Round Engines

"Dudley Henriques" wrote

I'm hanging in there. Had major spinal surgery last September and
recovering ok so far.

Damn, I've been there, done that. Two surgeries, now I've had L4-5 fused,
and still no better. What kind did you have?
--
Jim in NC

6 level Lumbar. 8 hours on the table. Seems to be healing ok.
D

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Dudley Henriques" wrote

I'm hanging in there. Had major spinal surgery last September and
recovering ok so far.

Damn, I've been there, done that. Two surgeries, now I've had L4-5 fused,
and still no better. What kind did you have?
--
Jim in NC

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
news
6 level Lumbar. 8 hours on the table. Seems to be healing ok.
D

Good for you. That 50% failure got me, so I hope the other half is on your
side. :-)

It will be a year, before you feel close to normal, at 6 months, about 75%,
in my experience.

Good luck. Keep walking and exercising!
--
Jim in NC

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
news
6 level Lumbar. 8 hours on the table. Seems to be healing ok.
D

Good for you. That 50% failure got me, so I hope the other half is on
your side. :-)

It will be a year, before you feel close to normal, at 6 months, about
75%, in my experience.

Good luck. Keep walking and exercising!
--
Jim in NC

God, I'm sorry to hear that. They do tell me that the pain can be controlled
with medication. I sincerely hope things get better for you.
Dudley

Morgans wrote:

"Dudley Henriques" wrote

I'm hanging in there. Had major spinal surgery last September and
recovering ok so far.


Damn, I've been there, done that. Two surgeries, now I've had L4-5
fused, and still no better. What kind did you have?

Have either of you looked into the new replacement disks that are now in
medical trials? I have several degenerated disks that I'm simply living
with so far and keeping at bay with exercise (I've forgotten what it is
like to be pain free) as I really don't want to lose mobility which
occurs with a fusion procedure.

I've been casually following these devices a hoping they become
mainstream before I can't take it any longer and have to do something.

Matt

My advice on this is not to concentrate on any devices being developed and
instead align yourself with the best neurosurgeon you can find. That surgeon
will have you get a current cat scan of your spine and diagnose an EXACT
PROCEDURE based on what is indicated by the scan.
There is no one procedure for a spinal problem. Studying new devices is
worthless without that scan being in the equation.
Best of luck with this. I know what you are going through, believe me.
Dudley

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Morgans wrote:

"Dudley Henriques" wrote

I'm hanging in there. Had major spinal surgery last September and
recovering ok so far.


Damn, I've been there, done that. Two surgeries, now I've had L4-5
fused, and still no better. What kind did you have?

Have either of you looked into the new replacement disks that are now in
medical trials? I have several degenerated disks that I'm simply living
with so far and keeping at bay with exercise (I've forgotten what it is
like to be pain free) as I really don't want to lose mobility which occurs
with a fusion procedure.

I've been casually following these devices a hoping they become mainstream
before I can't take it any longer and have to do something.

Matt

Dudley Henriques wrote:
My advice on this is not to concentrate on any devices being developed and
instead align yourself with the best neurosurgeon you can find. That surgeon
will have you get a current cat scan of your spine and diagnose an EXACT
PROCEDURE based on what is indicated by the scan.
There is no one procedure for a spinal problem. Studying new devices is
worthless without that scan being in the equation.
Best of luck with this. I know what you are going through, believe me.

I went through all of this when the problem first arose 9 years ago (I
was 37 then, 46 now). I visited several othopedic and neurosurgeons
(two of each). Had both CAT and MRI.

I have 4 disks that are nearly gone. It is very easy to see on the CAT
scan. The disks are nearly touching each other. They told me they
could operate and scrap out the bulged parts of the disk that was
causing the sciatica and numbness in my foot, but that was a temporary
solution at best. And there was a risk of paralysis or development of
scar tissue that could leave me worse off than when I started. Fusion
was a more permanent option, but that cost me X degrees of mobility with
every disk fused, and I likely would have had to have at least 3 and
possibly 4 done.

They all recommended against surgery until one of these happened:
1. The numbness progressed to more than my toes and top of foot
2. Loss of muscle strength/control occured
3. The pain became unbearable.

Fortunately, 1 and 2 haven't happened yet (I get checked every year) and
I've got a high tolerance for pain so 3 won't occur for a while. I do
the Mckenzie exercises that were recommended and use a lumbar support in
my chairs and this keeps things under control for the most part.

The problem is that the day will come when 1 or 2 above happens and then
"watchful waiting" is no longer an option. I just hope I can have an
option to fusion when the surgery is required. That is why I keep
watching the progress of the artificial disks. If I can hold out 8-10
more years, I think they'll be viable.

Matt

It's a tough call I know. It sounds like you have a handle on it. I'd simply
keep a close eye on the situation and make sure you're involved with a good
doctor while you're doing it.
All the best
Dudley
"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Dudley Henriques wrote:
My advice on this is not to concentrate on any devices being developed
and instead align yourself with the best neurosurgeon you can find. That
surgeon will have you get a current cat scan of your spine and diagnose
an EXACT PROCEDURE based on what is indicated by the scan.
There is no one procedure for a spinal problem. Studying new devices is
worthless without that scan being in the equation.
Best of luck with this. I know what you are going through, believe me.

I went through all of this when the problem first arose 9 years ago (I was
37 then, 46 now). I visited several othopedic and neurosurgeons (two of
each). Had both CAT and MRI.

I have 4 disks that are nearly gone. It is very easy to see on the CAT
scan. The disks are nearly touching each other. They told me they could
operate and scrap out the bulged parts of the disk that was causing the
sciatica and numbness in my foot, but that was a temporary solution at
best. And there was a risk of paralysis or development of scar tissue
that could leave me worse off than when I started. Fusion was a more
permanent option, but that cost me X degrees of mobility with every disk
fused, and I likely would have had to have at least 3 and possibly 4 done.

They all recommended against surgery until one of these happened:
1. The numbness progressed to more than my toes and top of foot
2. Loss of muscle strength/control occured
3. The pain became unbearable.

Fortunately, 1 and 2 haven't happened yet (I get checked every year) and
I've got a high tolerance for pain so 3 won't occur for a while. I do the
Mckenzie exercises that were recommended and use a lumbar support in my
chairs and this keeps things under control for the most part.

The problem is that the day will come when 1 or 2 above happens and then
"watchful waiting" is no longer an option. I just hope I can have an
option to fusion when the surgery is required. That is why I keep
watching the progress of the artificial disks. If I can hold out 8-10
more years, I think they'll be viable.

Matt

"Matt Whiting" wrote

They all recommended against surgery until one of these happened:
1. The numbness progressed to more than my toes and top of foot
2. Loss of muscle strength/control occured
3. The pain became unbearable.

There is one thing that they have not told you yet, and if I were you, I
would ask about it.

If you go too long with pain and numbness in your foot, or any other part,
even if the surgery is done and is successful, the pain and numbness can
become a permanent thing. Once nerve damage proceeds to a certain point,
the nerve will not recover, even when the pressure is taken off of it.

That is the situation I am in. There are also other issues with me, though,
and I have been told that I will have to live with it. The doctor will sign
for me to get job and social security disability any time I say I am read.
Right now, I can't afford it. I'm not even 48 yet.
--
Jim in NC

Morgans wrote:


"Matt Whiting" wrote

They all recommended against surgery until one of these happened:
1. The numbness progressed to more than my toes and top of foot
2. Loss of muscle strength/control occured
3. The pain became unbearable.


There is one thing that they have not told you yet, and if I were you, I
would ask about it.

If you go too long with pain and numbness in your foot, or any other
part, even if the surgery is done and is successful, the pain and
numbness can become a permanent thing. Once nerve damage proceeds to a
certain point, the nerve will not recover, even when the pressure is
taken off of it.

Actually, they did tell me this. The lucky part is that the sciatica so
far has really only affected my right leg and foot and this is the same
foot I crushed severely in a logging accident many years ago. The foot
has been about 1/2 numb since I was 18, so the little extra numbness
(one toe added to the two that have been numb), really isn't a big deal.
:-)

They did tell me to not let the numbness go any farther than what I'm
willing to live with forever, but thanks for mentioning that.


That is the situation I am in. There are also other issues with me,
though, and I have been told that I will have to live with it. The
doctor will sign for me to get job and social security disability any
time I say I am read. Right now, I can't afford it. I'm not even 48 yet.

Yes, my doctor hinted at the same thing, but I can't for the same
reason! Also, I really don't think my current job is any worse on my
back than anything I'd do around the house if I was on disability. And
being on disability has its own downdside such as folks who are always
watching you to see if you are a fraud and calling the authorities if
you do anything that looks like it would suggest that you really aren't
disabled.

Plus, I just can't see myself on disability unless I were in a lot worse
shape. I've always been very independent and fiercly self-reliant, so
as long as I can climb out of bed in the morning (or roll out as I do
now!), I plan to keep on working.


Matt