DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Fun Stuffs...Possible Back Surgery

Well, for those of you who know me, you are already aware of the issues I have been having with my back. The week before Mother's Day I started feeling a "fatigued" feeling in my right leg. This progressed to extreme pain by Mother's Day and I ended up in the local Urgent Care and was put on steriods, anti-inflamitories and non-narcodic pain meds. By the following Friday I was still no better, so I called my family doctor. As he was out of the office, I was seen by one of his associates in his practice with him. I guess it was a fresh set of eyes looking at my chart, but it was the kick in the pants that my treatment needed. He put me on a different steriod and an anti-seizure medicine that is used with other meds to control seizures, but also used alone to help decrease nerve pain. He also gave me the number for a neurosurgeon and told me to make an appointment. I called that day and got my appointment set. When I was not any better by the middle of last week, I called and asked if we could speed the process along and do my MRI before my visit to the neurosurgeon since I know that my last MRI was in July of 2005 and the surgeon would want a new one. So yesterday I spent most of my early evening in an MRI machine getting scans on my hip and lumbar region. I was at work today and my doctor's office called me to give me the surgeon's phone number to set up an appointment, which I told them I already did. They faxed me over the report from my MRI and I now realize how bad it really is this time around. I have a 2.5 cm by 1.2 cm herniation (which the report classifies as "large") of my L5-S1 disc which is pressing on my right nerve root. I knew that I had a "slight bulge" in July of 2005...and since then I've had 3 epidural shots and been thru physical therapy and have still been in alot of pain. I continued doing my pt exercises and stretches when I started getting pain and they haven't helped at all. This past 2 months I haven't been able to sweep and mop my floors, do the grocery shopping, put laundry away unless someone takes the laundry basket into the bedroom and put it on the bed or take my child out to the park to play. I am getting to the point where I am snapping at people all the time, even tho I don't mean to, because I'm always in pain and it is wearing me out both physically and emotionally. I go to see the surgeon this Friday and am actually praying that he will say he will do surgery. I'm sick of band-aids (shots, physical therapy) all they have done for me so far is prolong the amount of time I've been in pain. This has been an ongoing issue for the past 5 years. The doctor that referred me to the surgeon is worried about nerve damage because of the length of time i've had this pinched nerve and the weakness and shooting pains in my calf and ankle. So I guess I'm in the waiting stages right now. I will let you all know what is going on Friday after I know more. As little as you guys see of me now, it will get a little less for a while...and then maybe a little more...if I have surgery I'll be off work for at least 4-6 weeks...lol!

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope everything goes without a hitch for you.

Good luck with your ailments. I pray for a easy recovery for you.

Aww, Traci, sorry to hear. Please keep us posted.

Well, I'm sorry about the ailment---but look at the bright side---you can probably get prescribed some super good pain killers---probably some oxycontin 80's or 40's. Or else you'll get some Dilaudid of MS-contin.

Either way the ball roles--you'll be quite numb to the world for awhile.

Your on neurontin huh? That stuff made me all messed up. I am on some new muscle relaxer and vic's still and am refusing the fusion. My t12-L1 is smashing down like a pancake and the l5-s1 is pushing back out,,,sux
I know me and u have gone thru similar stuff so trust me I feel ya. Hang in there kiddo!

You build a tolerance to it quick. I have been on percs and vicodin for 4 years now and all it does is act like asprin that actually works. If I am in extreme pain they give me morphine and that stuff now,,look out.

Oxy's are bad news and I refuse to take it. It gives me a helluva headache and doesn't work too good. I know some fools that snort them and even shoot them up. I don't get what the big deal is about them.

They make you feel great (until you do to much and think you are going to die, i.e. sweating, can't keep food down, can't stand up, etc.)---but THEY ARE SCARY. After a few days of continuous usage--YOU WILL experience withdrawal. The addiction potential is scary business.

I herniated 2 discs in 2003 that are hitting a nerve bundle that runs down my legs. 2 surgeries didn't help and I developed a lot of scar tissue thats all around my nerves that run down my legs and into my groin. I have been going thru Workmans Comp hell since then and until I go to court am screwed. WC is a f'in joke. It took me one year to geta MRI that showed a real bad herniation and the one disc re-pushed back out, and now it's been another year and everything they want to do has been challenged for no reason except they could. So I have been on every medicine known to man to help me cope with the pain and depression of being treated like crap Instead of sitting home milking the system I found another job and am in school and the pain I feel everyday is very bad,,just to do normal stuff. It sux.

Take care of you, Traci!



But I promise, I won't hug ya too hard.

WTH is a rolfer? I thought u meant golfer and spelled it wrong

I have some Lyrica left. I was on that too and it didn't do too much. It did make me drowsy so I took it at night. 2 of them made me feel weird and tired, but nyquil, well that stuff makes me happy and tired

They have me on ophenadrine that when you put it in your mouth it makes your tongue numb. It's generic for something thats milder than flexeral. It's kinda like skelaxin(sp) but better I guess. Try Ultram ER too. It's a non narc pain reliever I take in between the vics and it works pretty good. Leg pain sucks so bad. Mine does the same and it hurts worse than my back most times. Hang in there though, Just try anything u can before opting for surgery. I made that mistake and I wish I would have done anything but what I have had to do

Ultram is more of an anti-inflammatory, I always used to take Soma's a muscle relaxer--those were great.

Right which is good when your back gets inflamed and swollen. You can chew them too and get ripped (Ultrams) but thats not a wise thing to do. Somas make me feel drunk. I didn't like them.

I personally like to chew up oxy's and keep'em in my lip like a big wad of chaw. That will get you ripped.

That really works? I know a friend of mine told me to do that with vicodin instead of taking them normal but I didn't see the point.

After 5 years, I don't care what they decide to do...as long as I get some relief from this darn pain. I've done everything they have told me to do so far and it has done nothing but prolong the pain. If this doctor thinks surgery is my best option, as long as he's not trying to do a fusion, I'm not going to complain. I watched my dad go thru this twice...10 years apart. It's been 12 years since his last surgery and he's still pain free for the most part. He still has his sore days if he tries to do too much. My main concern is that they are talking about nerve damage. That scares the hell out of me. The loss of the use of my leg doesn't excite me at all. The report from my mri says that there is a risk for cauda equina syndrome. I'm already showing some of these symptoms and after reading about it and it scares me even more because it is basically irreversable if let go too long.
Link to webmd for ces
I'm just done playing. I will refuse a fusion tho. I'm too young for a fusion. It will only cause more issues in the long run with the disc above it. My best option right now would be for them to go in and clean out the herniation and see where it goes from there...unless they do a disc replacement. I was told in 2003 that when the disc replacement was approved by the FDA that it would be my best option then. At that point, my disc was just bulging, not herniated. Now it's gotten worse and it has deteriorated and is now herniated. Plus when I had my last epidural in 2005 I was told that my disc had started to form dimples and that it was likely that it would form scar tissue. Lovely stuffs huh?

Well, I am going to TRY to get some sleep. This lyrica doesn't even make me sleepy...so hopefully the vic and skelaxin will relax me enough to get a few hours before I have to get up for work. At least I'm still working thru the pain.

Yea, I'm kidding--thats a real crackheaded thing to do--plus it has to taste awful.

Knew some folks who did it though.

Hang in there Traci cause I am dealing with the same. But watch the discectomy. Thats what I had done twice and got a lot of scar tissue from it. They just clipped at and did a laminectomy and I got no help. Now it's fusion time and I told them no. But it's getting bad so pretty mush I am thinking along the same as you where I am beyond caring anymore. It's either that, a spinal cord stimulator, or pain meds forever.

Anyways, you have my info and feel free to IM, e-mail me, or call anytime!

I did have a few months of massage that felt good at the time but 10 minutes later the pain and swelling crept right back. I will check it out though and see. Being a workmans comp case though everything has to be approved so it will be denied or take 7 months to get into. Jerks.

Good Luck, I will pray for you. I recently hurt myself at work and am out for a while too. I get to see my doctor Friday. Hopefully we will both get good news soon.

Well,I'm no back expert. But from what I've read,one guy just wants some advice and discuss his back problem,while another guy is showing how you can use an illness to stay high and how to use the system to get the best drugs out of the deal.

How noble of you Tyler.

But we wouldn't have expected any less of you.......................

Back to the back..............................................
I underwent spinal fusion surgery last year. L3 L4 region. They inserted a rod and some nice shiney nuts and bolts in there. So yes,I have an extra set of nuts!


It was my first surgery EVER at 47 years old,so I was just a tad nervous,but it had gotten to the point that ANYTHING was better than how I was before the surgery! So to a great extent,I just wanted to get it done and know that the results HAD to be an improvement.

I'd have to say it was one of the top 5 BEST decisions I'd ever made in my life! My spine was pinched to the point it was shaped much like an hour glass and was very seriously thin in that area. Spinal stenosis. (Same thing Marcus McNeill has} It's a degenerative condition that progresses over time.

The surgeon said this had been a gradual process that probably accured over a 20 year period. But the pain wasn't my issue. I had done concrete work most of my life. I had been raised by a Mstr. Sgnt. and complaining about pain simply wasn't part of my vocabulary since my childhood. Well,it is now! Both my doctor and my surgeon came to realise that my threshold for pain is very high. So they informed me,in NO mixed words,that anything I percieve as above "minor pain",CALL THEM!


I also have degenerative disc disease in my mid back,but they don't reccomend operating there for a few reasons. It isn't threattening my spine. With already having a rod in my lower spine,combining the two would further restrict my mobility. Since pain isn't much of an issue with me,and no threat of spinal chord injury (at this time he said) there's no severe NEED to operate.

My problem was numbness. When standing for any length of time,I would start going numb from the waste down. Once I sat down for a little while,I was fine. Well,it got to the point that I couldn't stand for over 15 minutes without sitting down and the pain did increase immensly. But still quite tolerable for me. But it flat scared the hell out of me because of the numbness and having to sit down before I fell down. A very uneasy feeling.

I was taken out of work,which I basicly could no longer do anyway and fully diagnosed. It took a series of MRI's,a CAT scan and a spinal tap before they could gain a full understanding of everything that WAS wrong with my back before they operated. They still found it very hard to believe I'd been working at a physical job for so long in such a condition but hey,a guy's gotta eat!


Drugs? I was prescribed percaset,but have been having them cut down the number of them and the dosage since day 1. Doctors WILL turn you into a drug addict if you let them! I never took many of them accept for about a week or two after my surgery. Since then,I rarely ever find the need to take one.

My lifting is limited now to under 50 lbs.,but I feel GREAT compared to before. I can't lift over 50 lbs.,but I can do LOTS of reps,so it helps a great deal. At 48,you don't really worry about adding "bulk" in the muscles department anyway,just tone. So it works out great in that department too. Back surgery has came a long way. I walked over seven miles the other day,play basketball at the park and feel far closer to "normal" (from a physical standpoint of course),than I have since my mid 30's!

To sum it all up,if surgery is REALLY called for,from my experience,I highly reccomend it. The GOOD surgeons these days have it down to an art form. IMO-It's far better than being strung out on prescription drugs for years. I never took enough percaset over a period of time to EVER have any withdrawl and function VERY well without the assistance of ANY drugs at all now and it's been that way for some time.

It's your life and your back,so it's all on you as to the avenue you persue. But I'm thrilled with my decision and the results from that decision. It's changed my life for the better in so many ways I just can't begin to describe.,

JMHO

good luck bud. my wife just had a spinal fusion in march. (one broken disk, two slipping) and she's only 19 (birth problem we're guessing). its going to be a very very tough first week if your going to have the extent of work she had done, done to you. if you want any info from me/her pm me and i'd be glad to discuss

Sorry to hear the news.......backs can be a booger....mine has gone out a few times, but it has always got back to normal in time.

Living with back pain sucks. I am sure all will work out and you will be in good shape once you undergo whatever is needed.

What kind of treatments do you do?

Well, went to the neurosurgeon today. He said I need surgery and it is set for Tuesday morning. Because of the risk of cauda equina syndrome the surgeon wanted to get in there right away. He's going to do what is called a "flexible fusion" Instead of metal rods and brace they are going to put in 2 titanium/poly spacers that kind of look like shock absorbers...and it will allow me some flexibility that a traditional fusion wouldn't allow. With this surgery they leave the disc in, just clean out the herniation, so there is not all the pressure the surrounding discs. If he has to, he's going to put a collogen sponge in with my disc. He doesn't think that he will have to because from what he sees in the mri, I should have enough disc left. From what he was telling me, he's seen disc actually regenerate themselves after this surgery and young people do well with it. (Lee...maybe something to talk to your dr's about dude!) Anyways...that's the latest and greatest. Like I said...Fun Stuffs!!!!

UPDATE:

Received word from atomic about GTO:

GTO's surgery is complete and she's in recovery (soon to move into her own room). Will have more updates after atomic calls GTO's hubby later today

I don't know GTO - but best of luck in your recovery.

I feel bad hearing about so many people living in pain everyday. Sometimes we take good health for granted.

Wow...............good luck..............hopefully soon your pain will be gone man!

I will ask about that. When you see this I hope your feeling better and PM me your doctors name. If he is good I have no problem going down to Cincy if it'll do any good.

Glad to hear things went well. Hang in there cause it hurts worse for a few days and you will feel great!

Hey everyone! I have been going crazy just sitting/laying/walking around and thought I'd get online for a few minutes and see what kind of trouble I could get into. Just wanted to let you all know I'm ok and well on the road to recovery. My leg pain is pretty much gone now. I'm still in pain, but it's a different kind of pain. Right now it's mostly muscle pain from the surgeon digging through all my back muscles to get to my spine and some itching around the incision. They have me in a lovely back brace unless I'm laying down. That's fun stuffs!!! Anyways, just wanted to let you know I'm back on my feet, so to speak. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and well wishes...I really appreciate them!

I'll see you all around here and there!

Great to hear you are doing so well sissy poo!!!