Getting frustrated I have herniated discs L4/5S1 and narrowing of canal had MRI CT scans X-rays nuclear bone scan waiting to see neurosurgeon again in agony the worst is driving and now erectile dysfunction is getting worse Now taking more meds than I can count hard to be positive any advice would be greatly appreciated 😞😞
Hi,
What meds are you taking at the moment.
I had a right run around for 13 months before getting the pain down to a comfortable level.
Mike.
Hi mate yeah it's frustrating I'm taking targin 20/10 slow release endone 5 mg and lyrica 150 mgs I have also been trying the norspan patches with no success the medications do help but it's just masking the problem have alot of trouble sleeping as well I do a bit of driving with my work as well and that's hell on my back
Hi Wayne, I really feel for you as I suffered the same for years but after many different treatments to 2 operations I'm no better off! I feel that if this is caught early and patient operated on there is a good chance it will work but mine was left too late! Good luck, I hope you get something sorted soon!
Hi Wayne,
After a trial and error 13 months my meds are as follows for pain relief:
500 mg naproxen twice daily
900mg gabapentin thrice daily
40 mg amatryptaline at night
10 mcs morphine patch 24/7
This combination keeps the pain tolerable but I also take meds for depression/anxiety.
Mike.
im in Australia so our medications have different names im on the norspan patch (morphine) using two 10 mcs I don't seem to get relief from them not as much as the targin anyway
That's no good yeah getting it sorted early is the key for sure but I'm worried about the time needed off work as well I've been loooking into using my super to fund the time required to have off
My neuro found stenosis at L2/L3 last year...already fused L3 through S1. Eight months into a knee replacement recovery and it just completely knocked me down. Didn't get it all figured out for a while. MRI showed it in late November, a CT/Myelogram with contrast confirmed it in January, and a pain shot to L2/L3 double-confirmed in February. Took until the end of March 2017 to get the surgery to fix it (surgeon coordination required).
Neuro told me I had two choices. Option A was to open my back, pull all the L3 to S1 metal and re-fuse me L2 to S1. Ten days in the hospital plus six months of back brace and rehab. Or...
Option B: a LATERAL Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF). A General Surgeon goes in from your SIDE (lateral) and clears a path to your spine through the muscles and moves "stuff" out of the way. The Neurosurgeon then goes in, destroys the disk, puts the "device" in place, cranks it open with an Allen wrench, backfills it with a bone graft from your hip and backs away from the table. The General Surgeon does the close. All finished in 90 minutes. One night in the hospital, ZERO rehab.
Thank you...I'll take one from Column B, please...
Result: Immediate stenosis relief (all the pain was gone when I woke up), speeding down the hallways, climbing up and down PT stairs. See the attached pix. You'll clearly see the "device" above my old fusion; the lateral picture shows how the neuro cranked the posterior edge open further than the anterior edge to maintain spine curvature.
If you have single-level stenosis, this cures it in a heartbeat. Docs will also do this for a second level at the same time...not more than two. It replaces an old TLIF fusion with the rails and screws. You just need the diagnosis and then find a neuro who's done a thousand of these. He'll know the GS to call. Search YouTube for "globus lateral" to see a cute animation of the LLIF procedure. (Don't get freaked out by the retractor...you're fast asleep and never actually see it...)
Hope this helps...
How long will you need to have off Wayne and will your sick benefit not cover you?
Hi Linda no im in Australia don't have that ability unfortunately so I've been looking into using my super as that is a way to cover it apparently if you get a letter from a specialist you can apply for using your super here where are you from and are u able to use sickness benefits
Thanks I'll take a look 👀
Hi Wayne,
Sorry, didn't realise you are from Australia. Have you been able to get a letter from a specialist? I live in Northern Ireland and as I'm retired there was no sickness benefits for me. 😢 Hope you get something sorted 🤞
Wow, you're well up on these!! Option B sounds great, 90 minutes - I was 9.5 hours in surgery!
How are you keeping now?
Linda
Not yet I was meant to have surgery in January but I put it off to try conservative approach which worked for about two months now gone from bad to worse we moved interstate during that time so now I'm just waiting to see another surgeon I tried acupuncture last week which did nothing 😞 Do you know anyone that's had it and worked ? They tried to tell me they have had heaps of people with this problem that they have helped think they were pulling my leg 😂 How is Ireland sad to here the news coming from the UK again
Had the decreasing nerve pain on the front of my thighs (connected to L2/L3 so it was expected) for four weeks. At eight weeks, doc gave me clearance to resume PT and exercise program from last year's knee replacement. I had zero stenosis pain from the moment I woke up so this was GREAT!!!! Starting to work my legs and strengthening my core again...finally...
Docs can now do this for one- and two-level fusions IF your neuro uses this procedure. If not, ask him/her why not. Then get a second opinion from someone who does and compare the responses. Remember I also have a four-level TLIF fusion (L3 - S1) because my lower back was a "junkyard" (doc's word...not mine...); this technique works for the smaller ones IF it's the right procedure to fix YOUR problem. Just putting out an option. Do your research...ask the right question ("You want to do a TLIF. Why won't an LLIF work for me?". Why go through all that pain and rehab if there's a faster, simpler procedure that will fix you? Just sayin'...
I just had to put these drugs into an interaction checker... Looks like the typical list of two or more together will make you sleepier (duh...) while the only major interaction is between morphine and alcohol. A BIG no-no...
No alcohol at all huge no no the patch and the targin are not to be taken together only for last resort if pain is not under control I've been put on targin which was only working for a couple of hrs than he put me on the patch to try it does work but it only dulls the pain I personally hate taking any of these medications at only 38 surely they must take a toll on you body but until something is done what do you do catch 22 I suppose and I get drug tested at work you should see the faces on the security guards that don't know I'm taking the drugs when they see the results 😂
Awkward question mate do you know anyone with this back problem that has down stairs issues with it not working, is it normal it's starting to worry me, doctor doesn't seem to have an answer was hoping someone here had similar problems and answers
I'm not a doc but...
The pudendal nerve is the one that matters for "downstairs" and I believe that it emanates from L5/S1 or S1/S2. Any disc problems there could impact it. Gotta do more research...
Wayne...screw the security guards and, yes, the drugs take a toll. My daughter at 26 had an L1 compression fracture plus micro-fractures of her sacrum. She started on Vicodin (hydrocodone) and the pain never went away. Found out two years later that her coccyx (tailbone) was completely shattered. (ACSM- and ACE-certified personal trainer doing 310-pound squats when she slipped and fell on her tailbone...the weight hit her back...5' 2", 120-pounds of pure power...not a bodybuilder...just a trainer.)
Anyway, her being on Vicodin for over two years started to rot her teeth...not good. Also tough to give up the pills when you're on them that long...lots of withdrawal symptoms. You have to get this fixed and get off the drugs...not good long-term.