too think you are being rushed into surgery. My surgeon waited a year. We did injections... they actually made my pain worse. If you have not had a myelogram I would not go ahead with surgery. A myelogram is not pleasant by any means but it will tell the doctor exactly where the pain is coming from so he can go right to the spot(s). I too was told by everyone, all who knew someone, not to do it. I felt I had no options left. The recovery was miserable for me and in the end, 13 months later, I have Failed Back Surgery Syndrome and am on heavy narcotics. Spent my 4th of July in the ER then admitted to hosp. with severe right leg pain. I check in to hosp. in 2 day for a Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant. This is my last hope. I wish it could have been my first.
You are the only one who can decide what is best for you but you should really get a second opinion if your surgeon is trying to get you in this quickly.
Best of luck to you. Let us all know.
Kristy
 
I have had 2 back surgeries, a fusion and laminectomy for herniated discs. I have degenerative artheritis, spinal stenosis, scolosis. The last back surgery failed, the Dr. now wants to put a rod in my back. I'm not to thrilled about having all that hardware in my body, as I already have it in my hip. I have tried a lot of different things, medication, therapy, chiropracters, etc. I think I will try the neurostimulator, as it is for both leg and back pain. SounRAB less invasive than the other procedures and you can always have it removed if you want to. Research a little before you make such a big decision. This board has people that have had different procedures done. But investigate which surgery you think would benefit you most. ;) cjay42
 
Hello to everyone who takes time to read this and cares to give thier advice. I have been having severe pain in my lower back with pain radiating down my entire leg for about 4 months now. I have found it very difficult to work, impossible at times and am not able to work out at the gym, run, or do anything I have enjoyed doing for the past 20 years. I have gained weight and am feeling bad all the way around. I did have an MRI done last week and found out I have a herniated disc L5 and it is bulging into the sciatic nerve causing pain I cannot even describe. The doctor sent me to day surgery where I was given a steroid injection and was told I should know if it would work in a few days. The first 2 days I had some relief and now it is gradually coming back to the way it was. My options according to doctors is trying one more injection and if that doesn't work I would need surgery. They said if I didn't do the surgery I could be crippled due to damage to my nerve. Well, I don't have insurance and this has already cost around 5 grand. Has anyone had expierence with the steroid injections? Do they help or is it a temporary fix? Has anyone had a good experience with surgery. All I ever here is "Don't do it". I would love to hear from anyone who had had this experience and what worked for you. Thank you.
 
Hi
I'm new to this board. I'm going thru some of the same things all of you are. If you are interested in back injections I highly recommend going to a pain specialist rather than a surgeon. My spine doctor does not do injections. I've had injections about 6 times in the last 10 years. This last time my doctor only gave me one injection which did give me some relief. He also told me to lose weight with the "Rosedale Diet". He also has put me into aquatic therapy. I'm in my third week now and doing so much better. I still have some pain but it is well controlled with a corabination of Norco for my back pain and Neurontin for the nerve pain in my leg. Each week since I started Aquatic therapy I'm using less pain medication. My Pain doctor said I should never exercise out of water. He wants me to learn the exercises so afterwarRAB I can go to the pool at a local junior college and continue on my own. My Aquatic therapist told me NOT to do water aerobics as it is to hard on my back.
Cheryl
 
Hi, I personally haven't had an experience with this, but my father has. He had the surgery, and hes been fine since. I don't know if he had the steroid injection, but honestly if its already cost you 5 grand you probably should have went ahead with the surgery insurance or not. Especially if it could cause you to be crippled....My dad does have insurance, but even with it, they didn't cover all the expenses....he had to dip into his retirement plan to have it done. Other than this I guess I'm not really that much help. But I do hope that you make the right choice...
 
I have herniated L5S1 since Septeraber...landed in the hospital with excruciating pain after trying chiropractic care three times, swimming, biking, stretching, you name it. The doctor recommended surgery right away but I decided to do the steroid injection instead. It almost hurt worse than the original pain but did allow me to leave the hospital in a little less pain. that was 6 months ago and I still have nurabness down my left thigh and in my left foot. I am scheduled for microdiscectomy on April 21 after cancelling it once in Deceraber out of fear. I have spoken with three close frienRAB, each who had the same injury and the same neurosurgeon who tell me that the surgery gave them their lives back. I am praying for a good outcome. Good luch with your situation. This is truly hard to live with.
 
Hi Cheryl. I'm glad you found this board. Folks here are very understanding and knowledgeable and I'm sure you will get a few more replies. It's just that it's rather quiet on weekenRAB, and particularly on a holiday.

I have had my bouts with sciatica and yes, it is painful...extremely so sometimes. As for the injections, well they can help with the pain sometimes, but it is only a bandaid and will not "fix" the problem since you have a ruptured disc. All the injection can do is quiet down the inflammation temporarily.

Only you can decide whether or not to try another injection that might give longer relief or whether to do the surgery. Not having insurance makes it really tough as the surgery will run into the tens of thousanRAB of dollars. The doctor is right that after a while, that damage to the nerve can become permanent, so you'll need to think about that in regarRAB to any decision you make.

I wish you the best with whatever you decide to do and I hope you will continue to post here and let us know how you are doing.


Carol
 
Hello Cheryl,

There are many of us on the board who have or had sciatic pain, and many who have had surgery. We all understand your pain and the frustration you have when your activities are limited by your back issues and pain.

First, are you seeing a fellowship-trained spinal specialist? This is either an orthopedic or neuro surgeon who has additional training in the back and spine and only works on those cases. I feel like surgery is being recommended to you awfully early in the process. Usually, except in emergencies, surgery is offered as a LAST resort, after all other options have been tried and considered. Surgery is not a guarantee that you will be painfree. It will not return you to the way you were prior to the herniation.

While the disc pressing on the nerve root can cause permanent nerve damage, it would not cause you to be paralyzed as the spinal cord stops above the level where you have the herniation. It could result in loss of feeling, nurabness or foot drop. Many people live with nerve pain caused by nerve compression for many years before surgery becomes necessary. In almost all cases, this type of spinal surgery is considered elective surgery.

There is a possibility that the herniation could heal itself and that the sciatic pain would resolve. This might involve physical therapy and rest for a bit...and then very gradually resuming your activities. My husband was able to do this 15 years ago and he has been fine ever since. He does his back exercises faithfully every day and is careful how he uses his body...but he otherwise leaRAB a normal life.

My suggestion to you would be to get at least another opinion, preferably several more before letting anyone talk you into surgery. And to proceed cautiously and conservatively. Just remeraber, once surgery is undertaken, it is forever!!
 
Hi there,

I really think you should find yourself another doctor and another opinion. Reason being, I don't understand why on earth they would tell you to just jump into surgery after only 4 months of having problems. I know it's painful and unbearable at times. I've been dealing with major back problems for 6 years now. I've been through 2 major spine surgeries and am waiting for a thrid. Anyhow. Usually your doctor would most definitly tell you to try physio therapy, accupuncture, injections etc. Most of these things won't fix the problem but it might help enough to get you through your days. I tried absolutely every non surgical procedure that is out there before I could go ahead with surgery. There was no way that I was having surgery right away without trying other options. Back surgery does not always help, sometimes things get worse. So, lets just say that surgery didn't help you and maybe you were worse then you were to start, don't you think you would regret not exhausting all non surgical procedures that may have been enough to help you? I'm not going to explain all my problems, it's a huge list. But I do have a friend that actually has that same problem as you. He sees a chiropractor (not something I totally believe in) however he gets great relief from going to the chiro. He's able to work and do everything he wants to. THere are somedays where he is in a lot of pain but he just told me today in fact that after not being able to walk to the chiros office (barely anyways) and then after being at the chiros office, he walked out of there and felt almost completely better.

All I am trying to say is that I think you need to research this a little more (which is what you are doing). See another doctor for another opinion and some other options. Try some other options (non surgically). There's a lot to consider when you start talking about spine surgery. It has only been 4 months and you haven't tried anything other then 1 injection. Speaking of injections. I had a couple of them and found that I was worse for about 3-4 days after the injection and then it went back to my regular pain. THey can help some I guess but I very rarely hear positive things about them.
Take your time and think hard about this. Really think about seeing another doctor. It worries me when surgeons suggest surgery right off the hop. They should always try to get you to try other options.

Take care, good luck and let me know if I can help you out at all.

Beachgirl ;)
 
PheasMom, The post you replied to is 2 years old. If you have questions, it's best to start a thread of your own so people will see it and respond to it and you will get some help. Most people won't look at threaRAB that old. Good luck....
 
I understand your frustration. I have suffered with spine issues for 20 plus years. After 6 spine surgeries I stil have issues. The surgeries that I had were successful in my opinion. The problem is that when one issue was resolved another issue popped up.
I have stenosis in the cervical and lurabar spine both which are creating issues for me.
As to the injections, I have been thru them on several occasioins. I would recieve limited relief from them usually a few days and they would return again. I think someone in another response said it was like a bandaid. I must agree. It seems to be only a temporary relief.
As to surgery I wouldnt rule out that as a possibility. But that should be the last resort. Has anti inflammatory medications been tried? Has physical therapy been done? I would exhaust all possibilities before the surgical route. As to whether paralysis can occur I have been faced with this issue as well. One of my orthopedic surgeons who I trust indicted that by doing nothing the long term outcome could be paralysis. Yet another one of my doctors a neuro surgeon didnt see that happening. Who is right? Time will tell. I am too searching for the right answer on how to proceed.
Get second opinions 3rd opinions if necessary and research what they tell you. Then it is up to you when you hve all the facts as to what you feel the right thing to do is for you! good luck
 
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