Spinal fusion

Caoimhín

Evening all.

Well after 5 discectomies in 4 years i still get some serious back pain. So... of i went for an MRI and a visit to the surgeon, fully expecting another discectomy. But no, aparently i have degenerative disc disease and will need to have the lumbar (L4-L5) disc removed and the vertebra fused.

Has anyone here had this procedure done and what sort of time scale am I looking at until im fit to work again (im self employed so the sooner the better).

Thanks in advance.

Kev

Caoimhín

Nobody at all huh?

dannyo666

Caoimhín wrote: »

Nobody at all huh?

-:p



http://www.allaboutbackandneckpain.com/html/spine_lumbar/spine_lumbar_fuse.html



http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/spinal-fusion


Spine-health.com is a godsend.Learn more in 5 mins here then ever with a doc

G'Luck

azezil

I had a spinal fusion done when I was a teenager in an effort to correct my scoliosis. Not quite the same as yours but I just remember having to wear a cast for 3 months but I was back in school after a few weeks.

magnumlady

My son had a spinal fusion in December. He didn't have to wear a cast afterwards. He was in hospital for 6 days. It took him about 6 weeks to get back to 'normal'.
He's now running and climbing mountains.

Caoimhín

magnumlady wrote: »

My son had a spinal fusion in December. He didn't have to wear a cast afterwards. He was in hospital for 6 days. It took him about 6 weeks to get back to 'normal'.
He's now running and climbing mountains.

Thank you

magnumlady

No problem, best of luck with it.

magnumlady

I meant to say this is a great website to find out about the various operations. I know it's a scoliosis based forum but someone there might be able to give you more advice.
http://www.scoliosis-support.org/

Caoimhín

magnumlady wrote: »

No problem, best of luck with it.

You are welcome physio after?e.Do you mind if i ask if it was painful, did he do my

magnumlady

Yes it was painful, but then he had almost his whole spine fused.
He was in such pain before that there wasn't a choice about having it done or not.
The first two weeks after surgery were the worst.
He is having physio about once a month at the moment. Just gentle exercises. He is also swimming.

Caoimhín

magnumlady wrote: »

Just gentle exercises. He is also swimming.

Yeah I try to keep up the swimming and bring the dog for a walk everyday. I am nowhere near as bad as your son is. I do get awful bouts of pain though but i cant take any of the opiate painkillers as i am allergic to them.

I hope your son continues to improve.

Thank you again.

magnumlady

Have you tried Difene gel? We found that works really well. Also hot and cold compresses.
If you are having surgery try and exercise as much as you can. Having good muscle tone can help you recover quicker so we've been told.