Its reassuring to read some positive stories about this procedure. Im a month out from my operation and am doing as much research as I can to prepare myself. My story is similar to many on here. I have been living with severe lower back and stabbing leg pain for 14 years. Have the bottom 3 discs all ruptured and there is narrowing in each of these levels of my spine. Im hoping for the best and am completly confident with the surgeon Ive decided to go with. All the best for those going through this struggle. Its something I wouldnt wish on my enemies.

Dear Mike,
Could you tell me what was wrong with your back that you had this surgery? The neuro told me that there is nothing he can do for me. I beg to differ and I guess I need to get a second oppinion. Arthritis is eating away my lower spine and so it is narrowing very bad on my nerves to my legs. I have severe pain and it all started about late 80's. Now it is so bad that I can't even walk very far, stand or sit as well as swimming. Everyone says to get into swimming but when I am using my legs for a period of time the same thing happens when I walk or sit. Get the picture? So what am I supposed to do, sit back and wait till the nerves are totally pinched and I end up in a chair? NOT! I can't sit very long now. Anyway drop me a line and let me know what caused your trouble. Thanks so much, Angel

Hey Angel, they couldn't actually tell me what was wrong with me (they suspected scoliosis but weren't sure) , there were segments of my vertebrae that had turned black and died so to speak (you could clearly see it on my MRI)....and thus the disc's had shrunken and weren't doing the job anymore, but every other vertebrae and disc looked fine...so they put the rods in and its been nearly perfect ever since.

All the best mate and i hope you find a breakthrough....

Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike;

I made the ultimate mistake looking for spinal fusion info online after being diagnosed with spondy of L5 with a fracture to boot. Talk about horror stories! OMG I was in tears thinking my life was OVER. I am 43 and extremely active (former fitness competitor and bellydance teacher) but the pain has made those things very difficult. Tomorrow I have my 1st consult w/ a surgeon (I'll be consulting 2 additional, also). I cannot thank you enough, and the others who have contributed their stories, for taking the time to write it all down for the world to see all is not lost. I have had other surgeries (unrelated to this) so I understand the importance of recovery, but the fusion seems like it takes soooooo looooooooooong!! Could you please tell me, exactly how long were you down for after surgery? I mean laid out flat completely helpless and dependent on others for assistance? And once you got home (it was a week later, correct?) how was the pain on a scale of 1 to 10?

You can probably guess I'm trying to gauge how long I'll be down for. I know I won't have any performances in my near future, and that's all right, but if I have to be in bed for weeks and weeks I'll go absolutely BONKERS!! I"d like to at least be able to go to work and sit at my desk and do paperwork!

Do you think that's too much to ask?

I was released for light work in March [meaning desk work as I am a lawyer] after my first foray with the fusion 6 January 2006. I still wore my brace, inspiring a few chuckles, but then I am known as one with a sense of humor while also hard pushing to get back into the arena. So, with short days, a smile to have returned, and such.... I regained my work, first taking a flight to catch up on cases I was handling in May thereafter.

Now, for other reasons that is not the end of my story, but I felt GOOD at the time to have resumed the office while not letting IT beat me. For you I pray the resumption of desk work will be both allowed and rewarding after a successful procedure if you go ahead.

I did have residual numbness below the knees which persists to this day, so the control for belly dancing I certainly would not have, along with the less flexible body due to the fusion. That is a goal you will need to discuss with your surgeon.

May all be well for you,
Mark56

Heather, let me give you a success story to cheer you up. I am 4 months post-op for an L5-S1 spondy (pars defect fracture) and life is good. I had the surgery on a Tuesday and that Saturday I took my last narcotic. Within 2.5 weeks I was driving short distances and going to work (desk job). Within 6 weeks I was able to travel (fly) for my job again. I had an L5/S1 fusion with screws/rods posterior, an interbody cage, bone graft along side the rods (from the ground up laminectomy, no hip bone used). Check out my post "L5-S1 Fusion - EXCELLENT so far" for more details. You WILL NOT be lying in a bed for weeks. The doctors want you up and walking, I was doing so the day after surgery and was walking about 3 miles within a week of surgery.

Hello Mike,
Your story gave me courage to do the surgery, with expectation to recover almost 100%. I had postero-lateral inter-body fusion PLIF between L4-L5 vertebrae on the 1st of August, 2011. I undergone this operation after only two weeks post disc herniation!!! MRI showed that 75% of my disc was in the nerve canal. Standing up after sitting took some time, getting up from the bed in the morning was also a process. The only thing that was scaring me is that most of the patients suffer at least one year before doing this type of major operation. However, my doctor, here in Kuwait told me I can wait as much as I want but the sooner we do the surgery the better, to avoid any future re-occurrence that could cause loss of bowel movement and even temporary paralysis. I didn't want to take any chance! So I did it. I was off pain killers 12th day post-op. I will resume to my office work after one month after the surgery. I have no pain because the nerve was decompressed. I have tightness around the wound but that would be all. I sometimes wear after-pregnancy belt (rubber belt) just to remind me that I had a surgery to restrict me from sudden moves. This doctor was discouraging me to wear any type of back-brace so that my back muscle work and strengthen naturally while walking. The success of the operation depends on how long you have been suffering from pain i.e. the longer you "torture" your nerve, the more you will need to fully recover to be pain free. Of course subject to your condition too. But don't loose hope. Now, I will have to wait for fusion to take place, to adhere to doctor's orders meaning to walk as much as possible and then after 3 months I have X-ray to see if I fused or not. So wish me luck.
For all of you out-there that are still waiting to do the surgery, please stop reading horror stories as you are going to be scarred to death and then the positive outcome of the surgery will significantly reduce. Be positive, hope for the best as I am waiting for you to write your success story!

Good luck to all and God be with you!
Adriana

I had a l5 s1 fision in 2008. It took about 2 weeks until i was able to care for myself! Did physical therpy 3 months after fusion surgery!i About 3 months worth!!I was in good shape at the time now about 20 lbs over weight!! My Legs still Hurt have shooting pain numbness!! Found out i know have a disk buldge at l4 and a central disk herniation at t7-8. The problem with fusions it wears out other areas in your spine!

Thanks for the responses for my inquiries regarding recovery time. Things moved quickly since my last post in June. I'm not one to wait around; once I make a decision I move quickly, so here's what's gone down since then:
I had fusion of L4-L5-S1 on July 20 2011. I keep hearing double fusions like that take longer to recover from and I think they're right. I am almost 6 weeks post op, and while I definitely feel better than I did at week 1, I know I still have a long way to go to recover. I was back at work after 2.5 weeks, but could only work for 3 or 4 hours at a time. I'm back at the gym, but am only allowed to walk on the treadmill (I went from a 9 min/mile to a 20 min/mile......talk about depressing! LOL) No weights allowed! Aaaaggghh! I'm going crazy! I still need my cane to get in and out of my car or getting out of bed, but for the most part I keep it close by "just in case". I am getting sick of lugging it around, though. (It IS pink and flowered, but I think my fashion statement is getting old at this point.)
I am having one symptom that troubles me, and I'm hoping someone out there has an answer for me. When I arise from a lying-down position, it seems something at the fusion site has shifted, and I have pain on my left side, approximately at the fusion site and to the left. It's like something has temporarily gone crooked. If I sit, it will take a moment to readjust and I can get up with little problem. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what the heck is it? Do I need to worry? I'll call my doctor this week, but it's nice to hear if anyone else has dealt with this issue as well.
All in all, I'm not a complete wreck, but am very impatient to be back to normal. I'm dying to hit the gym again for a REAL workout. <insert heavy sigh> I know I must have patience, but enough already!

HI, Abby

I'm a gal who has had many spine surgeries to to a hyperelastic spine (rubber lady)
and I've had several kinds done, some with autograft (your bone "harvested from ileac crest bone) and even have had cadaver bones put in, and now allograph (sterilzed bone from a bone bank) along with a man-made substance called BMP.
I'd say this: if you have any say in the matter, I'd stary away from autografts as it is TWO surgeries--an incision and removal of your own bone slivers to use---so two incisions to heal. If you talk to many people , theyll say that the "harvested bone" area hurts more than the spine incision. Once it played havoc with my leg and I had to use a walker for about 10 days; not nice,not needed. I'd tell your Dr. you know about allografs from bone banks and also BMP (sometimes it's mixed together for the fusion). See what he says. If he has it available to him, he should offer it, I''d think! Keep us posted as to when you have yyour surgery.