Good luck man. Oh, quit Googling stuff medical! That will drive you crazier than the real docs!

My wife has a t-shirt that says "My Masters Degree in Nursing Beats Your Google Search Every Time"

She says that has got to be one of the worst things at her job... non medical people doing a Google search lol.

You might not be that guy but too many people nowadays think a five minute search makes a doctor or engineer or lawyer out of them.

I had an L5-S1 disc laminectomy in April 1990--no fusion. Spent the next 12 years flying B-52s and E-3s. I now run marathons and ultras for fun (yes, I have a weird concept of fun). Absolutely no issues if I keep my weight under control. I'm 5'11", 165 ish.

Do it. After the recovery you will wonder why you waited so long. Just listen to the doctors for the Post-op stuff and don't rush it. You will feel better long before your back can take the stress.

Being days away from my surgery I figured I'd bore you with some details now that I understand everything. Short version: vascular surgeon will open my abdomen, push everything aside so the spine surgeon can insert a titanium block where the disc is supposed to be. Then the vascular steps back in and puts me back together and they flip me over and insert the remaining screws and brackets through an incision in my back. Scheduled window is a 6 hour surgery period, 5-7 days in the hospital, pain for 4-6 weeks, significantly less pain at 8 weeks.

A picture speaks 1000 words.

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When talking to a doc I preface my comment with "I admit I was looking on the web..." and proceed from there. I spent years scolding my mother for Googling every medical issue she had so I get it. Unfortunately it's such a part of our lives I think most of us do it without thinking. I just keep in mind that, like most forums, only people with complaints or problems post. I don't think I saw a single post with someone saying "I had fusion and everything went great!" People just don't do that.

I like your wife's shirt, does it help?

Ask them about the screw torque...

I was going to ask if they use Loctite blue or red.

That's a good one lol. Some years ago my daughter needed screws put in her foot following a soccer injury in college. I talked to the doctor (good guy - top doc with this type of injury in the US) after surgery about "knowing" how tight to torque the screws. He has done literally thousands of bone injuries requiring screws and he said every person is a bit different. Bones are slightly different and he said you can "feel" the proper torque as the screw starts to tighten. To me that's amazing.

Good luck with your surgery and let us know how it turns out. Looking forward to your pain med induced posts lol.

When are having it done?

I have full confidence in my surgeons (vascular & spine) and my surgery is a walk in the park compared to other stuff he does.

I should probably have my wife keep me from posting on meds! I'm pretty bored these days not being able to do much so I spend way too much time on the computer as evidenced by these posts.

The 15th - 2 long days from now.

Good luck Chris! As you probably been told a thousand times, "you'll be fine"! Wishing you a speedy recovery!

My dad is an eye surgeon (I know, totally not the same thing as back surgery) and we have (I'm his office manager) patients who get genuinely scared. We always calm them before the surgery and talk to them post op. There is almost always laughter about the nervousness that was felt before.

that's terrible. not even avoidable like mine was. I was just dumb. haha.

to add to what he said below. my recovery was very fast. stupid fast.
a bit TMI probably, but the day after surgery, I was in the bathroom(at the hospital) with my lady friend for a bit of extra curricular activities...

I didn't mention it before, but I was only in the hospital for 2 days. to me, that was amazing. I left 1-3 days early. partially, because I didn't want to be there, but also partially because I didn't need to be there anymore.
I was told if I could walk by myself to the end of the hall, they would let me leave. I tried once, NO GO! I asked them for some real food, as ice chips, and water wasn't cutting it. I ate a meal, then made the trip down the hall. true to their word, they released me.


my brother broke his leg in an MC accident, and needed screws to keep it together. they ended up backing out. you could see, and feel them pushing against his skin. if I remember right, the doc said it was "normal/to be expected" I think he eventually just had them removed.

Good luck with the surgery, I hope all goes well

well shoot, wish I would've seen this thread earlier. My dad just went through two years of increasing pain, with all sorts of friends and family urging him to do the surgery, that they had the fusion and wished they had done it years earlier. So now a year later he's saying the same thing!

The only real piece of advice I can contribute is: when the docs tell you not to bend, lift or twist, they REALLY mean don't bend, lift or twist. For the entire recovery period. my dad never damaged anything, but just kept trying to make himself useful and get back to work, but that was enough to keep him in a good amount of pain.

I can imagine your wife gets to deal with a lotttttt of idiots. cant even imagine.
However, I cant ever overstate the importance of having a family member with you during any surgery as an advocate on your behalf. Been through quite a few hospital stays with friends and family over the past several years, and I've watched PAs, nurses, and attendants screw up medications, forget scheduled med times, and generally showcase a lack of professional attention and courtesy. While I do understand health care workers have to deal with grueling shifts, awful hours and HMO schedules, its pretty scary how easily mistakes can be made with possibly deadly ramifications.

When I'm at the hospital I definitely use the googles to research medications, dosages, procedures, doctors, etc. If something doesn't add up or just have a question I ask the attending to explain things a little more. Always beneficial to be engaged in the process instead of sticking your arm out for a needle without knowing exactly what's going on.

Microdiscectomy and laminectomy on L5/S1 about 15 years ago. Surgery should be the last resort and it was for me, and it sounds like you are there. Like a previous poster, I only spent a night in the hospital and found immediate relief. Recovery was a little slow because I suffered for 4 months with severe sciatica before getting an MRI to properly diagnose the problem. Procedures now are much better, so I think you stand a real good chance of success. All the best in whatever decision you make. Red loctite, by the way...

Thanks for the support and encouraging words guys, I'm ready to get this behind me!