Been a while...
I am 8 months post op and two months ago, after feeling great...I am back where I started but worse. I am currently walking with a cane again.
I spent many phone calls with my surgeon..who is AWESOME! and we decided to do a CT scan to make sure that I had begun to fuse. Results: fused beautifully! HMMMMM, wheres the pain coming from? Next step was an MRI, prior too, I met with my surgeon and basically had no reflexes in my left leg. The pain is in my hips, lower back, left buttocks and down the back of my thigh, back of my knee and my outer calf and foot..
WELCOME BACK SCIATICA..you PIMA! MRI showed nothing and left us scratching heads. I was refereed to a pain management doctor who did a bilateral injection (had some pain starting in right thigh and groin area) the doctor had warned me that he could hit the nerve and HE DID!
THAT HURT. I have progressively gotten worse and a few weeks ago, I drove myself to the ER after work since I couldnt take the pain any more. I have been on dilaudid as needed since the pain started and nueroton 900 mg a day. The ER doc was the same doc that had refereed me to the emergency discectomy last year and he himself had had 3 back surgeries so he understood my pain.
He added 5mg valume to my med list and the combo of the meds takes the edge off. Since then I have met with my surgeon and been upgraded to 10mg valume and 2400 mg neurton a day. He suggested another injection and that brought me to tears..no more wait and see. I have two months till my 30th birthday and I dont want to be disabled by then. After talking and tears, a decision was made and on the 24th, i am have a laminectomy to try to free up room for the nerve and the nerve seems to be the pain source. I will be off work for 6 weeks to allow plenty of time to heal as I am so done with this and it has had some major effects on my quality of life.
Has anyone else had success from this surgery, any advice for recovery, anything that is good to know? We are spending the week preparing the house..no bending, no twisting and no lifting. Will this be the end?
This is where it started: Post from Feb 2011
On the 21st, I am going in for an Annular L5S1 Fuse with Discectomy Pre-Op to correct siatica and a herniated disc that has been causing pain, numbness and tingling of both legs, buttocks, hips and back. Last year I have a discectomy and it was successful but I guess I didn't baby it enough and it is back. I have done 4 injections, much PT and anything else that the doctors recommended. Some of this is by choice. I could do another discectomy but there would be a high chance of a fuse down the line. I am 29 and a single mother of three who is very active and needs to just have this all over. I am well prepared for the recovery time and will follow doctors orders to the T.
I have pre-op appointments tomorrow but I wanted to see how other prepared for comming home. I have a two story townhouse and my bedroom is up two flights of stairs. My kids have been wonderful at making sure all the laundry is caught up and the house stays picked up. They will be at grandmas alot for the first few weeks so that she can take them and pick them up from school. What items were helpful when you came home? Any other tips? I have some neighbors that will be helping also..
