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Micro Decompression for sciatica?

Posted by gak @gak, 3 days ago

I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis and mild scoliosis. I had one steroid injection at L4 L5 that relieved the pain for only two days. Weeks of physical therapy had no effect. Now, I'm considering surgery and would like to hear from anyone who has had micro decompression surgery for sciatica. I'm 81 and it would be helpful to hear from other elders who have had the surgery. Thanks!

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dlydailyhope | @dlydailyhope | 2 days ago

@gak
What has your orthopedic spine specialist told you about surgical options and outcomes? Have you read through your lumbar MRI report to see what it says? Do you have any bone spurs and do you have degenerative disc disease? Is your spinal cord compressed or only your nerve roots?

The injection may not have worked if they did not do it near your compression. It would be good to try injections a couple more times before moving to surgery. I did have improvement the first 3 injections but the last 3 did not work and then I moved to surgery.

Have you been to a neurologist for an EMG/nerve conduction study of your lower limbs? Have you had a MRI of hips to see if you have any joint or soft tissue injury/damage?

You want to make sure to narrow down the source of your pain/symptoms before moving to surgery. Your surgeon needs to make sure they can provide you relief through surgery.

REPLY
1 reply
gak | @gak | 2 days ago
In reply to @dlydailyhope "@gak What has your orthopedic spine specialist told you about surgical options and outcomes? Have you..." + (show)
@dlydailyhope

@gak
What has your orthopedic spine specialist told you about surgical options and outcomes? Have you read through your lumbar MRI report to see what it says? Do you have any bone spurs and do you have degenerative disc disease? Is your spinal cord compressed or only your nerve roots?

The injection may not have worked if they did not do it near your compression. It would be good to try injections a couple more times before moving to surgery. I did have improvement the first 3 injections but the last 3 did not work and then I moved to surgery.

Have you been to a neurologist for an EMG/nerve conduction study of your lower limbs? Have you had a MRI of hips to see if you have any joint or soft tissue injury/damage?

You want to make sure to narrow down the source of your pain/symptoms before moving to surgery. Your surgeon needs to make sure they can provide you relief through surgery.

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Because I can answer some, but not all, of your questions, it is clear I have more research to do! Thank you for pointing out the areas where I need to get more information.

REPLY
cnill | @newyorknill | 8 hours ago

I am 83. I had surgery on my lower back in 1994. Worst decision of my life. Herniated discs after. Plus Dr. opened spinal stenosis area. It has come back with a vengeance. Bone regrowth I was told. I do have a lot of pain. I deal with it with CBD that is THC free. I buy various CBD patches and salves and place on my lower back. It helps quite a bit. I also am on Gabapentin prescribed by my Dr. Hope this helps. God Bless

REPLY
1 reply
gak | @gak | 6 hours ago
In reply to @newyorknill "I am 83. I had surgery on my lower back in 1994. Worst decision of my..." + (show)
@newyorknill

I am 83. I had surgery on my lower back in 1994. Worst decision of my life. Herniated discs after. Plus Dr. opened spinal stenosis area. It has come back with a vengeance. Bone regrowth I was told. I do have a lot of pain. I deal with it with CBD that is THC free. I buy various CBD patches and salves and place on my lower back. It helps quite a bit. I also am on Gabapentin prescribed by my Dr. Hope this helps. God Bless

Jump to this post

Thank you for your reply. I am so sorry for the pain you have suffered all these years.

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