Pins and needles

Hi Angela and Russ

You're both right, just to not have THAT pain would be great. I did ask the Consultant about carrying on as I am but he confirmed that over time the nerve would find it harder to recover so guess that's the decision made.

Russ, mine will be removal of L5/S1 disc bulge too.

I do have another question though, hope you don't mind. Obviously the guy that gets you on that operating table, you need to trust, after all it's spinal surgery :shock: but did you ask any questions of your surgeon as to his expertise, how often he's done these operations? I suppose today I was questioning his ability but hey, it's my back. His main surgery he said are knees and hips but he does about 20 spinal operations a year. Is that a lot? Is that enough?

I just wondered whether you guys asked all these questions or did you just want to get it over with, get away from the pain? I bet the surgeon today thought \"nosey cow\" :lol:

Thanks again

Love

Jude xxx

Just by luck, my surgeon just so happened to be the same surgeon who operated on a neighbours spine so I got the low down from her but also checked him out on the net and just asked him straight out....if u dont look u wont find it and if u dont ask u may never know..... bottom line is though that no two people are the same so while he may be great for u he may not be so great for the next one.

I guess the pain was that intense when it came to having the op he could probably have only done the op once it still would havebeen good enough for me....

As my surgeon kept telling me the worse case scenario is it doesnt work and I wont be any better or worse off, guess I had nothing to lose

Hope that helps and anything u wanna know about my op pre or post, seriously, just feel free to ask me, no matter what it is, as soon as I see it I will reply.

As always, NO REGRETS

Russ

try an Ice pack on it and also a TENS machine, u can get them in most chemists now I think, dont think much about heat plasters or heat packs ( but thats just me ) and maybe try pilates.

There are plenty of things to try just whatever works for u.

Hope that helps

Russ

Thanks Russ and I must keep telling myself that, no regrets, it's a good motto of yours :-)

No questions I can think of at the moment thanks, still sinking in I guess. I just wish now that my best mate's husband who had it done a couple of weeks ago hadn't told me what the surgeon said to him. You see my mate's husband isn't a small bloke and the surgeon hinted at the difficulty of getting him to the right position on the operating table. Apparently, they hoist you up on all fours :shock:. My mate's hubby's response was \"well at least you'll have somewhere to part your bike\" :lol: :lol:

But now I've got to go through the same procedure, oh dear :oops: :oops: :lol:

I know that none of this is funny really but that's my nerves you see, laugh my way out of trouble :oops: :D

Meant to say though Russ, thanks for the offer of letting me ask lots of questions - you might regret saying that in time :lol:

trust me, they could have had me in all sorts of positions, I didnt know nothing.... :-) maybe they did and thy took pics and now they are on the note :roll:

Seriously, when I had my op I couldnt find one site where people were saying good thigs about the op, I only found this site after, but for all my worrying at the time of going in to hospital, I really had nothing to worry about, no pain now, I wasnt in pain whilst in coz of the meds, it didnt hurt when I came out and it was strange trying to learn to \"walk\" again, funny coz I couldnt walk fast and when I went for my walk and got overtaken by more mature people, well, it was just funny :lol:

And seriously, ask away, no worries no matter wot

No Regrets

Russ

Sorry, that should say

trust me, they could have had me in all sorts of positions, I didnt know nothing.... maybe they did and they took pics and now they are on the net

Seriously, when I had my op I couldnt find one site where people were saying good things about the op, I only found this site after, but for all my worrying at the time of going in to hospital, I really had nothing to worry about, no pain now, I wasnt in pain whilst in coz of the meds, the injection/drip was fine and it didnt hurt when I came out.

It was strange trying to learn to \"walk\" again, funny coz when I went for my walk I got overtaken by more mature people, well, it was just funny

And seriously, ask away, no worries no matter wot

No Regrets

Russ

[b:21a823dfd5]hi i'm new to this so please bare with me my problem started 20 years ago when i was nursing after slpping a disc on shift i was pushed out of the career in nursing, slowly over the last 20 year thing have gotten worse until last april 07 i got severe cramp down my left leg one night in bed needless to say i shot out of bed bouncing around the bedroom much to my husbands amusement till the next morning when i could hardly move.

i was taken to the drs who refered me to physio she got concerned when there was no reflex in my left foot and inconsistant feeling in my leg.

the pain became unbareable really quckly and was put on morphine and diazapam and celecoxib i've been on these now since may, seen the specialist had mri, he actually asked me if i'd worked on a building site for the last 20 yrs i replyed no i was a nurse he replyed that explains it then L5,S1 was completely out the next three discs above that, are of no use at all as they are flat and of no use , the fourth one is torn and leaking.

Iwas told surgery was needed in the next 6 months that was nov 07 i have now got another appt on fri 8th i'm assuming this is to find out if things have improved no such luck morphine isn't lasting now and i'm dreading the op. I'm not even sure what mine is called they are going to replace the disc with metal plates rods either side bolt through them, then mesh all around them great , that will set the bleepers off at the airport.

sorry for droning on but the husband just says oh it will be fine.

[/b:21a823dfd5]

Hi Leigh,

I agree totally with Wuffy about the Pilates....core stability excercises are fundamental to regaining strength in your back, and you're going to need a strong back with kids..also look at how you lift things, bend your knees and not your back..it may be worth speaking to your GP regarding some physio...they'd be able to give you an excercise programme or refer you to a core stability group.....Good Luck with your impending bundle of joy and Fatherhood :magic: :zzz:

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi Jude,

Well I kinda thought you'd end up needing the op...it's really good they've given you a date already....

I had an \"open plan\" job too!! The Consultant said he prefers doing them this way as he can have a really good look at the situation..

He has a duel specialty..knees and spines and his success rate is excellent, my GP recommended him and I trusted my GP with my life!

The operation from what I can tell is quite straightforward compared with other spinal procedures and I lay on my front for my op (so I was told). They also have a radiographer in there taking X-rays as they go along..The procedure lasted about an hour and I was in for I night...Admitted on the day of the op and out the next day..(also didnt have to wear those horrible paper knickers....could wear my own...lol)

Anyway, I was up and standing by the evening post-op and walking the next morning....The car journey home wasnt pleasant..1.5 hours to the hospital, but great to get home..

I was advised to have someone help at home for at least the first week, hubby took leave and my 10 year old was turned into a laundry slave..lol..

You do feel understandably sore that first week and get some strange sensations in your legs but things do improve rapidly..

The end result, is amazing, and I too like Wuffy, would do it all again if needed. Hope this helps,

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi Jm,

The NHS has a lot to answer for..I'm a nurse too and am recovering from an L5/S1 discectomy..I am so sorry to hear about your back and the pain you are in..I too was on Morphine, and managed to come off it 10 days post-op..It's good you have an appt on the 8th..It may be worth writing down some questions to ask regarding what the procedure is called and also discuss your pain and it's management. It may also be worth asking if there is anything that can help in the meantime, hydrotherapy helped keep me mobile.

With regards hubby, maybe he can't/won't see the seriousness of your condition...are you able to take him along to your appt? If not maybe you could get some written info from the hospital for him to look at?

We are a friendly bunch on here and I have had a lot of support from the peeps here so keep in touch and let us know how you get on..

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi everyone :D

Well I started work today..felt a bit \"strange\" being back but it's good to be getting back to normal.

I saw the Consultant this afternoon and he has discharged me YIPEEEE :D :D . I was given my MRI scan films to keep and I had a look..The report from the Consultant Radiologist was inside which made for interesting reading. It said that my \"disc at L3/4 was somewhat degenerate with generalised bulging of the disc annulus but no significant focal disc lesion is seen\".

The conclusion only mentioned the L5/S1 disc.

My thinking on this is probably that the L3/4 disc is insignificant as it is not causing any problems, and probably if the L5 hadn't \"gone\" I'd be none the wiser. I'm thinking of asking the physio about this and if there is anything I can do to prevent it's worsening. Also if it's degenerate, as was the L5 disc, does this indicate Degenerative disc disease? I guess I'll have to ask my GP about that one next time I see him..

Any comments, thoughts and suggestions would be gratefully received though guys...

Take care,

Jules xx :D :D

Hi Jules

Just a quick note to say well done on you for getting back to work, hope it was all good and hope u dont feel aches tomorrow for it.

As for the other news well, as u say, if it wasnt for the L5 u wouldnt have known about it anyway, and even knowing about it, u cant really do anything about it, just have to be careful.

K have to go offline for a while

spk to u soon

Russ x

hi jules

well done on your first day, back to the real world. im sort of in the same position regarding a second disc, one thing for sure it does make me more aware of the way im doing things now which i think is a good thing. gail

hi jm

it is serious im sure your husband just doesnt realize that yet, im a homecarer and there seems to be an awful lot of nurses and carers that suffer with this dreadful thing, my surgeon said he sees more nursing and caring staff than anyone else, i too have been suffering with neck prolapses, and recently (dec 13) had a discectomy with cage i think thats what your refering to, i,ve not yet had my follow up appointment so im not sure how/if my other discs are ok. but im recovering well and looking forward to going back to work in 3 wks. you.ve been suffering a long time with this, maybe now you can get long term treatment, let us know how you get on .gail