Any help or suggestions for pain relief will be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

I have SEVERE lumbar stenosis L3 L4 L5 with slipped discs! I have seen 2 neurosurgeons now and they both say if I have surgery I only have a 50/50 of it being successful WTH! seriously what kind of odds are going through such a major surgery for maybe nothing maybe worse with the knowledge that adjacent syndrome is most likely!!! So as of now I live in CHRONIC PAIN can only walk for 2 minutes at a time! I am a 62 year old woman who was a athlete and played tennis my whole life competitively! all I take for pain is advil as it does not really work flexeril doesnt work great,, and LYRICA was just prescribed and I just had ANOTHER INJECTION! AVOIDING surgery for now all there seems to be are complications! If ANYONE has any other pain medications to suggest it would be SOOOO greatly appreciated:) SRY for this long post,,, if you read it THANK YOU with my heart! cheers 🙂

@oveanlover1224 Welcome to Connect. I know it is daunting to receive a diagnosis and surgical plan that doesn't sound like it has great potential for pain relief. Another consideration is loss of function. With severe lumbar stenosis putting a lot of pressure on nerves or the spinal cord, what are the functions that will be damaged if the spinal cord is not decompressed? Did your surgeon explain what your future may look like if you do not have spine surgery?

No one wants spine surgery, and I understand that as patients, we want some kind of guarantee, but a surgeon can't usually promise that. They don't know how much damage has already happened and when is the point of loss when the nerves simply die and these functions are lost. It may be the ability to walk or bladder or bowel control and that may be permanent and unfixable with surgery later. Sometimes because of the damage, a patient still has pain even though surgery removed the compression, and there is also the scar tissue from the surgery that can become tight and cause pain. For that, a physical therapist can probably help with myofascial release to stretch out tight tissue.

If you become disabled, are you prepared to live life coping with the disability? There may be a cost for caregivers or nursing aides if you are unable to function on your own. Insurance doesn't usually pay for a service like that, and there may need to be modifications to your home. My parents were both in wheelchairs, and I was saddled into being their caregiver and basically had to give up my ability to earn a living to take care of my aging parents. There is a lot to think about. I know it is hard to surrender to the loss of what your abilities used to be before your spine condition started to take it away, and having to make a choice when you are unsure of what the outcome will be. That is a tough choice for anyone, so take a deep breath, and learn all that you can.

Lumbar surgery is more involved and as you've been told, has a lesser statistic for success. Your doctor may define successful surgery differently from you. They won't promise you will be pain free. I had cervical spine surgery (which is a lot easier) and my surgeon didn't promise that either. I do know that I am grateful to have had the choice to avoid the disability that would have been my future. To make a well-informed choice, you do need several surgical opinions. Sometimes they do a laminectomy to ease pressure on the cord; sometimes a fusion which is a harder recovery. It depends on what the structural problems are that are causing the compression and weakness.

You can always state the suggested plan here for discussion with other members who may have had similar experiences. Your experience will be different from others because patients don't have the same degree of spine conditions, the same health issues in addition to the spine issues, age, or pain tolerance. You do have to take your best guess as to what you think may help you the most as it is your choice on what you do for your future. Not choosing surgery, is a different choice all together, and you need to understand that too and the risks it may bring and how soon. Your surgeon may not be able to answer that specifically, but they should have seen cases and have general knowledge of what may happen in your future without intervention. Please understand that I'm not trying to shock you, but to be to be honest. I do wish you the best possible outcome.

@oveanlover1224
I have spine issues and 3 surgeries (2 cervical spine and 1 lumbar). Are you in the states or another country?

I had L3-L5 decompressed and fused in 2024 due to severe spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease and neurogenic claudication. I was born with a narrow spinal canal (~10mm) so any degeneration or disc bulges/bone spurs cause me major problems.

Before lumbar surgery, I had significant pain, weakness and numbness in lower back, hips, buttocks, legs down to feet. After surgery, many symptoms improved but I have some residual hip/hip flexor pain. I also deal with weakness due to bilateral gluteal tendinopathy and bilateral hamstring tears. Have you ever had your hips/pelvis checked with MRI to see if you have something there also contributing to your pain?

Why have the surgeons said there is only a 50-50 chance of improvement with surgery? Why would they say this? Are they not confident in their abilities or do you have some permanent injury that would not improve with surgery? What does your MRI show in the report? Do you have any issues with osteoporosis/bone health or other health conditions that would make them think you have a lower chance of improvement post surgery?

I think it is because my symptoms present in the left buttocks and left leg SEVERE pain can not walk and they think from my MRI i should have lower back pain but i can tell it is nerves being pinched in my back! I have Kaiserpermanente and this is what they have told me so I am in limbo NOT knowing what to do and cant afford private! I know if I had a surgeon say yes sure I can fix this it would be a whole diff story ugh crying!Thank you for answering 🙂

Thank you so much for your words 1 neurosurgeon said lamenectomy with fusion the other said hemilaminatomy with medial facectomy???

Instead of taking Advil, you should try taking Aleve, it's the only OTC pain med that helps with my arthritis pain. My doctor has me take 2 pills every 12 hours when it's needed, which is prescription strength. But you can only take it for short periods of time because of possible liver complications.

It is hard. I was in a car accident, a complete quadriplegic with traction and 2 burst fractures C5C6. Because of the traction I was unable to seek second or third opinions. I was 17. The neurosurgeons were cruel in discussing my options. I think they said that with surgery I had a 25% chance of death, a 25% chance of remaining a quadriplegic, a 50% chance of getting “some “ function back. They told me this without emotion and in quite a hurried manner, as if I was wasting their time. I wanted a second opinion, another surgeon, and to be out of that hospital. But that wasn’t an option. I had the surgery, and it was a success for the most part. Regained motor and sensory function below c7. I have Central cord syndrome and no use of the small muscle in my hands.

If you don’t like the manner in which information is presented, be happy to have the option of ‘doctor shopping’ until you find a surgeon you feel comfortable with. Some say it only requires a surgeon to be skillful in the operating room, I think if he/she can’t be relatable as a human being … well I don’t want them operating on me.

Of course you may get the same prognosis, but presentation is an important part of any job.

@oveanlover1224
See if you can get an EMG/nerve conduction study of your lower limbs to check neuromuscular health and nerve signaling. Also see if you can get a MRI of your left hip to see if they can narrow down the source of pain and offer treatment options (like steroid shots).

Also, there are many prescription NSAIDS that may work a bit better for you. Advil has a short half life. To achieve steady state, optimal blood levels it must be taken every 6-8 hours, not as needed. There are prescription NSAIDS that can be taken once a day and still maintain optimal blood levels. Some work better for different people so you should try a few. Don’t enter the rabbit holes of trying them all tho, there are just too many and they are quite similar. Most docs have a favorite or two or three, I’d just stick to that. But even then, it is best to take them scheduled, not as needed to maintain blood levels

I have a lot of chronic pain due to RA, OA& Fibromyalgia, all made worse by spinal nerve impingement at L4-L5. I see a Rheumatologist & am fortunate enough to get Oxycodone 10mg, 4xday. It is difficult for doctors to prescribe opioids now due to unwarranted fears about addiction & OD’s all brought about by the illicit fentanyl that is made to look exactly like prescription pills. The fact is, and research studies show that prescription opioids, taken as directed are effective and safe. The addition rate is less than 5% and OD’s from prescription opioids is 1% or less. I hope you can find a doctor who will prescribe what is effective for you.