Lumbar Disc Surgery

[philsey]

... Don't be an idiot and do things against his/her advice. A friend of mine disregard advice regarding his herniated disc and did tons of golfing and other stuff...screwed up his back even more, requiring surgery ASAP....

Second this. I have a friend, just turned 65, golf FANATIC, two back surgeries, continued golfing against advice, just had a third surgery, recovery not going well at all. He had to retire from a good job, wife had to quit working to care for him. Not good. Poor, poor choices he made.

 

[bofa]

Just a piece of advice...if 3 specialists deemed that you are not a surgical candidate at this time, then i would NOT keep looking for specialists that want to do surgery...you may/will find one eventually...there are good and bad doctors out there...and the outcome may not be as you wanted.

If my back is bad, then i would listen carefully to those doctors that want you to avoid certain activities that will make things worst. Don't be an idiot and do things against his/her advice. A friend of mine disregard advice regarding his herniated disc and did tons of golfing and other stuff...screwed up his back even more, requiring surgery ASAP. Problem? The time when the pain became unbearable to the time where he was fully functional was months and it caused him to lose his job, which caused an enormous financial burden on his family.

General advice...your bad back affects not just you. YMMV.

Eh, we're talking three specialists over 16 years, so im not exactly going door to door. My hope is that the technology advances to where the risk no longer outweighs the reward. The problem with these injuries/conditions is that they will just get worse on their own so at some point I will need surgery. Just dont want to miss out on things while im still young enough to do them.

In the meantime, im trying to walk more, do certain yoga stretches, and getting monthly adjustments. The flare ups royally suck though and being limited from basic things is a real drag.

 

[CXS]

Second this. I have a friend, just turned 65, golf FANATIC, two back surgeries, continued golfing against advice, just had a third surgery, recovery not going well at all. He had to retire from a good job, wife had to quit working to care for him. Not good. Poor, poor choices he made.

Sounds like a good friend of mine with the difference of him being retired. He refuses to give up two things, golf and oxy. He's my inspiration for not taking opioids and acknowledges his addiction. I know things won't end well for him.

 

[Thai]

and getting monthly adjustments.

Chiropractor? I would STRONGLY discourage you from doing that. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Please don't.

 

[bofa]

Chiropractor? I would STRONGLY discourage you from doing that. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Please don't.

Been doing it since the initial PT after the injury. When I can barely walk thats the only way to get back on my feet. The alternative is to be bedridden for ~2 weeks and heavily drugged. I have to pick my poison and i pick the one that gets me back on my feet faster.

 

[TX med]

Sounds like a good friend of mine with the difference of him being retired. He refuses to give up two things, golf and oxy. He's my inspiration for not taking opioids and acknowledges his addiction. I know things won't end well for him.

Just out of curiosity, did you get your abdominal aortic aneurysm fixed? I would've thought the aneurysm would be more important than anything else.

 

[gm350reratliff]

Chiropractor? I would STRONGLY discourage you from doing that. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Please don't.

I'm curious why you advise against it. I know it doesn't work for some people but it works wonders for me.

Been doing it since the initial PT after the injury. When I can barely walk thats the only way to get back on my feet. The alternative is to be bedridden for ~2 weeks and heavily drugged. I have to pick my poison and i pick the one that gets me back on my feet faster.

That's how it is for me. In the last 10 years, I've done something to pop my back out of place about 6 times and it's almost paralyzing and very painful. If I go to the Dr. they just want to drug me and an appointment with a specialist is a month out or I can go down the road to this lady with outdated equipment and she can pop it back in like it's nothing and the pain completely goes away and I can move again.

 

[CXS]

Just out of curiosity, did you get your abdominal aortic aneurysm fixed? I would've thought the aneurysm would be more important than anything else.

My thoughts exactly, the AAA scares the hell out of me since I know a guy that died a nasty death after his ruptured in surgery. Fortunately my vascular doc happens to the guy that assists my spine surgeon and my MRI shows the AAA is growing very slowly. The vascular surgeon told me I'll die from something else before the AAA gets big enough to be a problem. The growth rate is so slow he said he'd be comfortable putting me on a 5 year re-check schedule for it. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that but one thing at a time.

 

[CXS]

Chiropractor? I would STRONGLY discourage you from doing that. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Please don't.

At one point I went to a very well-respected chiropractor for my back. The first session he manipulated me in some way that sent me through the roof. He apologized and told me to see a surgeon. I followed his suggestion and the surgeon directed me to PT. My first visit to PT had the same result which is when I started putting off surgery.

 

[Thai]

I'm curious why you advise against it. I know it doesn't work for some people but it works wonders for me.



That's how it is for me. In the last 10 years, I've done something to pop my back out of place about 6 times and it's almost paralyzing and very painful. If I go to the Dr. they just want to drug me and an appointment with a specialist is a month out or I can go down the road to this lady with outdated equipment and she can pop it back in like it's nothing and the pain completely goes away and I can move again.

Chiropractor is not a medical profession for a reason. No proven effectiveness. (On the other hand, Accupuncture has been proven to be of (limited) medical benefit in select cases...so, i actually trust accupuncture over chiropractor.)

The "adjustments" work because of how your body responds to manipulation...it is not lasting nor does it correct anything...it just releases endorphins. Endorphins makes you feel "better" but is fleeting and has no long-term benefit to your condition. And because the effect is fleeting, this is why you have to come back frequently for "adjustments."

There are many cases where these manipulations have caused more damage to the underlying condition...and death...see Katie May's death.

Ask any Orthopedic surgeon what they think of Chiropractors. Ask them how many times things got worst because of these "adjustments."

YMMV. Just a warning.

 

[Thai]

My thoughts exactly, the AAA scares the hell out of me since I know a guy that died a nasty death after his ruptured in surgery. Fortunately my vascular doc happens to the guy that assists my spine surgeon and my MRI shows the AAA is growing very slowly. The vascular surgeon told me I'll die from something else before the AAA gets big enough to be a problem. The growth rate is so slow he said he'd be comfortable putting me on a 5 year re-check schedule for it. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that but one thing at a time.

Just remember...Vascular surgeons make a lot of money fixing AAA...the fact that they do NOT want to do it is a GOOD sign. There are specific criteria to fix AAA and when to fix them...based on risk of rupture over long-term vs. risk of procedure.

 

[Thai]

Just out of curiosity, did you get your abdominal aortic aneurysm fixed? I would've thought the aneurysm would be more important than anything else.

Depending on diameter and is it near renal arteries or not...but diameter is main thing i think.

 

[lsumedic84]

AAA usually doesn't make it

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[fourwd1]

Chiropractor is not a medical profession for a reason. No proven effectiveness. (On the other hand, Accupuncture has been proven to be of (limited) medical benefit in select cases...so, i actually trust accupuncture over chiropractor.)

The "adjustments" work because of how your body responds to manipulation...it is not lasting nor does it correct anything...it just releases endorphins. Endorphins makes you feel "better" but is fleeting and has no long-term benefit to your condition. And because the effect is fleeting, this is why you have to come back frequently for "adjustments."

There are many cases where these manipulations have caused more damage to the underlying condition...and death...see Katie May's death.

Ask any Orthopedic surgeon what they think of Chiropractors. Ask them how many times things got worst because of these "adjustments."

YMMV. Just a warning.

Yeah, My Mileage Varied
I once hurt my lower back and after all else failed I went to a chiropractor on someones recommendation. I was really skeptical, but after 2 visits I was OK.
My PT could't match that one.
They can do some good stuff.

 

[daesonn]

I recommend anyone with disc problems do some research on Pauza disc treament. Not fda approved yet, but looks somewhat promising. I have worked in a pain clinic and under a back surgeon for several years. Back surgery is not the devil a lot of people make it out to be, but definitely recommend avoiding it until quality of life is dimished

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[CXS]

Six weeks post-surgery update. Not that anybody asked or cares but I have time on my hands. LOL

As we all should know, fusion is a crapshoot that doesn't always work. I'm optimistic mine will be a success based on my first visit to the PT which starts on Monday in earnest. My eval showed tremendous weakness in my legs (6th % for people my age) I've been doing gentle isometrics since day one and am moving on to more strenuous which most of you wouldn't even consider exercise. Going from sitting to standing without using hands, side leg lifts, standing on one foot, etc. Crazy hard but I put off surgery for 10+ years and muscles atrophy and nerves get damaged. The nerve zaps are minimal vs the early buzzing and snapping as the nerves came back to life or whatever the hell they were doing.

Walking is important and I'm at two miles a day. Pain is primarily muscle pain, incisions 99% healed, flexibility is poor but should improve after the no BLT is eased, PT goal is to lift 50 lbs which is the amount (my spare tire) that was the cause of my final blow-out that led to surgery.

Back to the surgeon in 2 weeks for x-rays and his evaluation. I think he'll be even more pleased than he was 2 weeks ago when he was thrilled at my gait. Summary - Whew! I think I was forced in to a good decision. This old man should be bouncing along the rocks this Spring.

 

[oljedi11950]

Man glad to hear doing well ! I'm in same boat plus total knee replacement at some time . Keep walking nothing better !

 

[97BlackAckCL]

Glad to hear you're improving, I'm sure it will be a long recovery, but I'm glad to hear that overall the surgery appears to have been a success! :clap2:

 

[CXS]

Thanks guys, I had my 8 week appt with the surgeon and he was very happy with my physical progress and seeing the cadaver bone is knitting nicely with my bone. PT is kicking my ass since muscles have atrophied for years but that's expected. No wheeling yet, hoping my next appt in April ends that. In the meantime I'm plugging away with a goal of having a stronger back than I've had for 15 years and being able to lift 50 lbs in 8 weeks. My surgeon says it's a goal to aim for and not unrealistic.

 

[CXS]

Man glad to hear doing well ! I'm in same boat plus total knee replacement at some time . Keep walking nothing better !

Sorry to hear that Mike but us old farts break down. I was in the waiting room at PT yesterday and a woman kept looking at me and finally asked why I was there. I told her it was for my back. She was disappointed because she had a knee replacement and was admiring the fact I could cross my legs when sitting. The only advice I have for you is not to do what a woman I know did when she needed both knees replaced - she had them both done the same day against the surgeons advice. She regretted it big time! :crazy: