Mike, do you think your surgery would have been as successful if you'd just had a laminectomy done? I'm scheduled for a L4-S1 laminectomy in November. At L1 and L3 I have a herniated disc flattening the thecal sac, centrally. At L4, L5 my foramen and ligament are pinching off my exiting nerve rooots causing severe pain in my legs. We have opted to leave the disc part alone for now and just take care of the nerves. As little intervention as needed. What do you think about this? I'm asking because I believe I can get better to and I'm not wiling to give up just yet.

Thanks,

Username

I am looking for some help as well. I pinched something during labor with child number three and I was ok up until now. In April 2007 my sciatica pain became so great that I gave up running an decided to take some time off to let it heal. Well in August while getting up water-skiing in a shallow lake the fin on the back dragged in the muck and my hips popped forward creating so much pain that I could not walk for over a week. I went to the ER and CT Scan showed mild diffuse disk bulging at L4-L5 and moderate right sided disk protrusion at L5-S1 that contacts right S1 nerve root. Driving a car hurts the most and I am not running at all which is really depressing me. I have been in great shape most of my life and compete in triathlons and I am going nuts not being able to do anything without feeling imense pain all the time. Have you tried anything called the Invertac, and did that help anyone. I am very leery about surgery and not sure if I need it. Oh, and our insurance sucks. I don't have anything that covers any of my back costs.

Desperatly seeking the old me.

Hey Mate, your situation sounds very similar to mine...a progressive loss of quality of life till i reach a point where i felt useless and in constant pain and would get depressed to the point of suicide thoughts, it was that point that drove me to go see the surgeon , i explained to him how i felt and that i didn't want those horrible thoughts in my head anymore. It was slowly over 10 years that i reached that point and i tried everything under the sun during that 10 years that i could find to fix it before opting for surgery and i have to say surgery is the only thing that worked, it was like taking a sledgehammer to the problem, but it fixed it and i cannot deny that....i to water ski and i'm back doing that now ...wouldn't dream of doing it 18 months ago...i never tried Invertac sorry...hope that helps mate

Michael

I am 11 weeks post op now and went in for X-rays yesterday. Wish me luck! My son flew in for Christmas and the boys kept me quite busy and I wasn't feeling well so I didn't walk for a whole week. But I am back at it now. I am taking 2, sometimes 4 tylenol a day but that's it. No ice packs since the surgery, and no pain killers since week 3 I think? Just a word to others out there. Mike is right, you tire easy so watch it. I am taking one protein drink per day and a lot of vitamins!! Primarily, Calcium, Vitamin D and Glucosimine. Those are all good for joints and the bones ya know.

I am terrified of the X-ray report, but anxious to lose the brace provided it's fusing properly. Wish me luck!

I wanted to write and thank everyone for their posts and information regarding the L-4 - S-1 fusion, especially KiwiMike. I am having a laminectomy and L4/S-1 fusion this Thursday, 3/27. My surgeon wants me to walk some each day and gradually get it up to 3 miles in 3 months. That seems like an awful lot!

Isn't the fusion complete after 6 months? I'm a little scared of the pain and will be on the morphine pump in the hospital, and then, he said likely percocet and muscle relaxers for I don't know how long at home.

Anyway, you have all relieved some of my pre-surgery anxiety and I thank you for that!

Bev

No worries Bev, i hope it has been successful for you, don't fear the pain, its a small price to pay for the freedom you will get and trust me ,it will go quite quickly.The fusion can complete after 6 months, but for full stability and strength to return to your back i have been told to allow 12 months at least. I guess some people will heal quicker than others, but as a general rule of thumb and from my experience i would allow 12 months for a full fusion recovery.

Thanks to all, especially KiwiMike. I see that there havent been many recent posts, so I hope someone will see this! I was in a horrific car crash 3 years ago and suffered 2 herniations at L4-L5 and L5-S1. The higher herniation has ruptured, and after 3 years of conservative treatment (PT, Pain Management, Epidural Injections) I have told the Docs that I want surgery. I have met with 3 seperate Docs her in CT, and all have said that a 2 level fusion from L4 to S1 is the only option. They all agree that Laminectomy will not help because my main pain issues are in the low back rather than down the legs. They say that they expect a 75% improvement. I am a Police Officer and have always been very active and was a Ski Instructor part time. I really want to get back to the slopes, and start to really enjoy my young children, who are becoming increasingly more demanding for Daddy to play with them, which has been very difficult. I am only 39, and I feel like I have the body of 80. I walk with a definite limp now, which has been causing horrible pain in my knees. Now that the Docs have called out of the blue and told me, "It's a go for 5/30"; I have gottne very anxious about weather I am doing the right thing. The years since my accident have been very traumatic for me, and the feelings of being trapped and helpless have been very hard to deal with. I have been in psychotherapy for PTSD and suicidal thoughts, which thankfully have gone away; but now I am really worried about negative side effects. I dont want to be in worse shape than before, and I am very nervous about possible sexual side effects (thanks to something one of the Docs said; which was probably pretty innocent, but the seed is planted). I feel like I really understand the physics of what is wrong with me, and I believe that the surgery will really help. I know that Mike has had a really great outcome, and even though Abby was pretty distrought shortly after, it seems like your much better now too. Thanks for listening, and any encouraging words will help a lot.

I am sorry to hear of all that you have been through. I encourage you to do your best to remain optimistic with the success of the outcome of your surgery. It is scary and it is very difficult at first but I truly believe that if you follow the helpful hints that everyone has posted on this board, you'll do fine.

Part of my agony came from the fact that they cut through so much muscle. I have a 7-inch scar on my back to prove it. But muscle does heal relatively fast. The physical therapy was very tiring for me, it still is at times. But you must do it, don't slack. And again, I think extra vitamins really help. Take a trip to the health food store and let them know what you're up against. I found them to be very helpful here.

Another part of my agony was simply that with the exception of my cats, I live alone so while my son was great about helping me, he doesn't live here and has a very demanding job hence, he was limited to how much he could help. Much of the general stuff was stuff I had to do or it didn't get done. By the same token, don't just let everyone do everything. Try to do what you can.

When it comes to the big stuff like our big snow storm that left 4ft high drifts on my walkway, obviously that is stuff that my son took care of. Things like laundry I did. Vaccuuming he did, etc.

I am due for my next X-ray soon and my son states he'll take me back out on the golf course as soon as he gets the okay from the doctor.

Be patient, be strong, keep your chin up. Healing takes 12 to 18 months of work. And I offer the best of luck to you. The vet I take my little ones too told me that his brother had the same surgery one year ago and he is back on the ski slopes. He stated that I would probably find that I could actually do much more after the healing process is complete and I believe that's true.

One more thing, on that dreaded time when women feel so bloated, my back hurts. I eat a lot of foods that help prevent that now. I read that for every 8 lbs of excess fat particularly on the stomach area, is pressure on the spine. The walking helps if it's done correctly. I did a search on walking and it does show how to walk to keep good posture. This really helps too.

Please keep us posted!

Mike, your story reads just like mine , suicidal thoughts and all. Trust me, though , go and do it, you won't look back, i to was scared and wish i had this forum to read before i went in, i didn't though and just had horror stories in my head when i went in, but i did it and it was the best decision of my life as you will have read. I just turned 33 and also had thoughts pre-op about being able to play with my children one day when i have them so i know what your going through, also i snowboard/ski to like you so was keen to get back out there and since my op i have done! . Its been 18 months now since my op and it just gets better, i am playing football and running and playing touch rugby all without pain. I hope you go through with the op and i can tell you that before you know it you will be throwing your children round having fun! > Just stick to a good re-hab/fitness routine post-op, don't over do it, listen to your body and once again, don't try and be a tuff guy and over do it to earlier! ;-)

All the best brother and let us all know how you get on.

Cheers
Mike

PS Don't worry about sexual side effects, everything for me is working 100%, if anything i think it made me better!

Hey Abby, glad to see your still around the forums and helping out others to, also sounds like things are going well for you since your op ?? ...the recovery still going well ??...nice comments about the walking, i really believe it to be a crucial part of recovery in the earlier stages as it did wonders for me.

Cheers
Mike