surgery questions

[Guest guest]

my mother's doctor told her it's time for surgery. he wants to do a laminectomy

and fusion. it's in the lumbar spine. i think she has 2 bad (very bad) discs,

with narrowing and stenosis and stuff. i read the mri, it sounded very bad.

so my questions are:

1. for those of you who have had surgery, are you glad you did it and would

you do it again?

2. how bad is recovery. my mother is on permanent disability and does not

have the greatest benefits but she is suffering constantly. she is nearly

crippled in pain. it seems to be the only option but i worry about how she will

be able to recover with such inadequate healthcare.

3. how long were you in the hospital? were you able to even walk okay?

feel free to give any other comments you have about your experiences with

these surgeries. they look pretty gnarly. the doctor told her she has an 80%

chance of feeling better. does that sound right or is that crap? i'm seeing

her

saturday and i want to be able to give her as much information as possible,

because she's pretty freaked out and i'm hoping to be able to answer some

questions for her. i told her about this group but she doesn't have a computer,

so i ask these questions on her behalf. i also worry that i won't be of too

much

help to her in her recovery because of all of my disc issues and pain. it

sucks.

the only good thing is that me and my mother understand each other's pain,

so at least we can give emotional support!

thanks in advance for any replies.

-melanie

[Guest guest]

,

Spinal stenosis is the gradual result of aging and " wear and tear " on

the spine during everyday activities. If her nerves are badly

damaged prior to surgery, your mom may still have some pain or

numbness after any surgery. Or there may be no improvement at all.

Also, the degenerative process will likely continue, and pain or

limitation of activity may reappear 5 or more years after surgery

most likely sooner.

[Q] For those of you who have had surgery, are you glad you did it

and would you do it again?

[A] Part of me wishes I have never gone through it to begin with, but

another part says, what choice did I have. Either way, I was going to

live with chronic pain the rest of my life. But how much pain was I

willing to endure? I belive thats the main question I asked myself.

[Q] How bad is recovery. my mother is on permanent disability and

does not have the greatest benefits but she is suffering constantly.

she is nearly crippled in pain. it seems to be the only option but i

worry about how she will be able to recover with such inadequate

healthcare.

[A] Her surgeon will be in charge of most everything during her

recovery. She will be encouraged to begin walking on the same evening

after her surgery or the next day to help speed her recovery. In

addition, one of the biggest things is the narcotics. After she is

discharged from the hospital, she will need to follow her doctor's

orders exactly to ensure a successful recovery. Most of her recovery

is going to be based on herself, and the asistance of family members.

Without a doubt physical therapy will be needed.

I wish her all the best.

Regards,

07/29/1994 ~ Laminotomy & Discectomy at L4-5

01/25/1999 ~ Benign Essential Tremors & Dysequilibrium

02/01/2000 ~ 360 Degree Interbody Anterior & Posterior L4-L5, & L5-S1

Spinal Fusion using iliac crest bone graft and Danek/TSRH stainless

Steel Instrumentation

10/08/2001 ~ Anterior C5-C6 Cervical Fusion using iliac crest bone

graft and Danek/TSRH titanium plate instrumentation

05/05/2005 ~ Again noted L2-L3 - L5-S1 lumbar spinal stenosis, L3-L4

Spondylolysis, Degenerative Disc Disease with osteophyte formation

[Guest guest]

Hi !

You may want to look at:

http://newyorker.com/printables/fact/020408fa_FACT

It is a rather long article but very informative on back/spine

surgery, discograms, etc. The main consideration is always having a

doc you can trust, and educating yourself about the

procedure/treatment as best you can.

As for me, surgery, I think, is far in the future. I am basically

anti-surgery and will do anything possible to avoid it. This

back/spine surgery has a long history of not 'working'. That said,

there are many new procedures, materials, and drugs being used in

the last few years that seem to be doing a much better job than ever

before. The best advise I heard so far is to find a specialist who

does the procedure you need. ie: a spine surgeon for spine work, a

neuro surgeon for brain, an ortho for bone/joint work- I think you

get the idea.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

GBY

Georege

i also worry that i won't be of too much

> help to her in her recovery because of all of my disc issues and

pain. it sucks.

> the only good thing is that me and my mother understand each

other's pain,

> so at least we can give emotional support!

>

> thanks in advance for any replies.

>

> -melanie

[Guest guest]

melanie, please, if the doctor says surgery, get two or three more opinions

before you do anything. my first doctor told me i needed a fusion no matter

what, right this minute or i would become wheelchair bound, and lose control

of my urine and bowels. i was in a lot of pain in my lumbar and down my leg

but i was not losing control of anything. my primary then sent me to a

neurosurgeon who felt that if i followed a plan of physical therapy, exercise,

and

pain management i could go the rest of my life without surgery. i like this

doctor better. surgery is not always the answer. it is the answer when

there is no other choice.

[Guest guest]

I hope everything goes well and would love to hear from you after it's done.. 

I have allergies as well but somebody told me to blow my nose with my mouth

open.  That should be very interesting since it's hard.

________________________________

From: railfocus <adams@have silcom.com>

Sent: Fri, January 22, 2010 11:23:43 PM

Subject: Surgery questions

 

My CI surgery is Tuesday in LA. I have allergies and sneeze a lot. Will sneezing

be an issue during healing? Is there a medication for dizziness if it occurs?

Will I still be able to wear my bicycle helmet? Any other advise for post

surgery preparations?

Thanks, Bonnie

[Guest guest]

Hi Bonnie,

You can let the surgeon know ahead of time you have allergies, so they

can give you something to control them. And if you HAVE to sneeze, do it

with your mouth OPEN so you don't cause a lot of pressure on the inner

ear. Same thing for blowing your nose. If you have to, ONE nostril at a

time and with your mouth open. HOW gross is that? But you don't want

pressure on the eustacian tubes.

My surgeon came in to see me right before surgery and asked, " What are

we doing here today? " So I said, " Well I'm a consenting adult, what did

you have in mind? " Interesting to see a full grown human being BLUSH.

LOL>

Actually the answer he wanted was, " Cochlear implant on the right side

with the Nucleus 5 " And after I gave that, he put a pen mark on my

right eyebrow and drew the incision line behind my right ear.

My CI surgery is Tuesday in LA. I have allergies and sneeze a lot. Will

sneezing be an issue during healing? Is there a medication for dizziness

if it occurs? Will I still be able to wear my bicycle helmet? Any other

advise for post surgery preparations?

Thanks, Bonnie

____________________________________________________________

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