Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any members have lumbar fusion?

Looking at having a L5 fusion in the near future. Dr says he'll go in from the abdomen/waistline. Looking for real world feedback and experiences. He said I'd be out of work for 6 months and will be able to lift no more than a gallon of milk for at least a couple of months. Please share your experiences good or bad. How bad was the pain? How long before it subsides? Thanks for any insight

Hope you get some good info here but I think your time and effort would be better spent in researching your surgeon's background. My close buddy was crippled for life by a 'simple' lumbar fusion. He was 56 and in darn good shape. He was morally and ethically opposed to comping out and I know he didn't milk the work claim. About 18 months later, Calif State Workmans Compensation Board struck the doctor off the list of qualified surgeons, because of other botched procedures. Hope I'm not scaring you off, you are living through hell now probably, but do your homework before they cut on you.

Wife's last back surgery. They went in from her right side. Can't remember what vertebrae it was but this was her 3rd lumber surgery. In 3 months or less she was walking 3+ miles a day and grocery shopping, laundry, etc.

It was a new procedure for, usually they just go in from the back. Pain was minimal compared to other back surgeries.

Good luck

My wife had a ten level fusion of the entire lumbar and I think either five thoracic or four thoracic and one sacral to correct a 32% curvature of the spine. It was that or a wheel chair. She has no pain in that region now but T5 and 6 bear most of the work now and she deals with daily pain there.

She recovered pretty quickly. Was in PT for three months. She was retired so cannot speak to how long before returning to work. I did a lot of vacuuming for a few months. Now she goes until she hurts and then rests a while. Methacarbomal when it really bothers her. She has to sleep with a bed wedge. She feels despite all that it was better than the rest of her life in a chair.

L5/S1 in 1995 and L4/L5 in 2015. The 1995 version was primitive compared to today. Had 23 pieces of titanium buckled in along with a graft off my pelvis and some dead guy bone. Got better after a while then got worse. Scar tissue collecting around the hardware. Removed all the bolts and screws, trimmed the scaring in 1997 and got better again. Was using pain meds till early 1999. 2015 trip wasn’t so good. It stopped the damage but I still had a lot of pain. Used meds way longer than I’d advise. Gave them up little over a year ago and just let it hurt. It’s finally improving and I’m getting better at managing and adjusting.

It’s no picnic but comes a time when there’s no choice. If I’d not had either surgery, today I would have a hard time walking I’m sure. As it is I can’t complain. It’s the birthdays that are killin me now:)

I hear you Flintlocke. My Dr/surgeon is very well renowned and respected. Top surgeon anywhere close. I'm very confident that I'm in good hands. I'm 47 and have a pretty physical job and lifestyle. I was hoping for a disc replacement but he said no way would it hold up. My initial herniation was 20 years ago and I re injured it 3 years ago. I've had numerous epidurals and facet injections and take too much meds and I'm over it. I hurt every day and must pick my battles and quite frankly I've got(hopefully) too much life left to live. All the steroids make keeping weight down almost impossible and exercise is pretty much out of the question. I'm just ready to be healthier and get back to living minus juggling meds and injections.

Yep, been good for about 20 years. I got my life back.

I had mine done about 10 years ago February. Lower back, can’t remember the exact vertebrae #’s, the work was done from the back.

By the following October I was dragging a moose (by myself) down a mountain side in Western Wyoming. “Knock on Wood” it’s been great for me…..I’m hoping for another 25 or so years of good liv’n! memtb

If going in from the front it will heal easier.

I have had 3 and they all had to be done from the back.

This was back in the 80's and things have gotten better,more refined.

Wished mine could have been done from the front.

I would seek multiple opinions if in your situation.

i had fusions on 4 and 5 done with plates and 12 screws too , was a tuff surgery 6 inch cut on back side / 12 inch cut lower stomach area , had some complications 1 1/2 years ago better now. i had to wear a hard plastic body cast for 6 months 24/7 and walk a mile in a.m. and a mile in P.M. every day, good luck,Pete53

Plainsman, Dr said it's way less invasive from the front and hardly any muscle gets cut really improving recovery. I'm scared to death as I've never had a major surgery but I'm also ready to get this behind me and start the healing process. Hopefully a few months in I can drag out my Ruger M77/22lr.

I did my homework picking my Dr. I've seen all the MRI's and Ray Charles can tell it's not gonna get better.

S1, L5, L4 in 2014. saved my life as far as I'm concerned. Hurt like hell fo the first 3 weeks after that I quit all pain meds and powered through, I was off work for 5 months.

As was said be damn sure of your doc and listen and i mean listen to every word the man says.

Good luck.

L4 & L5....
Here shortly going back in to do L2 & L3, fused to L4 & L5.....

My doc is a handgun shooter and wouldn't let me even shoot a 22 pistol for 6 months.

I had an 8.5 hour surgery that fused L3,4,5 as well as had to open my spinal canal as it was choking my spinal cord. Dr. went in from the back. I have very strong solid bones and I was walking the next day. Definitely very sore.

I have the S-1,L-5,L-4 fused and skip 3 and 2 needs to be secured.

Told them that when i got tired of taking meds and the shots quit working i hope to not being worried about it.

It should go well.

I was worried on the first one and when i woke up i had a long talk with my self.

It was the first time for surgery for me.

I carry 8 screws and 18 inches of wire with me all the time,i even have the old screws they pulled out when doing the second operation.

Docs advised me to wait till I'm older.
Reason being my docs say I tolerate pain well which I have told em I do anyways.

Big thing I was advised was by bracing the Lower thicker weight bearing vertebrae it cause wear on the upper less thick ones to bear weight they ain't made for.

Deal with pain...
Everyones sense of that is different and also activity may help some people or it may aggravate other.

Got it all...
9mm bulged disc, it burns once in awhile no biggie.
The hip and l5 and one on top of that or what ever it is bone on bone 0 cushion disc left.
The stenosis stuff.
The high grade arthritis.
The encapsulated pinch nerve bundle like the 3rd one up ???with sciatic pain down the left leg with the dead leg feel at times from that.

Docs have said what you got going on would cause others agony but everyone is different what their pain is.

I take 1 aleve a day.
Pretty active and still limber at 59.
Not overweight.
Some day when I'm 70 or 75 it might help me to get some surgery or a fusion.
But if I got mobility at that age and the back ain't fugging me.
I wont go under the knife.

24 yrs light Infantry pack mule.
Your mind grows accustomed to pain and ya just live with it and it dont bother some.
Biggest thing is activity level my whole life seems to overcome it all for me.

Unca suga pays me a little for the back stuff.
But he pays way more for my jakked up knees and shoulders.
A blown out and repaired LS diaphragm and bell rung a few times too many hearing schit.
Hernias x2.


I'm basically a old wore down pack mule with bad joints now and cant hear worth a fugg either.
🥴🥴😆😆🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️😆😆😆
But the pain scale stuff is subjective to the individual
What one person has could be really bad to someone else with the same stuff.

Dr said as soon as they wake me up from surgery they'll make me walk first thing, ugh. 2 nights in the hospital one bowl movement and one flight of stairs and I can go home. The part I dread the most is relying on others to do for me. I'm looking at it like a 6 month reset on life. I plan to refrain from alcohol for 2 months prior and at least that long afterwards and getting reacquainted with some local greenway trails.