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Well, to each one's choice. I will proceed to avoid surgery very quickly. I live with plenty of damage from 2 big enough surgeries and choose not to gamble again...it's a huge gamble and many live with lot of nerve damage from so much and including surgeries. Surgeons need people for their business to thrive and continue. They don't live with the scraps from the surgeries.
Mine comes and goes, sometimes it keep me awake, sometimes I can't hardly stand up, but from talking to friends who have tried Pt, shots and surgery, I know there isn't a lot that can be done. My opinion, from what I know is depending on age, what direction one goes is something to consider. Our daughter, who isn't even 60 yet, after trying everything decided to have the surgery. It didn't stop all her back and side, leg, etc problems but certainly did help. It has been a year. Her arthritis is still bad, but the nerve problems are much better. I, on the other hand, in my early 80s have decided to just live with it.
Mine comes and goes, sometimes it keep me awake, sometimes I can't hardly stand up, but from talking to friends who have tried Pt, shots and surgery, I know there isn't a lot that can be done. My opinion, from what I know is depending on age, what direction one goes is something to consider. Our daughter, who isn't even 60 yet, after trying everything decided to have the surgery. It didn't stop all her back and side, leg, etc problems but certainly did help. It has been a year. Her arthritis is still bad, but the nerve problems are much better. I, on the other hand, in my early 80s have decided to just live with it.
What has helped me the MOST is Pelvic Floor Work once done by a chiro when it first happened in the 80's, this old guy knew his work, got on the glove and went in and moved the nerve from where it was causing the trouble...then again from a PT who did and does this work with his glove etc...it's a training and very legit...if I still had a car and drove I'd probably go back to the PT, but he is a little out of my area from my friend to take me.
Mine too has come and gone but now it's in a flair and has been for some time and all since all the time being down in the rehabs....for the knee. D.O. worked the area the other day and it helped for a little while but it's flairing again right now.
I did. Mine was almost constant. An MRI showed a herniated disc pressing on the sciatic nerve. Microdiscectomy corrected it. Now, 12 years later, it’s happening occasionally on the same side. As long as it goes away, I’ll live with it. If it’s constant, there is never a position to sit or stand that doesn’t hurt.
What has helped me the MOST is Pelvic Floor Work once done by a chiro when it first happened in the 80's, this old guy knew his work, got on the glove and went in and moved the nerve from where it was causing the trouble...then again from a PT who did and does this work with his glove etc...it's a training and very legit...if I still had a car and drove I'd probably go back to the PT, but he is a little out of my area from my friend to take me.
Mine too has come and gone but now it's in a flair and has been for some time and all since all the time being down in the rehabs....for the knee. D.O. worked the area the other day and it helped for a little while but it's flairing again right now.
I have an appointment with a pain doctor later this month. I am not expecting much but it is worth a try. We will see what he has to say.
I went out to dinner with a friend last evening and have to adjust by butt to sit in the bucket seats of cars. I find after a little while of sitting the nerve flairs up so I have to move .. and I do. I don't want more drugs and happy I'm off a lot of ibuprofen now, pain docs will just offer pain meds...
Please don't lump all back surgeries together, and then paint them all "black" with a wide brush.
Mentioned in post #24 above, the microdiskectomy is a "targeted" surgery -- the outcome is usually good when MRI, history, and physical exam findings all line up. In this surgery, it is more straightforward to account for the nerve pain, and to fix it (remove the fragment of disc that is impinging on the nerve, and/or open up the foramen ("canal through which the nerve travels")).
Lumbar fusions, on the other hand, don't have the same level of success as lumbar (micro)diskectomies. A simple rule of thumb is that the more levels that are fused, the more uncertain the final outcome will be (in terms of symptom relief). Some patients have arthritis throughout the spine, and that complicates the matter greatly.
I have assisted on many microdiskectomies but a lesser number of fusions. The (two) neurosurgeons I worked for (at different times) were very careful and conservative about fusions. They tried to pick candidates who had a good chance of benefiting.
Please don't lump all back surgeries together, and then paint them all "black" with a wide brush.
Mentioned in post #24 above, the microdiskectomy is a "targeted" surgery -- the outcome is usually good when MRI, history, and physical exam findings all line up. In this surgery, it is more straightforward to account for the nerve pain, and to fix it (remove the fragment of disc that is impinging on the nerve, and/or open up the foramen ("canal through which the nerve travels")).
Lumbar fusions, on the other hand, don't have the same level of success as lumbar (micro)diskectomies. A simple rule of thumb is that the more levels that are fused, the more uncertain the final outcome will be (in terms of symptom relief). Some patients have arthritis throughout the spine, and that complicates the matter greatly.
I have assisted on many microdiskectomies but a lesser number of fusions. The (two) neurosurgeons I worked for (at different times) were very careful and conservative about fusions. They tried to pick candidates who had a good chance of benefiting.
Excellent info...my hubby,,,78 then..had microdiskectomy almost 2 years ago...his MRI showed a huge disc...surgery was not that bad...PT after...used walker maybe 2 weeks...his nerve pain which made even his toes numb...is gone!
Find an excellent spine surgeon...
I had RFA done 2 1/2 years ago for 3 herniated discs that sent pain down to my feet, have had no pain since. https://www.webmd.com/arthritis/radi...ncy-ablation#1
Radiofrequency ablation (or RFA) is a procedure used to reduce pain. An electrical current produced by a radio wave is used to heat up a small area of nerve tissue, thereby decreasing pain signals from that specific area.
I have assisted on many microdiskectomies but a lesser number of fusions. The (two) neurosurgeons I worked for (at different times) were very careful and conservative about fusions. They tried to pick candidates who had a good chance of benefiting.
Yes...good candidates. is key.
I've had a 2 level laminectemy, 2 foraminotomies, and 2 discectomies....really helped for the streaks of pain travelling down the leg. I recovered fairly fast, and have no regrets. Where I live it's a really challenge to get the surgery as there are too few operating rooms, and long long waiting lines.
I wanted the surgery...I tried everything else except steroid shots and ablation.
I don't want to take drugs or painkillers the rest of my life....surgery for me kept me from that.
I've never had to take pain-killers except post surgery for a couple of weeks.
Surgery was a definite benefit to me.
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