Anyone ever had back surgery?
 

I am faced with the prospect of have a "discectomy" some time this month. My question(s) is this: If you have had back surgery, how soon were you back to work? Any tips for a speedy recovery? My wife will say that I'm a pussy, but what drugs should I ask for? :thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup (Me likey the drugs:pimp) Oh, here's a good one...Have you had more than one operation? (Doc says that chances are I'll be back in the future..)

I appreciate any help or advice (or ridicule) that you ALL give. I want to hear it all, so fill this thread with all the medical advice you know:helpme

P.S. For all you content sellers out there - Don't worry, I'm a couple weeks away from being gone for god knows how long, but I'll make sure to buy lots before I'm gone:winkwink: Let me know your BEST deal before i go.....:)

good luck with it. what's the recovery time according to your doc?

If I was in construction or something "physical", probably like 3 months or so...being in the "boobie" business, I'm aiming for a week:)

Have you tried all the other possible solutions, such as losing weight and spinal traction?

hehe a week its nothing ;-)

Yeah, I have. Losing weight...I'm honestly 163, 5"7" don't really think that's it.

It started about 2 months ago. I had the flu (brown bottle flu - not sure:repuke) temp of 103 ( fahrn. not cels...morons...), puked, and destroyed my L5 (apparently....) hasn't healed with drugs or physical therapy, doctor says time to cut...that's it in a nutshell:mad:

Bump for the day shift:thumbsup

I shattered a disc in my back and was suppose to have a plate and a couple of screws put in, I opted not to and just changed the way I do certain things and it honestly doesnt bother me as much.

Today I am going in for a Lumbar Epidural Injection. Several years ago I slipped a disk and about a year ago I started getting pain in my lower back and into my legs. After months of physical therapy which did not help, the docs decided to look into it further by running more tests and MRIs. After doing so they found that the disk between L4 and L5 not only slipped but also the bone L4 has also slipped. The docs gave me 3 choices, 1-much more aggressive physical therapy, 2-Lumbar Epidural Injection or 3-Surgery to repair the slipped disk and bone.

I chose options 1 and 2 as well as loosing some weight as to take some weight off thee ol back. So today is the day I get thee ol spinal injection :( and the aggressive physical therapy starts next week. I already changed my eating habits and have lost 10lbs in 3 weeks. Big life change ahead for me :disgust

It doesn't sound like you have to worry about the weight issues but if I were you and if you do have options 1 and 2 as I did, I would highly recommend going that route over getting cut into.

Good Luck with what you decide and if you are interested in my progress please feel free to hit me up on ICQ.

90% of back surgeries are unnecessary and harmful. If you get your back broken in a car crash or the like- fine, I guess you need it. For all the rest, all the people with syndromes or issues that arise out of seemingly nowhere or from some other vague conditions, then you probably don't need back surgery and getting it will only hurt you long term. A lot of back problems are psychosomatic. The better solution are usually changing your diet, losing weight and lifting weights to strengthen the muscles that support your spine.

He failed to tell you that the whole outside of his left leg is numb and the inside hurts, like a constant charlie horse, and it could become paralized.

This is when you DO need surgery...its affecting his spinal cord.

Mine wasnt back surgery but spinal surgery to remove a benign tumor that was growing and compressing my spinal cord into the backbone

it isnt nearly the same thing but I can say this....when they open up your back they cut through a lot of layers of tissue and then sew them back together on the inside way moreso than the outside.

and if you think about it theres very few things you do that dont pull at that tissue horizontally across your back, and thats your biggest danger. you will need at least a month to heal that part...fuck up and you tear open those tissues....

This is experience talkin to ya here...dont be a moron, do what the doc says and no driving or anything for a month at least


you can thank me after the fact when you realize i was right on the money

I have two herniated discs, L5-S1 and L5-L4. The L5-S1 is severally herniated. (completely across the spinal canal and bent to the left) This exact date last year, I completed 5 weeks here - http://www.rosomoffpaincenter.com/ 95% of back surgeries are unnecessary. My sister went thru 5 back surgeries over 15 years and was in terrible shape. She went to Dr Rosomoff a year before I did and now she is leading a normal life again with out any pain meds. Once they cut you they can?t uncut you. It?s all about the muscles, stretching and range of motion, I was in bad shape when I went in, I could not walk or even sit without being in extreme, and I mean extreme pain. A year later, I do my stretching routine daily and you would never know I have a back problem. Am I 100% pain free, no. Am I better than I was a year ago, yes, much. After seeing what my sister went thru, surgery would be my last option.

Good luck with what ever you decide.
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Wig from WTS had back surgery in May due to an almost 20 year old back injury. He said even coming to in the recovery room he could already feel the difference. I can't remember exactly what he had done though :( I know it wasn't an easy surgery and he debated for quite some time before going through with it.

I know he was back doing physical things pretty fast because he wife was worried he was going to hurt himself again - within at least a few weeks he was doing relatively strenuous activity.

Just make sure you get a VERY good doctor. Through the years of breaking bones myself and family breaking bones (we're not fragile, just accident prone!), I've found that finding bone doctors that work on professional athletes tend to be the best.

I haven't done it but I know that it is a pain in the ass.

Good luck with it :thumbsup