lumbar surgery info wanted ...
 

i have suffered for years with lower back pain and sciatica

and had an MRI recently, now got the results...........

to cut a long story short i will need surgery of some sort. L3,4 and 5 and S1 and S2 are affected with dehydration and loss of disc height and broad based central disc protrusion. also Modic type 1 and 2 endplate related signal alterations, facet joint hypertrophy bla bla bla............

has anyone here had similar problems and what was the outcome?

i am desperately trying to avoid surgery. i am not due to see the consultant til January so i am trying to gather as much info as i can now.........anyone? :thumb:

I have something i can insert,to help the Pain.:norty:

Sorry SS i can't be of more Help.;)

I had similar... ended up having surgery, last option really... a couple of months R&R and now I'm back to normal :thumb:

Had 8 months being unable to stand though, painkillers, physio... etc, etc,

Normal, thats a broad stretch of the imagination:lol1:

i was wondering what would happen if i didnt have surgery. i have severe degenerative changes, i wondered how far you can go without an op :wonder:

spinal surgery is scary :(

It sure is....

The trouble is that after a while your spine will bend and you'll start to see a curving where it over compensates by leaning away from the pain. This will also put unnecessary pressure on other discs and compound the problem.

Without surgery its likely that after a while you may become unable to actually stand, as the loading on the discs may become too painful to take.

We're all different though, so it has to be down to the advice your consultant gives.... surgery is risky, but the alternative is usually far worse!

i am so debilated at the moment i cant imagine it getting worse
i have already lost an inch in height, i assume this is related to disc problems.

there are so many types of surgery its mind boggling.

i want to hear if any one has been made worse by surgery...

old back, young at heart :p

My surgery:

Hospital that evening...
Surgery the same night...
6 days in hospital... quite a lot of pain to start with
1 month tottering rounds (sharp pains in lower back slowly easing)...
2 months becoming better...(go back to work at 8 weeks... yipee :rolleyes:)
6 months later back to almost normal...
+6 Years = Normal
Some heal sooner, some later...

The alternative would have been me unable to stand at all... so a no brainer!

and you are now completely pain free.....was there any risk with your op DCI?

Completely pain free.... although I have to take care when lifting, the risk was significant as the two prolapsed areas were both pushing against my spinal cord and there was a higher than average chance of severing it during surgery. But my pain was so bad it was a risk I was prepared to take.

You forget what it feels like to not be in pain.... until a few months down the road you can sleep, roll over, walk and sit and feel.... nothing.... no pain.... best sensation EVER :thumb:

sounds like you was very lucky, all i have read on forums is bad news, its encouraging to hear something different, DCI, you have nearly made my day :thumb::p

I'm always here to help make your day :D

what was your surgery for DCI? prolapsed disc/s or dehydrated discs? only asking as i've got a prolapsed disc and from what info i've been given an op has a 80% success rate. i believe this surgery involves shaving the dics so it doesn't rest on the sciatic nerve?
but a guy i play football with has 3 dehydrated discs (same ones as you sara) and his specialist told him an op has a 80% failure rate:confused: granted this was about 4 years ago he was given this info, but he seems to remember the op would be to fuse his spine/replacing the discs with solid ones.

just wondering as the prolapsed disc surgery seems pretty straight forward to me (as much as spinal surgery can be i guess!) but the dehydrating discs seem to be alot more serious.

Yep, I had a prolapsed disc (slipped disc), they do shave the bulge off and in the process it 'kills' the disc making it harden and fuses the two sections of bone together...

The disc can heal itself over time dependant on the severity of the bulge, but will always remain weakened.....

Its a feckin horrible thing to suffer!!

not wrong:( cheers for the info:) waiting for an epidural steroid injection at the mo which will hopefully speed things up, seem to remember you posting on a thread i had going a while back? did it help you at all?

sorry for the hijack sara;) personally i would wait and see what the consultant says as there's so much differing info on the net, especially when it comes to surgery.

I had surgery on a prolasped disc in my lower spine, that was 4 years ago and been fine so far (touching wood) was in incredible pain for 6 months, ended up nto being able to walk more than a few steps. Ended up collasping at work and getting taken in to hospital and having surgery.
I was very scared about having the op, but all went well, spent 5/6 days in hospital afterwards, 2 weeks at home not doing much and then back to work.
I still am very careful when lifting and occasionally feels a little discomfort if a do a lot of lifting and carrying but nothing serious, have lost a little flexibility but thats about it.
Good luck with everything, i know the pain you must be in.

My sister had sciatica (spelling?!), and had problems with her spine. It got to the point where all she could do was stand, laying down was painful, couldnt sit, her toe ended up going black - something to do with the sciatica, she had permanent pins and needles etc and eventually loss of feeling in her toe / foot.

She had the operation a year or so ago, from what she described she had part of her disc, or discs cut away to releave the pressure on her spine.

It does sound scary, but her operation was a success.

What you find whenever you have something like this come up, the worst thing you can do is research it yourself on the web as its always doom and gloom.

Listen to the recomendations of your doctors, thats why you go to see them :)

Best of luck.

Sure you just haven't taken your heels off ?

;)

I've suffered on and off for the last 2-3 years. Came to a point last year where the doctor finally sent me to see a specialist (after 8 weeks of physio just seemed to make it worse). By the time I'd had the MRI my pain had eased off enough to allow me get a reasonable nights sleep so wasn't expecting to hear what I did when I went to get the results of the MRI.
Base of my spine is already fused solid, the lowest two discs have prolapsed due to them being overworked for years. He was surprised I wasn't in pain and as such, whilst I'm still relatively pain free (it's never completely gone) he recommends not having surgery.
I have to avoid anything that would involve impact though as one big jolt could paralyse my lower half, but I've managed to put that thought to the back of my mind as the thought of spine surgery scares the bejebus out of me.
Good luck Sara, I hope it goes well!

Epidurals are a funny thing! they're the same ones as the wimmins have while giving birth ;)

It takes away all pain and is meant to allow the soft tissue surrounding the disc to retract as its typically inflamed and swollen. I had three before my op, the first was the best (instant temp relief for 2 - 3 days) but the following ones had little effect....

You need to remember that the damage is STILL there, just just can't feel it... it sounds obvious but you start doing things you shouldn't which when it wears off you soon regret!

In mild cases it is effective, but I've yet to see someone really benefit from it... Its almost part of a wider process that leads to surgery...

Pain relief (as in pain killers)
Physio
Epidural
Physio
Surgery

Hope you improve on them... :thumb:

No personal experience Sara but a good friend of mine had a similar problem which was causing him quite intense pain. He was operated on and its has cured it completely. Like DCI he is back to normal.

I know the idea of an operation is a bit horrifying, but I have had three major ones now and it's not as bad as you might think. It may well be the only way to cure the problem and that is much better than putting up with it and it will get worse as you get older.

Les

I got around mine by excercising through it (weight training, stretching etc) but you can't really take your back problems for granted.

Problem is nowadays you get told to go for surgery no matter what the issue so I would recommend you find out what other options you have like I did, maybe some physio work, time in the gym etc will help. If that is not possible then surgery may be your only option (not that its a bad option, better soon rather than later).

Back surgery is always a last resort, the consultants will do anything rather than that...

thanks for all the info guys :thumb:

i now have loads of positive answers and am not so scared as i was. apparently the lumbar region does not affect the spinal cord, i think thats right.

i have been getting sciatica in both legs but never at the same time, this is a recent change, as its always been the same leg. the most difficult bit is having to wait till January to see the doctor. i have been seen In HH hospital by a Mr Dyson, has anyone here had any experience of him? and is it always advisable to get a second opinion?

i didnt realise so many of you lot were ready for the knackers yard ;) :D

Sara, this is a very complicated area. Though the experiences of the members above is very helpful its not an exhaustive list of the operations and other options available.

MRI scans are also a minefield, they will pick up loads of problems (some are to be expected with age) but don't tell you which problems are actually causing your symptoms if you see what I mean?

Like so many medical conditions the variations and treatment options are endless and I could be typing here for the next two weeks (hence I don't usually respnd to medical questions)

What I would advice is ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION but do it politely so as not to make the first Doc think you don't trust him as he maybe brilliant.

If you have specific questions or need terminology explained feel free to pm me

Good luck

Deep Singh, dont suppose you have knowledge about eye problems also?

I have a client dealing in optometry, if you want me to pose a question for you....

Speak for yourself! :)

My friend had exactly the same as you with Sciatica too.

Les

thanks Deep, but i have got 2 professionals that have been helping me out through pm, thanks again tho :thumb:

i still think this place need a medical/health forum :wonder:

I have (had) similar problems to you SS and have been suffering with them for around six years. Found out recently that surgery is not an option for me as the damage has become so bad that surgery may make things worse. How making things worse than me already having to use a wheelchair is possible I'm still trying to figure out. I now take 11 different types of pills three times a day and still spend half the day holding tears back.
If I had been offered surgery earlier I would have jumped (tried to) at it.
I hope things work out for you.

jeeze, you must have been in some pain, i feel for you, as i know my own pain is unbearable sometimes :(

you must never give up looking for something new, you never know...

hopefully i have some time to go before i am as bad as you was so i will have a bit of time to think things through. i think i will end up having surgery as the alternative doesnt bear thinking about