surg

[amberemmil19]

people are telling me if i have the surg on my neck and back area remove the disc replace with bone ad metal bar i could be worse then what i am now what options do i have if i refuse surg could i lose my work comp case my pain pangement doc also told me a shot in the spine was very dangerous to me because of my size i want the pain to end but what road do i take here in pa

[lfoster21]

Obviously its such a personal decision, bt you are doing the right thing by doing your homework. For me, I was told of the pro's and con's by my surgeon and he told me that since I was young and considering that is could make it worse, he would recommend that I not have the surgery, until I was at the point that my living became unbearable. He gave me some examples and said if I can do my daily living things, such as vacuming, laundry, general cleaning and changing the sheets on my bed. Also, if I could go grocery shopping, drive to work, work, cont. with church and other social activities, etc. even if those things made me hurt...but it was a hurt that was bearable and not one that made me bed ridden, then I should not have the surgery. When it got to the point that either I could not do those activities or at least not w/o incredible pain...then it was time for the surgery. So, that is what I did and when I was no longer able to do my own laundry, house cleaning, grocery shopping etc. I asked for the surgery. For me, it did not work and I think that I am worse off now, but I am still glad that I did it. I know that it wasn't something that I jumped into and if I had chosen not to ever do it, I can not say that I would not be in the same pain or worse.

I encourage you to go to as many medical websites and read all the pro's and con's. If you are just reading the various healthboards, you will hear from mostly those who are still not healed and perhaps worse off, since those who it worked on will be out living life. I had a fusion with the rods and screws, at the L3-5. I can't remember off the top of y head, but I think the surgery is 70% successful and 30% non-sucessful.

Good luck and feel free to come back with any other questions. I know once you start reading about the surgeries, you may have more decisions to make, than you do now. We are always here for one another.

[Cycler]

Be aware that recent Spine publications have been critical of the increase in the absolute number of spine surgeries including cervical fusions being preformed with no appreciable increase in return to function. They point out that simply waiting is often the best approach and that a significant percentage of cases will simply resolve own their own in a few years. Recommendations are that surgery should be performed when there is clear and objective neurological loss in order to preserve the use of the extremity etc. but is generally not recommended when pain is the chief complaint unless there is a disc herniation with cord or nerve root compromise. I would reccommend you look up the SPORT study and read more on these positions from a major university spine center.

While you may never be pain free again you may be able to eventually cope but a bad surgical outcome is always a bad surgical outcome

[capricorn]

Just my 2 cents here but I do agree with Cycler. I have suffered 3 lumbar injuries and a cervical injury. Have 3 herniations in my lumbar + some nerve damage. My neck has 2 herniations, severe stenosis, bone spurs out the wazzoo and a pinched nerve that affects my arm and hand. I have managed to stay out of surgery and am very thankful for that. That is my injury, some are so much more severe that surgery is the only answer. I have been lucky. Cycler is right in saying that time and acceptance sometimes is the only answer. I have accepted that I will have some degree of pain always and I do. Weather affects my pain along with certain activities. I am grateful that my spine specialist ended my care as he did. He did not feel I was a good surgical candidate. Felt he might not be able to fix what was worng and make me worse. Take your time and do all the research you can as lfoster suggested. Get more than one medical opinion. Have every test done you can and all non-surgical treatment before you make a permanent decision. JMO!

Capricorn

[tpm]

Hello Amber
From experience I can tell you that unless the doctor feels there are no other options he or she will first try other approaches like PT, Massage therapy, Chiro, etc. In my case I was hurt in May of 2005 and it wasn't until I tried everything else including epidural and facet joint injections that the time for surgery came. I had surgery in March of 2007. Unfortunately due to my ACDf with hardware on my C5-7 I now have bad discs above them which is all not that uncommon. I am going in just over a week for additional surgery of my C4-5 and possibly or hopefully my C3-4.
So I guess I'm saying that surgery should be a last resort unless your condition is that surgery is the only option. Your doctor would be the only one that can tell you that.
Good luck to you and Be well

[Still in Limbo]

Hi Amber! I'm from Pa. also, and You are Entitled to One Second Opinion of Your Injuries and Course of Treatment. If this has been going on for More than 90 Days, and You are not Healed, You can Choose the Dr. of Your Choice in the Field of Your Injury, and w/c will have to Pay. I would Strongly Suggest a Consult with an Attorney that Deals with w/c, I had Failed Back Surgery due to Scar Tissue, not the Dr.'s Fault, but none the Less I'm Disabled. Be Careful with Your Decision, and get as Much Info. as You Can before Surgery!!

[carlos58]

hello I find myself in a similar situation;doctors tried pt; massage; epidural injections helped for about 21 days and then pain came back;I HAVE 5 HERNIATED DISKS one has a anular tear.have an appt march 7 with ortho to discusss sirgury; at this point iam hopeless and scared;i can go grocery shopping havint to lie down for 2 hours after i come back from store;i do things for about an hour then lie down for 2 or 3 hours..would that be better then post sirgury?my pain is really unbearable...I feel that i depend on vicodeine to be able to move around...thanks for your opinions would really appreciate words of incouragement..........carlos in california