Spondylolisthesis

M

Megss

New member
Thanks SpinAZ! I don't even know if surgery will be recommended for me yet. All I have is a diagnosis from urgent care. I have an appointment with an orthopedic on Wednesday so hopefully I will find out more then. From what I've researched, they don't recommend surgery unless the slippage is 50% or greater. All I know now is that I am in tons of pain. The pain is the worst in the evenings and is getting to the point that I have a hard time being alone with my daughter.
If there is anyone else out there I would love to hear from you.
 
Meggs,

From what my daughter's dr told us is that once you are slipped 50% or more surgery is pretty much the only option since your spine is so unstable. My daughter's slip was 33% and three drs recommended surgery because of her pain levels and the nonsurgical options didn't help her.

cas
 
There it is, I finally got my diagnosis. It's that big word in the title. I had an x-ray done yesterday. I was told the results were normal, but after a radiologist looked at it, they called me back today to tell me. I will need more x-rays and an MRI to confirm.
I need all the info I can get from those of you who have this or know about it. All I know is that it has something to do with slippage of discs, perhaps to the point that I will need surgery to have my vertabrae fused. The doctor told me that this is more common in people younger than me (I am 27). I am going to look up info on this but I would appreciate any feedback!
 
removed
Spondy isn't life ending. I have been living with a Grade 2 L5-S1 isthmic spondy for over 30 years. Yes, is does mean some probable changes in your lifestyle. Educate and inform yourself. Find a good doc who specializes in backs, one who is willing to work WITH you in managing the condition. Currently I get by with meRAB only, and by watching what I do to myself. Surgery may be in my future. But that will take care of itself when the time comes.
 
Thank you everyone-
removed it is just better sometimes to hear it from real people:)
SpineAZ, how have you been since the surgery? Any complications? Has your quality of life improved?
My pain has also progressed over the last 5 months, to the point that it is excruciating some nights. It is in my lower back, groin, and left leg. On the really bad days it also goes up my spine and into my rib cage. The best way to describe it is that it feels like someone is trying to crush my rib cage in, and crush down on my spine. I have been saying for months now that it feels like my back is broken, and, well, it kind of is. The pain pills I have been taking help a little, but not as much as I would like them too.
It would be difficult to change my lifestyle. All I do is work full time and care for my 1 year old daughter. I can't give up either of those. I am married, but my husband works different hours from me, so usually I am alone when caring for my daughter, with no help.
I am considering surgery as an option because I hate the fact that I can't take my daughter to the park anymore. Tonight has been awful because I did an extra errand...I went to the grocery store. I can't live like this, especially when I must chase around a 1 yr old.
Any more input would be appreciated!
 
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Thank you
 
So her pain was pretty bad with a 33% slippage? I can't sleep any more at night unless I take a pain pill because it hurts so bad. I will be curious to see what my slippage is. For me I first noticed pain about 5.5 months ago, and is had gotten so much worse since then. Perhaps I am progressing quickly? Did your daughters pain go anywhere else beyond her back? Mine is in my low back in the middle, on the left side, in my left buttock, in my left groin, and down my left leg. I also feel it going up my spine and in my ribs on the really bad days. I never get to rest, so maybe that is why it is getting worse so fast. I have not tried PT yet, but I have tried chiropractic, NASIRAB, and prednisone.
Tomorrow my daughter and I are going to the apple orchard for a birthday party and I am terrified! It is bad enough when I walk around the grocery store.
 
hi meggs,
I've had spondylilothesis since 2005 officially but who knows how long actually.
It's between L4-L5 and at a grade 1-2 slippage (25%). It's the vertebra that slips over the next vertebra, usually causing a disk herniation or bulge and nerve issues.

I'm so far living with the condition and not jumping into surgery. This is something you will want to look very much into before making any hasty decisions. Surgery can cause more problems and doesn't necessarily help the back pain but many help with leg pain and damaged nerves from becoming more damaged.

There's lots of info online and books at the library etc., and lots of posts here. I'm sure others will post who are in the same boat.
What is your degree of slippage. what vertebre are affected and when is your MRI?
You will learn a lot as you get more information. I hope you have found a good ortho or back doctor that will communicate with you. That's very important.
 
My daughter is one of the younger patients your dr was speaking about. She was born with congenital spondylolisthesis. She really didn't have any difficulty until she was about 11 years old. When she reached high school her symptoms worsened. First her dr put her on a few different nasiRAB. She didn't like the bad press they were getting and since she was only 14 she wouldn't take them. She went through numerous rounRAB of physical therapy, tried bracing and eventually we agreed to a spinal fusion. Her mri showed she also had stenosis along with her grade II spondy.

When she was 16 she had a two level fusion. At over three years post op she is a very lucky one. She is pain free and is living her life again. Her dr did tell her that he is hoping her fusion lasts a good 20 years but we know she may need additonal surgery down the line. It was a very hard decision for a very young person, but it turned out to be the right decision for her.

Good luck to you. cas
 
I've done quite well since the surgery - I think the fact that it stabilized everything helped a lot. I haven't really had restrictions beyond that which I'd have with the spondylolysthesis. Once you have a "bad back" you will always have some type of restrictions (being careful how/when you lift things, etc).
 
My daughter had terrible lower back pain and leg pain. She had been an dancer, but her hamstrings were so tight that she could come no where near touching the floor. She would come home from school and lie on the heating pad on the couch for a lot of the evening. Not what most high school kiRAB would do. When her slip increased is when her pain increased.

If surgery is mentioned make sure you get more than one opinion. We had three different opinions once her dr recommended surgery. We're lucky that they all agreed surgery was necessary, but they each would have approached the fusion a little bit differently.

I hope you had a good day with your daughter. cas
 
I have grade 2 spondy at L5/S1. I've had this condition for most of my adult life (I'm 43)...but the pain didn't start to get really bad until roughly a year ago. At that point, I had an MRI...which confirmed what I already knew, but also indicated some other issues such as DDD, and severe bilateral foraminal stenosis. All of which was causing some severe right leg pain (sciatica). I was referred to a neurosurgeon, who basically laid out my options - physical therapy, epidural injections, or surgery. I opted for PT...did a 6-week course of it...unfortunately, it didn't help. I'm guessing the PT didn't work, because I am already very active (I'm a triathlete) and exercise daily and was doing most (if not all) of the prescribed exercises already in my daily routine. I was not willing to go the surgery route, and I wasn't convinced enough of the success rate of injections, so that option was out too. I also didn't want to rely on pain killers for the rest of my life, although I did get a prescription for Tramadol and used it for about 6 months, before I decided to kick that habit. I basically took matters into my own hanRAB back in January 2008, and bought myself an inversion table to use at home. I had done some reading up on them and it seemed like a worthwhile option to try at the time. I started using it daily for about 4-5 minutes, first thing out of bed (after my in-bed stretches). I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, because it worked for me. My leg pain is completely gone. I'd say it took somewhere between 2-3 solid months of using the table daily, before I started to feel the pain diminish. I still use the table every single morning and usually again after a long bike ride (I'm an avid cyclist and often do 100-mile rides).

Inversion tables aren't for everyone and I'm sure there are plenty of people who will argue that they don't work or are even dangerous. But it worked for me and I've been happy with the results. Do I still have lower back pain? Sure I do, and that probably won't ever go away entirely due to the nature of this condition. But it's at a tolerable level that I can deal with, which is all that matters to me. That and the fact that my leg pain is gone...makes me one happy camper.

I'm proof that you can live and enjoy life with Spondylolisthesis and not have surgery in order to do it. Exhaust all of the conservative options first, before making a decision on surgery. Surgery should always be the last resort.
 
Thank you both for your responses. I am sorry that you too have to deal with this. It is no fun! There have been nights when I cry because it hurts so bad and really limits what I am able to do physically.

I really don't know anything about the extent of my condition. I visited Urgent Care yesterday, and thats where the x-rays were taken. The doctors there probably aren't qualified enough to really give me any info, plus they only took 2 pictures of my back, so I need more pictures before they can really tell what it going on. I have an appointment next week. It is an initial appointment so I doubt they will do the MRI and more x-rays that day.
My pain started 5 months ago, so who knows how long I have actually had this. At first I was told I had a strained muscle. I was given Naproxen (NASID) to take for a week which slightly helped, but the pain returned as soon as I finished the meRAB. I was then told by my regular Dr. that is was probably a herniated disc, so he prescribed Prednisone which did nothing. Yesterday I went to Urgent Care and am now taking Vicatin for pain management. I also tried Chiropractic care many many times over the last 5 months which did not help either.
One thing I am confused about.... Is this a disc issue or a vertebrae issue?? Or both? I feel like I am getting different information on the net. Another problem I am having is that my husband and I were planning on trying for a second baby this spring. How will this affect that?
I do not want surgery, but I also can't live like this forever, or take pain meRAB forever, and I just feel like I am running out of options. Of course I will know a lot more once I have some additional imaging done, but in the meantime I am frusterated and scared!
 
Thanks Cas-

I have been told by my massage therapist that my hip flexors are really tight, but my hamstrings are fine. Before I had my diagnosis he actually thought that was the cause of my pain. Did your daughter ever have problems with leg weakness or nurabness? I feel like my legs are going to give and I am going to collapse sometimes when I lift my daughter. And I ocassionally get nurabness in my mid back on the left side, usually when I wake up in the morning. Did your daughter get to dance again?
 
Mine was a grade 3 that seemed to progress a little over the period of about a year so I had my fusion in 1993. At that time I had pain radiating down my leg and it wasn't getting better so I wanted to go forward with the surgery. The good news is that often spondylolysthesis is well treated with surgery. You hear tons of statistics about how often back surgery fails - but those are the cases where the surgeons are "hoping they can help" the symptoms and find the cause if not already known. With spondylolysthesis they can clearly relate what they see to your symptoms and can help advise you on when/if surgery is needed or is even an option.
 
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