Has anyone had any surgery to the lower back by a neurosurgeon? I have recently been diagnosed with degenerative lower back discs L4 & L5. Also have protruded disc. I have been told by my Rheumatologist, IM and Radiologist I need to have surgery. I have an appt w/the neurosurgeon next week. I would like to hear from anyone who might have had this done? Right now I am living on pain pills (Lortab 7.5) until I have the surgery done.
Really sorry about your degenerative back. I had L5S1 lum lam and decompression done in 1999 by a neurosurgeon. I chose a neursurgeon over an orhtopod for several reasons and I'm glad I went the neurosur path. I too lived on Lortabs until the disk blew and I knew that it was definately time. Recovery went fine. I had so much pain pre op that the post op pain wasn't a problem. I was diagnosed with a severe onset of RA about the same time I was diagnosed with the degenerating back. I was in so much pain that anesthesia and surgery were a relief. Keep us posted. Lindy
I have no experience with this but just want to say welcome to the board!!
I wish you the best with your decision on the surgery. Please keep us posted!
I had surgery almost 2 yrs ago by a spine specialist. I think he is ortho, though. However, he specializes in spines and it is the only surgery he does. He is very well-known in the area in which I live, and used to write for SpineUniverse, out of one of the big hospitals .
After many, many years of back pain during which time I was dx'd with OA DDD,DJD, spondololysis (sp), stenosis, scoliosis, among others, He was the first doctor who thought he could help, at least, my lumbar spine. I had decompression and Fusion of L4-S1. It has definitely helped the pain going down my butt, into left leg & foot. However, it could not take care of all my back problems. From scoliosis, I still have severe muscle spasms, constantly, in l. lower back. Also, there is no level of my back that is not severely damaged from arthritis and the other problems. Many doctors had refused to touch my spine because of stability issues.
I'm sure the doctor will tell you that they cannot be certain that your back will be pain free post-surgery. I don't want to discourage you though. I think you absolutely should see the doctor and let him/her decide if surgery will help you.
Also, if you have RA, the surgery won't help that, either.
But the way I felt about it, if he could make any part of me feel better, it was worth trying. Just do your research after you see the neurosurgeon. Find out what kind of surgery they will do, if any.
Best wishes to you. I hope it all goes well. Please let us know what the surgeon says, okay?
Hugs,
Nini
hI kskrause21, YES i HAVE HAD a lumbar laminectomy for severe back pain in 1999, had L5/S1 operated on, couldn't walk before the op and the neurosurgeon was great. I am so glad I had it done as I used to be crippled about 3 times a year for approx 6 weeks at a time, the after surgery pain was nothing compared to before surgery pain and I soon learned not to complain, there was an 81 year old woman in the bed next to me and she had 5 levels done, truly amazing courage, but she had a lot of trouble afterwards, they tried to get us up walking the same day, which I am proud to say I managed, so I would fully recommend it if you really need it. All the best Janie.I highly recommend talking to everyone you know about this, asking for input. It's amazing how so many people have someone in their family who has had back surgery, and it's good to get their opinions about physicians, hospitals, and the success of their surgeries. One excellent source is also to ask any nurses you know who they would take a member of their family to for treatment. They often have some "inside" knowledge that they may or may not be able to share, but they can at least send you off in the right direction!
Good luck to you.
Hi kskrause21. I have partial herniations in several levels in the L-spine, and several levels in the C-spine, along with stenosis and spondylosis. I see a local orthopedic surgeon occasionally because he's a good doc, but I also saw a specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. They both felt that surgery might help, do nothing, or make it worse and didn't seem too inclined to push surgery until it becomes unbearable. Also, my pain radiates mostly on the right, but the herniations are centered, so they're not even sure the herniations are causing the pain I'm feeling.
Because of the stability issue, they won't do surgery on my L-spine, but will consider my C-spine whenever I say I'm ready...which may be quite a while, or even never. I'm only 36 and I'm hoping they're going to come up with some new break-throughs before I get to the point of doing it. Right now I'm on around-the-clock Vicodin ES or Ultracet, but that's for the RA and fibro as much as the DDD. I'd really like to be off of the pain meds, but I've got to treat one thing at a time.
I don't really have any advice or experience with the surgery, but wanted to let you know how sorry I am you're dealing with all this (and RA too!) and that you're not alone.
** Update ** I took my Rheumatologists suggestion and tried a Pain Medicine physician. He looked at my MRI's and said he didn't think I needed the surgery. He gave me about 6 or 8 steroid injections across my lower back..and I have to say..."HOLY CRAP...THEY HURT"! I couldn't walk afterwards because it numbed my legs for awhile. He gave me some muscle relaxers and told me not to take any more pain medicine that I had been on for 2 weeks..I went home to bed. Waking up this morning I felt a little stiffness but no pain. Every once in awhile I feel numbness or tingling in my left leg. He said I may have to come back and get another session of shots to make sure he got the right area. He believes that some of my problem is my RA and inflammation in my back and also the weight I put on in the last year. So I am going to try this instead of the surgery for now. Anyone else try this? Wish me luck! Four years ago my husband had plates put in at the disc above the tail bone. He did this throuh a Neurosurgeon. He is 110% better and swears by Neurosurgeons. I have heard him tell people several times to not go to a Orthopedic surgeon, he saw several people in PT that did not have a good out come after using an Orthopedic Surgeon. The Neurosurgeon he went to was the doctor that the doctors went to.
Hi,
My husband goes to a large university's pain management clinic for the cortisone/steroid shots. Several years ago he fell and sustained injuries that doctors said could only be fixed through surgery. The pain management clinic was his last resort and it worked. He has avoided the surgery and feels complete relief BETWEEN injections.
This is not to say that you will require additional treatment but my husband found that his relief lasted only about three months. He's been going maybe three or four times a year and, in his opinion, it's a small price to pay to avoid surgery.
He is able, after the shots, to play golf and resume his normal activities, which is play golf. LOL He does feel great, the shots work, they pose no (according to the the neurologist ) future problems and are pretty safe when done correctly.
The physician did tell him that on some people the shots work the first time and they never need others. Some, like my husband, need to keep on going for awhile.
Good luck, glad you're feeling better.
It has been 3 days with no pain meds for my back and I have no pain after getting the steroid injections. So for now I have cancelled my consult w/the neurosurgeon...yippie hopefully it continues to work! I have a question about the steroid injections...I thought you could only get them in the same place a couple of times without damaging the joints and such. How can you get injections every few months without long-term damage?Another Update
Two weeks ago, my new pain specialist did 3 facet joint injections in my lumbar spine. They were done in a surgical center guided by flouroscopy. Unfortunately they did not work. They were done for diagnostic purposes.
He will be doing the same thing in my cervical spine soon. Hope these work better.
I had epidural injections about 2 1/2 years ago in lumbar spine and a nerve root block and they didn't work either. Those were done before my fusion surgery.
I'm so glad to hear that yours were successful! I was beginning to think they were just an exercise in futility
It's always good to hear of someone getting relief from their pain.
Hope you continue to feel better!
Nini