Anyone here had Back Surgery? I'm possibly looking at having a discectomy (L5-S1), though based on the MRI the Neurosurgeon said a fusion might be a have to once he got to look at it. Been out of work now for months ( Company Buyout) (Going on 7 months), was hoping that giving my back some R&R would get it to settle back down but that appears to not be the case. I was hoping to get it back to good enough shape to go back to work but I don't know. Just looking to see if anyone else has been down this miserable road before.
Back Surgery
- Thread starter cheetah50
- Start date
I had the exact discectomy in 2003….and no problems since. Walking is the best exercise for my back. Good luck.
Lamenectomy around 2003, same area as yours. Recovered relatively quickly, had to incorporate walking into routine. I don't think about my back much but if I don't walk it'll become noticeable. I stopped walking for a long time when COVID hit, but I'm back into it now 2 miles every other day.
I'm not a pro mechanic so YMMV.
I'm not a pro mechanic so YMMV.
I had an L3/L4 microdiscectomy last summer after PT and rest didn't do it. Here's the disc material that was removed. I woke up and had immediate relief and was so thankful to have my life back. Now happily running 10ks again 
As the nurse said, once a back patient always a back patient. No such thing as back to100% but with consistent exercise and awareness you can get pretty close. I refuse to help anyone move now.
As the nurse said, once a back patient always a back patient. No such thing as back to100% but with consistent exercise and awareness you can get pretty close. I refuse to help anyone move now.
Just had L4-L5 Aurora Zip system screwless (pedicle) fusion, pretty neat spacer, looks like a domino wedged in there on either side of spinious processes. Minimally invasive and home the same day. First 7days sucked but after day 4, things improve daily. It was this or a laminectomy, I liked this option better. He cleaned up the disc space area while he was in there he said. I am a month out and feel better in some areas and the same in others, other lumbar herniations. Some pain that initially improved has returned albeit not as severe most of the time. My 2nd spine surgery, SCS was 1st, I am sure there are more to come but I'll take any improvements I can get.
I'm no doctor, but one of the guys I shoot with had back surgery done...... Twice. The first time didn't take, didn't work, was done wrong... However you want to phrase it.
So he had it redone. Today he's a total mess compared to before these doctors ever took a knife to him. He can no longer shoot. (After the first operation he could shoot, (Trap), sitting on a stool). Now he can no longer shoot at all. And he walks around all hunched over, and in pain.
I really feel for the guy. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have had it done. But the simple fact is those 2 surgeries did him absolutely zero favors. Orthopedic spinal surgery is some of the most difficult and dangerous surgery to perform... And it obviously comes with a fair share of risk. He is living proof of that.
The best and most obvious advice is to proceed with caution. After seeing what he has gone through, I'm glad I didn't have surgery on my rotator cuff. (Another procedure that can have limited success).
Just keep in mind that if these procedures don't go right, you're often facing a "cure" that can be worse than the disease itself.
So he had it redone. Today he's a total mess compared to before these doctors ever took a knife to him. He can no longer shoot. (After the first operation he could shoot, (Trap), sitting on a stool). Now he can no longer shoot at all. And he walks around all hunched over, and in pain.
I really feel for the guy. I'm not saying that he shouldn't have had it done. But the simple fact is those 2 surgeries did him absolutely zero favors. Orthopedic spinal surgery is some of the most difficult and dangerous surgery to perform... And it obviously comes with a fair share of risk. He is living proof of that.
The best and most obvious advice is to proceed with caution. After seeing what he has gone through, I'm glad I didn't have surgery on my rotator cuff. (Another procedure that can have limited success).
Just keep in mind that if these procedures don't go right, you're often facing a "cure" that can be worse than the disease itself.
About 8 years ago I blew the discs on both ends of my L5 vertebrae. It moved inward and pinched the nerves, the pain of which would cause me to black out. Long story short, a good back surgeon in the hospital saw me and said he would operate on me. He did, using four screws and cadaver bone. What a difference. He gave me my life back. I woke up after the surgery and was totally pain free! Took about three months to get back to "almost normal"; still was not allowed to lift heavy objects for a while. But ZERO pain, great flexibility as I can now bend over and touch my toes. I walk between 5000-8000 steps about five days a week in a hilly environment. Best surgery I ever had outside of my quad bypass.
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AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
As Billt460 points out everyone knows someone who had back surgery that didn't work. My FIL is one, 30 years of never a day without pain. Procedures, techniques, and materials have to be better today...how do you find a highly skilled surgeon?
A late 60s friend had rotator cuff surgery (almost complete separation) in eary March and is recovering ahead of schedule. He found a surgeon with great references.
Good luck cheetah50.
A late 60s friend had rotator cuff surgery (almost complete separation) in eary March and is recovering ahead of schedule. He found a surgeon with great references.
Good luck cheetah50.
I had L4/5 back in 2007. Best thing I ever did.
Do ALL the PT and exercises they want you to do! Be patient! They don't tell you it'll be a year before you really feel like you're 100% (albeit a "new, adjusted" 100%). That doesn't mean you're an invalid for the first year -- just that you'll feel somehow weakened or fragile, but less (or no) pain.
Find a PT you like, preferably with years of experience. Aggressive is usually good. Mine had me twisting and throwing medicine balls etc pretty early on. Core strength and strength building. Stretches and exercises you can do at home. Thera bands are great!!
I had a great outcome, although my surgeon was allegedly top 12 in the country. Sometimes small CO resort towns attract good surgeons
Do ALL the PT and exercises they want you to do! Be patient! They don't tell you it'll be a year before you really feel like you're 100% (albeit a "new, adjusted" 100%). That doesn't mean you're an invalid for the first year -- just that you'll feel somehow weakened or fragile, but less (or no) pain.
Find a PT you like, preferably with years of experience. Aggressive is usually good. Mine had me twisting and throwing medicine balls etc pretty early on. Core strength and strength building. Stretches and exercises you can do at home. Thera bands are great!!
I had a great outcome, although my surgeon was allegedly top 12 in the country. Sometimes small CO resort towns attract good surgeons
The only issue with that is "the best" might not be on your plan. You have to choose from what or who is available. And a lot of these guys that are hooked up with these various HMO's and Medicare plans, (of which there are all but countless one's), are not all that great.
But for many they're the only game in town. And complex spinal surgery can easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Orthopedic spinal surgeons are some of the highest paid doctors walking the planet.
Unfortunately you're right. My health care plan is a HMO and its fairly limited. Only a few surgeons are in network.
Had my L4-L5 done in 2007 as well, bone spurs I think as well as laminectomy, no fusion. Aside from normal muscle injuries from lifting too much, no issues with the surgery itself. Now, I don't bend at the waist very well, but I didn't expect miracles.
Had L4-5 fusion in 2020, then L3-4 fusion 6/25. 1 year " full recovery" for both. Same surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery, ( HSS ), in Manhattan, NY. Almost fully recovered from the 2025 surgery. I can bend over now without any pain, but incision area still sore and numb in areas. My advice is to shop around to find the best place to get any back work done, that accepts you're insurance of course. HSS in Manhattan is # 1 in the country, ( so they claim). I have no complaints or regrets after surgery done there.
Fusions are WAY different.
Oversimplified dumb layman's explanation that should not be taken as accurate:
Microdiscectomy is just going in and removing material your body has already rejected (or lost) -- think clearing RTV from an oil pump pickup.
Fusion is bolting hardware and foreign objects into your body.
This is not to say fusions are bad. Not at all. But they are more invasive and require a longer recovery time. They also tend to limit mobility a bit and/or require the joints above and below to move more to make up for the fused joint lack of motion.
Most of my neck and lumbar spine are fused. I waited too long and my nerve deficits are permanent (I didn't know any better, pain was not my chief complaint, bad opinion of back surgery). The longer nerves are compressed, the chance of recovery is reduced. I had a laminectomy first, but fusions later. I have a congentially small spinal canal (males tend to be smaller anyway), and considerable arthritis, and my body filled back in areas around nerves that were decompressed in 2014. This process usually stops when joints are immobilized (I was told).
There is a lot to consider with serious back issues. I've learned there are different approaches for different problems, i.e. disc compression, disc failure, compression of nerve pedicles from bone / bone growth, etc.
An X-ray from last week shows I may have a screw backing out / loosening at the bottom of my lumbar fusion. X-ray was done because of pain in the area (may of may not be related).
There is a lot to consider with serious back issues. I've learned there are different approaches for different problems, i.e. disc compression, disc failure, compression of nerve pedicles from bone / bone growth, etc.
An X-ray from last week shows I may have a screw backing out / loosening at the bottom of my lumbar fusion. X-ray was done because of pain in the area (may of may not be related).
I was a candidate back around 2000. Same spot with a herniated disc. I had a consultation with the neurosurgeon to look at my MRI and he asked if I had seen any improvement at all since the injury and I had seen a bit so he suggested we give it another 12 weeks. After those 3 months I saw more improvement and decided to wait some more. I never did reschedule with the doc. It took a few years and you never fully graduate from the school of sore backs, but I eventually got back to 90% without surgery. At this point I'm glad I didn't go under the knife.
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I went through that for a couple years.
I swear every time I'd start to consider surgery, I'd start to improve a little. So, I'd decide to wait and then inevitably it would get really bad again. This roller coaster continued until finally I decided I didn't have much to lose. My overall quality of life was quite low, and the odds of success with a microdiscectomy are quite good.
I scheduled the surgery and sure enough, started to feel a bit better. But this time I was committed -- basically a "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me dozens of times over years, shame on me."
But I am agreeing with @ripcord -- if you go to a surgeon with a herniated disc, all a surgeon can do is cut on you. If this is a recent injury, you may wish to give it time. The body's ability to heal can be remarkable.
Each individual must decide when they've lost too much time and want to try more drastic measures. There's no one answer or formula.
Also, an honest surgeon will give you honest odds on reduction in back pain, reduction is sciatica, and more. You'll likely find that if those were Vegas odds most people would be millionaires.
The last observation I'll mention: quite often we speak of pain on a scale of 1-10. What few understand -- and we quickly forget -- is that an occasionally brief 10 with periods of zero to 2 in between is WAY better than a constant 5 or 6. After months and years of nonstop 5, 6, 7 and more, you're emotionally raw. It was hard on my marriage and every aspect of my life. Be prudent but set a timeline for how much life you're willing to lose to pain, and weigh this against the odds of an improvement with surgery.
Ouch -(...All that metal and screws in you must hurt, and probably really cuts way back on being able to bend. So sorry. Feel bad for you. Thankfully, I have only 2 of these things called NuVasive XLIF implants installed on the L3-4 & L4-5 level. The discs were just about gone. This particular implant allows for flexibility. No screws & rods were installed. The remaining OEM spinal discs are slowly degenerating and arthritic. My surgeon said at my age, almost 60, they should last till I croak. Hoping he's right. Fingers crossed.
