I was told today I need to have a microdiscectomy to relieve a pinched nerve in my back. This was not the news I wanted to here, was kind of hoping for a cortisone shot but I guess I'll listen and get it done. Has anyone had this done or know anyone that has? How was their outcome?
Back Surgery
- Thread starter baken
- Start date
Just had it done in April. Couldt be happier with the outcome! Mine was two levels in the lower back.....I sufferred through the therapy and shots for two years. Finally got the surgery and if I got the same injury today, I would do it again. You do get stiff after sitting or sleeping for a while but nothing a little stretching cannot fix.
After the surgery I got up and went to the bathroom on my own (with nurses next to me) and was able to leave the same night. Not recommended but hospitals are the worst places to sleep at!
Good luck and make sure you follow the lifting restrictions after the surgery. Within 3 months you will be able to do anything and everything you ever wanted! Goodluck!
After the surgery I got up and went to the bathroom on my own (with nurses next to me) and was able to leave the same night. Not recommended but hospitals are the worst places to sleep at!
Good luck and make sure you follow the lifting restrictions after the surgery. Within 3 months you will be able to do anything and everything you ever wanted! Goodluck!
polarisrider1
New member
Not sure what the fancy name you got is, but I have a slipped vertibrate #3 from bottom. (lower back). I will not allow surgery and have lived with it for 34 years out of 51 years. I do not thin k they got the back figured out yet. lots of things running up and down the spine. I will hang in there. I would not even take the cortizone to the spine shot. Your back is extremely important to the function of everything below your upper neck. Be 100% sure they can help you. Ask a billion questions, after all it is you that the oops! will be said on, as they live on their yachts. Not to be negative but medicine is a practice and not an exact science. I see it everyday, These are my clients. And they pay my bills if they do right or wrong. Get a second opinion at minimum.
Had mine done 5 years ago, best decision I have made for my health. I dealt with unbearable pain for over a year and had immediate relief. Mine was done by Dr. Citow our of Northern Il. His bedside manner leaves something to be desired but knows his stuff and, as the nurses stated, works miracles...
My brother in law had that surgery 2 years ago. Its a major surgery and needs therapy after. And it turned out good. He can feel no pain anymore but some precautions that he must not lift a heavy load.
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I was told I had to get it this yr I was on the flexeril freeway and back shots most of last winter could not get off the couch for 2 mo .my back has Ben bad for yrs usually after 1 mo or so it gets better this time no .but I work for my self so taking 8 more weeks off was not a option.doc was telling me he could not believe I was walking let alone working and I had to do surgery.well I did not have and for the last 3 mo I have been good no pain I know at some point I will bend over and the party will be over but for now I am good to go.when it goes out again I will not mess around and just have them do it same week.they were telling me 6 weeks lift no more than a gal of milk then 2 weeks no more than 25lbs then good to go sounds like a sales pitch but that is the line they gave me
bobsledder
New member
I had a microdiskectomy 10 years ago. I hurt soooooooooo bad I could not stand to pee. I could walk and drag my right leg but had to keep moving. To stop and stand was awful. I am a farmer so I worked like this for several years, I would come in the house after work and take a handful of meds eat supper and be a zombie till time to do it all over again. I was not the only one to suffer; I was mean to my family no matter how hard I tried to hide the pain. I was so scared to have surgery and did not know what to do.
Through some farmer contacts and my Dr I got to see Dr David Spencer at the Spine Center in Park Ridge IL. He looked at my MRI and said you will be like this till I fix you. I had outpatient surgery the next day and after I came to I had to pee and I could stand upright. I followed the post care instructions as I did NOT want to go, back to the pain zone. Occasionally I will overdo and will have a little discomfort and I have had to change a few habits, however the pain relief is wonderful. After a few weeks of recovery one of my daughters said it was great to have “DAD” back! I should have done it sooner as there was more pain for more people than I realized.
This was a miracle to me and I said I would do all I could to help others trying to figure out what to do for the pain. Call me if you want 309 368 0620
Bob
Through some farmer contacts and my Dr I got to see Dr David Spencer at the Spine Center in Park Ridge IL. He looked at my MRI and said you will be like this till I fix you. I had outpatient surgery the next day and after I came to I had to pee and I could stand upright. I followed the post care instructions as I did NOT want to go, back to the pain zone. Occasionally I will overdo and will have a little discomfort and I have had to change a few habits, however the pain relief is wonderful. After a few weeks of recovery one of my daughters said it was great to have “DAD” back! I should have done it sooner as there was more pain for more people than I realized.
This was a miracle to me and I said I would do all I could to help others trying to figure out what to do for the pain. Call me if you want 309 368 0620
Bob
This point of view is very common and I think somewhat deserved but for the most part just an old wives tale perpetuated by fear. Like in any trade, professionals can make mistakes, granted doctors mistakes can be much more detrimental to a person than say a mechanic, carpenter, etc. One Dr. I met with put it this way: back surgery has a bad name because people become desperate for relief, the pain is so debilitating they will try anything to ease the pain. He said in cases where he can look at the MRI and say "this is what is causing your problem" (herniated disc, bone spur, etc) he, or any competent doctor can go in, correct the problem and provide relief, maybe not complete relief, but improve your current situation. Where you get into trouble is when a Dr cannot identify the exact cause of the pain and says "well this may be what is causing the problem" and the patient is willing to take a risk on a guess because they will try anything for relief... That is when the horror stories begin.
When I had my back done I was 29 and knew I was taking a chance but the pain had gotten bad enough that I was not a fully functioning person. I saw a dangerous trend of drinking to alleviate the pain forming and knew I needed to do something. I work in healthcare and have access to resources that helped me make an informed decision. Once you understand the microdiscectomy procedure you realize it is not as scary as people make "back surgery" out to be. They don't touch the nerve bundle, the incision is small, the procedure is fast, the success rate is high and you go home the same day. If you have it done soon there is a very good chance you will be riding, with little to no pain, this winter.
Good luck on your decision
snow_monkey
New member
Nothing a bloody mary cant fix after a long ride!
L
lenny
Guest
My situation was like Scott's. The doc didn't know what the exact problem and called it exploratory. He said I had a bone spur rubbing a nerve. 5 weeks later I went back to work and the pain was as bad or worse than before the surgery. My pain was so bad I could hardly get up in the morning or lay down at night. I was working for a remodeling contractor doing all kinds of ceramic tile, hardwood, trim etc. The worst part was removing old flooring because your always pulling material off the floor. Needless to say I had to quit the job and all my pain slowly went away. I started my own business and was doing a greater variety of job and my back had plenty of time to rest in between jobs. It still does get sore from time to time but that is normal for anyone. I have no restrictions and am 100% now. The repetitive movements was my problem and surgery was not the fix. Sounds like your specific situation may benefit. Cant hurt to continue to research to be sure. I wish you the best of luck
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The "Other Side of the Story" …
("A little variant on Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story! )
Wayback, circa 1980, I was doing some serious suffering with back pain, including hobbling to work with a cane while wearing a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit, enduring very conservative treatment regimen. Finally the doc sent me to a physical therapist, for some work, including some mechanical stretching on a medieval "rack", until I let out a bloody scream as the tension reached 75 lb. whereupon the therapist stopped that procedure, and I was soon sent for an MRI exam.
The MRI exam revealed two herniated lumbar disks (L4 & L5). My GP at the time felt that back surgery should be the last resort, so sent me off to an anesthesiologist for a series of three cortisone shots in the lumbar spine, one week apart. The pain diminished with each shot, finally leaving me with just some extremely minor pain in the lower back when I'd been on my feet for an extended period — just enough pain to remind me to be careful, as I used to say.
More recently, during the last two years, I began experiencing pain in the right hip. Suspecting it might be the same lumbar disks causing a problem, I had another MRI exam (some 30 years after the first one). Well surprise — there was now no evidence of a ruptured disk! Just the arthritic hip joint that I'm going to have replaced next week!
So I certainly am not disappointed that I didn't have any back surgery. On the other hand, there have been considerable advances in back surgery in the last 30 years, including some very effective and even minimally invasive techniques, so who knows?
("A little variant on Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story!
)Wayback, circa 1980, I was doing some serious suffering with back pain, including hobbling to work with a cane while wearing a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit, enduring very conservative treatment regimen. Finally the doc sent me to a physical therapist, for some work, including some mechanical stretching on a medieval "rack", until I let out a bloody scream as the tension reached 75 lb. whereupon the therapist stopped that procedure, and I was soon sent for an MRI exam.
The MRI exam revealed two herniated lumbar disks (L4 & L5). My GP at the time felt that back surgery should be the last resort, so sent me off to an anesthesiologist for a series of three cortisone shots in the lumbar spine, one week apart. The pain diminished with each shot, finally leaving me with just some extremely minor pain in the lower back when I'd been on my feet for an extended period — just enough pain to remind me to be careful, as I used to say.
More recently, during the last two years, I began experiencing pain in the right hip. Suspecting it might be the same lumbar disks causing a problem, I had another MRI exam (some 30 years after the first one). Well surprise — there was now no evidence of a ruptured disk! Just the arthritic hip joint that I'm going to have replaced next week!
So I certainly am not disappointed that I didn't have any back surgery. On the other hand, there have been considerable advances in back surgery in the last 30 years, including some very effective and even minimally invasive techniques, so who knows?
Thanks to all that have replied. I'm going to get the surgery at the end of November, hopefully I can deal with the pain for a bit longer. It sounds like I'll be off work for about a month then return on light duty. Yeah I know its going to wreck my riding season, probally snow ten feet. I guess I'll be doing a lot of plowing then. I can't believe how long some of you guys have lived with terrible pain. I personally have been dealing with it since June and do notice that my patience/temper is much shorter than normal because of constant pain and thats not fair to anybody. I feal like a crabby old man and I'm 28. Thanks again for all the input.
I have had it done 3 times on 6 discs all three surgeries were the best thing i did. Im 43 know and can do all that i use to do. After surgery the best thing is lots of ice. Therapy wikl also be a great help to get you back to normal life again. All is well if you take care of it. Good luck it will take about 1 week to really get to normal and 6 weeks you wont be feeling to stiff. Do the exercises and strtch alot thats what will really help. You will be able to ride no problem. I raced a kart 8 weeks later at 80 plus mph. Let it snow good luck DR BRAYTON NAPPERVILLE IL HE IS THE BEST NURO AND SPINE SURGERY
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legend02
Active member
I'm currently in therapy for L4 and L5 disc issues, had one shot in August and two shots at once in Sept, I about 90 % better and every day It gets better, worst for me is in the morning and I was told that's normal. I've been told by my Doctor that Riding shouldn't be an issue, but since he's an Indian Guy I don't think he know's what Snowmobiling is really like, my therpist who rode when he was younger said I might need to take this year off .
With over 2 months to go till the annual X-mas trip, I'm hoping to go but will play it by ear when the time comes.
I've been told that I won't need the surgery at this time, but I'm worried that the first Ride could put me back in pain.
.With over 2 months to go till the annual X-mas trip, I'm hoping to go but will play it by ear when the time comes.
I've been told that I won't need the surgery at this time, but I'm worried that the first Ride could put me back in pain.
fusionfool
New member
I just wanted to throw this out for thought. 3 years ago, a doctor told me I had to have back surgery. I was in a lot of pain and was going to try and get it done quickly. The doctor scheduled the surgery out one month. He said the surgeon was booked out that far. I decided to go to another clinic to see if I could get in sooner. They reviewed the scans and within seconds told me I did not need surgery. They gave me localized shots, and and oral treatment. Knock on wood, I now have gone three years without surgery, or pain. Not saying that a second opinion will work for you, but may be worth the try.
A few people giving good reason that second, and often third opinions are a must.
hamburgchf
New member
I to am a farmer, already have had two back surgeries waited as long as I could before I had them, but was never sorry I did, both turned out just fine, and never slowed me down, was able to go back to snowmobiling and ride just like before, remember to do the exercises, and stretching as you are told. I still do them and my Ist surgery was 14 years ago. [Good Luck to you]
I thought that you always said that snowmobiling was "therapy".