Went to the doctor Firday, and he showed me the last MRI I had done in DEC. The report I got said no change. Well on four of the five lumbars, The are deifnately bulged out into the spinal column. Two have tears in them and are leaking. 3 of them qualify for IDET, and am having another steaoid injection in it and an Xray at the same time to determine if it still hase enough height to it.
My question is from all I have researched and found out on here, I might only have to be off work a week with the IDET. I only have about 10 days left to use, and hubby lost his job six weeks ago, no jobs in sight, and unemployment refused, so I am the bread winner and can't afford to be off with no pay.
So has anyone had that many levels done and been up and about in a week? I already know that I won't be able to sit for periods of time, and my job is such that I can stand and sit as I wish, so that won't be a problem, driving the 25 miles to get to it might be a problem, but will work around these things if I can.

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Hi Mary Anne,

I had a one level IDET in November of 2002. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't think you will be back to work in 10 days and especially not driving 25 miles. A lot of the literature on the internet and that doctor's provide indicates you will be back to work in one week or so. That is really a serious underestimation of how you will feel after IDET.

I took 10 days off from work, and then went back half days for another 10 days. In retrospect, I should have been home the entire time and lying flat on my back. I found standing to be just as painful as sitting, and the only way I was really comfortable was to be lying down as much as possible. It was difficult for me to function during a four hour workday, and I commute 20 minutes each way. I was exhausted and in a great deal of pain at the end of the day and needed to lie down immediately. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken off one month from work and done nothing buy lay down.

I really hope I am not being too harsh, but I think it is important to be honest about the recovery from IDET. It is no picnic. I don't know if the recovery from a three level is more than a one level, but I imagine it would be.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer them. On a positive note, I do feel better after the IDET. However, it took about 6 months after the procedure to begin to feel some relief.

Hang in there and best of luck!

Hi Maryanne,

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A two level IDET is pushing the envelope. I had a 4 level done - DUM DUM DUM!!! I cannot say this enough.

And, a single level IDET - well, I don't know the statistics, but I know 4 people that have had a single and they all failed. And, these people followed the letter of the law concerning everything post procedure.

Even a single level you will not be back to work for at least 12 weeks.

Sorry


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gbr

1st lumbar MRI showed 4 bulging lumbar discs and 3 bulging thoracic discs
Diagnosed with JDD
lumbar discograms
4 Level failed IDET
another lumbar disco
4 Confirmed torn lumbar discs, 2 full thickness
Issues now with c-spine & upper thoracic
Fusion of L5/S1 scheduled 3/5/03 (PLIF)
Fusion successful - feeling better all the time
Major pain on L side of neck to shoulder - MRI revealed 2 shot discs (C5/6 & 6/7)
3 upper thoracic discs bulging as well

Thanks for the info. I haven't gotten any of the information from the doctor's office, it has all been researching in the net. My commute is 30 minutes and 25 miles, all state roads, so fairly smooth. Did your commute hurt? I would hate to think that after all these years I finally find something that works, only to not be able to do it because of no money coming in. That and the fact that I carry the insurance and will have to keep working to stay eligible for it. I requested the FMLA papers today, to fill out just in case something happens and I absolutely can't come back, they can't fire me.
And as far as coming back in a week, I can work as many hours as I wish, be it four two or seven, as long as I stay in the pay statis. My employee has already told me she will help in what ever I need her to, so that makes me feel better. And it is going to be a 4 level IDET, not a 3, so am thinking it will be worse recuperating. Hubby interviewed yesterday for a job at 10 thou. less than he was getting paid, so is thinking seriously about taking it just in case. There just aren't any jobs out there in our area.
Thanks for all your help

I also wanted to say, and forgot.... that I certainly want to do exactly what I need to so that I give this procedure every opportunity to work, including getting rid of the cigarettes, so the blood flows right.
So will take that into consideration. The doctor also wants to do neucloplasty on me at a later date after I have healed from this. He wants to see how this does first before doing anything else. He just came back from having back surgery himself, so he knows what it is like. I trust him. But I haven't asked him how long I would have to be off work yet, there have been too many other things to talk about during the appointments that it is further down the list of questions, but will get to it.

Hello again,

Truthfully, I think riding in a car for 30 minutes would make your pain much much worse. Regardless of how smooth the car or the terrain, car rides are a killer for a recovering back. 6 weeks after IDET I could not ride in a car for that long, and that was with someone else driving and me laying down in the car. After 10 minutes in a car, I would be in a lot of pain and practically ready to jump out of the car. 30 minutes sitting in a car is not the same as 30 minutes sitting in a chair. And after one week, I don't think you would be able to sit in a chair for 30 minutes, either.

I think it is great to be positive and upbeat about your recovery, but it is important to be realistic. I wish I had had more accurate information about IDET recovery before I had it done. Hopefully more people who have had IDET done will respond. After a 4 level IDET, you really will not be ready to go back to work, even for a few hours a day, after one week. And most definitely to ride in a car for that long.

Again, sorry to be so blunt, but you really need to know what you are getting yourself into.

Thanks for what you call bluntness! That is what I need to hear. The facts and the truth. I haven't said yes to this surgery yet.

My doctor said he would never recommend more than a 2-level IDET. Even a 2-level has much lower rates of success than a one-level.

I had a one-level IDET done in December 2002. It took MONTHS before I could even ride in a car for half an hour.

I was a perfect candidate for IDET, had a surgeon with an excellent reputation, and followed the doctor's instructions to the letter. I was in severe pain and could barely move for 3 months. I was unable to work at my very flexible desk job.

Today I am back at work, but am still in worse pain than pre-IDET. However, I am living with it. I am grateful to be able to work and function on a minimal level, with a moderate (though constant) level of pain as opposed to a debilitating one.

If you can still work, please reconsider having this surgery done. I was in pain before the surgery and was desperate for a fix (who of us isn't?), and I ended up disabled and out of money and in a terrible situation. I really wish I had not had my single-level IDET done.

In many other countries that may not have quite as many back surgeons as the US, the types of back problems many of us on this board complain about just don't exist with such frequency. Kind of makes you think, huh?

Good luck with whatever you decide.
http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/heart.gif Telzey

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4 years of back pain, but was still able to work and maintain moderate activity (hiking, low-impact aerobic exercise)
Annular tear L5-S1 diagnosed 5/02 via MRI
IDET 12/2/02
1/26/03 Posterior disc prolapse occurs after sitting too long after walking. Causes new pain down left leg.
3/1/03 Leg pain reduced with exercises from the book "Treat Your Own Back" by Robin McKenzie.
3/9/03 Severe, new buttock and thigh pain and numbness starts.
3/25/03 Used McKenzie techniques to treat buttock and thigh pain -- pain reduced
4/4/03 Started physical therapy
5/8/03 Still worse than pre-IDET, but showing slow improvement with PT, McKenzie exercises, yoga, and Hanna Somatics exercises
5/30/03 PT suggests buttock and thigh pain may be from facet joint
7/6/03 Still worse than pre-IDET due to leg and thigh pain and numbness, and have become so inactive I can't tell whether back pain is better. Can't stand for any length of time, can't walk long, run at all, or do any aerobic activity. I regret agreeing to the IDET and wish I had had more patience with the natural healing process of my disc!

Hi MaryAnne,

A 4-level IDET is insane. I have read lots and lots and lots of stuff on many back procedures. Especially the IDET and Nucleoplasty (since I had BOTH those procedures done AT THE SAME TIME!). A 2-level IDET is pushing the envelope. That's what I had with a 1-level nucleoplasty. Plus I had intra-discal injections to bring disk height back up. A 3-level is mentioned a few times when there is "absolutely no other alternative" and a 4-level IDET is "supposed to be" NEVER recommended. There are no good outcomes on any of the research papers written so far.

Now the combo nucleo/IDET.....now you're talkin. What they do is -- do the nucleoplasty (they put a needle into the disk, then they insert a catheter into the same space as the needle. A (Perc-D) wand with an (egg beater looking thing on the tip) is inserted into the catheter and the nucleo gets done. While the catheter is still there...(they inserted another needle to add man-made fluid back into the disk) then they put the IDET in, got it wrapped around the disk and cooked until done.

Remember...you are being BURNED. The IDET has a thermal heat of (generally) around 70 degrees C. The nucleoplasty has a thermal heat of (generally) around 70 degrees F. HUGE difference. The more you are burned, the longer it takes to heal. Honestly? I think the person who said only a few days to heal is smokin' something real bad. I guess they have never had the procedure done....eh? I suppose they don't even talk to their other patients either. Speaking of which....ask you doctor how many 4-level IDETS he has performed and what have been their success rates. If he refuses you the info....run away and don't look back. You have a right to that information. Stats, that's all you are asking for. Nothing confidential at all. He'd better have more than 1 or 2 patients with 4-level IDETs too.

Actually...The better way might be to handle 2 at a time (the 2 worst) and try a combo procedure (of some kind). You gotta do what you gotta do. The IDET in my opinion is one of the harsher "non-invasive" treatments around. That and the discectomy/ laminectomy. From what I understand, the nucleoplsaty is taking over where the IDET fails....success rates. My own surgeon has stopped performing IDETs and doing ONLY nucleoplastys with a very high success rate. These are patients he would have only done an IDET on before...now he performs only the nucleo. Look into this and ask your doctor too.

Good luck to you.


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successtory
Oct 2000: Repetitive Stress Injury-Inverted Hernia
Feb 2001: MRI. Shows only slight bulge at L4-L5
Dec 2001: Discogram/CT scan shows Inverted Hernia at L5-S1. L4-L5 & L5-S1 ruptured in all 4 quadrants. Unable to walk.
Feb 2002: IDET, Nucleoplasty, Intra-Discal Injections
Sept 2002: Rated in the top 10% for successful patients. Retraining for new career.

Thanks for all the info. But let me make this clear. My doctor didn't tell me he would be doing all four at the same time, I am assuming he would, so just wanted to check and see if anyone had that many done at once. At the last appt, he just showed me the MRI film and said these three are good candidates, and this 4th one will have to be X-rayed because the height is questionable. When I questioned him about Neucleoplasty, which is the main reason I had went to him, he said that I was a good candidate for that as well, but that he did not want to do that until he saw how well I responded to the IDET, so I won't be getting them both done at the same time.
He is recuperating from back surgery done in June on himself, and understands everything I have told him about my back, which is a first for me. He has not glossied over the procedure and has been very honest about the chances of it working. My next step is to have another injection in my spine and an X-ray at the same time so he can tell the height of the questionable disc. One step at a time. I have waited all these years for something that might work so a little longer wait and a doctor that is being very thorough is fine by me. If he had wanted to rush right in a start cutting on me then I would have been alarmed.
And believe me I will question him completely as I get nearer to making a decision about this.