diskectomy

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/12/2003 8:32:32 PM Eastern Standard Time,

john.kammerer@... writes:

I had my discectomy on Sept 23rd and Im still having the

numbness,tingling,burning and sharp pains in my leg. Only to find out the Neuro

only did the L2

and L3 and there is still a pinched nerve at L3 and L4....thats my luck!

Does that mean you have to go back in again ? You would have thought he

would have done it all at once.

Joy

[Guest guest]

I had my discectomy on Sept 23rd and Im still having the

numbness,tingling,burning and sharp pains in my leg. Only to find out the Neuro

only did the L2 and L3 and there is still a pinched nerve at L3 and L4....thats

my luck!

diskectomy

I AM 2 WEEKS POST OP AFTER A DISKECTOMY TO REPAIR A HERNIATED DISC. I

STILL HAVE SOME PAIN DOWN MY RIGHT LEG AND THE SKIN ON THE FRONT OF

MY THIGH IS VERY SENSITIVE TO TOUCH AND FEELS LIKE A BAD SUNBURN. I'M

ON VICODIN AND NEURONTIN AT THE PRESENT TIME.

I'D APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK FROM ANYONE THAT MAY HAVE HAD A SIMILAR

PROBLEM. ESPECIALLY HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR THE LEG PAIN AND THIGH

BURNING TO GO AWAY.

[Guest guest]

that's a real bummer, but my surgeon said the

remaining pain i'm feeling is from the pressure the

disc put on the nerve and the fact that he had to

handle it during the surgery. he made me understand

that the nerve takes time to cool down after being

under pressure. sometimes for months

--- <john.kammerer@...> wrote:

---------------------------------

I had my discectomy on Sept 23rd and Im still having

the numbness,tingling,burning and sharp pains in my

leg. Only to find out the Neuro only did the L2 and L3

and there is still a pinched nerve at L3 and

L4....thats my luck!

diskectomy

I AM 2 WEEKS POST OP AFTER A DISKECTOMY TO REPAIR A

HERNIATED DISC. I

STILL HAVE SOME PAIN DOWN MY RIGHT LEG AND THE SKIN

ON THE FRONT OF

MY THIGH IS VERY SENSITIVE TO TOUCH AND FEELS LIKE A

BAD SUNBURN. I'M

ON VICODIN AND NEURONTIN AT THE PRESENT TIME.

I'D APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK FROM ANYONE THAT MAY

HAVE HAD A SIMILAR

PROBLEM. ESPECIALLY HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR THE LEG

PAIN AND THIGH

BURNING TO GO AWAY.

[Guest guest]

Joy

Yep, go Jan 20th for L3 L4 discectomy and L3 4 and 5 fusion...have no clue to

why the Neuro didn't do all the surgery at once. Im now going to an Ortho

Specialist.

Re: diskectomy

In a message dated 12/12/2003 8:32:32 PM Eastern Standard Time,

john.kammerer@... writes:

I had my discectomy on Sept 23rd and Im still having the

numbness,tingling,burning and sharp pains in my leg. Only to find out the

Neuro only did the L2

and L3 and there is still a pinched nerve at L3 and L4....thats my luck!

Does that mean you have to go back in again ? You would have thought he

would have done it all at once.

Joy

[Guest guest]

--- I am nearly 4 weeks post surgery for a partial diskectomy and I

also have some residual pain. Even so, I do think it is gradually

getting better. Perhaps I am lucky, I manageed to stop vicidin after

a couple of weeks post-op and apart from one viox per day I am drug

free.At least I can sleep now - before the surgery, sleep was

virtually impossible, as was sitting down for more than a few

mionutes. My surgeon did say that the swelling could take a long

time to settle down and some degree of pain is totally normal. He

could not be specific, but months of gradual improvement was imolied.

I hope you feel better very soon indeed.

With best regards,

A fellow patient

[Guest guest]

i had a discectomy 3 weeks ago with pain and burning

skin in my thigh. see your pain left you immediately

after the disc was gone. mine never left and the os

told me it's going to take a long time for the nerve

that the disc was pressing on to regenerate itself.

i'm on vicodin and neurontin. do you happen to know

why some pain will be relieved immediately and some

have to let the nerve heal over time?

--- Ascher <wascher@...> wrote:

---------------------------------

I had a perfect diskectomy also, the pain I had for 2

years was gone immediately (it was doing exactly as it

should, the buldging disk was gone). No more finger

numbness, was able to sit up daily without back pain

(normal post op pain though)...even drive in a

car..which was horrible after 20 mins, which was

primarily left sided prior. I went back to work free

from taking any ibuprofens tylenols etc..which I was

eating like candy prior...but in 4-5 months in time it

crept back up on me as the fusion took place. Slowly.

To the point now where it is bilaterally painful. I

did have one MRI mid spine when I couldn't handle it

anymore, I was crying at work and said I needed help.

Why the midspine was chosen to MRI I have no idea,

they doped me up and I just said I couldn't take it

anymore, I wasn't sure what they were MRI'ing.

Anyways, it partially included part of my

c-spine.......where my fusion was, and my cord is now

more compressed than before. I am just living with it

right now, using the tens as a measure, but like I

said in previous letters, I know I have to go back. I

am again back to ibuprofens etc to the extreme.

Muscle relaxants, etc. When our ER doc a few days

later, saw the spine that I pulled up on a visual

screen, he said............. " wow, cool..who is

that......and look at the neck area--ouch " . I said

thats me. (this was later when I went to look at it

myself ...I have access to it) He himself said...holy

shit , your cord is almost totally

compressed...you have to go back. I do hope yours

doesn't turn out like mine. In mine it is either bone

spurs or scar tissues, but I hate having to think I

have to start over. I work daily again, but with

horrible pain after about 6 hours, and I work 12 hour

shifts. I am about ready to give it up.......but I

can't.......there has got to be resolution.....there

has got to be ???

Re: diskectomy

--- I am nearly 4 weeks post surgery for a partial

diskectomy and I

also have some residual pain. Even so, I do think it

is gradually

getting better. Perhaps I am lucky, I manageed to

stop vicidin after

a couple of weeks post-op and apart from one viox

per day I am drug

free.At least I can sleep now - before the surgery,

sleep was

virtually impossible, as was sitting down for more

than a few

mionutes. My surgeon did say that the swelling

could take a long

time to settle down and some degree of pain is

totally normal. He

could not be specific, but months of gradual

improvement was imolied.

I hope you feel better very soon indeed.

With best regards,

A fellow patient

[Guest guest]

i had a diskectomey 3 weeks ago and was left with soreness in my

right leg with the skin on my thigh very sensitive to touch.

i've read of people having diskectomies and being pain free

immediately after surgery. i'm happy for these peoples good fortune,

but i'm wondering how long it takes for the pain and sensitity in my

leg to disappear.

does anyone having had similar surgery and similar remaining symptoms

have any idea how much time i'm might be dealing with? i've heard

anywhere from 3 months to a year or more. any information would be

appreciated

[Guest guest]

Listmates,

It looks like I may be facing a diskectomy for an L3 radiculopathy..psoas and quad recent and rapid decline in strength with atrophy, mixed L3 and 4 dermatomal pain that is marginally managed by painmeds and patellar reflex loss. This disk herniated 6 years ago and has been on/off causing back and leg symptoms and signs for that many years. This was a large L2 herniation that migrated down to the L3 foramen also. I can still work but the end of the day comes too slowly!

The recent and rapid exacerbation is the concern. I really can manage the back discomfort with chiropractic and exercise but want my leg pain gone and strength back. We're waiting for a new MRI next Tuesday. Two previous showed the foramen occlusion at both L2 and L3 with extensive DJD and DDD at L2 on the right.

Local opinions are 4-6 weeks of convalesence with 2" insision posteriorly. Good neurosurgeons etc. BUT I have hear of MD ('s) in Eugene doing outpatient dickectomies with little to no convalesence. This was an isolated reference from an atty friend and performed on his 25 year old daughter. Not my 55 year old hide! The mixed level findings are possibly the sticking point to simple surgeries. However, I can always research and hope.

So, what's the story up there and what have your patients had done.

Colwell

OregonDCs rules:1. Keep correspondence professional; the purpose of the listserve is to foster communication and collegiality. No personal attacks on listserve members will be tolerated.2. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name.3. The listserve is not secure; your e-mail could end up anywhere. However, it is against the rules of the listserve to copy, print, forward, or otherwise distribute correspondence written by another member without his or her consent, unless all personal identifiers have been removed.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble with your back. We do outpatient discectomies at the Willamette Spine Center Ambulatory Surgery here in Salem but in my experience that is not going to work for you since you are likely in need of a foraminotomy and maybe even a facetectomy along with a hemilaminotomy or more likely hemilaminectomy (taking the whole thing out). The higher level, the DDD and DJD, the age of the disc problem, and the size of the HNP and its migration and possible need for further exploration all probably rule out the quickie deal for you.

The one cautionary note that I have for you based on my experience is that if too big of a foraminotomy is done then the facet can fracture and you can end up with an unstable and painful segment that is in need of fusion. So I would definitely discuss this with any surgeon.

Best of luck, and please let me know if there as anything that I can do to help (like with MRI arrangements, etc.).

D Freeman Mailing address: 1165 Union Street NE, Suite 300Salem, Oregon 97301ph 503 586-0127 fax 503 763-3581cell 503 871-0715 drmfreeman@...

Re: diskectomy

Listmates,

It looks like I may be facing a diskectomy for an L3 radiculopathy..psoas and quad recent and rapid decline in strength with atrophy, mixed L3 and 4 dermatomal pain that is marginally managed by painmeds and patellar reflex loss. This disk herniated 6 years ago and has been on/off causing back and leg symptoms and signs for that many years. This was a large L2 herniation that migrated down to the L3 foramen also. I can still work but the end of the day comes too slowly!

The recent and rapid exacerbation is the concern. I really can manage the back discomfort with chiropractic and exercise but want my leg pain gone and strength back. We're waiting for a new MRI next Tuesday. Two previous showed the foramen occlusion at both L2 and L3 with extensive DJD and DDD at L2 on the right.

Local opinions are 4-6 weeks of convalesence with 2" insision posteriorly. Good neurosurgeons etc. BUT I have hear of MD ('s) in Eugene doing outpatient dickectomies with little to no convalesence. This was an isolated reference from an atty friend and performed on his 25 year old daughter. Not my 55 year old hide! The mixed level findings are possibly the sticking point to simple surgeries. However, I can always research and hope.

So, what's the story up there and what have your patients had done.

Colwell

OregonDCs rules:1. Keep correspondence professional; the purpose of the listserve is to foster communication and collegiality. No personal attacks on listserve members will be tolerated.2. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name.3. The listserve is not secure; your e-mail could end up anywhere. However, it is against the rules of the listserve to copy, print, forward, or otherwise distribute correspondence written by another member without his or her consent, unless all personal identifiers have been removed. OregonDCs rules:1. Keep correspondence professional; the purpose of the listserve is to foster communication and collegiality. No personal attacks on listserve members will be tolerated.2. Always sign your e-mails with your first and last name.3. The listserve is not secure; your e-mail could end up anywhere. However, it is against the rules of the listserve to copy, print, forward, or otherwise distribute correspondence written by another member without his or her consent, unless all personal identifiers have been removed.