Lumbar curve and much more...please help if you can!

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beachgirl01

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Hey all,

It's been a while since I've been on here but long story short...I suffered with back pain for 3 years. I went through all non surgical procedures and the doctors, surgeons, specialists all said that all I had was a curved lurabar spine and 2 small hairline fractures. After the 3 years, my surgeon that i was seeing decided that he would operate and do a fusion. Once he got in he was blwon away. I had crushed nerves like he had never seen before, a whole bunch of broken bones in my lurabar region, 2 slipped discs and a gap in my lower spine. Anyhow all that was fixed. Things were good for about 2 weeks after surgery and then my pain started to return. I saw my surgeon, had a regular xray done and found out that i had a broken screw (my first surgery I received 4 screws and 2 roRAB). I needed another surgery. This one was just over 10 hours. They had to re-do the entire surgery, new hardware, new fusion all that. They went in through the back, then the front and then the back again. It was a crazy surgery. Now I am having more problems then ever. My replaced disc (cadaver bone) broke and I need yet another surgery. It won't be until the fall sometime.

I am wondering If there is anyone out there that has had a lurabar curve corrected...how did it go, how are you now, what kind of surgery was it, what kind of hardware did they use all that stuff.

My main concern is that when my surgeon goes in to fix my broken disc and he wil also look to see if there is anything else that neeRAB to be fixed too. But I'm worried that if the curve in my lurabar spine doesn't get fixed then I will never feel better. My surgeon says that it cannot be fixed. My spine is quite different fromt the "average" spine, it curves and goes in, in a funny (bad) way and that's why he says it can't be done.

ANYONE that can offer any advice or opinion please do. I would greatly appreciate it as I am starting to get really concerened as the surgery is approaching, I know it's still a couple months away but it seems like it coming up fast and yet based on my pain it seems like eternity! I'm sure you all understand that!

Thanks for listening, please help!

Beachgirl ;)
 
If I were in your shoes I would look for a major teaching hospital and would have a consultation with the doctor that specializes in adult spinal deformities. It sounRAB like your situation is complex and that it will take a highly trained specialist to be able to give you the best options and chance for recovery. I would certainly not return to the surgeon who tells you that your condition cannot be fixed.:(
 
That's thing though...my surgeon is highly reccommended and considering my situation he worked miracles with all the problems I originally had. THe hospital that I go to is the Unniversity Hospital. My surgeon has years worth of experience, he has worked in a nuraber of States (New York) and now he is in Canada, (where I live). I totally trust him but I agree with you that maybe I should seek another opinion but it worries me because I don't really know how to find the oerfect surgeon and not one that well isn't!

Thanks so much for your reply, I appreciate it ;)

Beachgirl
 
Hey Beachgirl! Welcome back!

I'm sorry you're still having such problems. You went through so much with your last surgery, and you're so young! Are you able to work at all? Is your family being supportive?

My problem is different from yours, but I just wanted to say hi and wish you the best.

Emily :wave:
 
I thought you name looked familiar!!

I strongly recommend obtaining another opinion especially since this doctor has been in already twice -- you have given him two times to get things right in my opinion.
 
Hey guys!

Nice to hear from you. I remeraber you two as well ;) Thanks for posting.

I am not able to work at all. I have a real hard time just getting around the house, I can't even "work out" now, it's been about a year since I had to stop. I started swimming last Noveraber and I just loved it so much. I use to swim competively so naturally it's the perfect thing for me. But a couple weeks after starting, I starting getting problems my left foot. I had tendonitis as a young teenager and it started up again and it made it impossible to continue swimming. I was/am really bumed about it. I really wish I could swim. I need to exercise and I want it. I strongly believe that when one is in the our situation, it's is imperative that we stay as strong as we can. Our muscles need to be in top shape so that they can help compensate for all our other problems and in turn make it a little easier for us to get around. That being said...life is pretty difficult right now, I do have great support around me (for the most part anyhow). My boyfriend proposed this past March!!! I'm very excited about that. We aren't planning on getting married until late Spring of 2010. Reasons being, I have to wait until after my surgery. As we all know, no one reallyh knows how long recovery will take, then rehab and all that stuff. If I were to book the venue and all that stuff I think that would be foolish because what if my surgery gets pushed back, and recovery takes longer and all that. As soon as I am recovering I will be planning our wedding and hopefully that will help me recover.
Is it really too much to ask for someone to get married, and have kiRAB. That's all I want out of life now. Things have changed and I was a workaholic but now I have realized that all that matters is family and I am hopefull that we will be able to have 4 kiRAB. However we recently got a chocolate lab. She is a handfull! I have been in much more pain since we got her. I guess cause she goes after everything she sees in sight and I have to bend down and take things out of her mouth and all that crazy puppy stuff, so it makes sense to me that I am doing more then i was doing prior to having her and it really is affecting my pain. Anyhow my point is if she is so hard on me, how the heck will I be able to have and be able to be an active mother to our children?!? That scares me. I can accept the fact that maybe I'll never be able to work but I cannot accept not being able to be a very involved and active mother with our kiRAB. Any thoughts on that???

I do think that a second opinion is a good idea however I do like the fact that my surgeon has been in twice and he knows what he has done already and why. Any other surgeon that were to operate would really be in for a challenge. It's not like all i have is a nice clean fusion in there. There are so many problems and curves and stuff. It worries me but so does another surgery with my surgeon and that's mainly because he isn't very optimistic that things will get any better. I'm just afraid that he is missing something.

Does anyone know anyone or does anyone have the same problem that I do with the cuvature in the lurabar region and if so what have you or that person had done?

Thanks for writting you guys!! It's nice to see that you guys are still on here (well sort of, I guess it would be nice if you weren't cause that would mean that you weren't suffering anymore, but you know what i mean). How are you guys doing? What's been going on?

Talk soon!
Beachgirl ;)
 
Hi beachgirl01 sorry to hear about all the troubles you are having with your health.

About your problem with the curvature of your spine, do you know what kind of curvature problem you have, there is scoliosis which is a sideways curvature, or excessive lordosis which is when the natural curve that is convex to the front is to large, or a lack of lordosis this is when this curve is absent.

these types of curves are common in back pain sufferers, scoliosis can either begin in childhood or can be adult acquired, usually if it is adult acquired the curves do not progress enough for it to be considered necessary for surgical correction this does not mean that it wont cause problems.

Scoliosis is a controversial subject in the medical community this means that there is much disagreement as to the cause , the appropriate treatment, and whether or not is causes symptoms.

Its to bad that you cant swim any more it sounRAB as though it was doing you some good as far as your surgeon goes its really a difficult decision you should do everything you can to make sure that he is one of the best people in his field and is treating you appropriately.

whishing you all the best.
 
Hi there,

Thanks for the response. I have lurabar lordosis. I don't know what degree but you can clearly see it when you look at my back. It's been a problem for a long time. When I had my first x-ray over 6 years ago, that's what they diagnosed me with. It has gotten significantly worse over the years and I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. Do you know much about this? I know what it is and so on but I don't understand why my surgeon says that they cannot operate on this problem to fix it. I don't know if it's because my spine is so screwy that he just wouldn't have a good outcome or what. That's basically what he told me. Not only is there lurabar lordosis but it also curves in a different way. I guess it's pretty twisted. So I was just wondering if anyone has had lurabar lordosis surgery and wha exactly was done and what exactly was teh diagnosis prior to surgery. I'm sure that lurabar lordosis surgery exsists but I want more info on it so I can talk more about it with my surgeon when i see him next.
I really respect my surgeon, I know that he is the best that there is here so if I wanted to I would have to go elsewhere for another opinion. That would be fine. I was willing to pay thousanRAB just to go to the States to get another opinion. However I was a little turned off. I had sent my entire medical file to them including all scans from the past 6 years. I told them what was being offered to me here as far as my next surgery so I simply asked them, because the cost was so high, the consult itself was expensive but the surgery was going to be upwarRAB up $60,000. So I just needed to know if they could offer me an alternative, a different surgery. I told them that I did not expect details but simply can you offer me something other then what is being offered here. Their response was yes you are a good candidate for surgery. So I explained it all again and they refused to tell me if it would be different or not. I made the decision that I couldn't justify spending the $ to go there just to hear that they would do the same procedure. Now I am wondering if maybe I should go anyhow because i might end up regretting it. My other option might be to try and find a doctor here at home but in a different province. I'm not sure how that would work but I think it's something I am going to look into. Lets just say if my next surgery doesn't give me the results i need to lead the life I want, I will always regret not going further and getting at least a second opinion. Because I've already had 2 major surgeries no one is going to be willing to operate on me after a third. THe risks just get too high, scar tissue is built up like crazy and because scar tissue looks identicle to nerves, doctors are hesistant to operate because the risks of many major problems are there. There are many, many, major risks even with your first spine surgery but as the surgeries rise so do the risks. It's a scary life.

Thanks again so much for responding. I appreciate your opinions and information. If you can provide anything else, I would greatly appreciate it and or if you know anyone that has had lurabar lordosis surgery, please send them my way ;) Thanks so much. Take care.

Beachgirl ;)
 
Hi beachgirl01 corrective surgery for excessive lurabar lordosis, and other curvature problems of the spine is sometimes attempted, but it is not clear to me in the literature how effective these procedures are, even if the spine can be somewhat straightened through the surgical implantation of roRAB, it does not mean that the pain will always be reduced, or eliminated.

When your surgeon says it curves in another way i would think he is probably talking about scoliosis, people with curvature problems often have abnormal curves in all three planes, that is, from front on like you, scoliosis is to the side, and a twisting about a vertical axis.

Bracing and casting are also used to try and straighten, and limit progression of the abnormal curves.

did you have these problems as a child? or an adolesent?

Good luck beachgirl.
 
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