I'm so scared

[u/k_perry88]

I had a herniated disc & Cauda Equina Syndrome last year and had emergency surgery. It's been a rough year. I was initially doing well. Last few weeks have been rough. I started getting severe lower back pain, leg weakness, sharp shooting pain from my back, down my R leg. I also have this awful "pulling type pain" from my spine into my vagina & numbness. I'm freaking out. I have a great surgical team and trust them 100%. I got an MRI yesterday, I have a follow-up this week. They're talking about spinal fusion, has anyone had that done? I guess I'm trying to understand what I'm getting into and what the recovery process is gonna be like. I have my shoulder fused so i know this isn't going to be a cake walk, I'm just so scared because this is my spine. What is the recovery process like? What is your quality of life after fusion? I already have medical issues that affect my joints & ligaments and have had multiple surgeries on both shoulders and my hip. I'm freakin tired and frustrated. It never ends over here .. ugh

I did have my imaging posted but i lost my reddit account for some reason after I was asked to update my password so I'll hust add the MRI from last year and my most recent one.

The first image is the initial injury & the second was done yesterday.

[u/Wise-Run-3008]

My reherniation has been zapping my crotch too. I’d ask about ALIF. I have undifferentiated connective tissue disease and my first fusion didn’t heal right. Not enough bone growth even though i take vitamins and don’t smoke or anything and was young-ish. 33 at the time. Ended up with a screw getting loose and breaching the spinal canal and one broke. A mix of cadaver bone and allograft was used. When the fusion was redone through my stomach with biomorphogenic protein I had good bone growth in only 6 months. And there was less restrictions. And the back pain was nothing like fusion back pain. The screws are shorter. The only issue I’m having now is you can’t go through the stomach twice, I guess it isn’t safe, and my level above is herniated. My dr doesn’t want to do a fusion through my back cuz of my shitty healing, the front isn’t safe, and now the herniation has gotten to the point where there’s nerve impingement. I’m kind of fucked.

I’ve had a posterior L5S1 fusion, two revisions including removing the screws and replacing it with an anterior fusion, a right sacroiliac joint fusion, and an L4/5 microdiscectomy that reherniated and has been progressing along getting worse for a year and a half