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Doctor recommended fusion of l4-5 and l5-s1

Posted by reidy @reidy, Feb 16 11:00pm

I am 80 years old.Whats my life going to be like.

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jlssurplus | @jlssurplus | Feb 27 7:15am
In reply to @heyjoe415 "@jlssurplus Good for you for taking such great care of your wife. I can't imagine going..." + (show)
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@jlssurplus

Good for you for taking such great care of your wife. I can't imagine going through 6 fusions.

I'm 71 and my lumbar spine is a disaster area. I am active in the gym, everyday, and that has helped develop a strong core that then supports my lumbar spine.

Please see my reply to Reidy re: lamintomy to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve without fusion. It worked well for me. I haven't had a bout of sciatica since the surgery. Although 12 years later, I wake up with a lot of lower back stiffness that clears up in about 15-30 minutes.

I've had both hips, right knee and left shoulder replaced, all with great, pain-relieving results. I truly want to avoid fusion surgery. From what I've heard, it's a long recovery and doesn't provide as much pain relief as joint replacement.

All the best to you and your wife (or husband).

Joe

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@heyjoe415
thank you very much, the worst part about my wifes surgergies is that she also has a sensitivity allergy to dilaudid and morphine. Surgery for her is a controlled overdose. She had to have Narcan one time as they wouldn't listen to me.

I have become an expert advocate over the years. The hospital that did the last 2 was wonderful, they listen to me on what she can tolerate pain med wise and don't treat me like an idiot.

Convincing the social workers and hospital that I could care for here instead of sticking her in skilled nursing (Just a nursing home, there is no skilled people involved, at least here) is always a challenge.

I'm trying to lose weight and strengthen my core to help with pain. What has helped me is having to walk the dog around the house 2-3 times a day as he won't go down the stairs and being self employed with no help in a warehouse environment, bending, lifting, twisting. It is a forced way of keeping moving

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yesibeleive | @yesibeleive | Feb 28 12:31pm

At 71...I had L2, L3, L4, L5, S1 lumbar surgery.
So glad I got it but, 6mos-1yr recovery. Mine is going very well.
I did have to stay with my daughter four a month.
Make sure you have a good neurosurgeon.

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