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IVE BEEN FIGHTING BACK PAIN AS LONG AS I CAN REMEBER EVEN AS A CHILD IDE HAVE BOUT WITH IT AND THEN THEYED GO AWAY BUT  ON AND OFF THROUGH OUT LIFE UNTIL THIS LAST EPISODE IT STARTED ALMOST THREE YEARS AGO AND WHEN IT ATARTED AT FIRST I THOUGHT A IT WILL GO AWAY BUT IT KEPT GETTING WORSE TILL I COULDNT GET OUT OF BED SO I FINALLY WENT TO A CHIROPRACTOR WHO TRIED TO ADJUST AND MASSAGE TO NO PREVAIL FINALLY HE ASKED IF I HAD HAD A  RECENT MRI ? AND I GOT HI, A COPY OF IT HE SAID HE WOULDNT DO ANYMORE ADJUSTING JUST PYSC, THERAPY THAT MY SPINE WAS A MESS I ALL TOGETHER HAVE 6 HERNIATED DISC TOP TWO IN MY NECK, TWO IN THE CENTER NEXT TO THE BEND IN MY SOINE AND TWO AT THE BOTTOM, AND I REALLY SHOULD GET A SECOND OPPINION. SO I WENT TO SEE A SURGEON AND HE SAID I WAS TO YOUNG FOR SURGERY LETS TRY SOME OTHER OPTIONS SO I STARTED A PAIN MANEGMENT CLINIC THAT STARTED EPIDURALS INJECTIONS,(NO PAIN MEDS WOULD THEY GIVE ME) SO I WENT FOR A TOTAL OF EIGHT EPIDURALS, SPINAL BLOCKS OR FACET JOINT
AND NONE OF THEM HELPED I HAD ALL OF THESE IN A 14 MONTH PERIOD, AT THIS POINT IVE CHANGED PAIN MANGEMENT DOCTORS TO ONE THAT WOULD AT LEAST GIVE ME SOMETHING FOR PAIN SEEING HOW THE INJACTIONS WERENT HELPING.
AFTER GOING THROUGH ALL THIS I WENT BACK TO THE SURGEONS ASKING IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE WE COULD DO HE SAID NO JUST TAKE THE MEDS UNTILL YOUR READY TO TRY INJRCTIONS AGAIN(THEY DONT HELP) AT THIS POINT I WANTED A SECOND OPPINION, I CANT IMAGINE BEING TOLD TO LIVE OFF PAIN PILLS.....
SO I WENT TO SEE A NEW DR. AND HE ORDERED A DISCO GRAHM WHICH SCARED ME TO DEATH THEY MADE IT SOUND TERRIBLE BUT IT WASNT THAT BAD IT IMULATED MY PAIN RIGHT AND LEFT LEG TINGLING IN FOOT TAIL BONE PAIN AND GRION PAIN AND SOME THIGH PAIN . AT THIS POINT I ALSO HAD ONE DISC THAT THE PAIN WAS SO FAST MOVING THAT I COULDNT TELL IF IT WAS MY PAIN OR NOT IT WAS LIKE SLAMMING YOUR HAND IN A DOOR IT HURTS REAL BAD BUT IF ASKED TO DESCIBE HOW IT MOVED THROUGH YOPUR BODY YOU COULDNT CAUSE YOU CANT THINK WHEN YOUR LIKE THAT ...
SO AFTER THE TEST I WENT BECK TO SEE THE SURGEON AND HE WAS STILL WORRIED BECAUSE THE WORSE DISC WAS THE ONE I COULDNT IDENTIFY IF IT WAS MY TYPE OF PAIN ALL I KNEW WAS IT HURT SO HE WANTED A SECOND OPPINION SO I WENT TO ANOTHER SURGOEN , HIS REPORT BACK TO MY FIRST DR. WAS FUSION L4,L5, S1
SAYS HE CAN GET RID OF 80% PAIN IN LEGS AND 60% IN MY BACK...
MY QUESTION IS I'M ALWAYS IN PAIN EVERY MOMEMENT  OF EVERY DAY SAME DAYS ARE ALOT BETTER THAN OTHERS BUT IVE ACCEPTED THAT PAIN WILL ALWAYS BE PART OF MY LIFE, BUT SINCE THEY DECIDED ON SURGERY IT SEEMS AS THOUGH NY BACK DOEST BOTHER ME AS MUCH AS IT WAS... IS THIS JUST THE FEAR TAKING OVER CONVINCING ME I REALLY DON'T NEED THIS?IM VERY SCARED OF THIS SURGERY AND HAVE FOUGHT ALL MY LIFE (FROM AGE 9 NOT TO HAVE SURGERY) NOT TO HAVE SURGERY! OR COULD THE DYE THEY PUT IN THERE BE CUSIONING THE DISC, AND IT REALLY DOES SEEM BETTER... HELP I AM VERY CONFUSSED
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Avatar universal
You have to get someone to talk to, decide whether you can cope with the pain anymore.

It sounds like you have spent so long in pain you are probably holding your body in a protective way that is tiring out every muscle! Subconsciously it is done to protect us, and maybe now you have an answer to it part of you is letting it go in relief. I would imagine that the dye will only be in the disc temporarily, so unlikely to be the reason for your pain reduction.

To fuse you they will cut away most of the bone and disc that is squeezing your nerves so you will get relief.

If you leave it too long it causes other problems. Bone spurs can grow, nerves may get irreversibly damaged by being squeezed too long. The problem is that there is no sure fire way to predict who will get this and wont.

I have just has L4-L5-S1 fused and was given the same stats as you as to success rate.
Now I have 99% pain gone from my back, over 80% in my legs. My new problem is numbness that I didnt have before in my right leg.

Its your health- weigh up what is best for you, because no-one else lives in your skin!

Good luck !
Helpful - 0
268575 tn?1242903071
my opinion is that the longer you wait the worse it will be when the nerve is relieved,how soon do they want to do the surgury,is it enough time for you to analize it.do a little more then useual and see if the pain gets worse,remember,you want to be as funtionable as possable.didnt you say you already have drop foot,or was that giveitback.remember from what i understand the more pain you are in the worse your making the nerve,when the pain is going down your leg then its being pressed to much,according to my therapst,you want to keep the pain in your back,not shooting down your legs,then again im no doc im just relating what i feel i got out of seeing the pt people
god bless-al
Helpful - 0
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