Discectomy - After the Operation

[campus cutie 09]

I have not had an op.... yet... am still going through the options, but I have been offered several. One to decompress my L4L5 right side, the wait has been so long, it is now my left side that is creating the sciatica as it has collapsed/ and the facets are overgrowing into the foraminal space too, so I am not surprised at your problem.

Physio/ chiro will help it keeps me walking

 

[lxjuywfg]

@Fireolli

Sorry to hear things aren't so good for you right now, Fireolli. I just wanted to say that maybe your new problems are linked to the impact of having a new baby. It means a lot of lifting and bending, and it's really hard to do it 'right'. I found out the hard way, slipping a disc three weeks after my second baby was born, and having to have an emergency discectomy when he was six weeks old. :-( Anyway, it could perhaps be the extra mechanical stress this is causing that is leading to the new pains etc, especially if you haven't been able to continue your usual exercise regime, and you've been doing lots of DIY - all in all, it's a lot for your back to cope with. But it is frustrating, I know, not to be able to do all these 'normal' things without problems.

Also, check whether your bum muscles are maybe too tight - this might be putting pressure on the ischeas nerve and giving you leg pain. I get this a lot.

@JamesDean Yes, I also found after my discectomy that I got new pain in my 'good' leg. It wasn't excruciating but it was worrying. It has improved over the months, but I found stretches and exercise were beneficial, so wonder if the approach of your hospital physios etc is the right one?

@ All - nearly 6 months post (open) discectomy now. Overall I would say that things have gone well with the recovery, although my paraspinal muscles are still very stiff and I have lots of varying aches and pains in leg/hip/bum/back. A lot of my flexibility has come back now, and I am reasonably active again - swimming, bike, gym strength training - although not sure if/when I'll ever get back to running. Anyway, hope this is of some encouragement to someone out there.

 

[jesse james]

That sounds like a great out come to me! Best wishes!!

SPINELF

 

[Kojak]

my fizzy foot is back i'm off to the gym to try to exercise it away. so hard not to get really, really worried and scared...
hope you're all doing ok xx

 

[Dennis Mitchell]

It's almost 3 months I attended at LSI, Tampa for my discectomy on L4-L5 - degenerative disc bulge and herniated. It was the 3rd time and hopefully the last!!!

I had no problem walking a few hours after the operation, but ofcourse the pain was excruciating.

The outside wound healed well, but inside the spine is still very painful. I find sitting and standing for more than 20 minutes, very challenging. I used to roam the mall for hours. Not any more more. Half an hour and I am limping. I don't know how long it's going to take to feel different, but I am hopeful. See, I have had back pain since my teenage years and it has progressed over the years.

I hate it when doctors claim that the pain goes with the surgery! That is being extremely naive. We all know that the back is a complicated piece of art and any slight disturbance i.e. surgery, will cause significant pain which won't just evaporate. Doctors BEWARE!!

 

[Jeni 90]

Hi, my husband had this damned operation over 1 year ago and at first everything looked to have gone really good, but now he seems to be back to square one, not sleeping, can hardly walk, always in pain, his hip is playing up aswell. he also has oxycontin every day. Does anyone know anything that may help??

 

[pmehnuraizqiscejy]

Hello everyone! Seems we all have a lot of questions but no one to ask. I don't know who has had private treatment or who has had NHS treatment but I thought I would let you compare my NHS treatment with the private treatment of an acquaintance of mine.

As many of you know I had a discectomy with the NHS and the surgeon told me they had to take 'quite a bit' of the disc away, no surprise then that there was a relapse 4 months later. My friend had pretty much the same kind of disc prolapse but was able to go private, with the same consultant as me she had the disc removed and an artificial one put in (can't remember the correct word). They then fitted a cage around that part of the spine because, as he told her, the spine would be too unstable if left without support. She says the op cost £14,000, a lot of money but she had health insurance. I just wondered whether treatment is purely based on finances, which leaves a lot of us wasting many years trying to find a solution.

Just a thought.

Someone mentioned hip pain in a previous post, my failed discectomy has resulted in hip and groin pain but I don't know what that means....and I'm not likely to find out because I can't get anyone to investigate. At least we're not alone eh!

 

[chris w]

hi all.
just to tell you my story.
i had my discectomy at the end of july this year, and was in and out in 3 days. all felt well until 10 days after the op my wound started to leak fluid, which lucky enough was not spinal fluid. i had blood and swab tests done but they came back clear of infection. i was having to have dressing replaced every couple of days and was starting to get really bad pain in my back. i put up with this for weeks and having the dressing changed everyday. i then started to have problems with my bladder which was basically feeling like it wasn't being emptied. the doctor came out to me and told me he was arranging an emergency mri scan, the ambulance was with me within the hour. the mri scan found that i had an abcess in my back and i was opened up again, cleaned out and treated with antibiotics for 2 weeks in middle of sept. i was home for a week and was still having a lot of pain, contacted the ward who told me to attend for tests. luckily whilst on the ward the consultant was on and he looked at me and arranged for me to have another mri scan. the following week i had the scan which showed that i now had discitis (infection of the disc). i was then readmitted into hospital and treated with more antibiotics for 2 weeks and had a picc line put in for the treatment. i was let home 2 weeks ago but i have nurses coming out to me everyday to give me the antibiotics through the drip. i am due to have a review on wedneday 18th when i will probably be told that i will have to continue on the antibiotics for a bit longer, as i am still feeling quite a bit of pain especially in the morning when i am struggling to walk. i am also taking 20 odd tablets everyday to help with the pain. all my treatment has been at the walton centre where the staff on the ward do a fantastic job.my doctor has signed me off work until at least the end of december.
thanks for taking time to read this and if anyone else has been through any of this i would be very keen to hear.
cheers

 

[Justxme]

Hi Daver
I havn't actually had discitis but I can really empathise with you.

I went in for emergency surgery prior to my planned date as i developed cauda equina. had the decompression & a fusion L4/L5. All seemed okay at first & then the wound began to ooze large amounts of fluid. My bloods were all over the place showing I had severe infection. I too required a PICC line as I had sepsis.

Due to this I was opened up again & washed out. Unfortunately, this made no difference so I was taken to theatre again for debridement. This left me with an open wound approx 10"x4" required a vacuum dressing. This was changed twice in theatre before it was done on the ward.

Following this I was transferred to my local trauma centre for reconstruction by plastic surgeons. I don't know quite what I expected but it certainly wasn't what i have. I required 3 large skin flaps as when it was cleaned again in theatre the spine & dura could be seen.

I remain on 26 tablets a day plus oramorph, plus I have a urinary catheter as I lost sensation of bladder as the cauda equina progressed. Also as with you I have nurses in daily to pack wounds etc & have an infection again which they don't want to treat with antibiotics as they feel the honey dressings will treat it topically.

Melza - I've still got the hip & groin pain which is referred from the spine. My worst pain is in my legs though they feel like i have metal braces on the ankles, whilst my legs feel hollow but like someone is squeezing them.

ALI - How are you?

Love to all xx

 

[Vancity Nuckers]

Hi Tracey
So sorry to hear of your trials. Really hoping that there is some good news for you soon and that you are feeling much better. It sounds like you have been through so very much. Fingers crossed that there is some relief for you in sight. Soon!

jess - hoping that your pain has also receded and that things are on the up for you as well.

Melza - also hope you are doing better too. Sorry to hear things have been so difficult.

Everyone else - The bad days are truly horrid, and you feel as though you will never feel any differently, or that you will be any better... It take enormous perserverence and emotional strength to get through this process, but hang in there.

 

[My boys are my world]

Hi Guys

I haven't logged on to the site for a little while, but after being back at work for less than 8 months (after being off for almost the same length of time previous to that) my disc appears to have prolapsed again. I am due to see a specialist mid December, and he is the one who carried out my discectomy 7 years ago.

In some ways the pain has been even worse this time around and during my second week off work it became much much worse, and I lay on the bed for five hours unable to move. I have experienced this before but it has never lasted so long. The pain was so bad, that I really wanted to die if it didn't start to ease off. I rang my GP at 4.00pm to ask for a home visit and expected either a pain relieving injection , or even admittance to hospital. I have to say it really worried me.

The GP eventually rang me back at 6.15pm and said that because my back had gone into 'trauma' all I could do was increase all of the medication and wait for it to settle down, when I could get up and move around it was only with the aid of a walking stick. For the next week or two I was on 17 pills a day. It has gradually settled down and the pain is now around an 8 out of 10 and I am down to 11 pills a day.

On Monday of this week I tried to go back to work, and lasted less than an hour because of the pain. Tuesday the pain was even worse, and today it is worse still.

My GP had wanted me to go back to see him before issuing a further sick note, however because my back has started to worsen again, he has agreed to see me at the end of next week. He has not referred me for physiotherapy this time, as last year even doing physio aggravated the condition.

Last year I was told by a specialist (not one I'd seen before) that my only option is to have a fusion when the pain is a constant 8 out of 10, however this specialist didn't refer me for an MRI, and as such didn't pick up that I had a prolapse. It was only when I visited a pain management doctor that he ordered an MRI and picked up the further degeneration and the prolapse. He advised of new medication to try, and also carried out a nerve root block procedure, which unfortunately didn't work.

I am experiencing a new symptom that may be totally unconnected, and is very embarrasing, and I just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything similar.
When I pass urine, I am passing stools too. I am not aware of passing them at the time and it doesn't happen every time but is happening fairly frequently. I did pluck up the courage to tell the GP this morning (as we spoke by telephone and not face to face) which is when he said I must see a GP before another sick note is issued (Friday 27th). Should I be worried? Has anyone else ever had this? I may just be falling apart in general....I feel so low that my whole system is probably acting up, plus I have taken LOADS of pills over the last 5 weeks.

I haven't been able to read through the posts on here for a while, so am unable to see if this has already been covered.

I wish you all well and relief from pain.x

 

[ojomqewc]

Hi Melza

Would you please be able to find out more about the artificial disc and the cage that was fitted around that part of the spine? I have private medical insurance but have actually chosen the NHS path this time. The specialist I saw 7 years ago was with private health insurance, however he no longer sees private patients. The specialist I saw last year was also with private health insurance and he was useless. Once I get a proper diagnosis from my specialist I can ask him to refer me to a recommended private one for treatment, and if the procedure you mentioned is available & relevant for me.

Regarding the hip pain that has been mentioned, I have suffered with it for just over 12 months, and my physio thought it was the beginning of arthritis, however when I had an XRay and MRI my hip was perfectly healthy, and it is deferred pain from my back.

Thanks

Maz

 

[ShaZoloiuu]

Sorry me again, I have just gone through some of my notes from last year, and the specialist discussed the option of an artificial disc. After the XRay he advised me that my discs are too worn for this procedure to be carried out, and that you need to have it done in the very early stages of degeneration. He also wasn't a fan of it as it is quite a new procedure so the long term outcome is unknown, and also because it is a solid piece of material (plastic?) there is no cushioning effect between the discs......Not sure if I was being 'fobbed off' so will ask the question in December.

 

[Meg]

Mad_maz

I'm no expert but I would definately want any problems with bladder or bowel taking seriously. It may be nothing. I had similar experiences although I couldn't pas urine & was eventually diagnosed with Cauda Equina My advice would be to contact the specialists secretary & ask for you appointment to be bought forward.

Ali - where are you

Melza - hows things

Tracey x

 

[So Fierce]

Hi Tracey-1, thank you for the reply. The symptoms have settled a little now, but my physio thinks it could be Cauda Equina too.

Where is everyone? This forum used to be thriving.

Has anyone used the SLM back pain & Sciatica program by Steve Lockhart, and if so what was the outcome?

Steve is based in Australia and has 20 years of experience of treating back problems. He offers a downloadable book and DVD to help people become as pain free as possible.

I am clutching at straws, but just want an end to the pain.


Maz

 

[carmenH2-ali]

hi tracey1
thank you for taking the time to read my post, it sounds like you have been through it a bit which is not nice to hear.
i had my review on wednesday and am none the wiser apart from having the antibiotics continued for at least another couple of weeks. the registrar sent me to have my bloods done and said she would contact me to tell me what showed up but as yet i have still not heard. she also said she was arranging for another mri scan, so i guess its just another waiting game then hey.
again thanks for the reply and i hope you start to move uphill with your treatment. take care.
daver

 

[Furqan J]

Hi Guys

Gosh, so many people having a really tough time. I am sending you all good wishes for much better days to come.

Mad Maz - if you think you might have Cauda Equina you should go direct to emergency. It's very risky that you get irreparable nerve damage. I don't know what your GP is playing at, but you really need treatment quickly if you do have CE, and probably emergency surgery. Really sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

Jess, I know how you feel - my 'good' leg has been fizzing a lot recently, and it really does freak me out. Who knows what is going on down there. Anyway, hope yours is feeling better.

Healing hugs to all,

Msksquared x

 

[Shazam]

I am very, VERY supprised at the failier of LASER SPINE INSTITUTE to improve your condition, their minimally invasive surgical procedures are amongst the least destructive types in the world!
Have gone back to them and demanded an explaination? if not, do it!

Alternatively, seek a second opinion from the Bonati Institute in Tampa, at least they should have no problem in offering you an 2nd opinion.

The main thread of these postings seems to be regarding the poor clinical outcomes a variety of standard surgical decompression procedures. During my research I have found that most of these new or worstening symptoms are caused by the physical act of 'gaining access' to the 'working area' by the use of large incisions, cut nerves, cut tisssue, cut muscles and healthy bone disection, which then destablises the spinal column, and thats without discussing the intricacies of the decompression procedure it self.

I underwent an L 4/5 sciatic nerve root (osteophyte) decompression
at the Spinal Foundation (using a similar procedure to LSI) which was completely successful, the use of these minimally invasive, endoscopic & laser procedures are the way forward in my humble opinion, as I believe that they would avoid a lot of the problems you fellow suffers have experienced. DO THE RESEARCH PEOPLE!

Best wishes & kind thoughts to you all

SPINELF

 

[Shafagh H]

hi all...
sorry to hear about the tough times that some people are having at the moment. the more posts i read, the more i realise that trouble accessing treatment seems to cause the most stress and upset, never mind the excruciating physical pain. i am so disillusioned with the nhs as a service provider and an employer.

my pins and needles gradually disappeared once i got back exercising. it really seems like a 2 week break is just too long and inactivity is the reason for light symptoms coming back for me. i feel condemned to a lifetime of having to go to the gym!!! although this is far better than a lifetime of sciatic pain.

little story for you....went to see the practice nurse at my GP surgery for a routine blood test (have had about 10 of these in the last 6 months so am becoming an expert). when she inserted the needle, i got a burning, shooting pain from my elbow down the inside of my arm to my wrist. it was definitely nerve pain. i am an expert on that! since then, i have had the shooting pain every time i straighten my arm or pick up anything. it's my right arm and i am right handed and so this is a bit of a nightmare! anyone have idea how long it might last?? obviously the needle was only in for about a minute (despite my protests), so i am hoping the nerve pain will only last a short time. i don't feel i can go to my GP cos i don't think she'll believe me if i start talking nerve pain again!! i did phone my physio, spoke to someone else who told me to rest it and exercise it and take painkillers. figure that out if you can?!

so i am really, really thinking of anyone experiencing nerve pain at the moment. it does bring back some awful memories.

take care everyone xx

 

[The Blonde Bird]

Hi all
this is a post from another thread can any of you post a link if you know to which site they might be refering.
Yes. Ask for a second opinion. This is your right and you are entitled to it. Your GP can help with this.

When I was referred to a consultant, as part of the "Choose and Book" process, I went on a website which gave lots of details of what hospitals in my local area specialised in the condition being referred for, what their success rate was, what consultants specialised in what conditions. This helped me choose - actually I chose my local one but it came out the best.

Thanks steve