hi i am new here and i am trying to get some advice on having back surgery again. I had a discetomy on dec. 13 2006 on l5 s1 and had a few days of relief then the pain returned. i suffer from lower back pain and sciatica pain down my right leg into my little toes. i have had a new mri done and it shows the disc buldging and scar tissue. I was scheduled for a laminectomy and discetomy on june 26 2007 went to the hospital and was all set for my surgery and had a panic attack and told the nurse to take out my iv and i wasn't having it done. i have had many surgerys in the past and never felt that way before and low and behold i went home without having the surgery. I don't know if what i was feeling that i done this once and it didn't work and didn't want to put myself threw it again or what? has that happened to anyone here before? i have to see the dr. in a couple of weeks and don't really know what to say to him or even do?i just want the pain to end but scared of going threw it agan and have another heart break from it not working! any advice from anyone out there ?? would really appercaite any advice anyone has. thank you halfpint

It's natural to be scared and frightened and I think it would be silly to move forward if you are not ready for surgery. When my surgeon recommended my last surgery it took me 4 months to agree to it. I had to be mentally ready and thankfully my surgeon understood that.

I believe the inter thinking of the brain knows best. I had that feeling come over me when I was being wheeled into surgery. I should have walked. I didn't and the surgery was a failure. Maybe more test should have been run, I don't know. Maybe you should look into what is necessary to get rid of your pain and go from there. You aren't confident yet in what you should do. Part of the recovery is confidence. Maybe a 2nd opinion is necessary and possibly more explanation of what is being done and why. Good Luck

wow , you must have been scared to death . Hey , maybe it was the right thing to do at the time . Don't beat yourself up over it . It happened and no one got hurt over it . Im sure the Staff has seen that a thousand times before .
Just remember to ask for a valium drip when you arrive next time. Mix that with a little morphine and it will be like the summer of love all over again !!
Good luck !!

thank you guys for the posts!! i went to this doctor for a second opinion because my first doctor performed my first back surgery and was telling me he didn't understand why i was having the pain again and this time the pain was worse and having to sit at my job was killing me. so a few co-workers had highly recommended my new dr. it just seems that the first thing they say to me is surgery. i heard theraphy sometimes gives you relief and no one gives me that choice. have any of you tried pt.? and if you did, did it help? i would just like to try other things and use surgery for the last resort. thanks again

I would definitely give PT a whirl. What is it going to hurt?? When you go back to your surgeon ask him that very question. Ask him to humor you and order a few sessions. Then if it doesn't work, he may say we need to move ahead with the surgery when you are ready and don't come back to see me until you are ready.

I definitely would try PT before going under the knife unless my doctor said it was risky and dangerous.

I think we all went through PT, i would defenately try everything before i would consider surgery again.
Second opinion is great, sometimes you need even more to have your piece of mind on what exactly you want to do. I understand your frastruation, been there, done that and a lot of people here done it too, but you need to make your desicion with clear head. Good luck to you, i hope you will find all the answers you need. And come here to talk, we all in the same boat and happy to help you if you need...

you guys are right i am going to see him in a couple of weeks and i am going to ask him why it was offered to me first. it just seems that they are to quick to jump to surgery. i only seen him once for a few minutes and he said we need to go back in there and re-do it. he didn't give me any other choices. my primary dr. was worried if i waited to long there would be permenant nerve damage to my sciatic nerve but the surgeon never mentioned it. not to sure if he will even keep me as a patient because of me walking out like that. when i called to make an appt. the nurse gave me bad attitude. have to waite and see?? has anyone else here had a revised disctomy and how did you turn out from it? thanks gain to you all

I think it's great that you had the guts and stood up for yourself.
You were not mentally or emotionally ready, and that's not the best way to go into surgery.
May I ask if there was a financial "penalty" of any kind for cancelling?

i don't know yet it was this past tuesday. Im sure the insurace will be billed something for the time i was there and the supplys they used but other than that i wont know right away. if i get any bills i will post it and let you know

went to my primary dr. today and i told him what had happen and he thinks that it what triggered it was having low blood sugar. he felt that the nurses didn't handle it correctly. they should have talked to my dr. and should have put something sweet into my iv and that would have helped me to calm down. he also went over my mri with me again and explained to me that theres so much scar tissue surrounding the nerve and with the herinated disc that the only way to help with the pain is surgery. so now i need to get myself prepared to try it again. thank you all so much for taking the time to read my post and responding to them. so glad i found this board. thanks again

Good luck 1/2 pint and keep us posted. Just make sure you are doing what you feel is the right thing.

Low blood sugery is rather "random", I would be more inclined to suggest that you did the right thing. ALWAYS follow your gut!!!!! I have had patients "freak"(thats the official medical term) prior to surgery many times. don't beat yourself up, you may still end up having the surgery at a later time, when its right for YOU. Good luck and God bless

Don't fight yourself for this. I understand you - this experiense is very scary. I went for my first back surgery like it was nothing since i had many other surgeries before and i was OK after. But i am pretty sure if I will need to go again for back surgery - i would be a mess since i know what exactly to expect during recovery.
I strongly believe in inner voice: it told you something and i am glad you listened. You Doc will understand, i am sure you are not only one person who got scared the last minute.
Good luck to you, honey. I hope you will be OK.

thank you guys so much for understanding and caring it means so much to me to have that in my life. i will deffenitly keep you all posted on whats going on. its such a tough decision to make having it failed the first time. with all of your support and understanding will help me greatly. thank you all so much. was wondering if there was anyone who had a good turn out the second time around? you guys are great god bless you all

having it failed the first time.
It wasn't a failure on your behalf.
The health professionals attending you failed to inform you to your satisfaction and then take the best care of you.
Again, I think you were right to stand up for yourself and take control of the situation.
Don't discredit or blame yourself.
Good luck and we're cheering for ya.

i think the main reason i am beating myself up over this is i wanted to get this done and over with as soon as summer vacation started because i am a school bus driver and i didn't want to miss time from work.back in dec. when i had my first surgery the dr. told me i would be out 4 to 6 weeks at most and i was out for 10 weeks and i used up all of my sick days and went to the sick bank for another 30 days and used all of them too. now in sept. i will only have 14 days to use if i need them so that won't cover to much time and i can't use the sick bank again for a year. its hard to survive now a days on one income. i guess i will just take one day at a time and see what happens. thank you all for listening to my problems take care talk you all again soon.

geeeze ,
a bus driver needs to sit alot. That must put alot of stress on your back. Do you think that had something to do with the reoccurance ?
Are you in NYC or state ?

i know that driving bothers my back but i was in this pain before i went back to work.it came back a couple of days after my surgery. it could have started it the first time because i really don't know how i did it. i drive in upstate new york i don't think i would be doing it if i lived in nyc. i have noticed since i have been out of work the pain is a little better.i have thought about finding a new job but what is there out there for me and who would hire me with this condition?

hi everyone, just have a quick question for you all, was wondering if any of you guys work and what kind of work is out there for someone in our situations?? something that you can do without paying for it later with the pain and agony we go threw?? take care and god bless you all !!!!

Halfpint, I homeschool my children and the pay is really great. LOL

halfpint,

I work in law enforcement and if I do not get full use of my leg back, I will be looking for a different occupation too. Although, I don't know of too many employers that let their staff use recliners (can't sit upright for long yet). :D

diet,

You have the best job in the world. I admire your ability to homeschool. I never had the patience. ;)

well I work as a teacher in NYC. Before I had my discectomy it was kinda hard but doable ... Theres not much out there for people like us . Can't stand , sit too long , drive walk.. maybe a professional mattress tester would do LOL...

hope you didn't take me wrong about nyc just the traffic is way to much for me to drive in. i don't know how you do it diet trying to help my kids with homework is a nightmare god bless you for having the patience!!! i just thought someone out there would have a great idea for a job that wouldn't give me such ruff nights. thanks for reading and answering my post. best wishes to you all

hi everyone just wanted to say i put an application today in our local dmv dept. they are looking for a cleck to waite on people. you can either sit or stand on the job so i figured it would be better for me than just sitting and bouncing in my seat on the school bus. i wont know until aug. 1 who gets the job but im hoping for it. god bless you all take care

WOW !!!! DMV in NYC ??? I live in New York too !! Perhaps you can help me cut the line !!! LOL...
Good luck !!

Halfpint I pray that you receive this job as it sounds like the idea job with your back. The luxury of being able to sit down and stand up as needed is awesome. Take care and keep us posted.

hi everyone just wanted to keep you posted on the updates seen my surgeon today and it went very well with him. i explained to him how i had felt that day and he understood completely!! said it was my body and if i wasn't ready for surgery that was my decision. then i asked him what my options were and he said i could do nothing and live with it, get epud. shots they might help or go threw with the surgery. i had explained it to him the pain is spredding to the other side of my back and now going down both legs. we both figured that surgery was my best option. so i am scheduled for sept. (he said i was going to be his first patience that moring) he so funny. very nice doctor so glad i found him!!!! that it for now talk to you all soon god bless you all