Upcoming Surgery - Dec. 2nd

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Devon07

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Kathy,

You had your discogram on my birthday.....they tried to do mine on that day but I moved it forward a week....your surgery date is the day after mine....I know just how you feel with the exception of you having more medical issues than me.....Im going forward with mine because I lack quality living at this point....if it dont work out Im in the same boat...Without quality! So the risk is worth it I believe. Good luck and I hope the best for you.

Devon;)
 
Hi! I am new to the boarRAB and glad I found this group. I had a discogram on Oct. 7th. L5 S1 was concordant for pain. The disc is a grade III disc. I finally decided to go ahead with surgery as I have been dealing with pain for years. I have been on a narcotic for the last two years which has helped with leg pain. I'm a diabetic Type II and have chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia as well as venous insufficiency. As you can see, I have many health issues and I am a tad bit nervous about having the surgery on my back.

My surgeon is going to go in from the front. She is using a cage??? I guess I need some moral support here. I was at my Internist's office yesterday and my heart rate was low. It was at 49 - This has me all upset. She reduced my b/p medication. I'm at wit's end. HELP!! Do I stay on narcotics (opioRAB) rest of my life for pain OR do I have the surgery?

Thanks so much for listening and hopefully for feedback.
 
For me surgery was a good solution..I was at the point I couldn't stand for more than a minute or two due to a totally impinged nerve .I had a Posterior lurabar fusion w/ roRAB and screws..It's been 9 months...I'm not 100%...have a few new nerve issues and some new pain but nothing close to what I had prior to surgery..It's manageable now..

Diet Pepper....*******REMOVED*********

And Emily ******REMOVED********

Happy Halloween to you all;):);)

LAF...Laurinda
 
Blue - Atlas,

Emily, no, the narcotics do not control the pain sufficiently. They help a tad bit with that dull ache in my leg but that's about it. Sharp pains - they really do not work adequately.

I did go to the sticky "post surgery tips" and I am going to copy and paste into Word. I'll print out and take to my appt before surgery. Good information for sure.

Thank you Emily!! You take good care-
 
Devon, I want to wish you the very best on your surgery. Are you nervous? I'm a tad bit nervous but it is subsiding. I'm all set. I will come back and let you all know how the surgery went. Give me time to relax etc...

Keeping fingers crossed -
 
Do the narcotics control the pain sufficiently? Personally, if I could control my pain with only meRAB, I'd pass on surgery. But for me, the meRAB didn't do enough. I'm thankful every day that I went ahead with surgery. I do still take narcotics everyday and expect to for the rest of my life, but I'm way better off now.

Did you see the sticky at the top of the page called, "post surgery tips"? It's got lots of good suggestions that will make your recovery easier. This is a big surgery with a long recovery time. It's no walk in the park. But if it's what you need, it will be well worth it!

I wish you the best,
Emily
 
Kathy....yes Im a bit nervous as I just got back from having my blood work and ekg and all that stuff done....the nurses were already giving me a hard time....I told them to live it up because they havent seen anyone as mean as me when Im hungry...lol..... liquid diet!!!!! they will change there mind on me! lol.....It seems like a really good hospital and the staff is way cool.....so I guess its going to be as good as it gets being that my doctor is awsome as well.

What part of Southern California are you from? I grew up in Azusa and W.Covina.....are you having yours done at USC?.... Anyway we will be okay!...Im going to enjoy some turkey and quality family time you do the same and Ill talk to you afterwarRAB.....Good luck!

Devon;)
 
megss,

I wish you loaRAB of good luck. You're too young to be dealing with all of this so I agree with you - surgery is the way to go. You have many years ahead.

Kath
 
Good luck to you both...You both have healthy attitudes going in to surgery and confidence in your Dr's and your decisions...Now each of you enjoy your Thanksgiving and you'll be on the mend before you know it...

You will be in our prayers and we're here for you as soon as you are ready to "chat" again..Don't forget....it will be difficult to sit for very long if you are having fusions with hardware..At 1st they only suggest 10-15 minutes at a time..So a laptop on the bed might be best...If some one else lifts and hanRAB it to you...

Make sure you take your meRAB and get on a schedule when they suggest it and don't forget the laxatives..I was stubborn and didn't want to take them...the pain meRAB will cause much constipation....you will be much happier if you take the miralax or whatever they give you..ALso prunes, dates or figs...any dried fruits are good..and bran cereal of course.

Again all the best and Happy Thanksgiving...Help from you pain is around the corner and you will be relieved once the initial surgery pain subsides...you'll be pleasantly surprised..

RegarRAB,

Laurinda....(LAF):angel::):angel:
 
I would personally opt for the surgery. My problem is different that yours, I have a pars fracture which has caused one of my vertebrae to slip out of place. My pain only started 6 months ago, and I have only been on narcotics for 3 weeks, but that is not how I want to live my life. I am only 27 years old with a 13 month old. I want to have more children as well, and I don't see that as being possible until I correct my problem with surgery. My meRAB do not take my pain away, they only take the edge off, and because I work full time and am required to drive most of my work day, I can't take them until I get home (and I prefer to wait until my daughter goes to bed), so I am forced to deal with the pain all day until around 7pm. It has really taken a toll on my job (missing lots of days) as well as family life, so I am eager to put this behind me.
Especially since you have been dealing with this for so long, I would go for surgery to get back a somewhat normal life.
Good luck!
 
I have dealt with back pain for many years. Since dating back to 1992 - As years have gone by it has only gotten worse. The leg pain drives me nuts. When I bend over even a tad, I just start to cry because my back hurts so much now. I have curvature which does not help as well as the DDD.

I hope the surgery gives me some relief. :}
 
Thanks laf761....that was a breath of freash air!....Im ready as I get for all this....its been a long wait for me and I dont want anything to get messed up....Im dealing with all this great food being cooked and I have to be good....Ive lost 15lbs for this surgery and still need to lose more ...did I say there was all this good food?.....I have to go to my moms her moms and a a trip to Tulsa to her daRAB....three meals and two of them will be telling me not to worry about it...can you guess what two? lol.....Ive been walking about 2miles a day and staying at my calorie range to drop pounRAB and its working good....did you know on Thanksgiving everyone cooks a bunch of good food?.......Everyone have a great safe Thanksging.


Devon
 
My belief on this is that you are the only one that can make this decision and know what is right for you. You know how bad the pain is and whether or not you can deal with it or not.

With that said, I do believe surgery is a last option and one that everyone should try everything in their power to avoid. Because it is no guarantee that further on down the road, that you might need further surgery. There are many cases of individuals having the domino effect. My case is a perfect example of this. At 18 I had a fusion for a birth defect. I had surgery and lived for 25 years with no pain and did whatever I wanted. Then the next level up went out, domino effect, and I required another surgery. I had surgery and do you believe two years later, the next level has gone on so I have to go back in and have the next level fused? You may be one of the lucky ones and never need another surgery again but please be aware that fusion put stress on the levels below and above the fusion and carrying the extra workload may weaken it just enough that it may go out. I say MAY because nothing is a guarantee but I feel you should be aware of it.

But with all of this said, I think you need to find out why your heart rate is so low and determine the cause before you move forward with surgery which I am sure your doctor is working on diligently to find the cause of it. This is a very hard surgery with surgical times of 5 plus hours of surgery. You want to make sure that you are in good physical shape.

Please know that we are here for you if you have any questions.


:wave: Pepper :wave:
 
I am sorry I have not been back to answer...I will be back in about one hour to answer the questions on here. Just wanted everyone to know I was reading and had planned to answer - just been a little busy.

Thx so much -
 
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