Reply With Quote--Originally Posted by kyfanatic
Had surgery some years back for a disk problem but nothing that drastic... Wish you the best guy.
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They say God doesn't put more on you than you can handle,but i'm feeling overloaded right now.The surgeon I saw Friday told me the only fix for my back injury is a Spinal Fusion that will put me out of comission for 6 months in a brace for 2 months.
Not good news for a Carpenter that is a part time farmer as well.I'm so depressed that I've watched 5 bucks go by the house since Saturday without a thought of killing one.
Anybody have any experience with back injuries?
Senior Member
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Had surgery some years back for a disk problem but nothing that drastic... Wish you the best guy.
Senior Member
Sorry to hear you are having such painful back problems. I have a bad back and when it goes out I have to be in bed for a week in extreme pain. Sounds like you have some discs that arent working or damaged and doc wants to fuse the vertebrate together. In the long run you shouldnt have the pain anymore but you will be stiffer when they are fused. I was born with 2 fused vertebrate in my neck. Never even knew i had it until an xray showed the doctor i had it. Now I know why my neck is so stiff alot. I would get a second and third opinion on any surgery like this. You will need alot of care afterwards while the cast is on so you need to check with your insurance if they will cover a nurse and aid to come in daily to help. You need to find the best surgeon you can.
Senior Member
I have heard that this chiropractor has done wonders with a back machine. He said it was the best thing and many of his clients said if it was not for it they would have had to have surgury. I went to him for other injuries. He is a good guy and a good DOC. I know it is a long way from where you live but, it maybe an alternative to surgery.
It is Westport Chiropratic Rehab. The number is 502-326-5000.
Senior Member
God didn't put a bad back problem on you; your body is flesh and bone and it will break, get sick, wear out, and even die. It's just the way life is.
Whatever you do, don't go to a chiropractor for a problem as serious as the one you have. All they do is crack your joints and can easily do more harm than good. A chiropractor messed up my brother-in-law's back and caused two more discs to rupture along with the one he was "treating."
I have 4 discs fused together in my neck. They are 2 fused, 1 removed, and 2 more fused and all held in alignment with a steel plate. I wore a neck brace for a couple of months and then stopped wearing it; just had to be extremely careful and not bend over or lift anything over 5 pounds for a year, until it healed. I do have limited movement turning my head but I'm the only one who notices it because I can look past the point of each shoulder. I have a ruptured disc between my shoulders and one in my lower back. They don't cause me enough pain to have surgery; I just take XS Tylenol for the occasional pain.
If you must have surgery, winter is the best time because your workload will be less and, by May you will have it all behind you. If you don't have the surgery, you will still be suffering and your condition won't change. Neurosurgery has changed so much that it is not nearly as brutal as it was when I had mine. Doctors can now do a lot of work through a very small incision, even disc replacements. I wish you peace and a speedy recovery.
Senior Member
I have had back problems most of my life I have been to Dr. had shots of cortisone gone to chiropractors have been to neurosurgeon who said he would not operate unless I was having pain radiate down my leg sciatic nerve. At about sixty I finally had a physical therapist convince me to start an exercise program. Of course this is what the neurosurgeon the chiropractor and Doctors had been telling me for years. It finally got so bad I would try anything I work out Monday through Friday every morning and do not have any serious back problems for six or seven years.
Also get a second opinion before surgery.
Senior Member
Definitely get a second opinion. And once you have it, if your decision is to proceed with the surgery, don't let all the horror stories everybody is going to start telling you scare you away. There are a lot of people who seem to consider themselves experts on back surgeries just because they've been a patient a couple times. I'm not saying their words on the subject aren't valuable; they often are. But having had a couple surgeries doesn't make you an expert on the subject, any more than having done a lot of drugs makes you a pharmacist
Senior Member
As a "Quitired" pharmacist, I resemble that remark.But having had a couple surgeries doesn't make you an expert on the subject, any more than having done a lot of drugs makes you a pharmacistNever "did" drugs but I sure sold a lot of them over my career.
Senior Member
So far since 2000, I've had 5 back surgeries..The first was only a bulged disc...
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th one's were for a total fushion surgery on the 3 lower disc's from my tailbone up.....Had them blown out on a job related accident.
Reason for the 4th one was because the 2nd and 3rd ones did not heal correctly and fuse the bone graft together....So in realitly for 3 yers I had the same exact pain from day 1 from the injury. Everything had to be opened up, taken out and put back in twice, with the last one that was done.....The doctor went thru my stomach to get to my spine...Spent 1 week on nothing but liquids getting my insides back to normal before I could eat solid foods again.
I tried everything in the world prior to having the first fushion surgery done, but nothing would stop the sciatic nerve pain i had...From the 2nd surgery, a nerve was hit somewhere in my back. Now I have what you would call a sharp 24/7 pain in my left buttock, like a knife or a ice pick being shoved up my butt cheek. My back is still in pain and my physical limitations are vast....
After the 2nd Re-do of the Fushion surgery...another nerve was cut and not healed correctly that goes to my left leg. From the knee down to my foot...I have no true feelings at all, it tingles to touch and now never sweats, and stays like hot to the touch all the time.....
The weather just plains hell on the pain i have in my back, I try to sleep with a pillow between my legs to keep my spine as straight as possible at night....But most nights I'm lucky to get 3 hours of solid sleep.....
The doctors have told me now that unless a new procedure is discovered, I'm stuck with the way I am for life...Plus the fact that in most cases, 15 years is about all I will get outta the fushion, before the next disc up will fail and have to be fused to the ones already fused.....
I live on Morhpine now taken 3 times per day, with muscles relaxer's, inflamation meds and Lididerm pain patches when needed all for the pain I have constantly.
The doctors said I fell into the 15% of the world's Population where even with a fushion surgery, no help is received from the constant pain.... I held out for as long as I could before I let the doc's do the fushion surgery adn made sure everything they could try to releive the pain was done first. Prior to the surgery being done.....
Srry to go on for so long, but after 5 back surgeries..I think i am somewhat informed on how the entire process works...Hell I even went on line and looked up the surgery...I wanted to know everything there was about the procedure prior to having it done...didn't want any surprises....
Good luck to you on your back problems, all these young kids and adults out in the world should cherish their backs and hope they never go thru my experiences......
BTW... since I have to take so many pain meds...I'm accused of being a junkie, crazy pain med idiot, and other things by some members on this board....Since they think the pain meds keep me from making sound decisions about sports in general while posting on this board......
Senior Member
I definately understand the pain part,I have been in constant severe pain since June of this year,haven't been able to do many of the thingss I usually do,and get only 3 or 4 hours sleep a night. I've managed to work on light duty so far,but it's getting extremely hard to continue,I get up at 2:00 am and commute 50 miles each way to work.Then I work 10 hour days and by the time I get home and feed my son and animals,I'm useless.My wife passes me going and coming to her job each afternoon and night so I get little help from her.Pain medication drains the life right out of you,but I doubt I'd make it without them.I have a constant pain in L3,L4,and L5 discs plus the sciatic nerve in my right leg is unbearable.So far since 2000, I've had 5 back surgeries..The first was only a bulged disc...
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th one's were for a total fushion surgery on the 3 lower disc's from my tailbone up.....Had them blown out on a job related accident.
Reason for the 4th one was because the 2nd and 3rd ones did not heal correctly and fuse the bone graft together....So in realitly for 3 yers I had the same exact pain from day 1 from the injury. Everything had to be opened up, taken out and put back in twice, with the last one that was done.....The doctor went thru my stomach to get to my spine...Spent 1 week on nothing but liquids getting my insides back to normal before I could eat solid foods again.
I tried everything in the world prior to having the first fushion surgery done, but nothing would stop the sciatic nerve pain i had...From the 2nd surgery, a nerve was hit somewhere in my back. Now I have what you would call a sharp 24/7 pain in my left buttock, like a knife or a ice pick being shoved up my butt cheek. My back is still in pain and my physical limitations are vast....
After the 2nd Re-do of the Fushion surgery...another nerve was cut and not healed correctly that goes to my left leg. From the knee down to my foot...I have no true feelings at all, it tingles to touch and now never sweats, and stays like hot to the touch all the time.....
The weather just plains hell on the pain i have in my back, I try to sleep with a pillow between my legs to keep my spine as straight as possible at night....But most nights I'm lucky to get 3 hours of solid sleep.....
The doctors have told me now that unless a new procedure is discovered, I'm stuck with the way I am for life...Plus the fact that in most cases, 15 years is about all I will get outta the fushion, before the next disc up will fail and have to be fused to the ones already fused.....
I live on Morhpine now taken 3 times per day, with muscles relaxer's, inflamation meds and Lididerm pain patches when needed all for the pain I have constantly.
The doctors said I fell into the 15% of the world's Population where even with a fushion surgery, no help is received from the constant pain.... I held out for as long as I could before I let the doc's do the fushion surgery adn made sure everything they could try to releive the pain was done first. Prior to the surgery being done.....
Srry to go on for so long, but after 5 back surgeries..I think i am somewhat informed on how the entire process works...Hell I even went on line and looked up the surgery...I wanted to know everything there was about the procedure prior to having it done...didn't want any surprises....
Good luck to you on your back problems, all these young kids and adults out in the world should cherish their backs and hope they never go thru my experiences......
BTW... since I have to take so many pain meds...I'm accused of being a junkie, crazy pain med idiot, and other things by some members on this board....Since they think the pain meds keep me from making sound decisions about sports in general while posting on this board......
I really don't want the surgery,but I'm running out of options,all because a young boy running the crane at work wasn't paying attention and blasted me with a load of steel in the back.I'd never wish this on anybody,even my crappy neighbor.
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