No probs SS. Just make sure these professionals have a medical degree + higher training and aren't 'just' chiropracters or physios. Thats not a dig at either of those just that they don't have the breadth of knowledge required.

Good luck

Not my field really mate, sorry:)

do you do the odd bit of gynecology in your spare time Deep? :p

some physios have a lot more knowledge than people think, i know some physios who have more knowledge and skill than so called specialists in their field, and i am one of those pm people. do i have a medical degree, no am i qualified in what i do yes, even to the extent that untill i stopped (my choice) i was used by all the insurance companies locally on all crash victims for private treatment.
secondly have been imployed in the sports proffesion, working football tournaments of up to a 1000 players per event.
have treated this condition many times. but hey if i should back off and leave someone in pain, having no medical degree, yet constantly being sent specialists patients to sort out after they made a mess of it. then at least i wont be giving away hours of my time to help.

I am in the same sort of place as you are right now ive had it for 3/4 years and been signed off work for two :freak3: Ive tryed getting other job's but no one will imploy me untill its sorted (insurance :mad:) I've been given every treatment going apart from surgery and non have worked or it's made the pain worse for weeks after i lose the feeling in my left leg for days on end which is a problem when trying to walk or do anything. Sitting standing laying down gives no let up and to top it all they dont want to put me on the waiting list as its 2 years long :eek: . Im only 28 and i feel more like 60 :mad: Cant even drive a car for more than 10 min. So if you get the chance go for the surgery get it sorted as quick as you can.

With the amount of time you spend on your back;)

:eek2:

i spend my time upright kot :smug:

That would be good mate,

Basically I am waiting for a consultation at the hospital as my optician has found a hole in the endothelium layer of my cornea.

Basically from what I can gather this is rare in my case as it normally happens to people 60+ years of age, im 27.

So far it means I cannot wear contact lenses. I am a little concerned as to what can be done to correct this if anything at all.

From what I can understand its progressively degenerative.

Just wondering if there are any proceedures which can stop or repair the problem?

Cheers

I prolapsed S1 and S2 discs drinking from a bathroom tap 10 years ago... Collapsed and couldn't walk without help. SEVERE sciatica in both legs and spasms in back.
Got an op a few months later. 6 days in hospital, 3 months before back to work. What a huge difference..

Hope all works out for you mate. :thumb:
I know the pain and thoughts you're going through..

Found this article on the BBC earlier, it may be of help.

BBC NEWS | Health | 'The best £20,000 I have spent'

well today i went for the appointment to see the surgeon who got my MRI done. he was very stroppy and not a man of very many words. he wouldnt answer any of my questions and believe me i had loads :(

anyway i am being booked in to have a lumbar injection to help with the pain. i didnt realise i have to be sedated for this and they use xray to guide them. i thought it would be like an epidural.

now for the surgery..... i need L4 removing and L5 and S1 will be fused together. facet joints will also be removed. there is a 50% success rate for this operation. thats all i have been told. i assume the operation will be months down the road. i cannot have a disc replaced as it is too far gone for that............ at this point i have no idea what i will do:confused:

BTTT :P

I hope everything goes well for you Sara :thumb:

bloody hell, hope it all works out ok sara:) from what i've been told alot of surgeons and consultants can be a bit twatish, bit crap he couldn't clear things up for you, i know how you feel and all you want is straight forward answers.

i didn't know this was the procedure for the lumbar injection either, maybe yours needs doing in various areas where mine is just in one place?

either way, best wishes for success:thumb:

thanks :thumb:

i have googled but not found much for this surgery, what i have found is mixed. the doctor asked me if i could live with the pain. i wanted to ask him if my back would last years or months without surgery but he cut me off at every turn. he must have been having a crap day...ar5ehole :)

can i live with this pain? not in this country i cant. there seems to be much better pain management in the US. if i could have pain relief that didnt fog my brain i wouldnt have the op, i think :confused: :)

decisions decisions. who do i ask to explain all the pro's and cons to me. i dont want to get up the big guys nose but he was a **** and i will be in his care so i dont want to push the wrong buttons :p

i have read that fusion involves nuts and bolts and screws...anyone? :thumb:

Hi Sara
i had surgery 19 mths ago in bupa cardiff had disc L 1 removed
and trimmed L2 L3 i went to hospital on the friday is was back in work on the wed was a bit stiff :lol1: :lol1: took about 1 month to fully recover as being self empolyed had to work:mad:

19 mths 0n its the best £12000 i spend on my self i can now walk with no pain:luxhello: :luxhello: and have a scar to prove it
all the best in which way you go , but the pain for me was unbearable
the best thing about the surgeon hes a mad biker like me and rides a Ducati 1098s :thumb:
top spinal surgeon in wales Paul Rhys Davies he looks after the Wales rugby and football teams injurys:notworthy :notworthy

cheers
Yan

the guy sounds like a right tool!
'can you live with the pain?' how the hell can you answer that?? don't know about you but some days i'm fine and others i could quite happily cut my own back open and try to fix it myself!;) and my problem is nowhere near the level of yours.

i guess he wouldn't be able to give an accurate answer to your question about how long your back will good without surgery, but there's no need for the bloke to be a cock about it:rolleyes:
that's the trouble nowadays anyone in the medical world will never put a time/outcome on any problem incase you point the finger and come out with 'well he said.........'

agree with you completely that the pain relief on offer isn't a long term option, in my case pain killers and anti-inflamatorys are fine short term but i'm getting negative effects now and i've only been using them for a couple of years! it's masking the problem, not helping it.

does this mean your wooden horse riding/pics days are gone?:cry:

;)

MH, my problems are slightly different to yours and i also need a fusion. some people get near instant results and the others can be worse off after surgery, you took the gamble and it paid off. if i had the money i would go private but thats is not an option :(

hoskib, have you been offered surgery, i cant remember off the top of my head what you posted before? :wonder:

i am not good with pain, bit of a baby, i got a TENS machine over xmas. not sure if it works yet. your pain is prolly no less than mine, but you are a bloke so you are going to feel it a lot more :smug:

as for more pics, i might have to get a smaller horse :p

Mate, I don't think anybody should take medical advice from someone who cannot spell the words employed, until or profession. I'm not sure if anybody ever mentioned to you that a capital letter comes after a full stop

no, not yet. currently on the route of lumbar injections (which i haven't had yet). i've got a prolapsed disc that's giving me sciatic problems and my GP says the consultant i'm with does tend to try all other treatment before getting the knife out so surgery would be way off.

lol:D i've used a TENS machine, mixed results and as i was using it along with other pills i couldn't say if the relief was down to the TENS machine itself.
i wasn't sure of the best place to put the pads as the pain is caused in the back but goes from my hip all the way down to my ankle at it's worst. might have to get more machines and pads;)

we can but hope:norty:

you should have mentioned this in december when he first posted, bit late now :p

Sara, you are perfectly entitled to ask for a second opinion from another consultant. Do not let that unprofessional idiot fob you off like that. That is complex and crucial surgery that is being considered.

Having said that, if my back had degenerated so far I'd go for it. I've had over 15 ops so far - mainly on rugby related knee reconstructions - and they're not fun, but are generally only suggested when they are, on balance, the best option for the patient. Like other posters have said it's painful for a few weeks, but that can be controlled and from then on it's upwards.

Can sympathise quite closely with you at the moment as I'm currently in a hip to neck body cast after breaking vertebrae T12 falling off a ladder on Christmas eve. :rolleyes: Everything still works thankfully, but I'm flat on my back for the next few weeks ( interesting typing while balancing a laptop on my cast!).

Good luck FB

i have made an appointment to see a doctor next week to explain things clearly to me. my op carries a 50% failure rate, thats whats putting me off :(

has anyone reading this ever got painkillers off the net that arent available in this country?

the thought of you typing in a body cast isnt funny i know but it made me laugh, thanks :thumb:

I think the brutal truth, going by my friend's experience, is that if you don't get it done, it will get to the state where you can hardly move without extreme pain and you will have to have the surgery done anyway by which time it will be more difficult to put right.

Co Dydramol is a particularly good pain killer if you can get your doctor to prescribe it rather than push your luck by trying to treat yourself.

Les

A different consultant may put a better success rate on it, and, to some extent, doing nothing may have a worse success rate

Be careful of web drugs - could be rubbish and can be dabngerous once you get into really strong painkillers. NHS should sort you something - Co Drydamol or Voltarol or something like that.

Here's hoping you get a more communicative doctor - may well be worth paying for an initial consultation with a private consultant - just get your NHS scans and take them along with you - £100 or so could be well spent.

Yep typing with a big laptop balanced on top of a shiny fibreglass cast isn't the easiest - someone suggested that I get velcro on both, but I know i'd end up stuck to the sofa like a beetle on it's back :) ( Mrs FB suggests that'd be " No change there then..." Sheesh what's a guy got to do to get some sympathy around here)

Good luck

FB

what i am hoping is that, i dont have to have the op straightaway
and i can find the right pain medication and my bad bits in my back wont spread :p

i am allergic to codeine and am already taking Voltoral. nothing gets rid of the shooting pains in your leg to your bum though. the pain wraps itself round your shin before it gets to my ankle. nothing in this country can get rid of that. i could prolly cope with the back pain, its the nerve pain that gets you. its like having red hot pokers fed through your leg bones :cry:

and yes, it is worse than childbirth sort of :cry:

FB, if you use a damp dishcloth it will help with the slipping, does with a kitchen bowl :p

the fiberglass should survive, pics would be good :thumb:

shame about codeine situation and voltarol for you - if they're not working then maybe you should be thinking about having something done as you'll know that the stronger stuff like your mum would have had - morphine etc isn't designed for long term use (I lurk a lot, I just don't post much) :(.

I've had kidney stones twice, which is often described as being as bad as childbirth (even by women!), and if it's worse than that then you shouldn't be trying to put up with it IMHO

Anyway, you'll obviously do what works for you,but just make sure you're fully informed and that's not through here or Google. The very best either way

Hmm, plugged in laptop and wet flannel - could be quite shocking....;):)

If I wasn't velcroed to the sofa I might sort a photo....;)

Thought you might have picked up on it yourself. :p

Anyway good luck, I'm sure it will work out fine.:)