Does anyone have Spinal Stenosis that is extremely bad at wake up?

Congratulations on your marriage. Welcome!

I also have spinal stenosis along with collapsed discs.
My morning wake up is just like yours.
Does get bearable after an hour or so.
I am having an MRI because I am now
experiencing a lot of numbness in both legs.
Will be seeing my pain specialist after MRI.
Hoping epidurals help.
I take gabapentin and Tylenol.
I am allergic to anti inflammatory meds.

can you expand a little on your surgery?
I had surgery in 1994 that did not go well.
Sounds like you are much better. Awesome.
I am 82 so don't know if they would consider.

Thank you. 🙏🏽

Hi Joe,
Even though my surgery is delayed, I did ask the doc, after the surgery can i bike, will I have any limitations, and he said no limitations. L5-S1, and possibly fuse I think it was 3/4.

Awesome you can walk! I have pain after 1/2 mile walking. I just turned 72. Since my surgery got put off by six months, I’m going to check out some other options, acupuncture, mind/body type stuff, meditation for pain control. It won’t fix anything for sure, but to learn to handle the pain maybe i can put off the surgery longer - maybe. So confusing!! Oh, if the pain is low back, medicare does pay for acupuncture.

Best of luck. This forum is so helpful and I love that mostly no one plays doctor.

Sometimes (not often enough) I do knees to chest and childs pose before I get out of bed. Not sure why it’s so hard to do the things that help me through the day.

I have mild stenosis and some scoliosis and let’s not forget arthritis. The morning wake up is painful. I try slow trunk twists and stretching before leaving the bed.
Then, see if I can actually walk. The pain and numbing pain can take its time subsiding enough to get to bathroom.
I don’t take drugs for it on a regular basis. I do have a low dose pain pill that I may take 1-2 times a month. The pain doesn’t go away and can increase during the day or not. I try to stay mentally engaged and live my best life in the moment. It sucks but I don’t like the alternative of being chronically depressed.

@cdbm spinal stenosis doesn’t get any better only worse over time. And you have the accompanying stuff too. Not too many surefire treatments but I just found this one you might want to look at with a 60 day money back guarantee and FDA approved. I have SS but not that bad yet. Yes my back is stiff in the morning but that’s par for the illness.
I opted to purchase the device after reading reviews and I will add my 2 cents about the product one I use it.

That's an optimistic outlook Willow, thanks. And all the best to you on the upcoming surgery.

I've had sciatica twice. The first was from a herniated disc and that eventually resolved, but the back of my left leg - hamstrings mostly and calf - would get stabbing pain that was very hard to live with. It seemed to abate when I laid down so sleeping was ok. It resolved after about two months.

The second attack of sciatica was on my right side. This time part of the disc at S1/L5 had ruptured and was "floating" in my spinal canal. I had surgery to remove the ruptured disc material and smooth out arthritis spurs in the spinal canal (laminotomy).

That was all well over 10 years ago. We moved and I have a new surgeon. He said I have a strong core muscle group and that is holding my lumbar spine together. He also said if sciatica comes back, I'll need fusion.

I'll certainly get that done, but don't look forward to it. But thanks for the optimistic news about returning to life without restrictions. I love spinning and would like to keep at it.

Thanks again Willow and all the best!

Joe

Hi,
Thanks for a reply. What device are you referring? I have tried TENS ( electrical muscular stimulation) and it works very well. My unit is old so in the market for a new one.