[Micodiscectomy, Laminectomy & Laser Decompression] Multiple Discectomies Lumbar Spine

[Night Butterfly]

Hello all. I am Jessi a 24 year old woman from Minnesota. I have been battling back problems and pain since I was 15. I had 2 herniated discs at L4-L5 and L5-S1. This was the result of years of lifting hay bales and feed bags wrong and a nasty fall off a balance beam when I decided to try gymnastics in high school. In Sept 2001 I had a microdiscectomy on L5-S1. I gone a few years with very little pain but then suffered a fall in the shower (due to no shower mat.. in which I NEVER go into a bath or shower without one now) in 2004 and ruptured disc L4-L5 and had a emergency microdiscectomy the day before Thanksgiving. I suffered a minor complication of a clot in the incision. They needed to squeeze it out of the incision. An experience I do not wish to repeat or wish on anyone!! After that incident I tried to live a more careful life. I lost weight, increased my flexibility, and started meditative therapy to help me in the occasional flare up without the use of drugs. To my disappointment I hit a bump in the road.. more like ice on the sidewalk and had a bad fall again in 2008. I have been on a downward spiral since then. I had high hopes on my latest surgery on May 2008 in which they had to do a discectomy on the left side for both L4-L5 and L5-S1. They also took out the facet joints made some bigger holes for the nerves because they had been flattened paper thin. Due to the nerve shock I thought the surgery worked and I was almost completely pain free. However, the pain came back in more than full force. I am right now on the verge of a multi level spinal fusion at the age of 24. I am beyond scared. I do not feel right about it. The surgeon that I had a consultation with said I should wait for 5-10 years.

Currently I am not working at my job. I cannot sit for more than 5 minutes or even stand for more than 10. I am in pain 24/7 and the pain medication is barely working at all anymore. Sleep is a rare gift. The pain and leg spasms keep me awake all day and night. I am hoping to find answers and support from people like myself. It’s been extremely hard on my mother through this whole ordeal. She has been a trooper in being there for every moan and groan, every therapy and injection. Trips to the emergency room and surgery room are getting hard to keep count. I just recently got married to a wonderful man on June 27, 2009. He has been adjusting to everything. The one thing that worries me is that with all of my back problems and the surgeries to come, is that I will not be able to bear children. I want to have a child so very badly.

So here I am battling year 10 of my back pain. I try to keep an upbeat attitude. I was angry in my teen years, not really accepting my situation. With time and understanding I grew into a person that now is inspiration to my family, friends and community. I have accepted that this was the hand that I was dealt with and living my life to the best of my abilities. I am hoping to find the courage to go on to the next step in this journey. My situation is unheard of where I come from and I have felt very much alone in my journey for a very long time. I have had women and men sympathize with my but they were all at least twice my age. I am hoping to find people in my general age that are going through similar things and hear what they are doing and found out. So hello all!!!! It’s so wonderful to hopefully meet you all!

[ajj1001]

Hi Jessi, Welcome to the forum. You have had such an awful time. Hope that you are going to find a way to get your back under control soon. Do medications have any effect on your pain?, are you due to see any other specialists? I was 34 when I first started with my back problems and it seemed very strange sat in waiting rooms full of pensioners.

alison x

[Dave]

Welcome Jessi,

Although I waited until my mid 40's to have surgery, I started having issues at the ripe old age of 16. My advice, for what it is worth, is to do a ton of research, then do more, ask a million questions, than ask more. You are to young to go through life with pain. Medical technology has made major progress in the last decade, which now gives us many different solutions to spinal issues.

I wish you luck in your quest for a permanent resolution to your issues.

[KBear]

Hi Jessi, Welcome to the Forum & Sorry you have to be here. I started having back problems at 25, was in a bad car wreck 2 weeks after the birth of my 2nd daughter. I understand your desire to have children and fear that it may not happen for you. There is nothing I want more in this world than to have another child.... I know I already have 2; but it has always been my dream to be a stay at home mom and have 3 or 4 kids. I have also been through the gammit of emotions.... anger, fear, sadness, loneliness, etc... A year and a half ago, as I was preparing to have ADR, I met a woman at Women Of Faith in Dallas, TX, who had ADR 3 years prior. She had since successfully had a child with no complications or problems. I know this was a huge ray of hope for me, knowing that if she could do it, so could I. So, it is possible. Also, it may turn out to be a blessing that you don't have children yet and have the chance to get well, then start a family. I had a 2 week old and 2 year old when this all started, they are now 4 & 6 years. They have had to give up so much, b/c mommy didn't feel good or just couldn't do it. I feel so bad for them and hate that they have had to go through this. I hate that I haven't been able to be the mommy I used to be. I wish I could have saved them from going through this. My youngest daughters' first sentence? Mommy, you back hurt? That sucks & is sad! It would be interesting to know how many people have had children after fusion or ADR, seeing as how the young patients are the exception to the rule.... though there are way more of us than you realize. I know going into surgery is scary, terrifying in fact. My best advice is to research everything, the surgery, the doctor, everything! Get mulitple opinions and then make the best decision you can with the information you have. That's all you can do, then have no regrets. I did this prior to surgery, and decided regardless of outcome, I knew I had done all I could do to ensure the best outcome. Thankfully, surgery worked for me and I am feeling great. I'm not 100% yet; but getting there.

Wow, I sure rambled on.... Nice to 'meet' you & Good Luck in your decision. Kathy