Life after surgery..

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lilly66
  • Start date Start date
L

Lilly66

Guest
Thank you for such a meaningful reply..If the pain continues, I will request another mri w/ contrast. I believe the micro-d surgeries definitely gave me relief..prior to the surgeries, i was in the worst pain of my life that spread throughout the body. I will figure out my path, hopefully soon!
 
Hi Spineys, I know I have posted before, but I am in so much pain.
I have had (2) micro-d surgeries in the past 2 1/2 years for a large herniated disc resting on a nerve. I am suffering so much lately. I am completely unable to stand (be on my feet) for more then 2 minutes at a time. It literally feels like my back is breaking, painful, burning etc. And when I sit, after standing I want to die. I am going on 4 years of back pain and not to be pessimistic, I don't see me ever being pain free. I am only 33 years old!

Thanks for your advise, thoughts etc!
 
Dear Lily,
I completely agree with Pepper and others... I would definately go and see some other opinions. If you decide to do it - make sure you use DRs not in your area. Why?
After my first fusion i was not doing well at all and after about 6 month I went for second opinion in my area -was i mistake since all Drs know each other and and instead of giving me an honest opinion he asked me what is my surgeon thinks is wrong. This was it and waist of my time and money.
Believe or not, it took me a lot more than second opinions to finally get answers to my questions and get to the root of my problem - my surgery failed, but my surgeon would never admit to it. He wouldn't admit to my nerve damages in my legs and feet either and I had to go and search on my own to confirm diagnoses.

Anyway... if you are in so much pain - you need a good PM DR. Believe or not, but PM Dr like everybody else: some of them fair, some of them bad and there are plenty of them a really good carrying DRs.
Your pain must be under control, surgery is the last resort and not always the answer... so look for a good Dr who will be able to help you.

Best of luck to you and I hope you will find the answers you are looking for.:angel:
 
Lily, I want you to know that I can't feel your personal pain but I am not new to pain either. I feel compassion and sympathy toward your pain since I have been suffering since 2004.

You said that you have had two surgeries. May I ask if they are the same doctor? Have you had a second opinion? Sometimes just getting a fresh set of eyes to look at your case can be extremely helpful.

Do you have a good pain mgmt program?

If you tell us a little more about your history and location/types of pain we might be able to help you a little more.

In the meantime, I will lift you up in prayer and pray that you find some relief soon. :angel: :angel:
 
The level was L4/L5..I had a 6 1/2 mm herniated disc. Is fusion surgery truly the only surgery to help back pain? Whereas the Micro-d is for the leg, in hopes of helping the back?
 
I had an artificial disk put in at L5 S1 and it was a in Oct 06 and it has been awesome..I would do it again...I could hardly walk as I was bone to bone and the pain was so bad..I tried therapy and injections but they didn't help at all. I had almost immediate relief from surgery but it took about three months for the surgical pain to go away. I am so glad that new technology is here! brownc501
 
oooh. ouch. I'm sorry to hear you are in pain. Have you tried icing? I have two big gel-pack made by empi. It helps a lot. I had a microdiskectomy 3 weeks ago. I hope you feel better soon.

Just remeraber, YOU WILL GET BETTER! Either on your own, or from another treatment. It is just a matter of time, and you seeing the right doctor. I hope that gives you some hope because it's true.
 
Hey Lilly check out the new TOPS device , if I had a choice I would of went with this over my fusion , its new but looks very promissing .. Its a fusion with flexability. SounRAB pretty cool to me.. I think when you get tired of all the pain and nothing takes it away you'll decide to have the surgery. But I would have the fusion for my last option.. Please look up the TOPS system and read about it..

Hope all the people considering fusion reaRAB about this before its to late.. Wish I had options .


Shawley
 
Thanks Pepper, you always have such strong compassion for others, thank you! The same Neurosurgeon did the surgeries, I reherniated 6 wks after my 1st surgery. I have seen a pain mnmgt (post surgeries) doc and he gave me a nerve block, which only gave a few days of relief. The only thing that gives me relief is Vicodin. I have to start physical therapy again. I exercise often, walking helps. I don't eat much sugar as that causes inflammation.

At this point, I am wondering if I should go back to seeing my spine specialist. But I am sure he will just offer me a fusion and I want to avoid that on all costs...
 
Hi Lily. Sorry your Micros didnt work well for you. This is quite common. Lily what level is it?

None of us want the surgery until we get to a point of desperation basically. It comes down to tolerance and quality of life in regarRAB to surgery.

I believe surgery must be a last resort. All forms of non-surgical treatments should be tried and failed to produce sustainable pain relief before surgery is truly thought on. But Something to think on though. Regardless of which disc it is and you've already had 2 micro-d's already.. I would imagine that disc is getting shaved down and lost height, which in turn puts a great deal of stress on all the other discs above and below. The longer your spine is stressed in not in a normal height, the greater risk of other discs herniating or bulging or the cause of your spine shifting out of position entirely due to instability at that level.

A fusion could correct these issues and could possibly resolve your pain issues. It isn't a guarantee at all, and my odRAB were only 50/50 to it helping me. But I am actually 85% improved and I'm working toward 90% at the moment. I would do the fusion all over again if needed and wished someone had done the discogram years before and could have possibly got a bit more out of that time period than I did with all that pain I was in at the time.

If the injections and other non-surgical remedies produce good results for you and your body is healthy otherwise, you may not be ready for any surgery yet anyway. But if you ever get to that impass of do I or dont I.. just make sure you make it with a clear thought. Once you make that choice, it's done and quite lifting and liberating.

I also hope the PT helps you some as well. Here I am two years post op next week and I am back in PT again to get some better muscle control and also treat me for a rotator cuff (shoulder) sprain I was just diagnosed. I guess I must of beat the crap out of my shadow, doing my upper body exercises and some airboxing. How on green earth I sprained my shoulder doing that I will never know! Such a delicate flowers we become! hehehe.

Well you keep up with the PT and the injections and hopefully those will bring you some sustainable relief. At some point you may have to take the plunge of some addtional surgery to help you more.
 
Back
Top