NeuroTalk Support Groups - L4-S1 Fusion Success Story

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- - L4-S1 Fusion Success Story (https://www.neurotalk.org/spinal-disorders-and-back-pain/15857-l4-s1-fusion-success-story.html)

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Originally Posted by kiwimike (Post 81241)

Firstly i just wanted to post this to encourage all those out there that are thinking of having spinal surgery because there are good success stories out there. Before i went through mine i had read alot on the internet about peoples horror stories and it almost put me off having it. but the constant thoughts of suicide were annoying me and i didn't want those things in my head anymore and i thought it surely can't get any worse than it is now. So i had a L4-S1 posterolateral fusion with instrumentation and now 3 months later i am pain free. Please be encouraged , these guys can get it right, sure there are horror stories out there and i know that those people to can be fixed, just hang in there (thats you Pam :wink: ). And to those who are thinking about it please go for it, because you don't want to carry on as you are with pain and always think to yourself, "i wonder if the surgery would have fixed it ?" , i waited 10 years before i finally had the courage to go through with it and i wish i had done it years ago.

This was briefly my situation somedays my pain was bearable , other days I could hardly bend over or climb stairs, (the day I was to have the op in hospital I felt great , always the way though isn’t it! , but I still went through with it)

Heres a few tips if you do decide to go through with it.

1. Firstly ask around about surgeons, find a good one ,ring around as many medical places as you can and ask “who’s the best spinal surgeon?” I managed to speak with a patient of one surgeon who raved about her op and how good this guy was (she had the same problems as me and had the 2 level fusion done to fix it and never regretted it) so I went with him in the end.

2. If you have the op TAKE IT EASY !!!!, no running, jumping , lifting for at least the first 3 months, this was hard for me as i am an active person, but fight the urge!, the best thing you can do is walk, just a little to start with , then go further and further each day.Listen to your body, it will let you know if you over do it (i had this happen twice) I have only just started light running after 3 months but will continue to not do much up until month 6. There is still lots of healing going on inside you, even though you may feel great, TAKE IT EASY PLEASE! , i can not stress that enough. This is major surgery and your body needs lots of time to heal , don't stress it out by thinking that you feel great after 2 months and can do whatever you like. I laid out on the couch for the first 3 weeks and just watched movies, the only thing i did was my walk each day and i believe this aided big time in a successful recovery.

Well that's all for now, if anyone has any questions, please ask me!! and please all those who still have issues from things that have gone wrong , hang in there! and all those considering this type of surgery , as long as you have exhausted all other options (ie physio, chiropractic, orthopaedic methods just as i did as surgery is the last option) then go for it and i wish you the best!

Cheers
Mike :)

PS Don't expect to end up so your as good as you were when you were 18 cause i'm def. not! , but i'm active again without pain and i'm happy with no more suicide thoughts at all.My goal is to beable to play soccer again, i am aiming to play my first game on the 1 year anniversary of my operation.

It does my heart good to know that there are at least "some" that have good results with your level of back surgery.

For me, it was not the case. I was in moderate pain most of the time pre surgery and had some severe pain from time to time but only when I did things I should not be doing.

After my S1/L5 rods/screw etc.....I have been in severe pain ever since.

Before surgery I seldom took pain meds..........now I am on them 7 days a week and still stay in more pain than before surgery.

Again, I'm glad someone had a happy ending.

Congrats,

Rake

Thank you for the post. Surgery can turn out just fine. I think in general we hear more bad than the good. Go for the surgery. Not trying when things are bad, condemns you to that pain. At least with trying the surgery there is a great hope that pain will be reduced. I hope you have great success with yours. ginnie:grouphug:

Rake,

I went down a similar path. 10 years of pain, L5-S1 herniation and finally rupture. Couldn't take it anymore and went for a micro-discectomy and partial lamenectomy (sp?). Temporary success and then another 4 years of pain. Tried every sport & therapy known to man. Then a year ago a friend talked me into cycling. Absurd I thought but he was relentless. I've now been riding for a year, 50+ miles per week (not a lot but lots of hills) and I am virtually pain free. from the first ride it just worked. Illogical to be bent over on a bike but it worked. Not that it will work for you but point is to keep trying and hopefully you will find something that will work. AS to surgery, my surgeon told me simpley this; we are like cardboard and once cardboard has been bent it is never the same. So I'm not as big on getting cut as others. And btw, I went to 4 different surgeons and all told me I needed to be fused. Go figure but I rode 15 miles this morning and will probably go another 10 this evening......

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrctherake (Post 1014254)

You said ask anything LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwimike (Post 81241)

Thanks for the post. Mine is in the same area. Were they doing disc replacements when you had yours? Cannot find too many who have had one and would like to think this is an option.

so I had my 6 month check up today. Dr says everything looks good. Woo Hoo.. I've been feeling pretty good lately, even after 60 hour weeks at work. I was able to get in a 4 mile easy run today..have my sights set on the 15K River Run this comming March.
Any of you folks still going thru the crap , I hope this gives you some hope for the future..

Stay Strong Everyone....Mike

interested and thankful lurker...

hi all. I have been reading this thread for quite a long time. i've been feeling quite down and depressed about constantly increasing back and buttock pain that i've had for around 6 years now. My most recent MRI shows degeneration and some bulging at the l5-s1 level. i am on painkillers almost everyday and i hate it. reading this thread gives me hope that 1 day i may be able to achieve a pain free existence. My last treatment was facet joint injections and they didn't really do anything. The worst thing at the moment is that i have a 14 month old son and really don't feel like i can take care of him it makes me feel like a failure as a father. Mum has to do everything everything. She is an angel and is incredible, but it makes me feel like such a letdown to her.

i have a follow up appointment with my Ortho surgeon on the 13th of january and i'm going to discuss trying to have one more focused go at physio therapy. i still religiously do stretching and strengthening exercises most days walk most days and manage to swim usually up to about a mile and a half a week. it's really disheartening to think that all the hard work isn't really doing anything especially as i seem to be getting worse as time goes on.

thanks again for letting me introduce myself and for all the posts that the inspiring people have put on this thread. my name is Adam from the UK - I hope to be able to use this thread as a source of of support and inspiration just as others have over the last ten years. Thanks especially to Mike for keeping it up for so long.

Thanks all, and happy new year.

Hi, I am Grace. I am scheduled for the same surgery the 29th of January - 5 days away. I am confident in the surgeon, and hospital, but am very nervous about coming home. You do encourage me, since I have been in pain since 1989. Thanks for your post.
Please keep in touch; although I will be off line for a few weeks.
Grace:hug:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grace (Post 1045873)

Good luck with your surgery Grace. I've been recommended the same now by my surgeon. Please let me know how it goes. I'm rooting for you.

dec 2013 anterior posterior L5-s1 disectomy fusion

I am 6 weeks post of anterior posterior L5-s1 discectomy fusion. I had it done at a university hospital with a neurosurgeon. Its a roller coaster. Last week stopped pain killers and for a few days my sacral buttox hurt with nerve pain in my left foot and ankle.
I walk a lot around the house. Hard to sit still. I try to keep up to prevent the scar tissue too. When will I see a difference in less of a roller coaster. I go back to my job which is physical in a kitchen march 13.

Neurosurgeon said xray looks great and he put a spacer and Bone graft from my left hip. Im wearing a non invasive bone stimulator.

Erica

Are you taking any PT. That would be a great step before you go back to work. I started at 4 weeks. I thought it was too soon, but actually the PT felt good! Much of it was healing massage. ginnie:hug: