back fusion l4 l5

im going for a lower back fusion next month after two failed attempts to fix l4 l5........im very worried about this surgury,all i hear are bad things on this site and at pt.........are all the success storys out and about carrying on with there lives or is this a very bad surgury.i would imagine if it was that bad they wouldnt be doing them.can anyone help with some info or advise or success storys,to help me .im going crazy with this decision
ty-al

[giveitback]

Hey,

Please read reply sent to you on the L4-5 PROTRUSION post as well.

There are people out there with success stories. Don't freak out! Just gather as much information as possible through the Internet, library books, pamphlets at the doctor's office, etc. Get all your resources together and read them. This should put your mind at ease. Most of all, you need to BELIEVE and have FAITH.

Coming to a site like this can make you more upset if you allow it to. People on here are primarily COMPLAINING about their symptoms, looking for help, or distressed over surgeries/ procedures that failed. It's not good to read so much of this. Very rarely will you find an individual on here BRAGGING of how good their surgery went because they are out living their life not hanging out on this forum. Another thing to keep in mind, many people have surgery but do not follow doctor's orders - this doesn't mean the surgery failed, it could be they did not do what they were told afterwards.

It takes several things in order to go through the trials God gives us. One is a good character, one is faith, one is a sense of humor - you have to BELIEVE in yourself, your doctor and most of all God. You may want to add an inspirational book or two to your collection of resources above to help ease your mind.

I am preparing for surgery myself, I know your apprehension - don't let your fear take over, you will also heal much better if you go in with a positive attitude!  : )

[alinpain]

WOW........all i can say is THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! you really inspired me.and the fact you talk of our lord and savior.my wife go to church as much asm we can.was baptized together......everyone thought it was so cool that she had to stay in the water to help the rev to dunk me
BUT.....sometimes like this i feel my faith is tested,im saying where are you lord,my family needs me and we need you,youi say you would not give us more then we can handle,so lord where are you
i feel this is punishment for the way ive lived my life.all i can say is i dont know how bad ill get if i dont get the surgury,it already feels like its getting worse,my hand went crippled over this from my7 neck surgurys,i think because it was pinched so long,so when it was relieved some of my nerves died,my hand closes but dont open very good,i have atrafy very bad........im going for a emg for my hand and legon oct 9 next day im seeing my nerosurgen,then plan surgury.would have been sooser but had my gorebladder out 3 days ago.5 surgurys in one year,waiting for the next one in oct
im going to put myself in the hands of god and pray that what ever happens...............thats the way he wanted it
god bless,al

[giveitback]

Hi,

I am glad you got something out of that. Just so you know, I do not believe you are being punished for whatever you have done in life that you feel is wrong. I do know that the Lord does give us trials and challenges in life that allows our faith to grow if we let it. Sometimes we are closest to God when things are not going so well. Maybe this is Him calling you to spend some intimate time with Him.
When you ask where the Lord is - He is always with you. If I were you, I would thank Him for these health and financial challenges He has given you. It sounds as if you have had a very difficult year, sometimes tough times come one right after the other. You will learn and grow and become stronger from these experiences. God will continue to be with you  on your journey back to health.  : )
Something that I think about may help you as well. Whenever I am anxious about something, I ask God to please take it from me. Let Him deal with it. If I am still anxious, then I realize I am not completely trusting the Lord because if I was, that fear wouldn't still be there. So, trust Him! It is very comforting knowing you are being taken care of.
Cheers!

[alinpain]

thank you again,you seem to be a nice person.
may i ask you something if you were in my place would you do the surgury.and dont feel bad about the answer just a honest answer.i wont base my decision on whet you say.......just curious
oh,and yes i do believe the lord has bumpers to go through in life that leads us to him.but ty again
god bless.......al

[giveitback]

Oh my goodness, what a question.  I cannot answer that because I don't know if you have any other options nor do I know your history. If your surgeon says that you will benefit from the surgery, I would do it. If he does not seem confident you will gain a better quality of life having the surgery, I wouldn't have it. Also, if you mess up the surgeon's work by doing things you should not be doing afterwards, don't even bother. All you are doing then is wasting both your time and your doctor's time. You MUST follow post-op care to a tee and really take care of yourself.  In your other email you were saying how much the price of your motorcycle was, but you should be way more concerned with the price of your health and well-being - you cannot put a price tag on that!
I hope all goes well with you. Is your surgery already scheduled? What exactly are they going to do? What are the chances of its success and of you leading a more comfortable, functional life? How old are you?
Look forward to your response.
Cheers!

[alinpain]

first,very well put,im just a guy who has always done things on my own,so this is so hard,i dont like depending on my wife,my kids,so if i feel good i get things done.i guess i have to face the fact things have changed,sorry about the question.im a young 53,and i need a lower back fusion l4 l5,after two failed disectamys............i asked him the chance i was taken....he said 60/40.not very good odds.but if i keep going like this how much more damage am i doing,i guess i have to face the fact my life has changed and except that it will never be the same
by the way are you a woman........and how are you doing.

[giveitback]

Hi,

Yes, I am a woman, LOL...otherwise how else do you think I give such great advice LOL !

Yes, it's hard to face things change - but, just because things change does not necessarily mean they have to be for the worse. We will have to accept the fact that we cannot do things they way we used to, but we can find new things to do. For example, I love to golf, I love being out on the greens...it is a very hard reality to accept that I may not be able to rehabilitate myself back into golf condition. I am really hoping I will be able to golf again some day  : )

So, your discectomy's failed because of what you were telling me earlier? Is that the next step after failed disectomy's is a fusion?

I think that I would go for it if I were you. A 60% success rate is better than your chances of getting better without surgery. Did you ask him what the 40% represented? 40% chance there is no change or that you will be worse, etc.

I am not doing very well, unfortunately. The MRI this morning was very difficult laying there - the pain in my back and legs was outrageous. I go back to the surgeon on Friday to see what he says. I pray that he will be able to help me because I cannot go on being nonproductive and nonfunctioning.

Keep in touch, I enjoy chatting with you.

[sundrog]

good luck,with your surgery,i had it done,7 years ago,and it was al-right,your'll have your days,and you will have your good days,but,keep in there,go in there with a goo additude. im surpossed to go in for another 2 level fushion L2,and L3. so just keep your head up,and things will work out for you.     let me know how things go for you,and i'll do the same.

[alinpain]

lol,you are just like my wife,the ability to read between the lines and to look at things different then me..................and no i didnt ask him what tyhe 40% ment lol,see what i mean.for all i know that could be the success part  of it lol..................yes it seems to be the next step, a fusion,where he already cut out a lot of bone to relieve pressure..i really enjoy chatting with you also and im sorry to hear that you are in so much pain
so you never had any surgury to help and if not why are you waiting so long.........so tell me a little about yourself,if dont mind,age ,married,children,ect.
god bless
al

[alinpain]

thank you very much for you info.if more people on here would say some good things once in a while people like me and giveitback might be to handle things better and not be so depressed
ty al

[alinpain]

thank you very much for you info.if more people on here would say some good things once in a while people like me and giveitback might be to handle things better and not be so depressed
ty al

[giveitback]

HI

I have waited so long because I wanted to make sure I did everything possible to get healthy without surgery. I went through months of PT, did exercises but kept knocking myself back down, was bedridden for a couple months, did the epidurals, pain meds, and so on. I am not one to sit around and just wait for something to happen. I have worked aggressively and consistently on rehabilitating myself to no avail. Some times our body just needs some outside help to get better, I am accepting surgery finally.
I will let you know what the doctor says tomorrow and exactly what he is going to do for me.
Take Care

[alinpain]

god be with you through all decisions made and your surgury
please keep me informed on whats happening,ok my friend

[giveitback]

Hi,

Thanks for your concern. Well, I went to the surgeon today and he read off my new MRI. He said that the MRI and the EMG are not consistent. In other words, the EMG shows pinched nerve at the L4-5 level but the MRI shows pinched nerve at the L5-S1 level. I have other bulging discs, but I apparently do not have symptoms of these, and that is normal. A lot of people have herniations that they don't even know they have. Anyway, he is going to contact the anesthesilogist (the one who did my injections) to find out exactly which disc/nerve was injected. He would like to order another injection specifically directed at the L5 root (he said it would be very isolated, not like the last two injections where fluid was going everywhere). If this nerve block does not give me relief, then he will go in and remove the L5-S1 disc. He is very thorough and very kind. He wants to help me and will definitely do the surgery if he feels I will benefit from it. Of course, he doesn't want to do it if the epidural will help, and I agree. Nobody wants to have surgery if they can get by comfortably without it. I am very reluctant to get another epidural because of the crazy pain it puts me in, but maybe this time it won't be so bad if it is actually in there doing its job and not causing more havoc. What do you think?
Oh, and I am 43, healthy active (prior to injury) - am divorced with 4 kids. Live in California. Love to golf, mountain bike, run along the coast, going to ballgames, etc. (still things I would love to get back into) I have not been to one sporting event this last year because of my injuries (which totally sucks!) lol...

[alinpain]

well im married(second),im 53 and was also very active before last year,in one year i have grown from a 53 year old (feeling 30) to a 53 year old (feeling 60).i never got into sports (always running the street getting in troublegot married two sons later,marrage didnt work.went on match .com and dated till i found my current wife,got into motorcycling and is my passion ever since.do charitys,go on bike runs and events,love it.got my  wife into it and now she rides and has her own.oh, she has three daughters.........whew what a house full.sold my little ranch and we had a brand new one built to hold all of us.lol
now we could lose it all because of my condition,im totally disabled now,ssi and the whole thing,trying to keep our health insurance.(state) got to kiss there rear end for everthing.....never lived like this in my life.never asked anyone for anything,no education (6th grade) but managed to work very hard and got good crdit and bought two homes.
now im going bankrupt.dont know how long we can hang on.sometimes i like to just get up get on my bike and disappear...................sorry for all the bull,kind of depressed
god bless -al

[giveitback]

You do not have to apologize for "venting" - I totally understand. You seem like a very decent gentleman, very well rounded and giving. I am sure you are a wonderful father and husband. Nobody can ever take that away from you - even if you are flat out broke. People often ask me "why aren't you angry at the person who ran into you?" I always answer saying that anger only gets in the way of healing. It is an emotion that is not helpful. You can beat up my body and take away my earning capacity, my mobility, but you cannot take away my spirit! Sometimes, I do get melancholy as well. It's hard to stay positive ALL the time, even for the most gracious person. We are only human and have human emotions.
I know it must be terrible for you being the provider of the family to go thru such a terrible ordeal. You must also really miss your bike as I am sure it gave you much pleasure and freedom when you rode. I am, of course, assuming you are not riding these days.
When my husband and I separated 5 years ago, I have been supporting myself, taking care of the kids, and going to school full time. Since the crash, I have not been back to school or been able to work. Because I was tutoring and working on a cash basis to support myself, I am not eligible for social security or unemployment. My divorce is not final only because I must still technically be married to stay on my husband's insurance. As soon as I get my degree, I will  no longer need his insurance and we can finally be divorced. I am saying all this because I have no income coming in. I had to take my husband to court and ask for spousal support because he would not give me any on his own. He is very successful in his business and was the sole provider of our family for 20 years. Anyway, I won in court, but have not received any monies yet because he is fighting it to the end. Lot of thanks I get for caring for our family and for him for all those years. He is an alcoholic, so that should tell you he is not capable of having feelings for other people than himself. Anyway, I am financially and physically disabled LOL BUT NOT SPIRITUALLY BROKEN!
There, it was my turn to throw up on you! LOL....everything will be ok, please don't get depressed.

[alinpain]

why are you not eligible for ssi,and yes im still riding when i can even if its a short ride,to scared to go to far afraid i wont be able to get back.if i go on bumby roads my back takes a beating,so smooth sailing for me.just came in from a ride went 60 miles today.you know what im doing?...........im doing my streches and iceing and laying a couple of tennis balls in my lower back and somthing i learned from mike1105.he leans over his counter in his kitchen at a 90 degree anglefor a bit and then the balls on his back and so on...............WELL i havent had as much pain as i was two days ago.not sure how long this will last.im doing it at least four times a day or when ever i think of it.BUT ALSO im still on pain meds,if it keeps going the way it is (fingers crossed) i wont get the surgury until i really need it,im just to afraid to be sorry for a dumb decision,if i can keep my pain level down ill just live with it.ill ask to go to a pain center and see what they recommend for pain before i rot my liver out..................
enough about me,what exactly happened to you.my god i dont remember reading you were in a accident or someone hit you.....but then again my memory is not what it used to be...im serious i think i might be getting the old age prblems,hearing memory sight,hate getting old
by the way if you go to bikerornot.com.........im on there with the wife....biggbikerr i got pic on there,then at least you can see who you are talking to

[alinpain]

DEPRESSED,listen to you,you sound like your life is running parrelel to me ......we also have our problems in our marrage,sometimes i wonder if we will even make it.i quit drinking for seven years went back to itnow im stopped again just once in a while,cant stand the taste anymore.but just sometimes when things get so over whelming i feel like getting all scewed up and forget my problems...even if its for a while.i quit smoking 3 months ago after40 years of smoking.just stopped had enough,no patches,nothing........feeling better but boy did i pick the wrong time to stop everthing.now is the time i could use a but and a drink,LOL
god bless-al

[cali54]

I wrote a whole long statement and hadn't logged in so I lost it.  Thank you giveitback, your words are truth as they are from Gods word.  I am lifting you both up and asking the Great Physician to guide the hands of the surgeons precisely and perfectly that your bodies would line up with the word of God.  God, the giver of true peace, will bring peace to your spirits. I pray that both will recover quickly and perfectly, In Jesus Name, Amen.  We do go through these trials and with each one we become stronger and then we can minister to those who go through the same things.  The one thing I have learned is I can say I have faith, but do I have enough to let go of the things of this world?  Maybe he is desiring me to retire.  I know he has a plan for my life, maybe my fear of not being able to work is hindering what He really wants for me.  Something bigger, better.  I have been fighting lower back pain for several years, now my legs have pains and my feet burn.  This last year I have worked 6 hrs a day instead of 8 because I can't sit that long and then drive the hour home.  I cry all of the way and thank God for traveling mercies.  I am thankful that each morning I get a fresh start, minimal and get ready sitting down so I don't have to take Norco so early.  I am just waiting to get a referral back to the nuerosurgeon.  he needs to tell me that there is nothing they can do, or something they can do so I can make this decision.  We have the mind of Christ so I hate to say that I am depressed but sometimes get very sad.  When you are there in that darkness, start praising God, thank him for the little things, the blue sky, the green grass, the rest of your health, for the things you are able to do, put on praise music.  When you do this you can not stay depressed, it is impossible, depression comes from the enemy to keep you in that darkness, praises, he has to flee.  My husband has his bike up for sale because he lost his job and now I don't know if I could have surgery while he is out of work, loved to ride on his bike but haven't been able to in so long, I love the smells of nature you get on a bike!  My passion was being on the worship team at church but lost that because I couldn't stand or sit for the long hours of practice, also midweek bible study because I can't sit.  Since I am fresh in morning Sunday is good.  Without God, I would have cashed it in long ago.  I pray strength to both of you especially quitting smoking (they say it's suppose to help to stop pain when you don't smoke) of course this is from people who do not smoke.  I am trying and can overcome,  just can't seem to take that step in faith, not right now.  Anyway bless you both, keep God in the center of all and everything is possible!!!!!

[cali54]

just wondering,  giveitback, what state are you in?  I work for CA unemployment, if you have wages in the last 18 months and can physically work you would be elig for UI.  If you are limiting to self employment only then you wouldn't, however, you can work self employment and be looking for work as an employee and be elig.  If you can't physically work and have wages in last 18 months you'd be elig for Disability.  How long did it take you to get SSI?  What did your dr have to report?

[alinpain]

wow.........thank you for your prayers.my prayers go out to you to.
so what happened to you,why so much pain disc,pinched nerve and what did you mean you just cant seem to take that step in faith,it sound like you already did
god bless-al

[alinpain]

HEY.........where are you ,are you having your surgury,havnt heard from you.are you O.K.
god bless-al

[cali54]

I spent a lot of time in life loosing my balance, doing dumb things, also 53, I previously had problems because I got hurt at work but it pretty much healed unless I stood on my feet for hours.  Now if I stand for minutes the pressure is so bad and now my knees and lower legs are painful.  I feel like I weigh 200 pds.  A kid ran a red light in 2002 and t-boned me and it just has been downhill from there.  However, by the xrays, discograms, it must not look all that bad because surgeon keeps making me go back to epidurals. I have 3-4m herniation at L4-L5 and S1, I had a nerve conduction and it was positive for the nerve but whatever the discogram showed, they didn't think it should be causing as much pain.  I want to know how they judge what is too much pain.I have had so many epidurals It helped a little this time but not enough, had a few good days last weekend.  I am contemplating taking health retirement because I just can't bear the pain anymore.  Then i am hearing that hydrocodone makes your brain think you are in pain because it wants more meds,  That is not making me happy right now.  My husband just lost his job because of Cali home markets, he built new houses so I don't know.  I am waiting to get a referral back to nuerosurgeon, if he can't do anything I have decisions to make.  I drive too far to work and sit until 1pm and drive home by then I am in bed for a few hrs.  If i don't do anything I can handle it, that's the problem,  I don't do anything anymore and husband not too happy.  I was talking about taking a step in faith by just letting my job go and rely on God to provide, I have no problem about losing stuff, He's blessed us so much, but somethings got to go.  Anyway, I accidentently clicked on your profile and was blown away by your dog.  I was shocked.  Is that a male or female and how old?  We adopted one in May, she came from the barrio in east LA, apparently the people were thinking they were getting a guard dog  LOL.  She is so beautiful, smart, bored, hot and loving,  we have an acre and she'd been tied to a tree, so needless to say she was in heaven when she got here,  she got out a few times and boy did we get excercise. found out you don't chase these dogs!!!!!!  I'm laughing.  We thought she was a shedevil, until I found a site that explained her.  We got it and we all have been in love ever since.  The first 3 months we'd never know what she had found and taken out back to rip apart.  We had always had pomeranians and this was way different!!!  We love to take her camping but fearful of letting her loose yet.  She would climb a tree for a squirrel.  I am trying to attach a picture on my profile but can't seem to get it small enough, not her best but I'm not computer savy, waiting for my son to send it.  Let us know when your surgery is so we can be praying that day!!!!

[alinpain]

oh my word,you sound like you have my husky,harley..............he put us through hell.always excaped and ran through the nieborhood (spelling) ripped our two couches apart,would catch birds and kill them,totally uncontrollable.........had to get rid of him,we now have two shepards......brothers one all black(rare)one traditional black and brown.....best dogs to have ,noble protective loyale..im going to see my surgen on the 10th,im betting ill be in surgury a week after........so im figure ill be on by the end of oct,to tell my story.........i pray,,,,,
al

[cali54]

I will be praying for you, pray for me that the drs will be able and willing to do surgery, I can't stand it right now and my numbness in my feet and knees is worsening, I hate HMO's.  We had problems with her but when we  understood we had to be the "alpha's" of the pact she fell into line.  One day my husband left her locked in the house,  It was the grossest and funniest thing I'd seen, she ate everything on the counters, bird seed, trash, sinus meds, nad then appropriately threw it up, had everything in a pile in family room, had a romp in my bed,  hysterical to think of it now but I was pretty mad then.  She has progressed tremendously.  You just have to stick with your rules and not give in.  She is great and very loving, she just needs a lot of attention.  The breed is for the young and strong,  we lover her to death!  Shepards are great!  anyway will be praying

[alinpain]

i thank you for your prayers,mine will definetly be with you........lol,i had to laugh when you said being the( alpha) in the pack,have you ever heard of dog whisper....its a prgram on tv where a guy train dogs,my wife always watches it and that is what he always says
god-bless al