[Spinal Fusion / Lumbar] ALIF for DDD Herniated Disc (L5-S1) in 8 Days. Anyone else have these symptoms. Please Advise.

[jack]

I cant sit or lie down for a minute without severe pain in my buttocks groin area . When I stand and walk the pain subsides. When I first found out about the herniation from an MRI after over a year of having the pain and three cat scans I took advice from a chiropracter friend and went for treatment on a spinemed decompression table. I did 18 treatments with no relief. When I showed the DC the latest CT she pointed out the herniation.I am very upset the hospital didnt see it when they did the CT I will be looking at the first two when I get back from the treatment. If you look at the side view of the MRI the herniation is pressing about 3/8 to 1/2 of the way into the nerve column behind the spinal cord could that be causing cramping/pain in my buttock/groin area? I am so over the pain and inability to sit and relax or lie down I am seriously considering having an operation but do not know if there is anything else I can do to avoid it. Frontal view on CT shows that the vertebra are very close possibly bone on bone and no medication vicodin 750 anti inflamatories muscle relaxers epidural shots have given me any relief. In the last two days prescribed 15mg's of Morphine and Gabapentin hoping for relief. Climbing the walls would be a good example of the pain on the 1-10 scale. I hope that there is relief and no permanent damage. Went to a Neuro he said pt wont help micro wont and recommended anterior fusion 2 hour surgery out next day six week recovery (what does the recovery consist of?) Is he stretching the truth? No PT after either. Scared yes but over this pain it goes from my tailbone straight down to to my privates and never lets up. Can't live with the pain so I think the op is the only choice. Anyone else ever had these same symptoms? Did it go away after the surgery?

[KBear]

Welcome to the forum and sorry for the circumstances that bring you here. I completely get being over the pain and just wanting your life back. When I was asked if I would consider surgery, I told them I would stand on my head all day if it might help the pain.... desperate was an understatement. I then found forums researching surgery. Everyone suggested multiple opinions, and even though I was ready for surgery yesterday, I sought them and am glad I did. Luckily, all of my opinions were the same on the treatment, which was ADR at L4/5. However, this is not the case for many and the second or third opinion points out something that could have potentially been missed.

As far as when to have surgery, no one can really answer that but you. I went through 3 years of treatment (everything under the sun) before surgery. Some people have surgery after only 6 months of treatment. For me it was a delay in diagnosis (similar to what you had, no one would tell me what was causing my pain) and it was the exhausting of all conservative options. While 3 years of treatment was not fun, nor would I suggest waiting that long, it did give me peace knowing I had done any and every thing possible to get better and that surgery was my only option. Spine surgery is a MAJOR surgery and no piece of cake to heal from. Some do better than others, some heal quicker, others longer and others never and there is no telling what group you are going to fall in. That's what is great about exhausting conservative options, getting multiple opinions and becoming educated on your condition. You can go into it knowing that you have done every thing you could and made the best decision with the information you had. I wanted to be at peace with my surgery outcome regardless if it was a positive or negative one.

I was a stay at home mom during my treatment and still am, so never had to 'go back to work' per say. I was also one of the slower healers, it took me all of a year to really feel considerably better and just recently at my 18 month mark was I able to become completely pain free. I was very naive and thought that since I was young that I would be back in top shape after a few months and that wasn't the case for me. It was a very up and down recovery and there were plenty of times where I wondered if I had made a bad decision. That said, I'm completely satisfied with surgery and would do it again. It was worth it for sure. I just wish I had researched even more than I did and realized just how big of a surgery I was having.

Best of Luck,
Kathy

[Justin]

Hi Jack,

Welcome to the Spine Patient Society.

I'm sorry that you have had such a difficult past with your spine. In regard to your questions above, the compression or irritation of a nerve root (the nerves that leave the spinal canal) can cause muscular symptoms as you have described (cramping & pain in your buttock / groin region).

I completely understand about being "so over the pain and inability to sit and relax or lie down." The main factor for me moving forward with surgery was not necessarily the pain, but my quality of life--I was bed-ridden and I could no longer perform my activities of daily living. One point to note is that those Spine Patients that have surgery just for pain end up having about the same outcome as those that did not have surgery.

I cant sit or lie down for a minute without severe pain in my buttocks groin area. When I stand and walk the pain subsides.

The bold, italic quote above gives the impression that your herniation has really limited the space around your spinal cord. Spine Patients with spinal stenosis report similar complaints--sitting is awful, but standing and walking help. Here's a good read about spinal stenosis to give you an idea: Spinal Stenosis -- Spine Patient Society Educational Materials. I'm not saying you have spinal stenosis...I'm just relaying that your symptoms sound like they have a similar pathology (your spinal canal has been "narrowed").

I hope that there is relief and no permanent damage. Went to a Neuro he said pt wont help micro wont and recommended anterior fusion 2 hour surgery out next day six week recovery (what does the recovery consist of?)

I do hope there is no permanent damage as well. Here's some information on what to expect after an anterior fusion: A Patient's Guide to Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion -- Spine Patient Society Educational Materials.

Is he stretching the truth? No PT after either. Scared yes but over this pain it goes from my tailbone straight down to to my privates and never lets up. Can't live with the pain so I think the op is the only choice.

Recovery from spine surgery does take time. With a spinal fusion, one has to allow enough time for the fusion "to take" between the two vertebral bodies where the intervertebral disc was removed. Unfortunately, this is a "hurry up and wait" process as the body can only heal so fast. The first 6 to 8 weeks after spine surgery are key. You only get once chance at recovering and you want to do it right. Your surgeon will instruct you to avoid low-level bending (putting your shoes on, bending over to pick something up off the floor, etc.) and exaggerated rotation of your spine.

This is a great thread for tips regarding recovery and items to have: Spine Surgery Recovery: "Must Have" Items & Postoperative Tips.

Also, you can read about other Spine Patients that have had spinal fusion in the Surgical Outcome Forum (you can click on the "Spinal Fusion" thread title to help sort that Forum): Spine Patient Society -- Surgical Outcomes Forum.

I hope the above information gets you off to a good start. Don't hesitate to contact me (or anyone on the SPS Forum) if you have any questions. We are here to support you, so please keep us posted as you get closer to your surgery.

[Justin]

Hi Jack,

How did your surgery go? I do hope you are recovering well.

[jack]

They said the surgery went great. I am still in pain of course I don't expect it to be gone already but I do believe that I will have a successful outcome. It was two weeks ago today and I am able to lay down without the severe pain like I used to get and can sit with some pain still standing doesnt hurt so hopefully with time the sitting pain will subside and I will be good to go. I have actually dosed off watching TV a few times without pain medication so it proved to me that I have definitely decreased the amount of pain that I am in but my body is still recovering/tired from the beating it took during the operation which is expected of course. I walk around a bit until my back gets tired and I have noticed that my feet are swelling which I think is probably from percocet (they gave me percocet and methocarbamol a muscle relaxer). A nurse I spoke with said it was because I just went through surgery recently. I was at the hospital over the weekend for my Dad so she wasnt one of my nurses I just got her opinion. Other then that just keep my brace on at all times except when in bed for ten weeks and then just hope for a good fusion of the joints. Its a hurry up and wait procedure and I am not the most patient person..Hopefully the time will fly by and I will be pain free. It does happen just have to be one of the lucky ones. In the mean time I am playing alot of chess on facebook to kill the time.
Thank you for checking on me.
Keep in touch
Jack

[Justin]

Hey Jack, it sounds like you are making a great recovery thus far! What level was your ALIF? Slow and steady wins the race.

[jack]

l5-s1

[KBear]

Jack- Sounds like you are doing really good for 2 weeks out. Remember to take it easy, slow and steady wins the race.

[jack]

I know I have moved a little fast a few times and it reminds me real quick. I dont know if I am doing so-so good or great because I dont really have anything to gauge it against. I just hope that it fuses and the pain goes away or diminishes with time. Thank you for your kind words. It is a tough road thats for sure.
JAck

[KBear]

I know I have moved a little fast a few times and it reminds me real quick. I dont know if I am doing so-so good or great because I dont really have anything to gauge it against. I just hope that it fuses and the pain goes away or diminishes with time. Thank you for your kind words. It is a tough road thats for sure.
JAck

I initially felt worse for weeks after surgery, then it slowly got better. It took time, but I finally dramatically improved at the 9, 12, and 18 month marks. I know when you are going through it, you wish you were better yesterday and 2 weeks seems like a long time; but it really isn't considering what your body just went through and is recovering from. Take it easy, obey doctors orders and I'm sure you will be seeing improvement each day.