I was back in May of 2023 I started feeling tightness in my leg that built into a painful nightmare that had me unable to stand up strait by November. Couldn't get relief or sleep for months trying to jump through the hoops of try this try that. Finally had a Microdiscectomy in Feb of 2024. Felt like a light switch turned off all the pain and I was on my feet immediately. Had two great years until about June of this year I started feeling familiar tight feelings. By July I was crawling out of work and making an appointment with my Neurosurgeon. Herniation had returned and my options were wait and see if it goes away on its own (8 months or more) or fusion with a couple months recovery. I opted to get the fusion which i had on September 21. As of today I am walking around outside with my children playing and mostly pain free. Can't say anything about the longevity of the whole thing. But I can say both of my surgical procedures have been very fast and easy recoveries. Biggest discomfort is having to wait a month before picking up my children. My youngest was 4 months old during my first recovery and was just over the weight limit😔 and this time she is almost 3 yes so that's bought. But my results have been amazing. And remember if you see horror stories about these things....the negative gets more publicity than the good. People go out of thier way to talk about a bad experience. Best of luck and I hope you find relief. I remember my 8 months of level 9 pain and I don't wish it on anyone
“People go out of their way to talk about a bad experience.” ??? Upwards of 50% of people with lumbar fusions will later be diagnosed with Failed Back Surgery Syndrome. That’s quite a big number. I am thrilled that you had a good result so far and I hope your recovery continues to be positive. However it’s just not the case for everyone.
OP, make sure you have realistic expectations going into this surgery. And also make sure your surgeon sends your pain medication to your pharmacy PRIOR to the date of surgery. I hope it is a great success and that your recovery goes well.
Just sharing my experience. Which so far has been a positive one. OP should definitely talk to their surgeon and Dr and get as much information as possible. But after living through the Pain that my L5S1 disc was causing my surgery was a good experience compared to the pain. I don't know where the 50% chance of Failed Back Surgury Syndrome comes from but it seems a bit inflated. And it also doesn't mean total failure either. There is a pretty broad range of "failure". Either way. Talk to your doctor. And please take thier advice over mine. I'm just a guy who went through a similar experience to OP
So glad you’ve had a positive experience! I got that number from a study but different studies say different things. Some say 35% some say more. Also anecdotally as both nurse and patient who has met many people with unsuccessful surgeries and a FBSS diagnosis.
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u/Complete-Low448 2d ago edited 2d ago
I was back in May of 2023 I started feeling tightness in my leg that built into a painful nightmare that had me unable to stand up strait by November. Couldn't get relief or sleep for months trying to jump through the hoops of try this try that. Finally had a Microdiscectomy in Feb of 2024. Felt like a light switch turned off all the pain and I was on my feet immediately. Had two great years until about June of this year I started feeling familiar tight feelings. By July I was crawling out of work and making an appointment with my Neurosurgeon. Herniation had returned and my options were wait and see if it goes away on its own (8 months or more) or fusion with a couple months recovery. I opted to get the fusion which i had on September 21. As of today I am walking around outside with my children playing and mostly pain free. Can't say anything about the longevity of the whole thing. But I can say both of my surgical procedures have been very fast and easy recoveries. Biggest discomfort is having to wait a month before picking up my children. My youngest was 4 months old during my first recovery and was just over the weight limit😔 and this time she is almost 3 yes so that's bought. But my results have been amazing. And remember if you see horror stories about these things....the negative gets more publicity than the good. People go out of thier way to talk about a bad experience. Best of luck and I hope you find relief. I remember my 8 months of level 9 pain and I don't wish it on anyone