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BatteMan
France

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:23 am

Be with you !

Courage l'ami <3

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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:34 pm

Hey Guys!

I wanted to just poke in here and let you all know all your positive vibes really helped me through this - I mean it sincerely.

I had an outstanding team of professionals and - for the 1st time in 2 weeks, I can actually walk w/o any debilitating pain or muscle spasms. They fixed it!

I am really sore where they went in to do the job, but I should get stronger and stronger over the next two weeks.

Thank you!!

<3 <3

And boy did I call it. I peeked open my little eye and looked at the site and it's as if 'they' were waiting to pounce. Yeesh!!!
Screen Shot 2021-10-15 at 6.29.44 PM.png
Hate that. Fixed.

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Zippy Zapp
CA, USA

Posted Sat Oct 16, 2021 4:48 pm

Great news, glad it worked out. Suffering from that kind of pain really zaps your life.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Thanks for all you do here for our favorite platform.

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Mr.Toast
Roseville, CA

Posted Mon Oct 25, 2021 10:06 pm

--Be well Eric. I know how debilitating a back issue can be. Even worse is the persistent wondering if today's pain is going to be better than the next for the rest of your life.

I had a herniated L5-S1 with no single event when it started. Ten years went by and there were good days and bad days. Some days were worse and some days were never as good but bearable. Then came the PT. Then came the cortisone shots. Then came the epidurals. Then came the nerve ablation. Twenty years of a crescendo of pain and tons spent on chiropractic and traditional medical care. Always avoided the drugs but I was really ready to give up when I couldn't stand up for five minutes without acute pain.

When I moved to Cali in 2009, I found an ortho surgeon who ordered a new MRI. Where there was supposed to be the largest disc was a mushed blob and the spinal chord looked like a hairpin turn on an F1 track.

He indicated that surgery was the only option. It was scary because you always hear about the horror stories.

In 2015, I received an L5-S1 fusion using a mechanical prosthesis and bone grafts as a growth medium. The surgery went through my abdomen. The pain relief was instant but the fusion would take at least nine months to set. Recovery was slow, but steady, and I was blessed with disability for 3 months to recover before easing back into work.

One year follow-up with my surgeon and I gave the dude a hug with tears in my eyes.

I've been largely pain free since, although I still have ocassional peripheral pain from adjacent discs that have to do a bit of extra work.

I hope nobody has to experience that persistent pain. But, if it ever gets that bad, don't rule out surgery completely as a last resort. I just wish I didn't try and tough it out as long as I did before finding a talented ortho.

Be well, bro.

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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Oct 26, 2021 2:17 pm

Wow @Mr.Toast thanks for sharing your experience and thanks to all for the well-wishes, everyone. It occurred to me today reading Mr.Toast's epic post that I haven't told everyone how things are going. So here goes!

TL;DR:
The operation on my spine was very successful. In fact, I'm tentatively going to say that my back feels better now than it has in about 20 years. It kind of kills me a little bit to think about how long I've been suffering, and how this one procedure - albeit non-trivial - may have just fixed things in a single stroke. I would like to hope so!

Long Version:
You may recall that what sent me to the doc in the first place was my left leg being in total agony. And that was because (I learned) the hemorrhaged disc was pressing solidly into my nerves that run down my back and into my left leg all the way down to my big left toe.

We're going on 1.5 weeks since my operation and honestly my only issue right now isn't with my back (I mean, sure - it's still a little sore back there but nothing I can't manage). I honestly forget about it most of the time. I get the stitches out on Friday of this week.

But I am reminded about my left leg every dang day at about 4 AM when chemicals in my bloodstream dissipate. It's really hard to describe how it feels, but it's sort of like if you were sitting crosslegged on a hardwood floor for, let's say, an hour. Then suddenly you decided to uncross your legs and stand up. Your legs will sort of ache and your foot might even be numb and/or be totally asleep.

That's what it is.

Mainly behind my knee area at the back of my leg, and down my left calf (back between the bone and muscle where you can't reach with massage or anything) it'll just ache. No matter how you move around repositioning doesn't make a difference.

When I left the doctor 1.5 weeks ago I was given a pile of pills to pick up from the Rx. There was one for nerve pain, one for muscle relaxers, Tylenol (aka placebos!) and a narcotic, which is addictive.

In the past few days I've tried to mix and match everything - minus the narcotic - to see if I could make that pain go away. None of them work.

Only the "scary" pill makes it go away. And while it says you can take up to 3 a day, I can get by with only taking one in the morning and not needing to take anymore all day long. I tried taking one right before bed, but at 4AM or thereabouts, it would wear off anyway and that pain would come back. It's nothing like what I was dealing with pre-operation, but it's there. There seems to be something about not moving around for a while that exacerbates the issue. I dunno.

So, I need to try and hope that ultimately it will ebb and fade away. If it does? Shoot - I think I'll feel like a 30 year old again! If the doc later this week suggests physical therapy, they'll get a massive eye-roll from me.

I run out on Thursday. I see them on Friday.

Fingers crossed I get that last bit figured out and can stop thinking about this stupid stuff for many years to come! I'm kinda tired of it all.

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A10001986
1986

Posted Tue Nov 02, 2021 12:56 am

Happy to hear it went well!

Had/have a similar problem since around xmas 2019, but lighter. No surgery required/possible. Disc slipped (and partly dissolved?!), causing pain in my right leg. Feels like DOMS.

I am defeating it on a daily basis by bending down for 100 seconds, hands down to the floor, with completely stretched legs.

I learned two things in the meantime:

1) Orthopedists are worthless for that kind of problem. They only know a) surgery, b) pointless exercises that rather make it worse. The Osteopath is the right person for this kind of job.

2) The pain is caused not only by the disc, but also be shortened muscles and tendons. Since I am doing this little exercise, I am pain free.

Now I just need to remember not to lift my second kid too often, she's getting close to a dangerous weight class.

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grshaw

Posted Tue Nov 02, 2021 1:44 am

Glad your surgery went well intric8. My best wishes for a speedy and full recovery. :D

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Mr.Toast
Roseville, CA

Posted Wed Nov 03, 2021 2:41 pm

One thing that really helped me is the Piriformis Stretch. I still do it several times a week and it helps reduce inflammation.

https://vibelens.com/piriformis-stretches/

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DiscreetFX

Posted Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:50 pm

intric8 I just read this, have you recovered? I hope you doing better by now man. All the best.

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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:07 pm

Thanks, DiscreetFX.

Overall I'm vastly improved from - stunningly - just 2 months ago when everything felt so painful and dire. My main therapy these days is actually walking a minimum of 2 miles every single day. If I miss a day the nerves in my left leg (thanks to my back) start to lightly bark. So I keep on trucking, 35 degrees F and rain? I'll still take the walk, thanks.

I've been told this kind of recovery can sometimes take a year. I'm hoping by Spring I can at least get back into my bike riding ways. But that might be pushing it. It's a good goal, even if far fetched.

Thanks for asking. Happy Holidays, Everyone!





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