Any Success Stories of Lumbar Stenosis Surgery?

I had fusion and laminectomy in Nov 2019. Unfortunately it is considered a failed surgery. I have difused disc from L2-S1 with severe stenosis at L5-S1.
My last epidural was R/L SI . Believe me it is a good one. I had severe pain in legs and lower lumbar and 3 weeks out I am still getting leg relief. I have SI disfuction and this has been my best results. Good luck

I’m just going to call you Dr. Mary from now on. Thanks for the information. I will give another update after I see my new neurosurgeon on July 23rd. It’s funny you mentioned the thoracic portion of my mri. It doesn’t show much damage, but I swear it is causing more issues than it appears. When I try to twist to the right, my whole right rib cage is in pain because it feels like something is stuck and won’t allow me to turn that way. I’m sure it has something to do with throwing a baseball literally 10,000 times a year. Also, when I tilt my head back and twist, the way I twist makes that arm go numb.

The reason I think the lower back has been compressing my nerves for at least the past 2 years is my legs have both been losing strength, and now have visibly atrophied on the outside of both thighs. The left is worse, but I always assumed that was because I needed a knee replacement on that side which I just had done 7 months ago. I now think my left leg is starting to get stronger than my right. That also makes sense because my right side had sciatic pain for 6 months last summer which was always played through with ibuprofen.

I will definitely try to avoid surgery if I keep improving, but I am a mess. I also am pretty sure I have a torn right rotator cuff. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I have had 8 surgeries in the past 13 years to stay on the field. The surgeries are getting old though. If I ever do return to the diamond, it will be for maybe 20 games a year. I played 105 games in 2021 at 53 years old. I didn’t get injured until game 104 when I injured my achillies which didn’t need surgery. I have 2 resurfaced hips, 2 rotator cuff repairs, meniscus clean up, ankle bone spur, double hernia, and partial knee replacement.

If I do have a surgery, I will probably try to avoid a fusion unless the surgeon is in adamant. I think I might be a better candidate for a laminotomy or laminectomy which could releive some pressure on the nerves sending signals down my legs. We shall see.

Have done epidurals but no longer effective, the nerves are “crushed” in the canal, have had PT with more pain. Was told I will notice a remarkable improvement with my first step after and I trust my neurosurgeon who has done 100’s of this surgery before, including even on my mom. One level at L4-5.

Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Can I ask where you are having it done? Also, how old are you? Please keep us updated after the procedure. I’m sure you will improve. That’s how. I try to think every day.

I've had a laminectomy on L2 L3 L4 and had two vertiflex L4 and 5 removed 5 days in the hospital open cut it's been 5 weeks starting to move around quite well some pains in my ankle and my thighs that I never had before I'm 73 years old recovery is probably slow for me thank you Steve

Hopefully my last update for a long time. I just saw another neurosurgeon who basically said my spine has some issues that he could help with minimally invasive decompression surgery, but he wouldn’t recommend it since I am still improving. I agreed and said I would have held off even if he suggested surgery right away.
My symptoms are getting better every day. I’m even considering playing in a baseball tournament in October in Florida if my progress continues. The good information I received from this doctor was he agreed that since my feet feel their best when waking up, the neuropathy is most likely coming from compressed nerves. My feet feel almost normal in the morning, but after a few hours of walking or even sitting upright, they start to get a little numb again. Even that is improving from stretching my spine on an inversion table and letting my body hang while holding my self up by my arms on the kitchen island. This doctor like every other doctor I have seen, still couldn’t explain my total body shutdown 7 months ago though.
I am actually doing box jumps again at the gym. I can only do 24” right now, but I think my partial knee replacement 7 months ago is the reason for that. I asked the doctor if I should give up squats or bridges which is getting my thigh strength back. He said keep going, but keep using good form, go slow, and listen to your body. He doesn’t think I am doing any damage. I have also started doing 30 second sprints again. I am back up to 10mph and plan on going up .5 every month until I’m back to 12mph like a year ago. We shall see as the knee is a long rehab!
The best part of my recovery is my fatigue has finally subsided almost completely. My shoulder pain is starting to get better also. I’m starting to think that it might not have been a torn rotator cuff, but compressed nerves or TOS like was discussed before. I’m looking for a MFR therapist close to me to make sure this never happens again. I can’t sit around for 4 months again thinking I’m dying. That experience has changed my entire outlook forever. Mostly in a good way, but also “ignorance is bliss” is probably the truest statement ever invented. I know I’m improving because I usually record my symptoms every Thursday to monitor my progress, and I forgot to do it this past Thursday. I didn’t even think about it. I am still scheduled to see a shoulder doctor, getting a thyroid biopsy next week, and now I have a dang ear infection so I made a long overdue first visit with an ENT. My wife is also still bugging me to see an eye doctor for the first time ever at the age of 56. Nag Nag Ha Ha!
Well thanks to everyone on this board who advised me and gave me hope. I will keep monitoring to help other if I can. Maybe my next post will be a video of me crushing a fastball to the fence! Good wishes on everyone’s health journey here.

Surgery went well - now 4 weeks out. Was done in Mason City - age 69. Saw surgeon yesterday and completely released from restrictions. Took care so my symptoms - except still some neuropathy but could be due to something else. Very glad I did it.

Spines are complicated - never forget that fact!!

I just had an anterior cervical discectomy & fusion (ACDF) of C-3 through 7. It relieved the right foot neuropathy & back pain I had since my fusion surgery of L-4-5 & S-1 in May of 2023 for bilateral sciatica & weakening legs bilaterally.

My wife claims I talked my surgeon into the back surgery first. Ideally I wish I had the cervical ACDF first.

My advice is always have a fellowship trained spine surgeon & always have it at a facility that does a lot of spine surgery.

Best of everything to all of us with spine disease! ☮️🙏☮️

@coachdavid - So glad your ACDF went well. Interesting discussion about which order to follow: ACDF first or lumbar work first?

My neurosurgeon explained that lumbar work requires the patient's body to be placed in some very awkward positions (of course as you're asleep - you are unaware). Those same awkward positions can place extra stress on the cervical area and he felt strongly that fixing the neck (ACDF) first was the correct order.

Regardless, congratulations and best of luck with a smooth recovery!

I was 58 y/o (2013) when I had a ruptured disc at S1/L5. X-rays showed my lumbar spine to be a mess - scoliosis, stenosis, spondylolisthesis (one vertebra slipping over the vertebra beneath). The first surgeon I saw would only do fusion, nothing else. (At the time, I couldn't stand up for more than a minute or so and had pain in my right hamstring. Pretty classic sciatica, along with a ruptured disc.)

I got a second opinion and that surgeon decided to try a laminotomy first at S1, L5, and L4. A laminotomy is a minimally invasive removal of bone (the lamina) from the back of the spine. It's kinda like drilling a hole in the back of the vertebrae to 1) make more space for the nerves being squeezed by stenosis (in my case this was arthritis), and 2) use the holes to remove the ruptured disc material and bone spurs.

Well it's been 11 years and all the pain I was experiencing went away after the surgery. Recovery took only a few days - mostly referred pain in my right leg from the movement of the nerves, and I had to take my time sitting down on a chair.

During the last three years, I have been working out everyday for cardio (heart) and strength, primarily my core. My current surgeon tells me my core is holding my lumbar spine together and he has encouraged me to continue my work in the gym. I turn 70 in two months. Over the last year, I have also dropped from 190 lbs to 160 lbs (I'm 5'10"). I go to a spin class 3 or 4 times a week and also work with a personal trainer.

So don't believe anyone who tells you that significant weight loss is impossible after 65. It is possible if you are willing to 1) take an honest look at your diet and make necessary changes (for me it was cutting out almost all refined sugar) and 2) doing a lot of hard cardio work, elevating your heart rate over 30 minutes or so, and a lot of sweating.

I got rid of all the fat in my torso and on my hips. This is called "visceral fat" and it surrounds organs in the torso. Too much is deadly and at least among most of my contemporaries at the gym (men over 65), very common. Maybe it's a male thing, but these guys don't want to do the hard cardio work necessary. My spin classes are 90% women, so all I can say is that the women are a lot tougher than the guys.

Anyway, it's amazing what we can do at any age with a little luck and a lot of hard work. I know that's not possible for everyone - I don't mean to be insensitive. Just take an honest look at your life, and make any necessary changes. You will feel great, and proud!