Successful Back Surgery Anyone?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

vinceL5disc - 04 Jul 2005 04:49 GMT

Hello, I had back surgery about six months ago and consider it a
success. Before I had my surgery all I could find were horror stories.
Only afterwards did I find so many people that had successful back
surgery.

So I am collecting stories for an informational pamphlet and website
for people about to have back surgery or who have had a procedure.
Disc, fusion, laminotomy, sciatic treatment, whatever

please email me or post here if you would rather do that, thanks!
Vincent

masterofnone (at symbol here) manifoldrecords (dot here) com

Reply to this Message

Navy1 - 04 Jul 2005 14:33 GMT

My mother had some very successful back surgery. They fused some
vertebrae in her back. The worst part of the after-treatment other
than the very awkward full body cast was not being able to go in the
car. The doctor said "I would rather you didn't." which is almost a
commandment in doctoral language. She is doing fine, now.
If you wish, I can get the actual terminology, she's in the other room
working on her budget for the month. She turned 88 last month.

I was reminded of when I was pregnant. All the "friends" and
relatives had these horror stories. Guess it goes with the
territory. How are you doing? Give us your success story, please.
Loujean

>Hello, I had back surgery about six months ago and consider it a
>success. Before I had my surgery all I could find were horror stories.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>masterofnone (at symbol here) manifoldrecords (dot here) com

Navy1
Retired and love it.
Throw that FISH out and
put in an S to email me.

Reply to this Message

vinceL5disc - 06 Jul 2005 03:13 GMT

Hi Loujean, thanks for the reply!

I'll tell some of my story soon, but I just started to try and write a
"brief" thing for this response and realized it was way too long. I
need to edit it down some. Plus I am not actually an arthritis
sufferer, so I don't want to clog up your group with a long, off-topic
post. I was just certain there would be people in the arthritis support
group that had undergone a procedure for the back or spine. My father,
older sister and best friend suffer terribly with it and my friend is
probably going to have to undergo a cervical spine procedure we think.

Is it common for arthritis sufferers to have major surgery like Walt's
recommended?

- vinceL5disc

Reply to this Message

Nann Bell - 07 Jul 2005 00:14 GMT

.Plus I am not actually an arthritis

> sufferer, so I don't want to clog up your group with a long, off-topic
> post. I was just certain there would be people in the arthritis support
> group that had undergone a procedure for the back or spine.

There are a lot of us here with differing kinds of back problems, so we don't
consider it off-topic at all. Some folks have spinal degeneration as a part
of their arthritis. Some of us have other problems from related or
overlapping conditions. (my back stuff is the result of hypermobility - my
spine does things it ain't supposed to be able to!) Oh, and degenerative
disc disease and degenerative joint disease and ankylosing spondylitis are
forms of arthritis that affect the spine in major ways. So talk on all you
want about backs and surgery. I'm no real help though, not having to have
surgery on my back, thank goodness.

Signature

Nann
remove the Gator cheer to email me
Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare

Reply to this Message

Walt Hanks - 04 Jul 2005 15:30 GMT

> Hello, I had back surgery about six months ago and consider it a
> success. Before I had my surgery all I could find were horror stories.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> please email me or post here if you would rather do that, thanks!
> Vincent

I had a cervical fusion (5-6-7) on Dec. 30th that has been a huge success.
My pain is largely gone, strength has returned to my right arm, and my
headaches are infrequent now instead of being constant. My surgeon used
cadaver bone and a titanium plate (which cost $8000!!!).

Walt

Reply to this Message

vinceL5disc - 06 Jul 2005 03:18 GMT

Hi Walt, I appreciate the response!

Was the surgery recommended due to arthritis? I have heard that the
cervical fusion is the hardest and trickiest they can do. I had what i
think is considered "easy" compared to yours, that was a discectomy at
the L5 vertabrae. They cut out part of the spine and cut out ruptured
disc material.

I'm really interested to know if you did any sort of exercises after
that helped, or put in more general terms, did you do anything that you
think contributed to it being a success?

- VinceL5disc

Reply to this Message

Nann Bell - 07 Jul 2005 00:14 GMT

> I had a cervical fusion (5-6-7) on Dec. 30th that has been a huge success.
> My pain is largely gone, strength has returned to my right arm, and my
> headaches are infrequent now instead of being constant. My surgeon used
> cadaver bone and a titanium plate (which cost $8000!!!).

hey, Walt, how does it feel to know that your "body parts" have increased
significantly in value thanks to this surgery? Heck, we only started out
with a few dollars worth of minerals in us and now you're up over $8000!
(yeah, I know, the undamaged originals were even more valuable to you, but
what ya gonna do?)

Signature

Nann
remove the Gator cheer to email me
Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare

Reply to this Message

Judy Bay - 07 Jul 2005 05:07 GMT

I had spinal fusion with Harrington rod on L2 to T5. It was done in
1979, for scoliosis, and they used bone from my hip. I was 37, and I had
had 3 children.

I wore a plaster body cast for 9 months, through a hot summer. I came
out of surgey taller than I went in, and I'm sure it kept me out of a
wheelchair.

I drove and danced after 2 months, in the cast, but volleyball was a bit
awkward(!)

Didn't develop fibromyalgia/arthritis/limited scleroderma until around 1999.

The only part that ever really bothered me was where they took bone out
of my hip for the graft.

> Hello, I had back surgery about six months ago and consider it a
> success. Before I had my surgery all I could find were horror stories.
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> masterofnone (at symbol here) manifoldrecords (dot here) com

Reply to this Message