I'm not posting this for sympathy or "glad you're feeling betters." I'm posting this for any of you that have sciatica pain and are hesitant to have the microdiskectomy surgery. Find the best surgeon you can. Get it done.

Physical therapy worked but sciatica came back worse later. The cortisone/steroid injections got me better, but not back to work. It's 16 days post-surgery today. 1.5" incision, one hour surgery. The incision hurt for 5 days, but I was only on painkillers for the first 24 hours after surgery. I needed muscle relaxers for the first 3-4 days to help spasms. The stitches itched until my post-op appointment today, doc said everything is progressing swimmingly. Well I don't think that word is in his vocabulary but whatever- I'm sure he doesn't eat beef but I trust him anyways.

I woke up in recovery in a lot of pain due to the incision. Got some drugs, then they make you piss, walk and eat. Then you can go home. You can walk right after surgery. With a walker first time, but you walk out unassisted. Doc says to walk walk walk. No BLTs (Bending, Listing or Twisting). My doc gave me a back brace to wear when not in bed. No sitting for more than 20 minutes. Your doc may recommend different. My doc is one of the best in MKE so I'm following orders. No BLTs, extended sitting and a lot of walking for 8 weeks. Six more to go.

Get the injections gents, and if they don't work have the microdiskectomy procedure. My herniated, torn and extruded disk was L5-S1 on the right side. MRI did not show the extent of herniation the doc saw and removed once he had me on the table. That is all.

Sounds like a rough ordeal.

Despite why you posted, I do wish your recovery to be fast and complete.

It's amazing what they can do now if caught in time.

Mine were fused back in 87,88,89,it was all that they had back then.

Hope things go right for you.

Interesting, Big Fish....we just got back from the Hospital 30 minutes ago. Wife had a laminectomy on L4-5 in 1985......8 months later, she had to go back and they removed more bone, but the damage was done. Her pain worsened over the years, and nothing helped. Doctors went so far as to prescribe avenza…..24 hour time-release morphine. She took that for 6 years, hated it, and finally got off of it. Three months ago she had a trial version of a spinal nerve stimulator and got 50% less pain. Today, she had the real thing installed (Stimulator). We are both hoping for better than 50%relief since this new unit has 8 leads instead of the 2 leads in the trial version. She has been a real trooper through all of this, maintaining a good attitude even with the constant pain. We are hoping for relief and a return to a more normal life with this fix, and throw the drugs away. She has always hated taking them, and never abused them.

Good luck to your recovery, do a lot of walking, and physical therapy if it helps. The typical laminectomy ( not the type you had) only has a 30% success rate, and it is a terrible way to have to exist!

Glad you are felling better...........

The secret to success with back surgery rests on two things, get a good surgeon and when it is done listen and do exactly as he instructs.

Thanks in all seriousness... but... I only hope this thread can get at least one person off the fence about this type of procedure or even getting the injections. So far so good and I obviously hope it continues as pain relief was immediate, long term who knows. Six more weeks in the back brace/girdle/corset. I look damn sexy in it for sure!

Doc says walk walk walk... your surgeon MMV. MI gettogether is on my to do list. Keep me updated. Ain't shot a damn gun in some time due to the pain.

Great news, Biggun.

Part of my procedure was a laminotomy- they don't remove the whole lamina, just a part to make room for the sciatic nerve to decompress. Good luck to your wife. This medical knowledge of back surgery has advanced a lot in 3 decades. I am only 34 so no fusion or anything cray cray (that is "crazy" for you curmudgeons). Best to your wife. I know the pain sucks.

BF,

Best hopes for rapid and continued improvement. And thanks for the pep talk.

I am not on the fence, but so far, my surgeon still is. I am looking for surgery to take care of a disc at C5-C6 putting pressure on the ulnar nerve and causing pain down my back, across the shoulder and down the R arm to my wrist.

I have to deal with it for another four weeks until I can see the surgeon again. Hopefully we can schedule something at that time to fix it, cause I am not doing any drugs stronger than advil and tylenol.

Only the ladies call me that you homo. Cause I got a high cap mag...

Doctor shop if you can! I had to wait to get a good doc and worth it so far.

Glad to hear your procedure helped you. Microsurgery has made great strides in fixing problems while not causing as much damage in the process.

Hope you feel well enough to make it to the Get Together

Hey Mark,

Glad to hear you're doing well with it. A hunting buddy recently had a similar procedure and he is doing well also. He was in a lot of pain for a lot of years...

Congrats!

I had the exact same surgery almost 6 years ago, L5-S1 on the right side. I still get some occasional stiffness when I over do it at work, but for the most part my back is good. Still plenty strong for my job (carpenter), and all my outdoor hobbies.

I did some post op PT on one of those underwater treadmills, man that was awesome and really helped.

I had platelet rich plasma therapy in July. I was less than one week away from spinal fusion. I cancelled my surgery. I hunted pheasant the last couple of days this week and my Fitbit counted over 17,000 steps each day. At least look into it. It won't cure everyone, but it helped me. Good luck to everyone with this.

I probably need disc replacement surgery, but will this procedure repair a dead disc between L4 & L5?

Disc replacement surgery is not covered by insurance & I refuse to get my spine fused.

My procedure wasn't covered either. It cost about $3,000 out of pocket. Luckily, they have a thing called Care Credit. It's a low/no interest program with 12-18 months to repay. I used it when I needed an unexpected root canal several years back. Sending you info if you want to check it out independently.

MRI this spring, see what is going on.
Sciatica and other stuff getting pretty annoying.

Thanks - PM returned.

I had back surgery in the early 90's, like you my Dr. told me to not sit for any length of time. Seems like I have been on my feet every since. I wore a brace for about a week, I couldn't stand that thing. Keep your stomach muscles in good shape to help support your back. I started a daily workout of exercises, and have stayed with the routine! I hope your back heals good! Go slow and steady, it pays off in the long run.

+1
I had it done 13 years ago.Still works.Now most of my back pain is muscular ,that can be worked out.I tell others the same thing....do it.

Thanks for this thread, first ever bout of sciatica this past summer, bad enough to keep me awake at night, went away after about the standard six weeks but has been lurking in the wings since then. I’m guessing that in yer sixties things generally go downhill, could be a surgeon in my future.

Glad things worked out for the original poster, but my story is different. Injections did not work, surgery did not work. Things were no better or worse after them. Things are getting worse over time, but the surgery nor the injections are causing it. miles

Another Care Credit user here. I used it to pay off an emergency broken tooth that wasn't covered by my dental insurance. Pay it off in 12 months and there's no interest charges.

I’ve had laminectomy surgery twice at L5-S1. First one worked great for about three years and the second time has worked since ‘03. Glad it worked for you too.

BigFish,

I had the exact same experience back in 2004 and still going strong. Had mine done at Integrated Spine Care in Milw. Couldn't sit in the car (had to support back by using my hands on the seat) on the way in. Later that day was essentially fixed. I need to do some core exercises pretty regularly otherwise I get a flare up, but I am back to doing everything I want to do.

Couldn't agree with the advice here. Try the shots. Try phys therapy. If that don't work and microdiskectomy/microlaminectomy is suggested, do it. In patient procedure and often very effective. My surgeon said there was a 5% chance of puncturing the dura which would cause the CSF to leak. That would have resulted in more pain and longer recovery, but still good prognosis.

I've also heard of people waiting too long an the sciatica and leg weakness becomes permanent.

I hope your luck continues to be as good as mine. I've sent 3 guys to my surgeon and all have been cured.

I did laparoscopic stenosis relief at the Laser Spine Clinic in Scottsdale is 2013. Very happy I did it, wish I had done it sooner rather than fighting through the Canadian Medical system for two years.

Having had waited for as long as I did there is some permanent atrophy in one leg. Other muscles have developed to "fill in the need" there still is a bit of an imbalance.

With my experience get it done sooner than later.

I'm glad you're doing better, and wish you a speedy recovery. I had a L-4-S1 fusion, along with a spacer installed at my L4 and L5, and it did not work. I just saw my surgeon last week for my 1 year post op, and I let him know I regret to this day doing the surgery. I chose a surgeon that from my research showed he is known for fixing others screw-ups. I also know others that have used him and rave about how well the surgery went. I believe my issue is from 8 years of being injured before the AF would send me to a specialist. It took my whining like a girl and reinjuring my back before I got a primary doctor that listened to me. He sent me immediately to get x-rays, and MRI's on my lower back. After he got the results back, he called me into his office and said a referral was being sent to a neurosurgeon, as he said it looked "bad" to him. I got into the neurosurgeon and opted for injection over surgery right away. The right side took, but not the left. After a year of his care and a pain managers, I opted for the surgery, knowing a high likely hood that after 9 years from the initial injury I would have permanent nerve damage.

At my appointment last week, I let the neurosurgeon know I regretted the surgery, and we both agreed had it been caught 9 years earlier I probably would not have the issues I am now. It's loads of fun trying to work out, or do anything for that matter and my feet go numb. I have a new one now, if I am sitting and put my feet beck the feet go numb almost immediately now.

If you remember just one thing, get help earlier rather than later. A hurt back is nothing to play around with.

I hope you get better soon. My DIL had surgery a few years ago for 2 ruptured discs and a broken vertebra that she got as a result of her being a passenger on a 4 wheeler when her brother flipped it, she was 10 at the time. She also had a severe concussion that caused her brain to swell and we was in a coma for a while. When she awoke from the coma she complained about her back hurting but the hospital never investigated what was causing her back pain.

She endured the back pain until she was she was in her early 30's when it became unbearable (she's a tough west Texas girl that grew up on a ranch). She had surgery to remove both ruptured discs, repair the damaged vertebra and fuse the 3 vertebra. About 5 years later they had to remove the titanium cage and steel rods from her back because of the scar tissue around them was pressing on several nerves. The second surgery was MUCH more painful than the first. She's 44 now and still in pain from nerve damage but doesn't take pain medication anymore. She only takes the drug that diabetics take for foot pain.

I recently talked to young cop I know who had neck surgery last year for a ruptured disc. He told me that they can replace the discs in your back/neck with a plastic disc now. He said are doing the procedure in Europe but the FDA hasn't approved the procedure for the USA.I don't know if that's true or not but I find this website that describes the procedure.



https://www.laserspineinstitute.com/herniated_disc/articles/replacement

I had lumbar fusion on 3-4 and a doner bone inserted to replace the disk in 2013.

I had back pain for years, numbness in feet and legs, sciatic pain on right side.

Went to my Dr, several times, he told me that my back pain was due to the fact that I worked construction and that is common. He gave me prescriptions for anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers.

After a couple years of this, he finally sent me to physical therapy. Told the therapist that I had a tight butt muscle and I needed it messaged with ultra sound.

Another year goes by and it is getting worse, I saw another DR, who immediately made an appointment for an MRI. MRI showed that my back was broken and surgery was needed ASAP.

My MRI was on Tuesday and I was under the knife by Friday.

Not eligible for the arthroscopic kind, large incision about 12 inched long.

Pain is mostly gone, but I still have permanent nerve damage due to the years of waiting or neglect if you will.

Don't wait, get it done and after it's done, do your physical theory and walk walk walk, and forget the drugs if you can.

Everything from S2 to L3 in my back is fused together and held in place by two rods and two screws on each side of each vertebrae. Statistics s show that at least 50% of people that have some kind of back surgery will go under the knife again within 5 years.Mostly because they won't alter their lifestyle to accommodate their back.

Presently I need my neck done at C6-C7 and back at L3-L2. I'm holding out as long as I can.I walk 1&3/4 miles every day and do 3 different back exercises.

Followup on post op PT and Dr's advice

It was explained to me like this.

The fusion will hold up, it is the disks above and below the repair that are the cause of additional surgery.

It's like putting a stick or solid tube into a rubber hose and bending it back and forth until there is a failure in the hose(spine). The failure is usually just above or below the inserted tube (the repair). Compression is also a factor, the repair is solid, the remaining disks take on more weight as there are less disks to distribute the weight evenly..

Lifting causes compression failure of remain disks, bending causes similar.

My surgeon told me that I could return to work in 12-14 weeks after surgery. My Physical Medicine Dr that got me back on my feet after surgery told me that I would never be going back to work Construction unless I could find and employer that would accept 25 pound weight restrictions and no bending.

A microdiskectomy uses a microscope (small incision is made) to go in with tiny tools to remove the torn/herniated/extruded part of the disc. It does not repair a disk but it is minimally intrusive.

Is that a substitute for fusion--or a step in-between?

The only thing I have heard from my Doc is shots followed by fusion. Shots look like a moneymaker there at least. Mucho emphasis on it.

My story exactly except mine was L4/L5. I would have kept on with the injections except it got to the point that the pain returned within a couple weeks.

The Doc told me that at my age, 74 at the time, I could forget about EVER lifting much over twenty pounds without causing the pain to return, but that it should stop the constant pain I was experiencing. I discovered that, since he only removed the fwd part of the disc and only on the right side, I can manage a few forty pound sacks of corn provided I don’t have to bend over to get them and I position myself so I’m lifting on my left side.

Best thing about a partial discectomy is that it leaves other surgical options open for the future if they become necessary.

Quit going to that guy. Use shots as long as they work then find a surgeon that’s not married to one procedure.

Well, I appreciate the thread as trying to understand the different options available.

Am familiar with fusions and for me, it would be the last ditch choice.

What does your neurosurgeon say?

The doc I was referred to is an orthopaedic surgeon--shots or fusion were the choices.

I had a discectomy around 12 years ago, and it worked great. It was for a herniated disc, when numbness starts down your
leg, get it fixed, you may lose the nerve when that happens. The pain was immediately gone.

I farm so I have to be smart when lifting, I have a forklift and what a nice thing that is for me. Use it multiple times per week.