SI joint fusion

Thank you for the suggestion, @pacer3702! I have not considered disability until recently with my job loss and should talk to my doctor. I have an appointment at the end of the month and will bring this up with her. It is so hard to get a job when you are over 40 (age discrimination is very real and I work in HR!) and if you have any limitations/disabilities. I have not gotten new jobs when looking for something new over the last few years (have an excellent resume/education/experience) and believe it was due to my age and health status (probably don’t look the healthiest). I would get through phone screens just fine but once they saw me on video or in person, I was not considered further. I won’t qualify for social security until 62 but full retirement is 67 and Medicare at 65 so I have a huge gap to cover for myself while also raising a minor child.

Prolotherapy on my illiopsoas ligament stopped the subluxing of my hip caused by the hypermobile SI Joint. My SI Joint still moves out of place a bit, but a knee to the chest realigns it. I do that twice a day, one knee at a time, and a stretch of the ligaments on both sides by dropping a leg to the floor while lying on the edge of the bed.
I was told by 5 doctors that SI Joints don't move until I found a Regenerative Medicine doctor. The subluxions had begun after 2-3 years of walking around with one leg shorted by a hip operation to replace a broken ball joint caused by a fall on the ice. The SI Joint accommodated the leg length difference. Fixing the lax ligament has meant no more subluxions!

I'm scheduled to have SI JOINT fusion next Wednesday. I'm terrified.
Has anyone had a positive experience? I've been through it all, PT, shots, tens, the whole 9. My back burns so badly, it's hard for me to even clean up the kitchen at night. Vacuuming is torture.

Am I right to be afraid?
Should I not do it?
I'm also supposed to have the other side done in 4 months. The neurosurgeon says I will lose 2° of rotation.
My family thinks I'm crazy for even considering this surgery.

Is there anything special I should know? Ie, sleeping, sitting, bathing, etc.

Can anyone give me some guidance?

Hi. I understand that you are scared to have the spinal fusion surgery. I had s1 L4 spinal fusion 2 months ago. I had a slipped disk which was pressing on a bundle of nerves and that was causing terrible pain on the inside of my thigh.
Do you trust your surgeon? Are you in severe pain? I had an excellent surgeon who is still very responsive to my questions and concerns. The inner thigh pain is much better - not completely gone but nothing like the feeling of knives slashing my thigh. Of course I can't suggest that you have the surgery or not. It hasn't been a difficult recovery but it will be a long one. I was told by 6 months I would be recovered well but full recovery takes a year. You will be very limited in what you can do for most of that time - no bending, lifting over 10 pounds and twisting. And I have been told that my range of motion will change but I felt I had to get out of the pain I was in and that was the only way to do it. My pain began in May - horrible chronic pain - every second of every day- and I couldn't walk without a cane. I'm going to aquatherapy to help my recovery.
Good luck.

Christine5. Just another thought. I know your surgeon has determined a reason for the surgery - obviously an issue with the s1 vertebrae- but I also have central pain syndrome which causes horrible burning skin all over my torso. It began as a band at my waist. I understand how horrible that is. I think I read that the disk pressing on the nerves can cause different pains.

I am so sorry. I totally misunderstood. SI joint fusion, not spinal fusion. That's what I get for reading too fast.

@maddiemae thank you for your input. I hope you are healing well.
I have been in pain for the better part of 15 years. It's just getting worse. I can hardly stand for a great length of time without terrible burning in my lower back and Si joints bi-lateraly. It's practically constant now. I can't sit up straight. Can't walk very far (grocery shopping is very painful.) I just want it to go away. I'll let you know how it goes, thank you. 😊

Oh my gosh, Christine5. I am so sorry for your horrible and years of pain.

Please let me know what you decide and how you're doing. You are in my thoughts.

Best wishes.

I had L3-L5 done over 10 yrs ago. I had my left SI Joint fused Dec 2019 & the right SI joint fused June 2020. At some point I started having left butt cheek pain & I just thought it was my piriformis acting us, as it has in the past. No matter HOW much stretching I did, the pain didn't go away, but rather started to increase. The pain got so bad that when I turned over in bed, I would be woken by screaming pout in pain. I finally seen my Dr in Dec 2023 & found out it's a non union! So, I'm going back in in a few days for more screws & bone graphs. I will be OVER THE TOP careful with my recovery this time.

@tammiesandel I'm sorry you need a revision. I wonder if something happened? Did they check for osteoporosis that could cause a failure? That may cause screws to pull out if there is hardware screwed onto the spine. I'm a spine surgery patient too (C-spine).

Jennifer