severe spinal stenosis and travel

wow! what a wonderful report! and yes, i’m working in my core every day! i’m a very active and strong 66 year old , so was surprised by this diagnosis. but i am realizing that although i may be strong and flexible and very active my core has been neglected. and it’s what supports our spine! may i ask if the laminotomies relieved all spine related pain? i have a large protrusion that is giving me terrible nerve pain down my legs. but with active release therapy and some core exercises i’m rebuilding my strength! your positive report is helpful! thank you! 😊

Is anyone else having Chronic tailbone pains " Coccyx injury"? I get injections every 3 months now for several years that doesn't help anymore.

Good morning! I want to suggest that it’s NOT the THING itself (stenosis) but the EFFECT of the thing which may be different for us each. So it’s not the stenosis itself but maybe arthritis, state of your spine, muscles, or an impinged nerve (as examples). Remember that people can have the exact same named problem yet they have no pain. I see this all the time. what is the stenosis doing that is causing you pain is the question to ask. Then we can offer solutions. Ihave spinal stenosis and the pain that it causes is remedied by RFA-radio frequency ablation. However, the pain which I have from generic “degenerative disc condition“ causes all kinds of destabilization, causing all kinds of myofascial problems, causing all kinds of impinged nerve problems traveling. For my case, the doctors have no solution for some of the pain my crummy back causes. I take a small dose of Percocet for 25 years very stably. when I travel the poor seat quality exacerbates the pain so I also have carried a high density foam seat cushion. the seats now are much better so I no longer need it. . The thing that I always do is get an aisle seat. I travel for work and work will only cover economy class so I book early and get an aisle seat which allows me to stretch my legs, cross my legs, extend my left leg and cross it horizontal, and get up often to go to the galley or restroom. . I keep a couple extra halves of my Percocet in my pocket and find that I must have a little boost for the long distance to remain comfortable. I try to walk in the airport before I get on the plane to wear myself out a little. I don’t drink alcohol on flights but drink extra fluids and keep myself hydrated. I keep myself warm. The worst of my pain is in my lower lumbar spine and being seated for such long hours is a killer. if you have a degenerative condition like I do the only way to travel comfortably is to remove the sensation of pain by being able to change positions, exhaust myself in order to sleep on the plane, move around the cabin, watching a great movie is helpful! (Distraction!) Good topic to cover.

In my case, it did the surgeries relieved all the pain from those particular areas where I had a need for laminectomy. The problem for me was that some of my pain came from other areas so having the surgery didn’t resolve the pain for example that was coming from my coccyx (tailbone).

Yes!!! I have coccydenia ( not sure how it’s spelled). I had an amazing lumbar surgery at L3, L4, L5, and my surgeon. My wonderful surgeon told me he may not be able to get rid of all my pain and indeed that was true because a lot of of my every day low-grade pain comes from my coccyx. I have been on a low-dose of Percocet for 25 years. I am fine with that. I am adjusted to it. I’m not loopy. I can drink a cocktail. I live my life and work still at 67 doing an aggressive art form of pavement art in the street. God only knows what I would have done without the Percocet. I hate to think about it. I’m not addicted just two days ago. I went without pain medication after 25 years free of pain and medication all day long. But that’s a rare day. I want to live my life and be productive and do as much as I can without pain. I’m sorry, people abuse drugs, and I’m sorry. It’s a humiliating experience for me at times. I do as much exercise as I can with my degenerative condition. It’s always a balancing act. My healthcare is at UCSD and they have very fine doctors and they would not Perform a surgery for the tailbone. I research everything and most doctors won’t. I continually hope that one day it might be resolved, but in the meantime, I manage my life really well, considering.

thank you for all of this! and an important perspective to maintain, to keep in mind what is causing the pain! in my case it’s a large protruberance that is pressing on my nerves. i’m doing my best to correct my posture while sitting, standing and walking. lengthening the spine as much as possible! it’s reassuring to hear you are actively engaged in your art! i’m a potter and i’ve worried about my ability to continue this over time. (hand-building is better than wheel throwing). i’ve just recently heard of RFA and will ask my doc about it! i’m taking a low dose of lyrica for nerve pain, but was on opioids before i got help with active release therapy, it’s a blow at first to realize you have to rely on meds for quality of life, but ya do what you have to do! i’m glad the percocet is working for you!
thanks for all the hot travel tips and sharing your story!

i looked this up and have found it very beneficial! thank you! 🙏🏼

thanks for YOUR reply! 😉
look at it like this - you need to rely on air to survive, on food, on a whole lot of things. This is just another tool in the tool box! Even pain meds - there are a variety! I had a wonderful doctor once who was quite supportive. I was on Darvon for 7 years and it was pulled overnight for ONE person having a heart attack. Compare that to the many who got Vioxx toxicity (I was one of those!), and the med was kept on the market. I was panicked when the Darvon was pulled. My doc said, "Don't worry, there are 1200 pain meds and we'll find one which works!" I only went through 3 until landing on the Percocet. The others made me itch or feel like it would be addictive/I'd build a tolerance. Over the years, I've tried all the nerve and anti-depression meds they keep asking me to try for pain relief. They are horrible! I'm super sensitive to meds. It doesn't take much to affect me. And I am always worried about the consequences of medications. I am paying out of pocket to go to a Myo-fascial Release Therapist 2x a month for the past 6 months plus insurance covers P.T. every week.
I am accumulating more problems than can get fixed anymore but I am happy being productive. Some days are better than others (physically). Weather changes are a big problem for me. I just have to figure that at 67 I can catch a break if I need. My entire day is usually determined if I have a great morning cup of coffee with some peace, my doggie, and a nice view out the window. That is way more than some people get, right?

absolutely! there’s a sweet cocktail of gratitude, pain support and staying as engaged in life as you can. seems like you’ve found your own special “happy hour”. 😊 acceptance of what is, is a huge attitude changer that can help navigate some of this hard life stuff that comes our way. ❤️🙏🏼❤️

Hi fifi,

Sorry for the late reply. To answer your question, yes the laminotomies eliminated the pain I was having on the back of my right leg and buttock. Before the surgery, I couldn't stand for more than a minute without having to sit down. I don't know why sitting down was easier.

The laminotomy surgery solved two problems - 1) it allowed the surgeon to remove the pieces of disc (S1/L5) that had ruptured and were in my lumbar spinal canal. I'm sure that was causing a lot of the nerve-compression pain I was feeling and 2) it allowed the surgeon to file down arthritic spurs/osteophytes that had formed in my spinal canal. This created more space inside my lumbar spinal canal (eased the spinal stenosis) and stopped the pressure on my sciatic nerve.

I had that surgery around 2014, so ten years ago. I've had no pain since. The first surgeon I saw would only do a fusion, probably of S1/L5/L4. I wanted to avoid fusion and found another very gifted surgeon who was ok with doing laminotomies.

To be clear, I am now 70 and ten years past the surgery. While I have a very strong core and work on that every day, my new surgeon has told me if sciatica returns, he will have to fuse those three vertebra. So I'm very motivated to do core exercises.

You mentioned you're 66, so having the problems you describe is not unusual. I was 60 when it happened to me (surgery), and my first bout with sciatica happened when I was 53. The first time the pain subsided on its own after a month or two. That was caused by a bulging disc that eventually returned to normal.

All the best to you fifi! Please let us know how you are from time to time.

Joe