Questions for the long suffering

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Hi Ian,

I'm new here too and came to the board feeling about the same. My pain originally started in October 2006. It was a long battle just getting my doctor to refer me to a spine specialist/orthopedic surgeon. I have actually seen three now and went with the doctor who made me the most comfortable. It never hurts to get a second opinion either.

Finally July 7th of this year I went for my first transforaminal epidural for a very large bulge at L5/S1. I did not have good resultsa with it, injection made the leg pain a lot worse. On July 24th I had a Microdisectomy/Laminectomy. I had immediate relief the day of surgery and had a great 6 weeks. The only discomfort was from the incision and that was easy compared to what pain I had prior to surgery. Unfortunately I rolled out of bed wrong one morning and reherniated the disc just as bad as before. I am now scheduled October 1st for a Posterior Spinal Fusion w/PLIF.

I wish you the best of luck and keep your head up. I have been reading these boarRAB for months now and the information really helps. Try reading the post about Less stress around the house, there are great tips on making life easier for you. Also, this site has been a great help with knowing what questions to ask your doctor.
 
Hi my name is Ian I am 30, I would like to think of myself as a normal nice guy, I'm Married have a son who is 5 and have a job which is best described as waste management consultancy so I don't do manual work as such.
I'm probably just getting this off my chest so sorry if its not for this forum as its after 3am and as usual I cant sleep because of my back & leg. I have had a real bad back since Feb 2008 its now July 2008. I have been signed off work when its been real uncomfortable for perioRAB of around 3 weeks. I have seen company doctors & obviously my own GP etc. I suffer with a painful back, leg & nurabness in my leg but only on my right side.
I have been prescribed Amtriptyline, Diclofenac, Diazepam, Paracodamol & Naproxen all various doses and at different times... With the odd injection of Diclofenac at the local Hospital when things get a little more uncomfortable than usual. My company are very very supportive & have paid for 12 courses of Physiotherapy which I am half way through. My company are also changing my company car for me as the onset of this pain coincides with me changing my company car in February (to a car of my choosing). I am awaiting an appointment to have an MRI scan which I have pinned my hopes on as the light at the end of the tunnel. This might sound strange but I am worried that it wont pin point the problem and thus not offer any solutions to my problem. Its easy to say put it out your mind till its done etc but I have lived with this for 5-6 month now and if this don't identify the issue then I don't know how I will feel. Its ruined my quality of life and has impacted heavily on not just for my own life but my extended family as in my parents / in laws, my wife and sons god bless them & my frienRAB and colleagues. I don't think I have ever felt so low and ground down by something as I do at the moment, I rarely get "upset" but I feel real emotional about it all lately. I think I have wrote this here as I don't want to burden the people around me with the subject any longer. If anyone has been where I am now I'd love some pearls of wisdom and morsels of hope!

Best wishes
Ian
 
Welcome to the board!! Here you will find tons and tons of support and answers to your questions from those of us who have been where you are. I am sorry that you are suffering through the awful back pain. How did you injure your back? Have any x-rays been done yet? Hopefully the MRI will answer your questions and you will have some kind of idea where to go next. The pain can do a nuraber on the emotional being and really bring you down. Try to keep your chin up---keep positive thoughts---they do help. Have you tried ice therapy? Don't bend or twist or lift anything heavy as that can add insult to the injury so to say. Have you tried a massage therapist? That can relieve some of the stress in the muscles as well. Until the MRI results are in, there is not too much more to suggest. I wish you the best. Please keep us posted as to the outcome, and remeraber, we are all here for you.

Pat
 
Thanks for the reasponse.

From my results what do you envisage they recomend as a treatment?
 
I can certainly relate to how you feel. I was like you and very scared and confused when I first started internet searching and found this board.

I had the MRI which did not really show any nerve impingment except a slight one which should make my left leg hurt. My right is the one that hurts.

I went to Dr after Dr and finally to the NS whom was very nice and helpful. I often thought through all the months of different meRAB and Dr's that I could just lie and say my left hurts and they would do something.

Well I finally found out that I had spondy and a bilateral pars defect. When the Dr did the stablization surgery he told me he could have reached in and pulled out the vertebra as nothing but soft tissue held it in.

I was very lucky I didn't have serious movement.

I just want you to know that you are in the right place. The people here are wonderful and come here just like you did and for the same reasons.

Keep in mind that alot of previous merabers have healed and are out living their life. So success stories are rare but they do happen

Good luck with the MRI and hope to talk to you soon.
 
What procedures you need all depenRAB on your particular circumstances and the doctor who treats you. Each person may be offered different treatments. If you feel uncomfortable with what treatments are being offered to you by your spine surgeon I would definitely recommend getting a second and even third opinion. I would try to exhaust all non surgical treatment options available to you before agreeing to any surgery. Good luck!
 
So here are the results of my recent MRI from Septeraber 9th 2008.

Minor degenerative changes with a right foraminal disc bulge is causing narrowing of the exit foramina at L5/S1 with probable compromise of the exiting L5 Nerve. Normal appearance of the remaining exit foramina and the fecal sac. No abnormal cord.

I am 30 (If age makes a difference) and have been referred to a spinal surgeon by the way what procedure for though?

Any help Will be very much appreciated.
 
Ian
Your MRI looks a little similar to mine (but others here are by far the experts and will give you good insight) The reason I have chosen to respond is twofold; your initial post just sounded so much like mine in every way (low ebb emotinally, feel too young for this, afecting all parts of life, and general confusion), and I am UK based too for treatment so many be able to offer useful experience there (many posters here are US based). Firstly, the people on this site are amazing, and will help all your confusing questions. Keep coming here, keep asking questions, keep take info back to your doc. The spine specialist referral seesm right at present. That is where I was sent first too. He will make some decisions for treatment now based on this MRI, so at least you will feel some pinpointed action happening. Not much I know, but getting an MRI and resulting actions really helped me feel my treatment had at least started...
 
The doctor will want to focus on getting the irritation off that L5 nerve root. This compression on the nerve root is what is referring pain down your leg. If the foramen is the cause of the problem, the doc may recommend a procedure that would clean out that opening so that the nerve could exit freely. But he would probably recommend an epidural steroid injection or series of injections to see if the medicine could affect the tissues, getting them to shrink so that the nerve is not being "pinched." This is almost always done prior to the mention of any surgery. But each doc is a little different, so I am only offering an educated guess!!
 
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