Hello Everyone! I hope I'll be able to make it on this time. I've tried this three times but I'm determined to be able make new friends. Ran across this website two days ago and I've been reading ever since. I'm happy to have found people that have and/or are going through the same thing as myself. My husband and family are supportive and understand but it's nothing like having others that wear the same shoes. The shoes may be different sizes, but they are the same. My story is a bit different and long but here I go.

I'm a hyper person and is always on the go. I always cook large holiday meals, bake all the time and sew in between. Xmas '02 began to change. I couldn't cook and couldn't figure out why I was feeling so out of it. Aside from this little pain in my hip and being a little tired, I felt fine. My husband cooked Xmas dinner, a first and very interesting, but I did appreciate it. New Year's I was worse. I felt like a doorknob was hitting me in the butt. It had the rhythm of a heartbeat. I told my husband it must be arthritis but I wanted a wheelchair because we were supposed to take the kids for an outing. I had pain across my hips, my right let, and my right foot was numb.

I went to my PCP Jan 3. He referred me to the Ortho Surgeon. After a quick exam. he told me it was my back and I thought he was nuts. My back didn't hurt it was my butt. He sent me for an MRI. After he received the results, he referred me to a Neuro Surgeon since he doesn't do that type of surgery. Give me a pill, but I don't need surgery

Went to see the Neuro and he said surgery. I have 3 herniated and dehydrating disks, spinal stenosis, and DDD fits in there somewhere. He said that I need 3 diskectomies, 2 hemilaminectomies (L3,S1), 2 laminectomies (L4,L5) with instrumentation in there somewhere. I didn't ask what instrumentation is because I had heard enough and was ready to go home and try to absorb it all. The hospital is 40 miles away and the ride was no joke.

My family and I don't understand what happened. I didn't have an accident on the job or anywhere else. My back didn't pop or any of the other strange things I heard about. I can remember as far back as 8 years ago my back getting tired if I cut out an outfit, or looked through the microscope in lab. I tried to do direct patient care (wanted to be a nurse) but after making two beds, my back was so tired I had to go home. I didn't move or turn a patient. Sometimes it feels like the top half of my body is going to slip off the bottom half but otherwise my back didn't hurt. It just felt tired. I would get over it and keep moving. Now it hurts to sit on the toilet.

Is there anyone out there that can feel me. I'm sure there is. It's disturbing me because I have to depend on others to help me with things that I've always done myself. It's also very hard to take it easy.

Maybe Baxter or Successtory can help me with a question. What is IDET?...and have you heard of anyone else like me. Please let me know!

Hi Rosarita,

I am sorry to hear you are feeling so bad. My injuries are not as extensive as yours, however, I didn't "do" anything that explains mine either. I have a herniation at L4-5 that requires surgery. I too, remember times my back gave me trouble, but nothing rest can take care of.

Doctors do say that many people have disc herniations but they never know it because they don't have any pain. You may have a high tolerance for pain and in years prior, an issue that would have brought some people to the doctor, you just kept going. Now, it is giving you unbearable pain, and it needs to be addressed.

It isn't easy. I have had diagnosis for surgery since October and am just now having surgery because I wanted to try anything and everything else first. Now I am ready and have heard many great success stories of people having back surgery!!

Perhaps you should get a second opinion and lean on family and friends during this time. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif You will find lots of great support here.

IDET is a surgical heat therapy of sorts I believe. But don't quote me! hehe If you do a search of the posts here, I know it has been discussed before. Also, you could do a Yahoo search and it is sure to come up on Spine websites.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your health.

http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gifTra

Good Morning Rosarita, http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif

First off, welcome http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif

You have come to the right place, you will love it here, there are so many caring, supportive, and very knowledgeable people here http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/t_up.gif

Here is a brief description of IDET:

With age or due to injury, cracks or fissures may develop in the wall of the intervertebral disc. Filled with small nerve endings and blood vessels, these fissures are a chronic source of pain in many patients. Additionally, the inner disc tissue (nucleus) will frequently bulge (herniate) into these fissures in the outer region of the disc, likewise stimulating pain sensors within the disc.
SpineCATH IDET therapy is a minimally invasive treatment in which the physician applies controlled levels of thermal energy (heat) to a broad section of the affected disc wall. This heat contracts and thickens the collagen of the disc wall. Therapy may result in contraction or closure of the disc wall fissures and a reduction in the bulge of the inner disk material.

Successtory has had this procedure, as well as Nucleoplasty, so she will be the best person to give you all of the details.

I was told that using Nucleoplasty alone, has much better results than IDET, but that is just my doctors opinion, and I didn't qualify for either, this is just what we discussed at one point.
Nucleoplasty can treat buldges, as well as disc tears.

Instrumentation is when the surgeon has to use metal in your back, such as the cages, rods, and screws that I have.

IDET and Nucleoplasty isn't very effective on multiple levels, so I'm not quite sure if either will help you.

I know many people that have symptoms such as yours, and they didn't have a specific injury either.
They share the same frustrations.
They were thinking that maybe they injured their backs, when they were very young children, or when they played sports when they were young.

I was in a car accident in 7/00, that is how I ended up having my surgery.
I did have DDD prior to the accident though.
I'm 37, and was told that happens with age.

Feel free to post anything here, we are great listeners.

I'm having problems since my surgery, but we do have some success stories here, I'm just waiting to join that group.

I wish you well in what ever surgery you choose, http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/t_up.gif please don't be scared, you will be able to return to a normal life down the road after your recovery, it just takes a long time, and that can add extra frustration, but I feel it is worth it.

I hope this has helped some http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Please stick around, and I wish the very best for you http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/angel.gif

Have a super day,
Baxter http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif

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Two level laminectomy fusion L5-S1 & L2-3 done on 12/6/02.
Fifteen inch scar from the very top of butt crack (sorry), to the bra line.
BAK cages, rods & screws.(Titanium)
My pelvic bone was used for grafting.
Praying that the other two discs in between, won't have to be fused later, as I was told it was a possibility, due to the other two discs in between, not being in that great of shape.
Doc didn't want to fuse four levels, unless it is really necessary.
I would hate to repeat the surgery, as the recovery period, is so very painful.
I also have a free fragment in my T11-12 area, that I'm still refusing surgery for, at this point in time.
That surgery is way too dangerous for me to consider, until if affects my being able to walk.

Hi Rosarita and welcome http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gif
Sorry to hear what's happened to you. Something similar happened to me, but with only one disk, and I had a tear, not a herniation.

I would recommend you first try seeing a physical therapist before you go for surgery. The McKenzie technique is very useful for some people with back pain. They have helped me a lot. If you have disk herniations but not tears, they will probably be helpful. You can try the exercises yourself if you can't find a physical therapist. Get "7 Steps to a Pain Free Life" or "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin McKenzie.

I had IDET, but it is only recommended for single or double level problems (not three disks), and is better for tears than herniations.

Nucleoplasty may be a better option if you have herniations. It is also not as invasive as what your doc suggested.

By the way, I'm surprised your doc recommended surgery so soon, without conservative treatment first. Where are you located?

Best of luck,
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif Telzey

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4 years of back pain
Annular tear L5-S1 diagnosed 3/02 via MRI
IDET 12/2/02
Still worse pain than pre-op, am told to wait 3-6 months for improvement

Post>>My back didn't pop or any of the other strange things I heard about. I can remember as far back as 8 years ago my back getting tired if I cut out an outfit, or looked through the microscope in lab. I tried to do direct patient care (wanted to be a nurse) but after making two beds, my back was so tired I had to go home. I didn't move or turn a patient. Sometimes it feels like the top half of my body is going to slip off the bottom half but otherwise my back didn't hurt. It just felt tired. I would get over it and keep moving. Now it hurts to sit on the toilet.<<

Rosarita, I don't have a clue. The possibilities are many. I've had more than a sensible number of accidents and injuries that most would consider pretty serious and it varys regarding what I get told about my whole spinal structure. I've had the problem for 20 years with recent years adding insult to the old injuries. My stuff is such a huge mess. My organs and endocrine system are all going through a big compromise along with the pain flaring up.
But the good news is this, after many many years of alternative therapies I'm going to the Neurologist tomorrow.
Well.....lets hope that's good news and I still feel the same way a few months down the road.
And then I get to see the Physical Medicine Doctor to see what he thinks about this pain trip.
Heck, I've exhaused all other alternatives and over a 20 year period that's a whole lot of modalities.
So I'm a bit backwards. Where a lot of folks start out with Medical Doctors I started out with a Chiropractor after getting tossed on my head in a car accident.
I'll tell you for certain, there's no accounting for what makes a body just give out. Generally it all comes down to the alignment of the structure but that's a huge and broad generality that can even go as far back as the skeletal structure from birth being misaligned as to cause a general weakness in the body in certain areas. We're talking any cause from fetal bone development, to positioning in the womb, and the condition of the skeletal foundation as a result of the birthing process. Dang that birth trama. It comes back to haunt us at 40 when we bend over to clean out the cat box.
I'm sort of at the point right now that there are so many links to causes that it all becomes a moot point and resolution is the only thing that has has any focus as we say....okay, what now.
Amazingly enough I have found the medicine classification of Triptans to have an unexpected good effect on a few things going on with my pain other than migraine.
This is really recent. Like last week.
So I'm going to discuss that with the Neurologist tomorrow.
Good Luck with finding answers for your pain and difficulty.
kat

Let's try this again! The browser won't let me on. Thank you for your responses, it really made a difference this morning. I do agree that this could be due to an injury I suffered as a kid because we did play Superman and jump off garages; Tarzan swinging from trees. Falling was part of the fun.

My orthopedic surgeon is the first one that recommended surgery after a thorough exam and MRI. Since he only works two days a week and doesn't do nerve work, he referred me to a neurosurgeon. Based on my medical history, I have really bad allergies, this ruled out many of the wonderful injections that most people can tolerate. I also found out after my 40th birthday that I have a heart problem. Some medications makes my heart beat too fast. Therefore, epidurals, etc., I can't have.

I can also agree that I have a high tolerance to pain. When the neurosurgeon examined me (3 wks after ortho) I didn't have any reflexes in my rt leg, almost no reflex in my lt leg, it feels like bugs are running all over my lower body. My feet/legs jerk and then my fingers/arms/shoulders will jerk. My rt leg is getting really heavy almost to the point of dragging. He said this nerve damage is due to not knowing I had a problem that needed to be addressed. He said that I'm beyond conservative measures. I'm scheduled for surgery April 9. My husband is trying to get the house post-op ready. Thank God we don't have babies/toddlers. We have two brain-damaged teenagers and 1 brain-damaged preteen. God is in the blessing business. I don't know what I would do.

Thank you for lending me your ear and I hope this goes through.

Rosarita