will surgery help

[Barbara]

I am 37 yrs old, I hurt my back when I was 24, never went to a doctor, but I believe what I am going threw now was from then. I rehurt my back 15 months ago and that started the M.R.I. they found that I had severe degentive disc disease. I went to therpy and had the steroid shot. This pain has never left. My family doctor noticed more damage this year. I had lost reflex in both legs and losing muscle in my right leg.He ordered another M.R.I., this one was worse then last year. He is now sending me to a neurosurgion.On the M.R.I. it report's,
There are denenerative disc changes at L 4-5, and at L5-S1. Small posterior annular tear at L4-5 where there is a broad based disc buldging. A mild degree of lateral recess narrowing bilaterally. At the L5-S1 level, there is a broad based disc protrusion centrally that touches the descending s1 nerve roots without definite compression or displacement. In addition, there are mild to moderate degrees of bilateral lateral recess narrowings and a moderate degree of bilateral foraminal narrowing, secondary to disc buldging laterally. Disc height loss and degenerative osteophytes.
           I tired of being in this pain. Some mornings I fall out of bed, just so I can crawl to get to something to pull my self up. My good days are I feel I've just fell on my tail bone and that pain is always with me, Bad days, I feel a knife is in my back, sometimes feels like something is being cut, those are the nights I don't get any sleep.I was told last year that I had a back of a 80 year old woman and he wouldn't do the surgery because of where I work. I lift sometimes up to 100lbs and alot of bending and twisting. He said with or without surgery, I cannot do what I'm doing. Well I'm getting ready to quit my job, I just need out of this pain, somehow. If the new doctor say's surgery, do you feel by the M.R.I. that is going to be my only relief? I only weigh 135, I know losing weight sometimes helps but I was 129 and fit when this first started. I'm losing more ground as this goes on. Thank you for any advice you can give.Thank you for reading my long letter too, Barb

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Barb:

I hope that things work out.  The coughing was asked because it would increase pain in a radiculopathy or spinal cord in origin pain.  This is a suggestion that your pain is not coming from the disc bulge.

CCF Neuro MD

[Barbara]

Thank you, I hope to find out if all this is from my back or something else as you asked. I don't really increase of pain from sneezing or coughing. Did beginning of last year not so much now.But, going to sound funny, but do get a liitle relef in the morning if I have a bowl movement. Go figure, sounds weird to me. But really thank you for being there and I will get 2 opions if he says surgery.

[CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS]

Dear Barb:

Sorry to hear about your back.  Interestingly, you do not complain of radiating pain, increasing pain with coughing or sneezing the type of pain one expects from a radiculopathy.  There is also no indication that the cord is compromised by the disc bulging.  It does sound like this area is where the pain is coming from, but the extent of your symptoms especially with muscle wasting is not fitting the MRI report.  Is there something else going on?

Surgery is always the last resort.  The outcome may or may improve matters.  I would seek a second opinion before surgery.  It may be that you need surgery, but if two opinions are exactly the same, at least through the long hours of rehab you will know you did the correct thing.

Sincerely,

CCF Neuro MD

[Barb]

I didn't say what kind of surgery. Sorry. Fusion of those 2 vertabries. Thank you, Barb