Guest SparkleMotion Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I am going to have surgery on my spine in a couple weeks, and am starting to get cold feet even though I have pretty severe sciatica. I know that sometimes one can be left worse off than before the surgery. The reason for my surgery is an atypical one (sacral perineural cysts), not the usual disc herniation or spinal fusion. I was wondering if anyone here has had personal experience with back surgery, and how did it work out for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLBMom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I am going to have surgery on my spine in a couple weeks, and am starting to get cold feet even though I have pretty severe sciatica. I know that sometimes one can be left worse off than before the surgery. The reason for my surgery is an atypical one (sacral perineural cysts), not the usual disc herniation or spinal fusion. I was wondering if anyone here has had personal experience with back surgery, and how did it work out for you? I had spinal surgery in February. What exactly are you having done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SparkleMotion Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I have perineural cysts (Tarlov cysts) that are compressing my S2 nerve root. They can't remove the cysts because nerves run through the walls of the cysts. It would cause nerve damage to remove them. The neurosurgeon can't simply drain them either, because they communicate with the cerebral spinal fluid within the spinal canal and will quickly refill with fluid. So the cysts will be fenestrated and packed with fat and then wrapped with bovine pericardium to prevent refilling with CSF. Many neurosurgeons won't even touch these lesions because either they don't believe they are symptomatic or they don't have experience operating on them. In fact, I have to travel to another state to have this done by a neurosurgeon who specializes in them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: I had a laminectomy? 18 or so years ago. Severe rupture, sciatica, the works. My life was a disaster. I could hardly walk to use the bathroom much less anything else. I had the surgury, followed the Drs rather different instructions completely. No sitting for 6 weeks for really good scar tissue etc. I no longer ski--apparently a really bad idea. Which I do miss. I did go on to what I really wanted--two fabulous children and a pretty full life. We walk at least 5 miles a day. Mainly to keep me active. I have survived some pretty impressive walks--i go really slowly over rocks etc. I am so glad I had the surgery. I was scared to death! Lots of back problems in my family. Everyone else is scared of surgery. So it was a hard decision to make. I know my situation was quite different from yours but maybe this will help. Please keep me updated. I know how huge the decision is. It sounds like you have a great doctor. I really feel a lot of my recovery rested on my willingness to believe the doctor was right. Are you comfortable with the doctor? :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama_Rana Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I had surgery to trim a bulging disk in 2006. It was almost immediately effective. The worst part was the post-surgery nausea. I had difficulty following the post-op instructions, which I found confusing. Don't sit too much, don't lie down too long, don't stand too long, no bending down or reaching up, no lifting [i had a 2.5yo at the time O.o]... Um, ok, what CAN I do? But like Sawuk I had no choice. I had to crawl to the bathroom, I was on pain medications every 2 hours and it still only barely took the edge off [i cycled between percocet and tylenol, I think it was, plus muscle relaxers]. I slept a lot because of the drugs, but never felt rested because of the pain. I couldn't sit, couldn't stand up straight, could only lie on my tummy and even that caused me pain. The drugs made me constipated, but sitting on the toilet was torture and my toddler always followed in there and I would cry trying to get him to leave so he didn't have to see me crying in pain trying to go potty. I was scared about the surgery, but I'd already put it off for 1.5 yrs because I was nursing [long story, I managed to make enough of a recovery with chiropractic care and physical therapy in that time to be off the meds, but then I had a relapse that was worse than the original episode]. Recovery was fairly easy, and within a month I was helping my hubby paint a room [i did the parts I could reach without bending or stretching]. Your surgery sounds a lot more complicated than mine, but if you've found a specialist, I'm sure it'll be fine. My surgeon is considered one of the best in this area. His bedside manner sucked, the wait in his waiting room for a consult was over 2 hours ie excruciating, and as I said, I found his post-op instructions impossible. But anyone "in the know" who's seen my incision says it looks fantastic, and other than some lingering weakness and sciatica that I can usually manage, I'm loads better. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLBMom Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I had an anterior spinal fusion for a ruptured disc L5-S1 in Feb. They went in through my abdomen to access my spine. Then they removed the disc, and put a piece of doughnut shaped "space age plastic" in it's place as well as a bone growth stimulator. He then put a metal cage over the two vertebrae and secured it with 4 screws. I'm a nurse and injured myself rolling a patient over. I had severe back, hip and leg pain. I tried PT for over 9 months no help. When they did the surgery they found the two bones were sitting in each other, no disc between them and 3 nerves were compressed. He says I would have ended up with paralysis and/or incontinence eventually. I'm not going to lie the recovery was he**. I had severe pain inin my abdomen, my back and my left leg. I also had issues with not being able to feel the urge to urinate for two weeks. The leg and bathroom issues were from the nerves that had been pinched trying to heal. I have had seven surgeries including 2 c-sections and one completely natural birth. Those didn't even compare to this. I had to limit my sitting for 3 months although it is still uncomfortable to sit for more then 30 min. I also couldn't bend at the waist,or twist for 3 months. No lifting more then 10 lbs for 6 months. After all these restrictions I'm having major muscle weakness and pain so they are doing PT with me again to try to help with the pain. They also discovered from the MRI that I have a birth defect that caused me to be more susceptible to injury. The surgery corrected the defect. They now think my oldest ds has it as well . I'm still out of work and will probably never go back to doing what I was. It's all in Gods plan though because now I'm staying home to hs my dc. I know this all sounds terrible but I think it's pretty different then what you are fading done. Plus it's just one of those things that happened and I had to deal with. The alternative was worse. I hope you have an easier time of it. They say I won't be "fully recovered" till next Feb since it takes that long for the bones to grow together. Hopefully by then my story will be better. Good luck and I pray they can get you on the road to recovery :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I haven't had spinal surgery but dd did. Dd's spine was slipping apart and had to be fused, L5-S1. We really had no choice because nerves were compressed and there was the risk of permanent damage. The recovery was hard but it gave my little girl her life back and now she has no pain and no limitations on her activities. I'm so thankful. I chose the best surgeon I could and had complete confidence in him. That turst carried us through the tough times of the recovery. It seems like you also have the best surgeon for your case, and that means everything. The best thing you can do is to be patient through your recovery. When you're in the middle of it, it can be hard and seem like the pain will not go away and life will never be normal again...but it will. Just take it day by day and don't give up hope. I was mentored through the process by another mom who went through it with her dd, and now I've been able to do the same to help other families. It makes all the difference not to go through it alone. It would be great if you could find a buddy to support you through this. Can your surgeon put you in touch with someone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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