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

L4&5, went in right at the spine, pain was mild compared to the pain before.

Do the PT and avoid the pain meds as best you can.

Mine was busted and had been for years, so straightening out perfectly wasn’t going to happen.

Best thing I ever did.

Renegade thank you for your service. I experience the dead leg thing daily. Lots of sciatic nerve pain radiating down my right leg occasionally the left when it's really angry. When I mentioned that I was worried I'd simply be moving the wear point up the dr said you actually did that a long time ago as I'm basically bone on bone. I take gabapentin and methacarbanol daily and the occasional oxycodone. Even when the pain is at it's worst I'm stubborn(smart?) enough to forego the opioids just so I don't become dependent. I'm sure everyone that's replied to this thread knows as well as I do pain meds don't stop pain. I sincerely appreciate you fellas giving me your explanation and experiences. Steve, I've done several months of PT back in 2019 when I reinjured my back and just finished another month to hopefully avoid some insurance pitfalls. Don't even get me started on insurance, ugh.

The meds are useful when used in the right way and in a timely fashion.

I quit taking mine when i know that i have nothing going on just to see if they are helping me or i am taking them because it has been a long time.

They don't make the pain go away they just give me a little room so that i can live a life a little better.

It has been a work in progress and i hope it will continue for a while longer.

Get at least another opinion. Or two or whatever you need. It's way too important to make the decision based on info you've given here.

What does the mri show? That is, why the need for the surgery? Are there other options?

I've had it done and the symptoms and signs and future of what was going on were what made me want it done.

The postoperative pain was memorable.

Yup didn't take any pain meds. bout 14 years ago. work out 5 times a week and get by.I'm full of arthritus spelling. back fused 1 hip replaced knees are going. Just try to keep trucking. 74 yrs. old

Sorta. I had a car wreck and fractured my back from T7-T12. T12 exploded. I am fused from T8-L3. This was in 2019 and I am starting to use a walker some now. But, I had a ton of damage so it is not the same at all.

Waiting on DR response to question. I was told I need L3-L5 fusion five years ago and looking for an update since procedures appear to have change significantly over the last four years. Currently on pain meds that are less effective over time. Looking for additional info based on real world experience

I had a synovial cyst form in the spinal canal compressing the spinal cord, extraordinary pain. They went in through the rear opened up a 8" hole. So much arthritic bone they removed the disc between L4 & L5 and put in cages with bone matter so it would grow together. Also used 4 screws holding two pins in place. Took 7 1/2 hours. The surgeon had me up and walking the next day and every day after several times a day. I was sent home on the 4th day and started walking 3-5 miles a day. Hurt very much but I took nothing stronger than Naproxan. The operation was on June 26 and I was able to bird hunt from October 1. I did a primitive biathlon in January and February. Painful process but you've got to get and stay mobile. Do not lift more than a gallon of milk in weight. A great deal depends on the surgeon's skill level, your weight and you ability to suck it up and do the exercises.

Are you waiting for a doctor to answer some question here on the Board?

Not me, but my 24 year old daughter had 12 vertebrae fused together back in March 2022. I can’t remember from where to where, but it was like L5-T3. She has a rare genetic health condition, and one of the symptoms was really bad scoliosis. They had to correct it as she had been wearing a back brace most of her life and also the consequences of not treating the scoliosis was huge. She was in the hospital for 9 days.

She had it rough for the first month or two. Said the worst part of the whole last 6 months was weaning off the various medications as they were really messing with her sleep and digestive tract. They would give her pain meds, and she always tried to take half the dosage as she hated the consequences of the meds.

She was back to her work as an RN in June and is so glad she had it done. She can’t ever tie her shoes again, clip her toenails, or bend over if she were to see a $100 bill on the ground, but is glad she had the surgery. She is getting married in November.

Get 2 more opinions (IMHO). I had a highly regarded surgeon tell me I had degenerative disc disease and had to have L3-4-5 fused. I was pretty young with little kids and a tough job so I declined. Lived in chronic pain for 5 years, eating 12-16 ibuprofen per day. Got bad ulcers due to the ibuprofen. I stopped taking Vicodin after seeing myself taking 12 of those per day and not being able to crap. Steroid injections, PT, chiropractors, the works.

Long story short, saw a different Dr and he laughed at the previous diagnosis. Did a microlaminectomy as an outpatient. In the hospital at 530AM and out at 2PM. I was pain free the next day and have been good ever since.

Had surgery on my lower back, it's better than nothing but not by much. My neck surgery ended up being a great success, only negative is the lack of movement. My advice is to get at least three opinions before you let someone practice on you.

I have had two back surgeries. Doc went in from the back in 69.They were not doing many fusions back then.Second one was in 07. Thru the side and back. Cage, screws, rods, cadaver paste in the cage.That one really hurt like hell It will hurt like hell when you wake up, then all those nerves they push around wake up and it will hurt worse for 2-3days and get a little bit better each day for a few weeks. Now days with this opioid epidemic,they are stingy with that stuff.

Yep they get you up right away. They don't want you in the hospital any longer than necessary. Unhealthy place to be and insurance companies push it.

4-6 months recovery is about normal. What they don't tell you is that you will be restricted for life in lifting anything over about 40 pounds and you better follow all instructions. 50-60 % of back surgeries are back under the knife within five years because of that.

After full recovery ,you need to continue with PT and and exercises forever to keep your back muscles in shape.

I am due for my third, but won't do it.. Farm life does not fit in with the restrictions.

I had to have an L5-S1 fusion in 2004. Prior to the surgery, the doc asked if I was done having kids because when they go in from the front, they often screw up a nerve required for sex. I informed him that he would be going through my back and staying away from that nerve. I left the hospital the day after the surgery and felt pretty good about everything. Phone rang one day and I rolled over to grab it and experienced some pretty excruciating pain. Everything was down hill after that. Tried every physical therapy they had, every injection available but my back was just hosed.To this day, my back is garbage. Never know what is going to trigger a spasm or pain. Every time I go to a doc, they either want to put me on pain meds or pin my sacro-iliac joints which I am not a big fan of. I have just learned to live with it.

I had L5-S1 fused back in 2009. It was done from the backside. Surgeon inserted a piece of some sort of ceramic matrix material between the vertebra, cadaver bone beside them and the whole shebang screwed together with pedicle screws and rods. It was done on August 30th. I went back to work in January. The first few weeks after the surgery were hell from the muscle spasms. I had to wear a back brace for 90 days until there was enough healing done that the bone grafts would be solidifying, didn't want anything moving post surgery. That took care of that wrecked disc permanently. The rest of my spine has deteriorated since including the cervical which actually is in worse shape than the lumbar area. I need three fusions in the neck but I'm delaying having it done until absolutely necessary. I am allergic to getting cut on.

See if the Doctor does artificial disks. I've had three put into my neck. Minimal recovery time and I still have full range of motion in my neck. I had an L5/S1 fusion years ago and I was out of commission for 6 months and still gives me some pain many years later.

Take a look at this website: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/treatment/artificial-disk-replacement-in-the-lumbar-spine/

Is this an orthopedic surgeon, or a neurosurgeon??

Also, get a second opinion.

Folks do great with cervical (neck)fusions. Lumbar (lower back) fusions?? Those folks seem to have issues/continuing pain/later surgeries at higher/lower levels a LOT.

A fellowship trained spine surgeon would be my choice. That's a year after a full ortho or neuro residency. And a doc who does only spines and does a lot of them. It's not too unlike flying jets, hours count, experience counts. And those specialists generally know the latest tricks and techniques. You don't generally find that level of expertise out in the boon docks, but in a major medical center. As mentioned by others, do your homework. With back surgery, you generally get one bite at the apple for a successful surgery.

IMO, the anterior approached cervical fusion is pretty well perfected.

Back surgery, on the other hand, can be more of a crap shoot. As you've seen from these posts, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. To me, back surgery for proven leg pathology, that is, loss of muscle mass, loss of function, weakness, leg pain documented to be from the back, are all good indications. Back surgery just for back pain, often the patient still has back pain post op. And, then there are the second, third back surgeries, on and on.

DF

L3 L4 L5 went through the front and the back probably would be crippled now if hadn’t done it due to nerve loss. Lifetime of young horses and mechanical work. Took about seven months to get back to work. Like Rene said pain is a personal thing some do better than others. Stood and shuffled around a bit after waking up. No opioids after the first 24 hours just Tylenol. Walked as much as I could stand which was at least thre to four times the second day. More after that. My gut didn’t wake up well at all and had to stay in the horse pistol until thing got moving well which was about four days but I walked the halls a lot until my guts came back to life and was able to eat solid grub.

For me the worst part was the dead digestive system barfed a couple of times and with all the cutting they’d done that was highly entertaining. They were giving me a bunch of different pills to take up until then which didn’t help at all with the nausea and told them I wouldn’t take any more just put me on liquids and get my guts back to life. So I just walked a lot. Getting back on my feet quickly made a lot of difference. At home I used a walking stick only mostly to get up and down and navigate stairs and walk outside.