back pain after op

sorry to hear how much pain your in, thats not good at all. Could an oesteopath do anything. I have a few great books one is just called back pain and gives great insight into ur back and how things work, causes treatments and all sorts. Thats no way to live cant u go see seone else who might be able to shed some light on it.

Its so hard but try and keep your chin up because I geniunely believe that trying to keep positive else u will almost make your pain worse.

I was on so many drugs but unfortunately nothing touched me. What about looking into alternative therapy??? Im sure u have but do loads of research.

Dont forget your not alone when it comes to suffering with back pain. Try keep smiling x

ref back pain

thanks for the reply , its good to see people care about each other , , ive tried different options ie physio , chiropractor etc to no avail , just awaiting results from hospital cant wait , suffering alot of headaches recently from pain from back sometimes lasting several hours , so some days dont get any easier , just taking 1 day at a time , its hard financially especially being of work for over 18 months just getting esa , job centres dont help sometimes as put in group ggetting back to work , thats such a laugh especially when can hardly walk , couple of weeks till my tribunial for disabilty so will reply the outcome , joib centres etc just try and fob you off, looking to hear from other people who have had a load of issues
thx

I think you should consult a doctor and follow the medications. It is very much important to know your sickness and how it to cured especially the back because it supports the upper body.

Sounds like dire straits Scotsman29. I'm sorry to hear your pain and know what its like with young kids. I haven't endured the duration of your pain - it seems to be a common factor with back issues.

If its any help looking out side the box so to speak i'd say its a fusion your after. The discs are clearly leaking further and the only solution is to remove that factor. I'm looking at a discectomy next Friday. My first by the way and its been a torturous decision to go ahead with. Thanks to the GP, family and kind folk on here i've made my decision. But it was pointed out to me that similar to injections its also isn't a fail safe cure for prolapsed /herniated or the myth "slipped disc"

It was described to me as a bottle having been knocked over. The cap is lost and the surgeon cleans up the mess and puts the bottle back on the table. There's no guarantee the bottle won't get knocked over again and i should live life with this in mind afterwards.

No one should have to endure the pain your under and 19 tablets a day can't be good for you. Its fight or flight. I used to live by that rule years ago after a serious incident early on. I always trusted my gut feeling and fought. I guess once theres kids involved it makes these decisions even more of a serious decision. Thats why i've struggled with a discectomy. I hope you find resolve i really do. No one knows the level of pain and constant head stress it causes until their faced with it themselves.

19 tablets? There is something seriously wrong there, have you tried patches? What tablets are you on? Have they reassessed your med needs rather than just upping and adding to them? Have you been to a pain clinic that can look at the total picture?

Before any op you have to look at the cause too, it's not a bottle, leaking or otherwise and there is no cap, depending on what caused the problem in the first place, that is what result you will get.

Sorry maybe my wording isn't the best. Its my understanding that a ruptured / herniated disc is irreversible. A discectomy trims the excess and leaves the disc in its original state before surgery (Herniated) and clears only the space between vertebrae and nerve. They don't completely drain the disc in the same process so to a certain extent it is an open bottle (with less viscosity than water - fair point) or donut or what ever representation people wish to term it... hence why some people end up having to have repeated surgeries to do the same process or opt for a full fusion. And in some cases the fluid alone leaking onto the nerve after surgery is enough to cause pain after the initial offending disc fragment has been removed.

I 100% completely agree its a warning that posture or life style is an issue and should be corrected. This is probably the most important point in the entire scenario and need s to be address immediately.

But i'd imagine /hope the original poster is fully aware of that by now and long past that stage. The operation is never assumed to be the "fix" it's purely to relieve pain caused by the rupture. And gives you the chance to build up your core muscles and get your body correcting itself.

I totally agree with the fact that 19 tablets a day isn't good. In the first week of my experience i was prescribed 15 tablets a day which kept me static and very much sedated.

That can't be good for long term treatment..

To scotsman

Unfortunately you are not alone. With regard to DLA I went to an advice point (bit like citizens advice) to help me fill forms in, was advised to by my mum who is disabled. When they filled in forms they did it on my worst day, not an average one. Initially I was only offered lower rate carers but as I am now more or less housebound and unable to do anything but basic personal care I appealed. I now receive higher mobility and lower carers. I am now going to ask for my carers rate to be reviewed as only been so severely disabled since fusion operation last April. The advice point told me it is normal to be refused first time but to persevere, so don't give up.

As for dealing with your pain, I have learnt to take each day at a time. Today I am bed bound and guzzling morphine 🙂 but tomorrow I might be able to lay downstairs and have a friend visit. Staying positive is the key, I always try to dress nice and do my hair, for a while I couldn't be bothered but feel better for making an effort.

As for further surgery etc, fusion surgery hasn't worked for me, although consultant still considering whether to open me up again, but does work for others. I personally know of two people who have made a full recovery and one who is still in mild pain. Would I do it again knowing what I do now, yes I would. Unless someone has been in this situation with constant pain and a feeling of life passing you by and unfortunately having to be cared for by others they can't judge. I would have done anything!!

Keep positive and try and get friendly with consultants secretary it helps when chasing things up and I should know I was one for seven years before all this.

I felt sorry for your pain. Maybe you should relax your self and don't even do things that can cause you pain.

back pain

i am sorry to hear about that. You may need to consult a chiropractor regarding your pain.

hi everyone..

i did not have op yet.. and i realy do not know if anything lke that will happened with me...

anyway i had accident at work where i been 7 months pregnent at that time.
since then i am having so much pain in my back this was in sept 2010..
i am taking so many painkillers every single day. can not walk for long and can not do muvh at home. i have 2 kids one 1 year old and one nearly 4 and feeling realy bad as can not spend as much time with them as i want,
i been gpoing for physio...for abt 2 months then had back classes then acupuncture,,,
and finalyy been sent or mri scan which show i have prolapsy disc ( 2 prolapsy disc)
now waitting to see a doctor in hospital and im realy scared as i dont know what he is going to say... if i need op or not?

what u thinking guys??
i fell twice as i stop feeling my leg and i waslucky i didnt have any of my kids on my arms,,.,,,
feeeling sooo bad,,,, and so scared,,,

Don't panic

Hi Sandra

Please don't panic. Although I am one of those who surgery hasn't worked for, think how many others it has. You wouldn't look on here if you were doing.fine, so you only get to see a very biased view on here. I have two friends who have had microdiscectomies and fusions and they are absolutely fine. Also the consultant has other things to try before surgery, for example an epidural. Not the same as when pregnant as your legs still work, but numbs the pain/nerves. Sometimes these can work so well you will never go on to need more treatment.

Make sure you take a list of things you want answers to when you see the consultant and remember surgery is the last option not the first.

If you have any more questions let me know, take care Wend x

I just bk from the hospital he said the results r not good at All and coz i been in pain for more then 18 months now he decided to send me for surgery ... Aww itd scaring me so much... Im worried something night go wrong ... But is ur pain after surgery still strong??? Or is a bity Better?? Anything Ela can theydo for u? Or u just gonna be in pain ... ??

Sandra I am sorry to hear you have to have surgery. Please remember only a tiny percentage of surgeries don't work. My best advice to you would be after surgery make sure you don't rush things if you are feeling better. The consultant will put a special pain killer in your back during surgery which can last up to two weeks which is why so many of us overdo things because the pain is hidden.

I know people who have been helped by surgery so even though mine was unsuccessful I wouldn't panic. On this site though there is another procedure being talked about called MISS I think done by a Mr Martin knight privately I think, it might be worth investigating as he does things differently. If you can't find it on here let me know and I will find it for you and send it on.

Take care, feel free to ask any other questions Wend x

Don't worry sandra. Think of the long game here. The longer the nerve is compressed the more the damage. The sooner you get it sorted the better. It may take a while to ease / settle down after op as the nerve has to recover. Give it time and you'll be fine.

Im 2wks post op for discetomy. Some days are better than others.But every day is improvement. All nerve pain is now gone. Slight twinges - very minor. I have a dull ache in the legs above knee's. The disc themselves take a lot of time to heal. Its a long game. Stay positive, don't be afraid.

Best of luck! Stay positive.

Hi,

I'm only 3 weeks since my microdiscectomy but have gone 2 years prior with chronic sciatica, numbness and intense drugs regime. Three things I would offer up that helped massively with me prior surgery:

Accupuncture: I am not sure how/why it works but I had 6 weeks (2 session a week) either side of my MRI and the swelling decreased significantly. The dr explained accupuncture helps relax the swelling in the area. I would say it reduced pain 30-50%.

Tramadol: I can only assume everyone is on a cocktail like I was, and we all worry about what it does to us inside. The 2 drugs that appeared to work best were Amitriptyline and Mambron. The amatriptyline targets only nerve pain and side effect is its an anti-depressant. These changed my life for the better. The mambron is a time release tramadol and allowed me to sleep 3-5hrs as unlike normal tramadol its 100mg over 12hrs.

Back flexes: Back flexions once an hour I was doing for the year up to surgery. I was in huge pain but I was told it may help work the disc back in, but if not would at least strengthen the lumbar area incase i needed surgery.

Saying all the above, I was in a terrible state and I can't thank the surgeons enough for what they did for me with the microdiscectomy. Life changer. I understand the road is long but I'm finally at the start of it, and I think thats just sometimes what seriously injured people need. Some point they can say 'right, this is me starting again, posture, health, exercise'

I wish everyone the very best recovery

Hi there,

I am very sorry you are suffering so much. I am assuming they have checked that you did not get an infection? If you are lyig on the floor and the pain is unbearable, they either made a mess of the op- well they have, that's for sure by the sounds of it. Did they check for an infection? i have had the expereicne of helpig a family out- a doctor's wife had a back op. She was fine for three weeks then in agonising pain. It turned out she had an infection from the op and it took 3 months until she receovered after treatment. It is an obvius question, I know. But there is so much negligence these days, who knows if they completed thorought tests.

I wish you a speedy recovery

Jill

To Scotsman29

Hi Scotsman29

I am sorry you are in so much pain. I have met quite a few people who have had the same problems. And I am actually not surprised by the 19 pills a day! 😮 I have heard and seen worse, 30 tablets plus a morphine patch!!! I believe sometimes it is referred as Failed Back Syndrome (FBS) - or Post Discectomy / Laminectomy Syndrome. As I often run Spinal Support Group meeting in the North East I hear amazing stories and sometimes heartbreaking from patients some successful some not it depends, but it is always nice for these people who suffer from back and neck problems to speak to each other and that's why we have forums like this one, sort of like a virtual hug when you feel low 🙂
Here is a link of a spinal surgeon i have heard speak before which explains a little about the FBS and really hope that you find it helpful.
[url]Post discectomy syndrome - YouTube[/url]

sandune3 types of spinal surgery

To Ricky C

I hope you will respond to this. I would very much like to know which operation you decided on and if it has been successfull.

My son of 36 had an osteotomy for hip femoral impingement. This failed to help any of his pain and required a 3 year recovery. He is on morphine, gabapentin, oxycondone but still his pain is unbearable and he hurts when sitting or walking..

The next stop was a spinal orthopaedic surgeonBen Taylor at the Wellington who said the hip surgery must have been "a red herring". After examination he said my son has disk degeneration and needs spinal fusion. We are v shocked by such opposite diagnoses and like you dont know what to do next. It makes you think if you see an arm specialist they will tell you he needs an arm surgery.

How do you know which surgeons get it right?
My son is going to see Mr Malik neurosurgeon who does minimally invasive surgery which is supposed to be quite a bit less than open surgery but we just dont know. A few people recommend Martin Knight but there are also 1 or 2 who didnt have success with him.

Maybe youve learned something useful with your problems? Please let me know.

Id love to hear what you decided re surgery and that you are now pain free and well.

Best wishes
Sandune3

I am sorry to hear for his troubles. It is quite possible that hip was never source of his problems 🙁

If surgeons are advising spinal fusion, seek for 2-3 different opinions as spinal fusion is risky procedures with very serious possible complications... Even if all goes well, long term results are pretty bad!

Regards

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Back pain ranges from a dull, constant ache with a sudden, sharp pain. Acute back pain comes on suddenly in most cases lasts from a few days to some few weeks. Back pain is known as chronic when it lasts for over three months.

Most back pain goes away on its own, although it may take awhile. Taking over-the-counter pain-killer and restingwill help. However remaining in bed for more than 1 or 2 days can make it worse.