3 yrs post fusion & disc removal..geez...now what??!!??

[lilgirl73]

I posted a question about a month ago, but i don't think i got any response.  As the title says, i'm 3 yrs post fusion/disc removal L4, L5 & S1.  On Neurontin about  2 wks after surgery.  Lowered dosage. Had what i considered my "usual" pain levels, with days worse than others.  Heh, i was "ok" with that, or as ok as i could be.  I mean, what are you gonna do, right?  Anyway, approx 3 months ago started having numbness on right side, with sciatica. Now, the sciatica/numbness i had prior to fusion was on the left side & i STILL have THAT sciatica, but not as bad as it was prior to surgery.  Anyway, now the new spine doc (moved from cali to mass) wants to do an EMB (nerve damage tes), whatever, heh, there's damage.  I'm like the bionic woman with my modified body parts.  Except for the part where she's faster.  In addition to the test, the most recent MRI shows that the 2 discs above the fusion (prior to surgery were bulging, but not causing the "bulk" of the pain/sciatica) now appear to have deteriorated further & one of them is impinging on a nerve.  Great. They want to operate again & i'm honestly not sure what i will do.  The thought of going thru another surgery (back or leg-had 7 leg surgeries)  is almost more than i can wrap my head around.  Can anybody respond here? Anybody gone thru this wonderful multiple surgery concept on the back???? HELP!!!

[lilgirl73]

Thank you so much for your kind words.  Yes, i agree, He does get awfully close to the line at times.  Finished the nerve damage test & have appt with the doc tomorrow to go over everything.  While i'm having this test done the doc (not mine) is commenting with "wow"..."interesting".  I finally said "look, i could do without comments while you're doing the test...especially if you're not going to explain yourself".  OY.  So, this next doc appt is to go over the results & then send me on to another doc to discuss surgery.  I'll listen to what they all have to say, but i'm just not sure i'd go thru surgery again.  Course, i may not have much choice, since we've already done facet blocks, steroid injections...the usual stuff.  I'm well past the point of physical therapy being an option, or having a positive response.  So, we'll see.  I DO appreciate your comments.  I pretty much keep to myself, since i'm at the point of feeling like no one really wants to hear me whine...hell, i don't want to hear me...lol.  I should say that not everyone has had a bad experience with spine fusion, although it may seem like that on here.  There's many that do positively respond to it, so i'm keeping my fingers crossed you're in that category.  And yes, you do have to be careful of the pills.  They give them out like candy.  I've gotten myself down to one vicodan every other day, but i'm also almost bedridden by doing this.  It's questionable which is the lesser evil, that's for sure.

[cat9841]

I really, really feel for you, I had a spinal fusion L4-L5 2 months ago on Dec 20, and came home christmas eve. then because of the very high pain meds, I had to detox and go through withdrawals, it was a nightmare, I am getting scared reading all these posts, but I really don't want any more surgery either. I've also had both knees replaced, I think I've had my share and so have you. I know, the thought of doing this again would scare the hell out of me, but we gotta take life one day at a time and remember, God said he'd never give us more than we can bear, at times it feels like He gets awfully close to the line though, dosen't it? I will keep you in my prayers, I am new at this, so I'm not sure how much help I am, but hey, I am here to talk if you'd like.
CAT