Severe Stenosis - Doc advises surgery

I had surgery for spinal stenosis 3 years ago. The pain down my left leg was unbearable. I’m so glad I made that decision but I saw 3 drs before I decided to have my surgery. Now I have L4 & L5 herniated/ bulging. I said no immediately to a spinal fusion. The dr wanted to do that to my daughter when she was 6 for her scoliosis from Muscular Dystrophy. We said we weren’t putting a child through that cause as she grew she’d need another fusion. I highly recommend spinal stenosis surgery! But now I’m in constant severe pain when I walk. Tried NSAIDs, no luck, Medical Marajuana, no luck. I’ve been on Opioids for 2 years now and feel awesome. Not high great, but normal again. I’ve found that CBD Gummies work too. Tried them a few years ago & no luck. But now the gummies with my Percocet work great. No to the stimulation but my Tens device seems to help too. It seems like everyone’s pain relief is different as is their pain. Good luck but I would definitely say no to the Spinal Fusion Surgery!!!

@babette Hi there I understand what Ablations for herniated disc's & spinal stenosis do. I have had a total of 4 Ablations in my Thoracic Spine, 2 in my lumbar area & I too have lumbar stenosis in my lwr back. As well as I have 5 herniated discs in my cervical spine. In my opinion having chronic pain as a result has not been easy on any if us. However the question u want to know about spinal stenosis about having Surgery is it a fusion he wants to give you or what type of Surgery? Has your Dr. Told u what type of procedure this would be & what is the percentage of outcomes for this types of surgeries? Look we all have different issue's concerning our spinal issue's but please do not be ready to jump into surgery just because 1pain mgmt Dr says so. Get a 2nd & if necessary 3rd & 4th opinions when any type of surgical procedure is in question. Over my past 15yrs of misery dealing w/severe chronic pain as a result of my poor broken dwn spine, I was told by 2 Dr's to have a spinal cord stimulator not 1 but 2 put in. & another 2 Dr's told me I need a lwr spinal fusion & for my cervical as well. Well guess what I said no to all of them. I found a great Dr in NYC part of NY Langone Hospital system & he advised me to get on Medical Cannabis for pain & physical therapy & guess what it helps. As a matter a fact he advised me against Surgery. I'm glad I listened to him. So b4 you are ready to make that decusion get at least 2-3 more Dr's. Opinion b4 u do any type of surgery. Because once it is done there is no going back. I wish u well & hope u figure out what ur going to do? Take ur time & be safe.

@wisco50 You mentioned you have cervical pain and need surgery. I'm going to see if we can get oral cannabis here. My daughter has severe headache's and has gastoperisas, where you food does not process down to her intestines. She has it off an on, but there is a new medicine to help her. My son has Bipolar 1 and I'm wondering if it would work mentally. It runs in our family and I might have told you my mom took her life at 69. I'm fine now after counseling and only remember the god things about her. My dad was my buddy, but has he got older, after my mom's death, he started to have depression. It is very inherited. Many of my family has some forms. The hardest thing for me and I think of often is my first husband was killed in an accident 11 days after we were married, also a good friend died and he was only a senior in high school. My husband was only 20. It happened in 1969, I seldom cry anymore. I have been married my husband now for 49 years.

I am so glad you got relief without surgery. Mine was too severe without surgery. I'm recovering, but not easy, I can't, bend,or twist or lift anything to healthy. I am glad I made the decision though. I had an ablation too and it only worked for a short time and the pain doctor had nothing more to offer me.. Even my primary care doctor told me I needed the surgery and my husband.

Might have been a misunderstanding. I HAVE had surgery on my neck - 6 weeks after my back fusion I had a 2 level neck fusion! That was in late 2011. But now my disc below my fusion is a mess and several discs above my surgical fusion are collapsed and have “autofused” to themselves, giving me stenosis and muscle spasm pain. It was suggested to me that I have a second neck surgery and I have refused. They would have to go in from back of my neck which is more complicated, painful and much longer recovery. I’m just not doing it. I get injections about every 12 weeks from a Pain Management MD of long acting local and some steroids to calm everything down. I bought a new car two years ago with the newer features that tell me if a car is in my blind spot, with a backup mirror, all help so I don’t have to worry about my neck not wanting to turn. I think medical marijuana would help me sleep better all around. Meanwhile, I take aspirin or ES acetaminophen, use heat/cold/rub in stuff for my neck. I still haven’t found the perfect massage therapist. I cried when mine retired to become a nurse. She was awesome.

Hi. If I pass the psychological assessment, I'm going to have a SCS trial later this summer. I read with interest your comment about a SCS helping a fair amount. Could you elaborate a bit about the ways in which it has helped you. For example, how far can you walk compared to before? What other forms of exercise can you do? Etc.
I had an L5/S1 microdiscectomy in 2010 during which the surgeon tore the dura. That was the start of ever increasing nerve pain. Was on opiates for 8 years but in 2018 I graduated from Mayo's 3-week pain rehab program. Had been doing okay but then about 18 months ago I developed allodynia in both buttocks. Now sitting has become terribly painful. In addition, I now have right-side lumbar pain and shoulder pain. It feels like my whole right side from lumbar to neck is trying to compensate for pain & weakness. Hurts to sit, stand, walk. Only time I get relief is when I'm asleep of lying on my left side with pillow between my knees.
I'm 65 years old and have gotten lots worse in 10 years. Fearful for what the next 10 will bring.

Thanks for any further info you can provide about your SCS. (By the way, what kind is it? I'm have a trial of Nevro's HF-10).

--Elsa

@babette Hi there I understand what Ablations for herniated disc's & spinal stenosis do. I have had a total of 4 Ablations in my Thoracic Spine, 2 in my lumbar area & I too have lumbar stenosis in my lwr back. As well as I have 5 herniated discs in my cervical spine. In my opinion having chronic pain as a result has not been easy on any if us. However the question u want to know about spinal stenosis about having Surgery is it a fusion he wants to give you or what type of Surgery? Has your Dr. Told u what type of procedure this would be & what is the percentage of outcomes for this types of surgeries? Look we all have different issue's concerning our spinal issue's but please do not be ready to jump into surgery just because 1pain mgmt Dr says so. Get a 2nd & if necessary 3rd & 4th opinions when any type of surgical procedure is in question. Over my past 15yrs of misery dealing w/severe chronic pain as a result of my poor broken dwn spine, I was told by 2 Dr's to have a spinal cord stimulator not 1 but 2 put in. & another 2 Dr's told me I need a lwr spinal fusion & for my cervical as well. Well guess what I said no to all of them. I found a great Dr in NYC part of NY Langone Hospital system & he advised me to get on Medical Cannabis for pain & physical therapy & guess what it helps. As a matter a fact he advised me against Surgery. I'm glad I listened to him. So b4 you are ready to make that decusion get at least 2-3 more Dr's. Opinion b4 u do any type of surgery. Because once it is done there is no going back. I wish u well & hope u figure out what ur going to do? Take ur time & be safe.