Spine conditions: Told I would not walk without surgery

@annie1 Hi Annie. I am a cervical spine surgery patient, so I don't have your experience with lumbar stenosis, but I wanted to share this patient story with you about a situation that may be similar about a teen who had difficulty walking. This is the surgeon who did my C5/C6 fusion at Mayo, Dr. Jeremy Fogelson.

Spine conditions can be tricky depending on which nerves are compressed as they leave the spinal cord and/or compression of the spinal cord itself affecting anything below the level of compression. When you add Spondylolisthesis, the vertebrae can slip past each other because the disc is not strong enough to stop that movement, and effectively the spinal canal becomes a bit smaller when vertebrae are offset. Aging causes discs to dry out and shrink a bit, and if there is already a spine problem, those conditions may get a lot worse. Have you consulted a spine specialist about your concerns? I suggest thoroughly research any surgeon you wish to see and find the best surgeon at a highly respected facility. I did that by looking at their background and reading their medical papers that I found online. I came to Mayo after 5 local surgeons missed my diagnosis and wouldn't help. Surgeons may not want to operate on older patients that may not recover well. You have to consider how old you are now and how long you expect to live. If you became disabled and required a wheelchair, how would you be able to handle that and still be able to care for yourself? If you had to hire caregiver or home help, it is very expensive and puts a big financial burden on a family.

Surgery is a big step, and not something to rush into. It is best to get several surgical opinions before choosing to go forward. I do know that lumbar surgery is a more difficult recovery than cervical because you are bearing most of your body weight there. It is scary and as humans, we all look for another option to avoid surgery. I was pretty scared too, but I considered what my life would be like if I lost the coordinated use of my arms, and I made the choice to save my coordination.

Jennifer’s advice is spot on. I don’t think any doc can make a definitive prediction about your future ability to walk. I had a four level lumbar decompression and fusion last May. Every thing Jennifer shares about lumbar work is spot on. Certainly get another opinion or two. Best of luck

As soon as a doctor mentions surgery, it's time to get a second, even third opinion. Too important decision to make without other input.

Well, you can't do anything without a surgeon. And you have time (without pain) to get the opinions of several. Your pain specialist recognizes that both spondylolisthesis and buldging disc are progressive conditions which are now compressing nerves to the thighs. The combination may make the stenosis severe, but you you need a stage on the spondylolisthesis. There are minimally invasive procedures for each condition that can increase the space for the spinal nerves. If the spondy is caused by a fractured bone there may be remedy short of fusion.

Depends on what the MRI shows. The doc should sit with you and review your MRI film and show you where the problem is to support his comments.

Hello!
Have you tried ESI for your lumbar? I need surgery as well but I am waiting until I have no other options. I’ve already had cervical surgery and that was not easy. I’d s try a few doctors to see what they suggest.
Best of luck,
Kat

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out this is a great chat room. What is ESI ? I started doing acupuncture but right now my leg is twitching again so it's not working yet. I have to go to more Sessions. I'm going to go to a new pain management doctor and ask him if he could do ablation, which I had done several years ago and did not do anything but I don't think the doctor I went to was associated with a very good hospital. Anyway I'd like to know more about what that is, ESI.

Thank you again and where are you located if you don't mind me asking? I know surgery is no picnic that's for sure! I have an old high school friend I spoke with today who's had three back surgeries but she was kind of telling me to go ahead and do it so I don't know but it's scary to me. I live alone and I have no one to help me so that's another factor. Although she lives alone too but anyway she lives in suburbia with a car I live in Brooklyn and have no car to get around.

I just looked it up. The problem is that I have Osteoporosis, and cortisone injections are not good for that.

I’m sorry that won’t work for you. It helps me tremendously. It helps the pain and that helps reduce the movements. There are also trigger point injections that work. I’ve had them in my neck. You can inquire about those.
Good luck!

Yes - deciding to have surgery is a BIG decision. Make that decision only after being well informed as to your options … but with the understanding that everyone’s general health and back problems and doctor quality are different. Consider what you read on the net as information but it will lack a definitive answer for your situation