Marce4 and Mariyah

[dakmba]

Hi Marce!

Well, I saw my surgeon last week and we reviewed the films from the MRI together.  He pointed out alot of "this and that" but said that there was "PROBABLY" a few bony pieces left there that are playing with the nerves and he would like to go in and get rid of them.  He really was "guessing" that those bony pieces were the problem.  He swears that when he did the laminectomy that the nerve was totally free of any compression.  He has said that every time I have gone in for a follow up visit.  I know he is baffled by all this. He really is a very conservative surgeon and I have to say he has been dependable when it comes to pain management with me.  I am honest with him about using the pain meds and this last time I told him it was taking me 6 Norcos a day to control the leg pain.  So he wrote me a script to allow 6 a day.  But the thing that really bothers me is that he insists that I continue to have the leg pains because he did not do a fusion in January along with the laminectomy.  He says the unstable vertabrae (L-5) is probably moving and banging up against the nerves somewhere. I disagree.  I think I still have compression somewhere else - like piriformis symdrome.  Anyway, I let them schedule me for a fusion surgery in July since I was too exhausted to defend why I wanted to decline it.  I plan on getting ALL my films and reports and getting some 2nd or 3rd opinions.  Jeez Marce- I have read so much bad stuff about the horiffic pain and life changes from folks that have gone in for fusions. So many folks wish they never did it as the pain is worse than when they went in.  I have also started the Neurontin he prescribed to me and am due to up my dose to 2 pills a day today.  I want to see if it works enough to soothe those nerves enough so I can reduce the Norco and eventually get off them all together.  I can live with aches and pains but I cannot live with another failed back surgery.  It is so hard to figure out what risks to take at this point!

I too am worried about Mariyah.  We haven't heard from her since she went back to her doc to find out the results of her mylegram.  I hope she is okay! I know she was in agony with her back issues too. She was also worried about her job. I KNOW I could not work and go through what I am dealing with now.  I took a severance package from a group of surgeons that I had worked for for only 4 months.  Three weeks after I got there they decided to sell the practice.  Thank God I put that severance package in my contract.  I am now on COBRA for medical.  I am grateful for this "time to myself" not only to heal and deal with this back issue but to determine what I want to do career wise.  So I am using this time off to determine alot of things that for once have to do with me and not my boys. It is so nice to wake up in the morning and not have to do the hair, make-up and don the corporate suit!

dakmba

    

[Lookyhere]

Hi, it is nice to read your post. Maybe find a forum for pain management and find people who had fusion on their vertebrae. It does sound like you are  very concerned about the risk of increased pain. Try to Google some info. Put in key search terms like - fusion vertebrae surgery more pain less pain risks results benefit - all and any combination of these and any other you could think up of.
good luck
Looky