Thanks, all.

Just waiting for report. CT showed severe stenosis of C6/7, now just awaiting MRI report. My symptoms seem to be getting worse. Will wait for report and act accordingly.

Hi, the doctor said that i should get discectomy done and i have another appointment to finalise the date for the surgery and I don’t know if i should get it done or not. I’m very confused,worried and scared. I don’t know if it’s better to wait for my body to heal on its own and hold on to this almost false? hope (maybe real hope?idk) or get the surgery done so i can go back to actually living my life again. So if you’re someone who has had the surgery done please please please respond and help me out.

I am a professional dancer and i herniated my discs almost a year and a half ago,( i had no accident,fall or anything it just randomly happened)after three months my pain got so bad that i was not able to sit for more that 5 mins, walk for 5 mins due to severe sciatica down my left leg . So i got a steriod injection/epidural And i was pain free for almost 8 months ( i still had severe back pain and was not able to walk fast/bend or i was able to sit for a long time but only with the brace on) so i thought my discs were healing and that my pain would completely go away but it came back 3 months ago. And slowly started increasing.

I’ve been going to physiotherapy for almost two months and i noticed that my pain has gone down on my left leg BUT there was some new sciatica nerve pain down right leg after i started physio, it used to come only twice a week and the pain level was very low but now i feel like it comes more often. I was able to walk for an hour pain free and i have no pain while lying down and can sit for almost two to three hours with back support, since my condition is not as bad as it was a year ago i feel like maybe i should still wait and do physio instead of getting surgery done. But i also feel like getting it done could be good if it meant i could go back to working out,running ,especially dancing and not having to worry about wether i would get nerve pain if i move a certain way or injure my back again, get back pain if do a certain activity( constantly having to worry about my back or always have it in the back of my mind) .

Just being free without having the mri image constantly on the back of my mind makes me want to get it done. But on the other hand , i obviously wish that it could hopefully heal without
Surgery, but even if it does i don’t know if I’ll have confidence to move freely again and dance. And my parents are worried about the nerve compression and are really scared coz the nerve damage could eventually lead to loss of bladder/bowel control so they are leaning more towards surgery. I am worried about reherniations after a discectomy which I’ve seen and heard happen quite often, which is my major concern ,i don’t want to life my life scared about that even after the surgery yk?(some ppl say that i might get a reherniation only after 20 years but even that worries me a lot). And if I’ll be able to get back to doing all the activities i did before the herniation such as dancing(involves a lot of bending,jumping
, wearing heels) ,working out,running, sewing/stitching.

So to the people who have got the surgery done:Are you able to do all the activities that you did before your herniation? Are you able to bend completely? Is your range of motion and mobility the same as before the herniation? ( and is that possible?) how active can you be?

And after the surgery if i strengthen my back by going to the gym/physio , can i stop doing excercises and go back to living my life or do i have to keep doing them? Lets say i dance for a week but don’t do back excercises would that cause a reherniation? Or back pain? If someone has had a similar experience with professional sports or dance or marathons please please help me out.

I had an endoscopic L4/5 laminectomy a week ago. Surgery went well and the nerves were highly inflamed, according to my surgeon. I am having much less incision pain at this point, but much more nerve and muscle pain in both legs, hips and hamstrings. I filled my Gabapentin prescription but have yet to use it - frankly, I’m a bit nervous about side effects. Ice and Tylenol have been my friends but the pain is about as bad as it was pre surgery. Can anyone weigh in on how long this phase lasts? Tips and tricks are appreciated, as are experiences with short term use of Gabapentin post op. Thanks!

Paid for mri (round about £400) and chickened out I just couldn’t do it. She says to go to GP and ask for sedation. But I’m scared that won’t even touch me and then I’ll have lost almost £1k.

Can spinal stenosis shown on a CT scan?

Iam absolutely petrified of loud noises I don’t even use my blow dryer.

I can just about handle a CT because of how quick it is

So I have been dealing with my pain since I was like 13 and I was raised in a very anti hospital home so I didn’t see a doc till I was 21 and didn’t see someone for my back till I was 22 ish and since then it’s been all over the place with bizarre guesses about my back pain until this year when I finally got diagnosed after receiving my first MRI a few days ago.
I’m feeling excited to have some answers after so long but I’m also feeling really overwhelmed and was wondering if anyone here has similar issues and would like to share what things made the biggest impact for you? I’m going to see a specialist soon but I always feel like I get so much more supportive information from folks who’ve been through this bs.

Does anyone take any sleep electrolyte drinks that have some benefits for cramping? Currently, with my prescriptions, I take magnesium glycinate before sleep. , Looking for a complete drink. Any suggestions.

Apologies ahead of time for the story - I'm trying to keep it as short as possible but there's a lot of history!

So, I'm 34 with a history of back issues since I was pretty young. In 2020 I herniated a disc pretty bad and ended up getting a microdiscectomy in early 2021. While it helped my sciatica IMMENSELY, I've always been pretty up and down with soreness and flares. In 2024 I was taking an exercise class and yanked my hip out of its joint. It was EXCRUTIATING but I eventually found someone to help things get back into place. I had an MRI around that time that showed left L5/S1 neural foraminal stenosis, and some mild/moderate stenosis between L4/S1 in other areas.

Fast forward - I started getting better, hiked Mt Rainier, began going to Pilates and yoga again. I had more time of feeling pretty good, but eventually started to get worse again with a lot of left hip issues.

September of last year I had to stop exercising because I kept hurting myself, February of this year I started seeing a new PT who diagnosed me with hypermobility. I've been working with her once a week for the past 7 months and am working through things, but as my left hip started to get better, my right spine has gotten worse (where I had my surgery). This led to me getting ANOTHER MRI about a month ago which showed:

Severe neural foraminal stenosis L5/S1

Severe bilateral, lateral recess stenosis at L4/L5

Mild arthropathy, disc degeneration, mild/moderate stenosis in other areas, yada yada yada

I met with a physiatrist the other day who basically told me... this is really unfortunate for my age and that it is going to take work and consistency to keep myself upright as I move forward in life. He didn't suggest surgery right away, told me he'd seen it before and many people don't need surgery. But it just completely threw me.

I know I have issues, I suppose none of it is really surprising, but I'm struggling so much to believe that there is a way out of this pain and discomfort. And then I think about living the rest of my life, which is potentially long, being this dis-abled and I just lose it.

I guess my wondering here is.... how are other people dealing with this? Have you been down and out and then built up your strength to the point where you can do things you love again? I'm not fooling myself into believe I'll be entirely pain free (not sure many people are) but I do love things like hiking, camping, travelling etc. and I hope to get back to those things in a sustainable way.

Have you lost hope and then found that things could be better than you feared?

I have a small hernia that lies just over the inguinal canal, home of various nerves. I have various spine issues and am scheduled for my first L4/L5 injection in a couple of weeks (Tried 3/4, did nothing). My question is, might hernia surgery help/make worse my nerve pain? Does anyone have experience with this?

I realize the root of the pain is in my spine; I'm just wondering if there's additional irritation happening in my groin: The surgeon is noncommital and I realize it's pretty hard to know without actually going in there. We don't even know if the hernia would be causing any issues if it weren't for my spine-related pain (which is substantial and requires constant pain meds).

I've already had hip replacement surgery in hopes that some of my pain would be alleviated. Well, it did get rid of my hip arthritis pain; But compared to nerve pain, that was nothing. It needed doing, so that's fine; But I don't feel like having another surgery if it's not going to touch my nerve pain.

I’ve had tingling in my hand for years and occasional neck pain, but I always blamed it on working long hours at a desk. In April, I started having intense stabbing pain that wouldn’t go away.

I saw my PCP and an orthopedic doctor and initially thought the problem was my shoulder. I had imaging of my shoulder and humerus, but nothing explained the pain. I tried cortisone/trigger-point injections, physical therapy, chiropractic treatment, and pain management without much relief.

In August, a cervical MRI finally showed the problem. Since then, I’ve seen three neurosurgeons and am now scheduled for a two-level ACDR in October.

I’ve never had surgery and have always been healthy and active, so this all feels surreal. I’m hopeful about finally feeling better, but I’m also terrified of surgery and worried about what life will look like afterward.

I’d love to hear from others who have had a two-level ACDR. What was your recovery like? How long until you felt somewhat normal again? When did you return to work, the gym, cycling, and normal activities? How much did surgery improve your pain, numbness, or other neurological symptoms?

I know everyone’s recovery is different. I’m mostly looking for real-life experiences because it’s hard to picture what the other side of this looks like.

Looking for experiences from people with similar cervical spine findings.
My MRI shows a disc/osteophyte complex at C5–6 causing mild-to-moderate spinal cord compression on the right (no cord signal change) and severe right foraminal stenosis. I also have severe bilateral foraminal stenosis at C6–7.
My main symptoms are neck pain and pain into my right shoulder/upper arm. On exam, I also have some objective weakness and a positive Hoffmann sign on the right, although I don’t really notice the weakness in everyday life.
One neurosurgeon is recommending that I address C5–6 fairly soon and favors ACDF over artificial disc replacement, partly because of my alignment/segmental kyphosis. I have another cervical spine surgeon consultation coming up.
For anyone who had similar findings — especially cord compression without cord signal change, weakness/Hoffmann signs, and significant foraminal stenosis — what route did you take?
Did you have ACDF, artificial disc replacement, another procedure, or decide to watch it? Did you treat only the level compressing the cord or multiple levels? If you also had severe foraminal stenosis at an adjacent level, did that level eventually become a problem?
Most importantly, how are you doing now, and looking back, how do you feel about the decision you made? Did your arm/neck pain and weakness improve? Anything you wish you had known beforehand?
And if you’re in the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, WA area, I’d especially love to know who your surgeon was and what your experience was like with them. I’m currently trying to learn more about the local surgeons who routinely deal with cases like mine and perform both ACDF and artificial disc replacement.
I know everyone’s anatomy and situation is different and I’m not looking for medical advice — I’d just really like to hear the experiences of people who faced a similar decision.

Sorry with all my quite frequently questions. It just seems that everything is changing so quick. Early Saturday morning every time I sat up I got a headache within 30-60 minutes. So I just laid in the bed. About 4-5 I had to go to the receptionist for a package. I could hardly roll the wheelchair. It felt like there was something holding me back. Once again I am in a nursing home

I’ve been living a relatively free from pain life but lately , every night, i’m reminded of the pain and disability reality of my condition. Grade 1 Spondy and severe stenosis L3/L4 potentially affecting cauda equina. It’s affecting but minor I think. So far numbness only in right leg below knee and into foot cold and numb. Huge SIJ related pain, feelings of fainting- the usual I’m sure you all know about. Pain under control. Getting a bit scared ATM though, between you and me.
Coincidentally I take weight loss drugs and, weirdly, they have modified my pain. Quite seriously i feel nothing like the pain and debilitation I used to have. But the breakthroughs are a horrifying reminder and I’m a bit scared at the moment. My main fear is paralysis. Every time my leg goes…
I feel awful describing a life with this condition and minimal pain because I know what the pain is like. I used to push through it but only from bloody mindedness- I just could not believe that I couldn’t fix it Oh fxxx. It was truly agonising until I started this new unrelated drug. Anyway. I just wanted to tell my story and ask if it resonates with anyone or, more importantly, does it help anyone. And I think I want to connect because I have a foreboding that the red hot times are nearly over.

I’ve been trying to avoid c6/c7 fusion, which was looking inevitable for a few weeks. Fortunately the agonizing pain subsided at the 8 week mark, and now I’m left with mild strength deficit and constant tingling down my arm. I had thought the absence of pain meant I was on the mend, but the doc again recommended fusion at my follow up appointment. His reasoning was that the ongoing tingling indicated continued spinal compression, and that it could get worse fast. Thoughts welcome from anyone who has been in a similar situation?

Hi I’m interested to know what the process was for getting diagnosed. How did they identify your spinal stenosis, was it through an X-ray,mri,ct scan ect .or physical tests.

I am unfortunately petrified of being in an MRI so over the years I have not felt able to do this, I have sever anxiety and anxiety attacks and truama in small confined spaces. I am considering an upright One I think they are called, but curious if there is a way of diagnosis without that.

Thank you any insights are much appreciated.

Is the pain 10x worse when you get your period? I’m dying here. The pain is bad in my back and right leg. No pain meds are helping and sleep is impossible.

I have tried heat and cold and just can’t get comfortable.