Howdy! New member, L3-S1 DDD possible ALIF with question....

[tnt136913]

kim,, your back sounds like mine ,, if u have facet problems its better to have 360 fusion,, my doc fused the botom 2 360 style back in 2000 , then the next ten years have been hell,, had a L3L4 plif in 06 , it never fused and just found out this year , so any day will be getting a alif at L3 L4 with DR henry at tbi in dallas,,, it will be a risky surgery from all the scar tissue, but from what dr henry says i have one of the best vascular surgeons in the country ,,, i hope ,, heard all this before.,, all i know is once you get fused it put preasure on the other disc and when the next disc goes you will know what pain is ,,

[scduggan]

Dear Kimberly,
Hello and welcome to the website. I hope you get this as it seems I am a little late in responding. My situation is a little different, but I think the more recovery stories you can hear the better. As you can see from my signature I had DDD at one level. You have a really good attitude and the perfect career. Your surgery is coming up soon and I think your plan to return next January sounds great. If you have been lurking you have probably already read advice from a lot of very wise folks who have conquered all kinds of spine problems. I hope you are receiving some peace from the decision to move forward with your surgery. Some folks heal rather quickly and some (like me) take a little longer. I see now at 15 months post-op that there is probably not a whole lot I could have done differently. I just needed time. I think it is SO IMPORTANT to have a physical therapist who is hands on. My therapist makes me do all kinds of exercises but he also works on my low back with deep tissue massage and myofascial release work. This is priceless and crucial as you will probably find some stiffness and resulting spasms in your low back and hips. The anterior approach is not a walk in the park. You will need to be on a MAJOR fiber quest....if you know what I mean. Your intestines don't take too kindly to being jacked and they can make your life miserable. Just be ready and it will not take you too off-guard. My incision did cause some discomfort but it ceased about one month post-op. Kimberly, you will do very well with your surgery. You are no doubt a really tough bird because of dealing with your DDD. You have jumped through all the hoops and now it is time to get your life back. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
CD

[Kimberly]

kim,, your back sounds like mine ,, if u have facet problems its better to have 360 fusion,, my doc fused the botom 2 360 style back in 2000 , then the next ten years have been hell,, had a L3L4 plif in 06 , it never fused and just found out this year , so any day will be getting a alif at L3 L4 with DR henry at tbi in dallas,,, it will be a risky surgery from all the scar tissue, but from what dr henry says i have one of the best vascular surgeons in the country ,,, i hope ,, heard all this before.,, all i know is once you get fused it put preasure on the other disc and when the next disc goes you will know what pain is ,,

I'm so sorry to hear about all you've been through. When will you have your alif surgery? Sounds like it will be soon. I will be thinking about you and sending positive thoughts and energy your way. Please let us know how it goes....Take care.

[Kimberly]

Dear Kimberly,
Hello and welcome to the website. I hope you get this as it seems I am a little late in responding. My situation is a little different, but I think the more recovery stories you can hear the better. As you can see from my signature I had DDD at one level. You have a really good attitude and the perfect career. Your surgery is coming up soon and I think your plan to return next January sounds great. If you have been lurking you have probably already read advice from a lot of very wise folks who have conquered all kinds of spine problems. I hope you are receiving some peace from the decision to move forward with your surgery. Some folks heal rather quickly and some (like me) take a little longer. I see now at 15 months post-op that there is probably not a whole lot I could have done differently. I just needed time. I think it is SO IMPORTANT to have a physical therapist who is hands on. My therapist makes me do all kinds of exercises but he also works on my low back with deep tissue massage and myofascial release work. This is priceless and crucial as you will probably find some stiffness and resulting spasms in your low back and hips. The anterior approach is not a walk in the park. You will need to be on a MAJOR fiber quest....if you know what I mean. Your intestines don't take too kindly to being jacked and they can make your life miserable. Just be ready and it will not take you too off-guard. My incision did cause some discomfort but it ceased about one month post-op. Kimberly, you will do very well with your surgery. You are no doubt a really tough bird because of dealing with your DDD. You have jumped through all the hoops and now it is time to get your life back. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
CD

scduggan,
Thanks for the kind words and advice. I am soooo very anxious about this decision. On bad days I am sure it is the right choice. Then I have a better day and I question my decision. In my heart of hearts I think I know this is the only option for me to regain some functionality back, but it just feels like such a leap of faith into the unknown. Sigh.

I so appreciate you taking the time to reply as it reminds me (as you hoped it would) that there are success stories out there of folks that are "on the other side" and doing ok. Struggling with the decision to have this surgery is made worse by people who are somehow surprised that I have these problems (maybe I've kept it hidden well from everyone but my closest friends and family.) I told my surgeon..." I always thought people who have this surgery are WAY worse than me...bedridden,etc. I can still get up and go to work, albeit in a lot of pain. Isn't that still functioning?" He said patients don't typically see how bad off they are or how far they've declined. It's the loved ones closest to them that notice the changes the most. He said, "Ask your husband. See how well HE thinks you're doing." He also said folks with my set of issues have usually already had this surgery several years ago by this point. BTW, when I asked my husband what he thought, how he thought I was doing at this point, he laughed (in a sad, caring way) and said, "are you kidding? You're completely nonfunctional. You have no quality of life left. Do the surgery."

So, how are things with you now (15 months post op?) Did you struggle with your decision to have surgery? If so, how did you reach a point of coming to terms with your decision? If that's a little personal, I apologize. I seem to know how to handle this long-term pain, but it's the unknown territory of more (bigger) surgery that is tricky. I wish I had a crystal ball and I could look to see for sure that this is what I need......

Kimberly

[scduggan]

Kimberly,
I have a long answer for you, but my husband is hogging the computer tonight. I am hunting and pecking on my iPad. I will post a proper and probably way "too much information" reply tomorrow. In a nutshell you have to ask yourself if you think you will ever get better without surgery. Your degenerated, herniated, leaking and torn discs are most likely NOT going to get better. The self- doubt is So Normal......even to the point of your mind playing tricks as your date approaches and you think your back is really not that bad. Rest assured in your decision. Easy to say and very hard to do. I'll get back to you. You are so young AND you have better days ahead.
CD

[scduggan]

Hey Kimberly,
Well, I said I would reply the next day and now it is the 9th. I am sorry. It has been a crazy few days. I am wondering how you are feeling about your upcoming surgery? I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to have 3 diseased discs. Are you a little more at peace? I see you have two kids. There is a lot of guilt that goes with being a back pain manager while trying to be an involved Mom. I think your future looks bright. Your surgery will be pretty tough, but at least you will be working TOWARDS something.....not just trying to survive. I could really relate when you said a lot of folks did not even know about your spine issues. I kept going to the YMCA to exercise right up until my surgery. I learned early on that a sedentary lifestyle might sound good but would always make me feel worse. Do you feel really good about your surgeon? If your gut tells you he has your back (no pun intended), then it is time to roll on. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to plan on really taking it easy during your recovery. I don't know a lot about the ALIF, especially for two levels. I have always heard that a surgeon will choose anterior instead of posterior in order to give a different kind of stability to the fusion. You had your surgery in December, but I think you will find this is much heavier. Like I said before, really be pro-active with your intestines. As far as post-op, I was pretty needy for about 3 weeks. I walked the halls of the hospital the day of surgery and every day after. I imagine you will, too. It is fortunate the weather will be good for walking outside. I also had a recliner moved into my bedroom just to have a different place and different position in which to rest. Several of my girlfriends came over those first weeks to hang out and watch movies. I did not use a walker but a lot of folks do. After those first few weeks when you are so weak you will start to feel better but still have a lot of limitations. This will be a trying time but you have GOT TO TAKE IT EASY! This may make you a little stir crazy but it is so important. I did not start PT until 8 weeks post-op.

I feel like I am rambling on. Please send me a PM if you have ANY questions or if you want to call me I would love that, too. Your situation is a bigger deal but I think some of the tips I am giving are universal for spine surgery. I found the whole major spine surgery journey to be long and arduous....sometimes happy and peaceful and sometimes with tears being shed. In a weird way it has been very good for me because I think I have finally received some much needed patience. You will not know what your outcome is for quite a while but just keep plugging away because you WILL get there. Let us know how you are and please know I am keeping you in my prayers.
CD

[Kimberly]

Hey Kimberly,
Well, I said I would reply the next day and now it is the 9th. I am sorry. It has been a crazy few days. I am wondering how you are feeling about your upcoming surgery? I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like to have 3 diseased discs. Are you a little more at peace? I see you have two kids. There is a lot of guilt that goes with being a back pain manager while trying to be an involved Mom. I think your future looks bright. Your surgery will be pretty tough, but at least you will be working TOWARDS something.....not just trying to survive. I could really relate when you said a lot of folks did not even know about your spine issues. I kept going to the YMCA to exercise right up until my surgery. I learned early on that a sedentary lifestyle might sound good but would always make me feel worse. Do you feel really good about your surgeon? If your gut tells you he has your back (no pun intended), then it is time to roll on. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to plan on really taking it easy during your recovery. I don't know a lot about the ALIF, especially for two levels. I have always heard that a surgeon will choose anterior instead of posterior in order to give a different kind of stability to the fusion. You had your surgery in December, but I think you will find this is much heavier. Like I said before, really be pro-active with your intestines. As far as post-op, I was pretty needy for about 3 weeks. I walked the halls of the hospital the day of surgery and every day after. I imagine you will, too. It is fortunate the weather will be good for walking outside. I also had a recliner moved into my bedroom just to have a different place and different position in which to rest. Several of my girlfriends came over those first weeks to hang out and watch movies. I did not use a walker but a lot of folks do. After those first few weeks when you are so weak you will start to feel better but still have a lot of limitations. This will be a trying time but you have GOT TO TAKE IT EASY! This may make you a little stir crazy but it is so important. I did not start PT until 8 weeks post-op.

I feel like I am rambling on. Please send me a PM if you have ANY questions or if you want to call me I would love that, too. Your situation is a bigger deal but I think some of the tips I am giving are universal for spine surgery. I found the whole major spine surgery journey to be long and arduous....sometimes happy and peaceful and sometimes with tears being shed. In a weird way it has been very good for me because I think I have finally received some much needed patience. You will not know what your outcome is for quite a while but just keep plugging away because you WILL get there. Let us know how you are and please know I am keeping you in my prayers.
CD

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I agree with you that the whole spine surgery journey is long and arduous. I think sometimes that is the hardest bit.....the constancy of it. Although my family is very supportive and loving, I sometimes feel so isolated in my issues of pain that I find it tricky to balance the emotional part of the journey with whatever else life demands of me. My 7th grader in a moment of wisdom (I thought) likened it to wearing a mask every day. sigh. Too true. Sorry....feel like I'm super whiny today. I know you don't know me, but that is highly unlike me. I'm a grit-your-teeth and grab-your-bootstraps kind of gal but I guess sometimes even that facade wears off from time to time.

I couldn't help but notice that we're about the same age, and from reading a different post of yours I ran across on the site, that you are also a mom. You're right about the guilt. But I think mom-guilt is fairly universal and I figure I'd have it about something or other, so why not about my back. I was at my son's baseball game last night standing, pacing, sitting, standing, pacing and wishing desperately for the end of the game so I could go home and ice my back and lay down and take something. Nice, huh? I'll bet if he hit a homerun, I might not even have noticed (ok...I would have noticed the HR, but probably not much else :-) How are YOU doing 15 months out from surgery? You too are WAY too young to be having all this to deal with. Are you glad you had surgery? I see from your signature that you had an ADR. How is that working for you now? How is your pain at this point?

I thought a lot about your question about whether or not I thought I would get better without surgery. I thought about it since I first read your response a few days ago. Unfortunatly, my answer is no. So I guess I feel at peace with the decision, but scared of the unknown. I do feel that my surgeon (as you put it) "has my back" and I'm very confident in his skills. Still scary though. Even still, like you said, at least I'll be moving TOWARDS something which sounds like a wonderful idea. Maybe I'll PM you for some more specific "post surgery" tips if I can figure out how to do that. ha!

Have a good weekend,
Kimberly