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severe spinal stenosis and travel

Posted by fifilacarnivali @fifilacarnivali, Nov 23 3:44pm

hi! i have severe spinal stenosis in L4-L5. i just went through a brutally painful flare up of nerve pain and that nasty buttock pain. i have it under control somewhat after a few visits to an active release therapist. wow! a lifesaver. my question is has anybody travelled any distance in a plane with severe stenosis. this is a recent diagnosis for me and i have a trip to a.e. asia booked for january. i know, a stupid thought to pursue this trip. but wondering if anyone has travelled any distance with this condition and to what effect? or if there are any tips to keep spine supported while sitting a long time? i’m actively doing glute and ab exercises to strengthen my spine. thanks for any input! 😊

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fifilacarnivali | @fifilacarnivali | Dec 8 10:37am
In reply to @heyjoe415 "Hi fifi, Sorry for the late reply. To answer your question, yes the laminotomies eliminated the..." + (show)
@heyjoe415

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

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hi joe, i know this situation you wee in. standing has been brutal. and no strength for walking. i am reassured by the success of your laminotomy! i’m so happy to know you found relief from that! ihave gotten back in my feet and can stand again for longer and longer periods. i attribute that to the combination of the active release therapy and all the core exercises i am doing (almost constantly!) i also walked over two kilometres (albeit slowly) yesterday! i’m getting there! and determined to become educated and reclaim my body the best i can! funny how these things can change our lives.. at first for the worst , but as we gather more knowledge, perhaps for the better, because we are determined to maintain our health and strength for as long as possible!
thanks for your shares! all this really helps as this is new to me and came in fast and hard (and agonizingly painful) a few months ago. as much as i’m still in shock from the diagnosis and the searing nerve pain, i’m making progress and thanks to all the input here too, making big improvements.
😊😊😊

REPLY
artemis1886 | @artemis1886 | 6 days ago
In reply to @fifilacarnivali "wow! that’s about the same as from vancouver to japan! may i ask what grade your..." + (show)
@fifilacarnivali

wow! that’s about the same as from vancouver to japan! may i ask what grade your stenosis is? mine being “severe”, i’m worried about doing further damage, but a girl’s gotta live too! good for you for getting out there and travelling. also wondering what symptoms you are dealing with with the spinal bifida? thank you for responding! you give me hope! 😊🙏🏼

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The spinal bifida causes leg weakness on top of the neuropathy. I have lost feeling from knees to my feet. I wear compression hose because I have problems with lymphedema and the swelling from the neuropathy. As far as my spinal stenosis it’s severe with bone spurs. I have had neck and lower back surgeries. I have tremors from the motor neuropathy so the flight attendant fills my glass half full so I don’t spill it. I also travel with a cup with a lid. I put my bottled water in it so I don’t spill it down the front of me. I carry sandwiches and hand foods to eat on plane. There’s times I can’t hold silverware from the tremors. Sit the timer for your pain meds or Tylenol. I set my alarm every four hours

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