Too young?

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aberry1979

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Hi everyone.

In Deceraber 2009 I was in a car accident that sent me into tail spin with my health. I was sitting stopped at a red light when this guy on his cell phone hit me at 45mph. Now I have three bulging discs in my back. Man I wish I knew the levels off the top of my head. Anyway, I'm 31 years old and my doctor thinks I'm too young for surgery although he's already put me through a nuraber of tests, including discogram and determined from there that I need a three level fusion. BUT he says I'm too young and because of my age he's not so sure he wants to do the surgery. Meanwhile I'm in terrible pain everyday, I can't get out of bed in the morning by myself, I can't even bend over the sink to brush my teeth. I've had to conform my life to this pain and I'm having to just deal with it. It is really getting to the point that I'm beyond frustrated and don't know what to do anymore. :( I can't help how old I was when this dude hit me, I can't wait until I'm 50 to have surgery. He keeps saying I may have to have another surgery if he does one now and I'm to the point I do not care about a "maybe" in the future. I just want to be better NOW. I'm living NOW not 10-15 years from now, I'm not even thinking about 10 years from now. I'm just thinking of how I'm going get up off this chair when I'm done making this post. :(

Has anyone else had this problem? Does anyone have any advice on what I can do? Please help!
 
First, welcome to the board. I am sorry that you were involved in an accident that is proving to be a life-changing event. While it is good that your surgeon is being cautious in proceeding with a multi-level fusion, I know it can be very frustrating to the patient.

I gather your damaged discs are in your lower back as opposed to your neck?

A multi-level fusion is a BIG surgery for anyone. It is always a good idea to gather information from several spine specialists before proceeding. That would be my suggestion to you. Because of the nature of the surgery, you want to be very careful in both the choice of doctors and in the hospital where the surgery would be performed. Do your research and do not rush into this decision.

Look for a fellowship-trained spinal surgeon, either an orthopedic spine specialist or a neurosurgeon who devotes the majority of his practice to issues of the back and neck. You can find resumes of almost all doctors on the Internet now, so take some time and do some research.

After receiving several opinions, you will know whether there is a valid reason why your surgeon thinks you are too young to have the surgery. But I imagine you will find someone who will agree with your viewpoint and will find a way to treat you. In the meantime you may need some help managing your pain.

You may need to travel to Norfolk or Richmond to find a surgeon who will treat you. Since you are young, and will be living with the results of this surgery for a long time, you want to do your best to find a doctor who will get it right. And perhaps you will be able to find a surgeon who will have some other ideas how to resolve your pain without performing a multi-level fusion. New techniques are being developed all the time. Perhaps one of them will be appropriate for you.

I wish you the best of luck. Please post often with your questions and concerns. There are many of us on this board who have had multi-level fusions.
 
Thank you so much for your reply. I got a second opinion and the doctor I saw said the same thing. That he agrees I need the surgery but that I'm very young and he was afraid that I was going to have to have another surgery down the road.

I have tried everything other than going to pain management and I just don't want that option. I have a very low tolerance for pain killers and everything I've read about pain management hasn't been anything I wanted to put myself through. I can't even take the meRAB I've been given previously here at work because I will just fall asleep sitting here. I can't drive while on them either. I feel like if I choose pain management that's just another stepping stone towarRAB the inevitable. Surgery.

I guess I am just really frustrated and I am sitting here thinking well no crap that I'm young but that doesn't change the condition of my back!

Yes it's in my lower back and not my neck area.

Thanks so much for your reply. I feel like I'm stuck!
 
I am a bit puzzled as to these doctors not wanting to do surgery because you are so young. Age has nothing to do with need and if surgery is the best way to help you, then I think it is your right to make that decision. I understand the viewpoint that doing it now might mean more surgery in the future but that is then and this in now. Being in so much pain doesn't give a person any quality of life and to me that's one of the most important factors in deciding on surgery.

Having said that, you need to realize that surgery might not be a "cure-all". Sometimes surgery is a success but the pt doesn't do well and continue to have pain....often the pain is different from what had been experienced. No one can predict who will have a successful outcome and who will not, so you really need to be prepared and weigh your options carefully.

See a few more spine specialists and do a lot of research before making a decision. Feel comfortable with the surgeon you pick and make sure he/she answers all your questions to your satisfaction and also research the hospitals that surgeon works in.

As far as pain medication goes, most peoples bodies will adjust to the meRAB and not make them sleepy after a few days. You might want to go into details about meRAB with the doctor and think about giving them a try for a while. Most of us who are on meRAB can drive after our systems adjust to the chemicals. You may find that pain management will buy you some time. You didn't say what kind of symptoms you are having or if you have any nerve compression, so that has to be taken into consideration as well. Lots of things to be considered in making such a big decision and make no mistake, a 3 level surgery is a BIG surgery and recovery can take months.

I hope things work out to your satisfaction and that you will stay in touch.

Blessings.

Carol
 
Yes nerves are a factor as well. I get a horrible pain down my left leg all the time because of the pressure on my nerve. I need to pull the report and see the exact issues that are going on.

Maybe I'm inside my head a little with the pain meRAB thing. I just have no desire to let my body become attached to anything like that. Or "used" to the medication. I've tried taking pain meRAB for weeks after this happened and I just could not seem to adjust to them. I think when I go to see the ortho next week I'll see about adjusting the dosage depending on what his course of action will be from here.
 
:confused:
I truly feel for you. This story made me cry. I am 52 yrs old and really no Dr has wanted to recognize that I have bulging discs and spurs and scoliosis. They tell me " I don't know what could be causing your pain." Only now I have found a pain management Dr. who is doing all he can and taking all the test he can to see the spurs and bulging discs etc... and he is trying to figure out what surgery or nerve block or both I should have. I have suffered so long. ( the past Dr's made me think I was crazy.)
But you find the right Dr that will take care of this NOW not later. Don't let them ruin the best yrs of your life like I did. Just make sure he is Board Certified and has a good reputation.
God Bless You
:angel:
 
If it's any consolation, I was only 34 when my severe spine problems kicked in, though it's just what happened to my body naturally, not from any accidents. My surgeon said my issues were unusual for my age, but since I had already tried every other option for my pain, surgery was my last resort. He certainly never told me I was too young to have surgery. I did end up having after 3 yrs or so of just getting worse and not being able to do anything anymore. It did help me a lot, but due to my body, my arthritis is getting worse and I'm having some of the same problems again. When I had my first lurabar surgery, my surgeon did tell me that it wouldn't help the arthritis and I may, in fact, develop stenosis again in the same area(S) or other areas and may end up needing more surgery in the future. I'm now faced with more surgery again, ugh.

I don't think age should have anything to do with it, especially if you've already tried everything else without success. You should probably find a good spine surgeon, like other posters have mentioned, and see what they say.
 
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