Back Surgery Likely

[Got Stripers]

Well I guess years of banging through mogels, too many golf swings, driving too small a boat through too large a swell and years of running have finally taken their toll. I probably had a bulging disk based on a long time of back and off and on sciatica, loosing my edge on some ice skiing 3 weeks back and coming down real hard on my side did me in. Severly herniated disk, surgeon I met with yesterday says he is amazed I'm doing as well as I am, when asked if it were his back; he said he'd schedule surgery within 3 weeks. One more surgeon consult at New England Babtist and then its time to decide. Constant pain in my back and both legs are going to make it a no brainer if the 2nd surgeon recommends it.

Anyone had one done, curious what the recovery time will be, not so much for my fishing season; more for getting back on the golf course. I think I'll be ok to go come fishing season, although I might have to cut back on my days out in 5 footers.

[PRBuzz]

Ask blondterror.

[BigFish]

Thats a tough one Bob. I wish you the best.

[Piscator]

No place better in the World for the back than New England Babtist. Not sure how old you are but ask about epidural shot injections. I had it done when I was in College on a herniated disk and haven't had any problems since. Still shovel every storm! The shot shrinks the buldge and sometimes prevents the need for surgery. I think it works better on younger people but not sure and i think you can only have 3 shots over an 18 month timeframe. If it doesn't work, surgery is the next step.

[blondterror]

Bob-

I just left you a VM with my phone #

Chris

[JeffH]

Never had one myself but had parents with a total of 5 between them, three lower back and two upper back. I'm guessing they had them done when surgery was a quicker option.

The longer they waited to have the surgery the longer the recovery as the nerve suffers damage. The last one my father had was an upper disk and he waited a long time before finally going in because the pain and tingling down back of his arm turned to numbness. I guess he waited too long because the numbness never resolved in one of his fingers.

Even after all of those surgeries they both still play golf while in their seventies.

[blondterror]

Boston Spine group... Robert Banco if you want to have the option of an artificial disc or a fusion.... the artificial disc gives you movement at that level and protects the adjacent discs from going bad faster


I went to the UK to have a 2 level Spinal Kinetics M-6C procedure with Dr Nick boeree... he is incredible and i was up doing stuff the next day... i do NOT recommend getting a fusion ... it is the gold std in the US but has a very low rate of complete success

[Raven]

yOUR Young enough Bob
to want to experience a good quality of life
During the rest of your days on Planet EARTH
so do what you have to do to enjoy it.

[blondterror]

below is a link to an interesting article on back surgery. its a few years old but still relatively current, written by Jerome Groopman


http://www.jeromegroopman.com/articl...-the-back.html


"Jerome Groopman, M.D. is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chief of Experimental Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and one of the world's leading researchers in cancer and AIDS. He is a staff writer for The New Yorker and has written for The New York Times and The Washington Post, along with several books.


This was written before artificial disc surgery came to the US. The surgeons in Germany, UK, and Spain are actually better at spine surgery than our top docs in the US. We are brainwashed in the US to think that we have the best health care in the world.... I would take a private doctor in the UK over the top doc in the US anyday of the week...

[PaulS]

Had bad herniated disks about 3 years ago. Terrible pain. Got 2 sets of steroid shots (both sets gave relief). Since then not any pain. I do sit ups and stretches. Also got a sleep by numbers bed (or something like that). Expensive but I think it helped. Good luck.

[fish4striper]

I had bad lower back pain, still can get it if I throw it out but it's much more stabilized. I thought for sure I needed surgery.
Before going to the knife, look for physical therapy and pain management, shot. The therapy teaches you the right exercises to strengthen muscles to stabilize your back.

[Clammer]

Bob ..

that sucks ..

but #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& has had two & f-18 one .ya could ask them

[Saltheart]

Good luck Bob. I had a big issue with my sacroilliac joints a few years ago. They don't operate on that. The best option was what they called trigger point injections of a steroid called kenalog (?sp). You can only get 3 I think either a year or in 6 months (might grow and extra nut if you overdo it , or worse , lose one of the two you got ) but anyway , it wa s amiracle cure. First one did just a little but I was still really bent and in pain. Second one a month or so later didn't have any immediate feeling of relief but after about two weeks , the dammned joint let out a crack like a branch breaking and suddenly everything was good! I guess it takes a while to let the steroids relieve the inflamation which restores some of the normal flex in the joint. it then just settled in closer to where it was supposed to be. Anyway , ask about "Trigger Point Injections".

lastly , get a good doctor and trust him. What worked for one may not work for another as the degree and type of damage can be different amongst people. If ist really nailing the nerve , he will know and best to fix it before permanent damage is done.

I never had back surgery but I have had 11 knee opperations and one hip replaces starting with the first knee surgury in 69. Now a days they get you right up and going again so usually the recovery period is remarkably fast. Be sure to ask specifically about golf too. It may be that with your specific problem golf is OK or not.

Again , good luck!

[Slipknot]

Good luck Bob, which disk is it?

I ruptured L-5 / S-1 in 1997, carried a vanity up the stairs by myself with too much weight out in front of me disk popped. I had back troubles for a few years and had gotten by with massage so i thought the leg sciatica pain I had was due to muscular as that's what the doctors told me. I kept working and it got worse as i was also building my own addition on my house. I framed the whole thing wih the ruptured disk
It got so bad I went to someone who knew it was not muscular and suggested I get an MRI

I got a neurosurgeon to operate in a week. A lumbar lamenectomy they called it. Recovery took a couple months of therapy and my wife kept us above water somehow, then I got back to work slowly easing into shopwork while continuing to strengthen the back. I'm glad I was young.

I bet you'll do fine but every case is different.

Like was mentioned, the longer you wait , the more nerve damage can occur.

Find the right guy for you and get well soon.

I feel bad for the nurses

[Rappin Mikey]

Speedy recovery to you!

[striperman36]

My doc actually steered my away from the knife, PT and exercise, worked through the issues. I did have several herniated disks, but not collapsed disks. Each situation is different. Those that have been through the surgery can tell you. However, I spent several YEARS, doing PT to get past it. skeletal muscle PT sucks. I would do it again though, if I had to.

[DMenace]

Same deal here as slipknot, L-4 in '95. Hurt it in 89-90 and over about 5-6 years it just got worse and worse until I couldn't function any longer.Pain went down my left leg to my outside 3 toes, made my leg feel weak feeble. I was in constant pain and didn't want to do anything but lay down. Getting it cut out was the best thing I could have done. Still acts up from time to time if I don't pay attention to the way I do some things, but it has never prevented me from doing anything. Golf, fishing, Army, parachuting, kayaking, just take care of it and listen to it when it starts barking at you. Either way, good luck with it.

[Van]

Hey Bob:

I know what your going through.. I had L4L5 herniated several years ago. I would guess it was a full year after surgery and PT that I felt like I could push it again.

Herniated another one this past January. Go lucky where is was not too bad and PT and dropping 20 lbs made all the difference and it healed.

Some say these will heal on their own, sometimes they prescibe a month of bed rest will work too. Just take the pressure off and the disc can relax and go back in place. My first one was severe like yours and PT did not work. I suffered over a year before the surgery, then like I said I felt better in a few months, but full recovery (85-95%) took about a year.

Good luck, go into Boston. Boston Medical has a new spine group with the latest and greatest technology. I had my done at BI/deaconas.

Let us know.
Van

[JohnR]

My L4/L5 has been specifically avoiding this thread.

Good luck Bob

[Raven]

i was always late to school (always catchin hell too )

too much bird watchin heh heh in the A.M.

time for school... i'm late AGAIN ! and was just warned

anyways, i go running down the neighbors driveway one day
with just one road to cross and foolishly didn't look both ways
instead WITH my super hearing decided to ..........(like lee major's)
just LISTEN ......for an oncoming vehicle

not hearing any, i burst into the road only to find a car
about to cream me....

with mili seconds to react i jumped straight up ^
and slammed into his wind-shield rolled over the roof
landed on the rear trunk and then hit the road
the driver just kept on a goin and never stopped

my Dad was such a strict disciplinarian that i never told a soul
i limped for 6 months but only when NOT watched

at age 17 , the pull up bar i was using fell out of the door JAM
and i hit the oak threshold HARD with my knees bent
that's what finished me off .....and i would be in pain for 6 months
at a time...being able to throw my back out with just a sneeze

My chiropractor said my back in in an S shape and is very strange
asking me where does it hurt....i would tellem "no where"
and he couldn't understand how i live like this with so abnormal a BACK bone.
he'd always shake his head... in astonishment

[Got Stripers]

Well like my dad always told me, getting old isn't for sissies, but non-stop pain wears you down I'll tell you. Final consult with N.E. Babtist Monday and then I'll make a call. If the 2nd opinion is surgery is the best bet for my long term health, I'll probably pull the trigger immediately. I'm physically in better shape at 57 than I was at 47and probably will recover faster then putting this off untill down the road. I'm also very alergic to most anti-imflamatory drugs in the ibuprofin family, so that plays into the decision process, but I appreciate the feedback.

[Raven]

Gettin old ain't for Sissies (i love it)

i too ....can't take ibuprofen
because it gave me ULCERS

the other day i had the flu bad where you get that
hot feeling in your chest and your voice starts changing to hoarse

I had no other choice but to suit up and get the snow blower
humming along but i truly only wanted to climb back in Bed...

So I grabbed the last pound of carrots in the fridge and juiced them
in the Jack Lalane juicer and within five minutes i felt a resurgence
of energy...not allot, but enough to go do what i needed to do.

And this has been my experience for many years that there's something
magical about it....or powerful and i even avoided surgery
once after trying it the very first time so i know it works.

keep that in mind when your on the mend BOB

[wrench]

If you are going to New England Baptist and the Boston Spine Group runaway if your appointment is with Dr.Mark Finno.

He is horrible.

He told me that nothing was wrong with my back and put me back to work with a torn disc and it took me 14 months before I found another Doctor who would not take his word for what was wrong with my back and do some tests. I ended up having 3 surgeries to repair my back it was so bad.