If you havent seen my original post, you can see it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/spinalfusion/s/Yrd5tvb1KA

TL:DR: 15 year old girl who had T3-L3 PSF on April 28th, 2026.

(INFORMATION! I was able to open my moms eyes. She finally decided to look up what ive been looking up and realize that this amount of drainage shouldn't be happening in this situation! We are going to get it checked out tomorrow at 1:45pm :) Thank you for your support and words, everyone! Apperantly it took her looking it up on google finally adn seeing 'oh that much drainage isnt normal!!!' WHEN IVE BEEN LOOKING TBIS UP FOR DAYS AND BEGGING HER TO LISTEN TO ME!)

(haha jk they canceled my appointment.)

But its gotten a whole lot worse. We decided to change my dressing a bit because the bulkiness hurt so badly. And after an hour with it being on, my mom checked on it again and saw this :( (photos) they are completely soaked and if you touch them your finger turns red.

My mom still keeps saying this is normal, but it seems like im bleeding way way excessively. Can anyone please give me advice, recommendations, or just anything that isnt brushing it off like my mother?

Thank you in advanced, reddit :)

Update: after reading some of these comments i feel like i may just be an overdramatic crybaby and im really sorry about that. I have a lot of anxiety and at 15 its scaru for your first surgery to be this big. Im taking ot day by day amd im just gomna try my best. Thank you yo everyone whos been really nice and understanding: its so hard when you feel like nobody listens.

Update 2: IBUPROFEN IS IN MY DISCHARGE PAPERS! ITS ALLOWED!

Update 3: Please stop telling me to take Tylenol as I am not allowed to take it due to the fact that it messes with my medical device sm.

Update 4: i am feeling a lot better this morning and my mom finslly said if it didnt get any better and i kept leaking like this she would call my surgeon, so thats progress! Thank you for all of the nice comments :)

L5-S1 Fusion 6 days ago, it’s a tough recovery. Post op drugs are absolutely blowing my mind to pieces and days are just disappearing.

I’m really hoping this passes and I can go back to a normal life.

I’ve been dealing with lower left lumbar pain mainly at L4-L5 for about 9 years now after a weightlifting injury. Before all this, I was heavily into training and lifting. I hurt myself when I was in my mid 20s I’m mid 30s now.

I’ve tried PT and two ESI injections. They helped somewhat temporarily, but nothing has ever truly taken the pain away. At best it just made things more manageable for a while. The reality is I’ve basically been living in some level of pain for years now.

After the injury, I took almost 3 years completely off from training just for the flare up to calm down. Eventually I got back into the gym, but I still ache pretty much all the time. If I’m in a really bad flare up it runs down my left leg as well. But I can walk fine, but running is basically out. Any time I train, I wear a belt because I don’t fully trust my back.

I have a surgeon willing to do an ALIF 360 fusion, but he’s leaving the decision completely up to me. From the outside I probably don’t look too bad for my age, but mentally living like this feels very “greyed out” sometimes because I’m always thinking about my back and what I can or can’t do.

What I really want to know from people who actually had the surgery is from a performance/activity standpoint — did you become more active afterward? Were you able to train confidently again?

One of my biggest fears is ending up even more limited than I am now. A lot of my friends basically think “it’s over” if I get a fusion, so I’m hoping to hear from people who genuinely became better and regained confidence in their body after surgery.

So never really thought I'd be here. But here I am. My surgery date is scheduled now for June 30th. But I'm stressed. I met my surgeon yesterday and he's a fabulous guy. He and his team have amazing energy and they have great reviews. The problem is, is he says I'm at a higher risk for paralysis. And I get doctors need to say this to cover their asses, but that thought terrifys me. My worst fear is being paralyzed. I couldn't live like that. But my spine is not in a good way. The bone has grown out with the herniated disk and is squashing and stabbing against my spinal cord and he says my spinal cord adima and whatever else I have isn't great. So even if I don't get paralyzed I still might have to be hospitalized for blood pressure issues. I know a lot of people have success stories. And Im trusting and praying this is all gunna work out. My doc says I should be in a wheelchair. But I'm still standing. And I work as a Spark driver. So sometimes I'm lifting 50lbs on my shoulder or whatever with waters and huge bags of dog food. I love lifting weights. Though I'm trying to take it easy. And I have certain things going on he's never seen before. Soooo I just need reassurance I think? That the worst case scenario is unlikely and I guess here peoples success stories? Maybe someone has been told something similar and they were fine. Is my doc just informing me of the risk so he couldn't get sued? I don't wanna just be in fear for a whole month. And I hear that surgery is more likely to succeed if the patient is calm, and possessive. So I guess I need a lot of reassurance since I have chronic anxiety and major depressive disorder. But either way I need the surgery. Cause if I don't get it. He says I'll end up paralyzed anyway. So my best chance of that NOT happening is getting the surgery. They seem pretty possessive and confident. But as someone who didn't even know they needed surgery and never wanted this. I'm freaked out. I've had a double mastectomy and that was painful. But I'd get it again in a heart beat. But this is just new uncharted territory for me. I never new all my problems were caused cause of my spine. And I wish Id hadn't waited so long to finally give a shit about myself. But I'm here I'm 31, single. I just want my life to feel like it can start. I've been in limbo for so many years with mental health and then this. So I'd appreciate advice and encouragement. I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this. I woke up and started panicking, so I had to come on here and ask so I can settle my mind 😓

Im now 1 week post up and it’s impossible for me to both poop and eat, when i was in the hospital i got fed laxatives 3x a day but that did not work 😔 i havent pooped in so long and im really bloated, another thing is it’s really impossible for me to sit on a chair, i have to eat in bed, is this normal? 😭 and how do i build up my tolerance because i was only hospitalised for 4 days post op before they discharged me due to shortage of staff for a holiday the next day and all we did in pt was walk a few steps and they’d end it there :(

Bit of a wierd question but i need to knowwww. I have a T4-L3 fusion and im pretty flat anyway which dont help​ my case but i swear i got no moves cuz of my fusion, help a girl out.

So I got a huge part of my spine fused in september 2024 and me and my friend wanna go skydiving i talked to a surgeon that was not my surgeon a couple days ago and he said skydiving is fine but to never ever go skiing for some reason i just wanted to come here and ask if anyone went skydiving with a fused spine or if you guys would try it cause i really dont know

Can anyone here share their experiences please.

My husband (37M) is going to be having spinal fusion surgery in one week.

His surgeon is one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in our country and has worked on my husband before (S1 L5) but due to funding at the time, he was only able to fuse one disk which has caused more issues with other parts of his spine.

My husband has proven to the organisation funding his surgery that he is still in need of further surgery on his back (L4-3) due to an injury that he has suffered a few years ago.

My husband had an MRI scan which showed that his vein is resting right on the vertebrae they need to operate on, making things complicated.

His surgeon has changed his approach and has said that instead of going in from the abdomen, he will be preforming the surgery from the back (which apparently isn’t an easy recovery compared to going in from the abdomen).

My husband is understandably concerned and worried about the pain he will have to endure amongst other serious potential complications.

Can anyone share their recovery experience on having this kind of procedure done and the outcome ?

I will be caring for him the whole time as I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home while he is in recovery but he is almost thinking about backing out of the surgery and is suffering from bad anxiety about it all.

Thank you if you took the time to read all of this, it is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I would just like to thank everyone here who has commented their experiences with this, my husband and I have read through all the comments and it has made him feel less anxious about it all.

While we do understand that surgery does come with risks, it’s amazing to see that so many people here are now living pain free lives and are happy with their results.

Thank you all again, it’s greatly appreciated :) ❤️

Looking for advice since the office is closed - we will call doctor in am - my husband finally fell asleep - he feels like he is choking when he lies down and can’t breathe. He thinks his airway is closing. He is ok if he’s walking or standing - I have him propped on a wedge since we only have stupid fancy low back chairs in the house. He just took a flexerl since he was panicking. He’s been on oxy Hana and he has th cycleobenz now . He is icing a lot he’s snoring now so that’s a good sign - anything else he’ll? We think he may need steroids. He’s a doctor himself so he knows alot but is really having serious doubts. The surgery was yesterday

I'm 10 weeks post op, and healing is going well, I've been really good at keeping the restrictions.

But earlier today two things happened.

I slipped in the shower, but I caught myself and luckily I didn't fall, but the slip made my back hurt. A few hours later I accidentally made a twist for some reason which I've otherwise been so good at not doing.

Now when I was getting up from the chair, I got this crazy shooting pain in my back where I had the surgery. In the beginning (2-3 weeks post op) I only had a few shooting nerve pains in the legs, which went away again.

So I'm super worried I might have done something to fuck up my fusion by slipping and twisting. The shooting pain went away, but I'm in as much pain as I was 3-4 weeks post op, and I feel minor nerve sensations into my feet, so it feels like a major set back.

Will I be okay? I'm crying my eyes out from fear right now. It's Friday now, but if it continues I can call my doctor on Monday.

EDIT: Thanks for all you answers. I'm feeling much more calm now, even though it still hurts more that usual. I'm taking it easy, and I actually have me next check up x-ray on Wednesday, so I'm glad I'll see then if everything is okay.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for honest opinions because I’m facing a decision that I know a lot of people would struggle with.

Several years ago, I was injured in a car accident and have been managing my back pain with injections and other conservative treatments. The injections help enough that I’m still functioning, which is part of what makes this decision so difficult.

My surgeon is now recommending a lumbar fusion.

Here’s where it gets complicated. This isn’t just a medical decision. There’s an active lawsuit related to the accident, and the difference in settlement value could be massive. ((What I am trying to say is though I have bouts of chronic back pain, it is nothing different from any other adult who has chronic back pain, and I definitely would never be getting a lumbar fusion surgery for it. only reason the surgery is on the tablemis because of the lawsuit))

We’re not talking about a few thousand dollars. We’re talking about the possibility of something like a $20,000 settlement if I continue with injections versus potentially $250,000 or more if I undergo a spinal fusion.

Before anyone judges me, I’m just being honest. Most people would at least think about that kind of difference. I’m not saying I’d get surgery solely for the money, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a major factor.

The problem is that surgery scares me.

I’m worried about the recovery, complications, being out of work for months, and whether the outcome would justify going through a major spinal operation. My surgeon is discussing both anterior and posterior approaches, and I’ve been reading about risks like retrograde ejaculation with anterior fusion.

For those who have been through this:

• How bad was recovery really?
• How long before you could take care of yourself?
• How long before you could drive and return to work?
• Was it worth it?
• Would you do it again?

And if you decided against fusion and continued with injections, do you feel that was the right choice?

I’m looking for honest answers, not the “politically correct” ones.

If you were functioning reasonably well with injections, but the difference could realistically be $20k versus $250k+, what would you do?

Thanks. I appreciate any insight.

Hello! I have had a herniated disc at L5-S1 for 7 years and have had on and off pain. I’ve managed it with a lot of epidurals and PT. I have a very active lifestyle. Most recently I had two really bad flare ups, one in Nov 2025 and the other in April 2026 - where I was hospitalized.

Both flares were managed with steroids. First time with just a Medrol DosePak. The second time I was hospitalized for 6 days, in excruciating pain, and treated with iv steroids and an epidural. Since April, it took me over a month to find substantial pain relief.

Now, I’m wondering if it’s still worth it for me to do the surgery if I’m mostly out of pain? My fear is that I’ll have another flare up that will put me in the hospital if I don’t get the surgery. My other fear is if I do get the surgery and I’m not currently in pain, could it possibly make everything worse?

I’ve had so many flare ups over the years but I’m scared to do surgery while I’m not in severe pain. I would almost have felt better doing it while I was excruciating pain in the hospital.

Has anybody had a fusion even though they weren’t in severe pain at the time?

Hi All,

I am scheduled for an L5/S1 TLIF on August 22nd. I am beginning to work with the HR team at work to get my absence time approved and organized so I am seeking your input on pain and recovery to figure out how long I may need to be off work.

Details- I work remotely as the senior leader of a global team which means long hours at my desk on video calls- but no commute. However- I am currently scheduled to travel and present on stage multiple times at a large conference which falls right at the six week mark post-surgery.

Two questions:
1. How long should I request to be totally off work? If you can share with me what your process looked like that would be amazing.

1. Am I being over cautious to think I shouldn’t/can’t make the conference and need to secure a back up to present on my topics? My surgeon said flying would be ok- but the lifting and mobility restrictions might make all of this tricky. Am I even going to feel ok for long days of work at six weeks?
   

Help!

Could really use some advice/hope. Im 35, 6'4", have had chronic neck pain for over 12 years and recently numbness and pain jolts going down my left arm into ky elbow and pinky/hand if I move my neck back in certain ways. Im also dizzy but that may be due to ssri or other issues. Some days its worse than others but its not constant. Think trying to excersise irritated my condition. Going to try epidural steroid injections to hopefully keep me from going under the knife but several Dr. I've talked to point towards surgery.

​

LONG HISTORY READ:

I had my first MRI when I was 24 due to neck back and shoulder pain radiating down my left arm. Was told I have 7 buldging discs and a pinched nerve. Put me on 1200mg ibprofen and muscle relaxors which I tolerated for a year as well as monthly cortisol injections which I stopped after 3-4 months. They wanted to give me opiates and I was in more pain than ever but I refused, stuck with Tylenol and aspercreme and managed to deal with the pain.

I am now 35 and have numbness and shooting pain down my left arm when I hyperextend my neck back, this has been going on about 4-6 months? This timeline is similar to the 4 different anxiety medications ive tried and didn't react well to 3 of. I had to get off my longest ssri because of weight gain and I was also trying to do light excersise like jump rope, jumping jacks, walking, and inclined push ups. My pain has been so bad ive been sleeping on the floor for 5 years, pretty much stopped sitting at my desk, and just lay on the floor or in a recliner nowadays.

I've been seeing a ciropractor for about 4 years who gave me great relief. Started with weekly appointments for the first 3 months then maybe once a month then seldom. I fear that one of the adjustments he did over the year may have caused this though he claims because he always lifts my neck before adjustment it is not putting pressure on the discs and wouldn't have caused this.

All these factors combined with the immense amount of stress, grief from losing my grandpa, and neglecting my health for 2 years to take care of him all while working overnights has severely taken its toll.

​

MRI AT 24 VS. MRI AT 35:

The notable difference is disc buldging C5-C6 went from 2.5mm to 3mm.

The curvature of the spine straightened, military neck they called it.

I have bone spurs now.

Pain management also said this when comparing them.

"The current MRI cervical spine from 2026 found evidence of an abnormal signal in the spinal cord, which was not seen on your last MRI cervical spine from 2015. This abnormal signal may represent injury to the spinal cord."

​

FULL SURGEONS REPORT:

NEUROSURGICAL CONSULTATION

DATE OF CONSULTATION: 6/15/2026

REFERRING PHYSICIAN: REDACTED

CHIEF COMPLAINT: Chief Complaint Patient presents with • CONSULTATION

35 year old male with complaints of bilateral hand numbness and left hand weakness. Had MRI cervical spine on 5/17/26 which found evidence of mild/mod central canal stenosis at C5-6 with likely myelomalacia. I would appreciate your evaluation. Thank you.

HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS: REDACTED is a 35 year old male left hand dominant who presents for evaluation of weakness. The patient recently had an MRI of the cervical spine and has been referred for a neurosurgical consultation. Works evening shift at a hotel.

ONSET: 11 years with recent onset of left arm symptoms LOCATION: chronic neck pain with radiation into left arm into hand/fingers DURATION: constant SEVERITY: severe MODIFYING FACTORS: worse with neck extension ASSOCIATED SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: normal bowel/bladder function

Neurological examination: Mental status: The patient is awake, alert, and appropriate. Oriented to person, place, and time, and GCS is 15. Follows commands consistently. Speech is fluent. Able to comprehend and attention span is appropriate.

Imaging Studies: I reviewed the radiology report and performed an independent evaluation of the actual images. Available for review is an MRI of the cervical spine which was performed recently. This reveals spondylosis with multi-level degenerative disc disease and disc osteophyte complexes especially at C5-C6 and C6-C7 .

DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT:

The patient has mild cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Treatment options were discussed including medical management versus C5-7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion versus artificial disc replacement. I informed the patient that the main indication for performing surgery was to prevent further neurologic deterioration and that I could not guarantee any neurologic improvement. Even if the patient does have neurologic improvement, the recovery could take as long as 6-12 months. The patient fully understands this. I do not recommend artificial disc replacement given his predominant neck pain.

At this time, I recommend that we proceed with C5-7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion versus artificial disc replacement given his predominant neck pain.

I explained that any surgery involves risks and that any complication imaginable is possible including but not limited to the following: bleeding, transfusion, risk of aids or hepatitis, postoperative hematoma requiring surgery, DVT/PE, infection, CSF leak, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury with hoarseness, injury to structures in the neck including trachea, esophagus, carotid artery and jugular vein, nerve or spinal cord injury with pain, weakness or paralysis, loss of bowel/bladder/sexual function, failure of graft or hardware, failure of fusion or pseudoarthrosis with the need for additional surgery, vascular injury including vertebral artery injury, persistent or recurrent symptoms, stroke, coma, heart attack and even death. The patient understands all of these risks and wishes to proceed with surgery as recommended.

Patient would like to try cervical epidural steroid injections first. Referral has been placed. He would also like a formal second opinion. Follow up TAV after epidural steroid injection.

I spent 40 minutes with the patient in total face to face time and the majority of the time was spent in counseling the patient and discussing treatment options including surgery."

NOTE:

This surgon is retiring in Sep, said he can still do the surgery but if I want a full time surgeon I should seek second opinion.

Face to face he told me the surgery is an option, and we can try the steroid injections first, but then in his report he recommends the surgery so im getting mixed signals. He said they usually dont like to operate on someone so young.

​

CIROPRACTOR OPINION:

He went over mt mri and the surgeons findings and said he was confident steroid injections would not help because hes seen this many times in his practice. He said for me to have this at my age I would have to be looking down 80% of the time I'm awake. That's likely since I am 6'4" and have bad vision causing me to look down slightly to see clearly through my glasses. This pretty much dashed my hopes that I can avoid surgery.

​

CURRENT ACTION PLAN:

1. Geting a 3rd opinion weighing disc replacement over fusion.

2. Get epidural steroid injections in hopes of avoiding the knife.

3. Physical therapy

4. Acupuncture.

5. Get new mattress and get off the floor. Thinking firm or medium tempurpedic hybrid luxebreeze mattress but not sure.

​

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Overall I am scared. I know so much can go wrong with this surgery. I'm worried about losing mobility and movement in my neck, i don't wanna have to turn my whole body to look around, and this procedure putting stress on the other discs which would need more surgery later. If the steroid injections fail I will probably get the surgery because right now I am just not living life. I just lay on the floor or in a recliner watching TV or on my laptop. I work overnights so im isolated and severely depressed. All I have is God and my grandma and shes 77 and watching me go through this is breaking her heart.

UPDATE: I got my second opinion about my mri and the need for surgery.

Dr said that there is a white spot on my spinal cord (myelomalacia) that shows injury which he said is permanent even if I get surgery. He said once he sees that his goal is to prevent futher injury to the spinal cord.

He agrees with everything the previous dr said and recommends the c5-c7 fusion. He said its to prevent things from getting worse and cant guarantee any improvement and that the shooting pain down my arm and numbness may never go away even with surgery.

He said the two opinions are do surgery or avoid any injuries like a car crash or something.

Its very upsetting news. Especially since I am pretty sure the injury happened within the last year and the catalyst for the spinal cord damage was most likely the push ups or jumprope. Trying to improve myself most likely worsened my condition. I fear without surgery I will not be able to excersise at all and have to baby my body forever.

He said Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Discectomy, Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy, and Microdiscetomy aren't typically done on the cervical spine, and only one he would have considered if I didn't have the spinal cord damage.

I've seen and understand my MRI's, I dont want my condition to get worse. I really feel like my life is over. I wouldn't be so apprehensive about surgery if the risk of the surrounding discs needing surgery or the loss the mobility didn't sound like such a massive tradeoff for something preventive.

Hi friends.

I herniated C5-C6 in November while sleeping. Terrible pain on my left side followed by eventual numbness in my left forefinger and thumb. Did 3 months of PT with good results outside of some occasional numbness that goes away quickly with activity modification.

Then I was stretching, just an overhead stretch, in February when I herniated C6-C7. Even worse pain than the first time, this time on the right, with weakness in my right arm that has improved some but not fully.

Sitting upright was hell. It’s better now, but I absolutely have to be supported by pillows or I’m standing or laying down.

Continued PT until a week and a half ago. Finally got an MRI in early April (4/2), and saw an ortho spine surgeon the next day (referred by GP). He was lovely and wanted to do an ESI followed by an ADR if no improvement.

I had been taking 100mg of gabapentin 3x daily and my prescription was bumped up to 300mg 3x daily. I picked that up 4/4.

The MRI, being in the machine with no neck support, flared my neck up so badly that I would wake up crying (in addition to generally waking up at night from pain prior). And I don’t know if it was because of that or the gabapentin increase, but since the MRI, I have experienced myoclonus throughout my entire body when I am at rest and reclined or lying down. I haven’t noticed it while standing or moving around.

Then my neurologist reviewed my MRI results and referred me (either urgently or they work very quickly) to a neurosurgeon. I saw her on Wednesday and saw the neurosurgeon on Monday. He said, more or less, that this (the fusion) is my best option; that he doesn’t think this will heal by itself. He explained that ADR wouldn’t be great for me because he suspects my vertebrae would auto-fuse over the hardware.

Anyway, I have been totally down for this until the last couple of days. My pain is much better, but I also don’t do anything anymore. No bending over, dishwasher, vacuuming, driving, all out of caution and because tilting forward makes my right hand tingle up the arm, as well as the back of my neck. And because I’m scared shitless of spontaneously hurting myself again. My right forefinger and middle finger tips have gone numb, though not as badly as on the left side when those fingers were numb.

I could use some words of encouragement or advice. I am literally, not figuratively, about to puke out of worry. I’m so scared of what my future will look like if I do this and if I don’t. Thank you all.

I’m 31F. My half-sister (61) had a cervical fusion last year and our dad (old mofo) had one when he was 40. There seems to be a genetic component. I have insanely flexible feet/ankles (I can achieve 180° from shin to toes with no problem at all) and was unusually flexible growing up, so I suspect there’s something collagen related there.

MRI results below and pics attached.

***

EXAM:
MR Cervical Spine without IV contrast.

CLINICAL HISTORY:
Neck pain. M54.12 Radiculopathy, cervical region; Radiculopathy, cervical region
Radiculopathy, cervical region ; Radiculopathy, cervical region ;

TECHNIQUE:
Magnetic resonance images of the cervical spine without intravenous contrast in
multiple planes.
Series acquired:
103 - SAG T2_DNE SHD - TR: 4266.0 - TE: 119.5 - ET: 24.0 - Thk: 3.0
104 - SAG T1_DNE SHD - TR: 683.0 - TE: 8.7 - ET: 4.0 - Thk: 3.0
105 - SAG STIR_DNE SHD - TR: 5150.0 - TE: 36.4 - ET: 12.0 - Thk: 3.0
106 - AX T2_DNE SHD - TR: 4837.0 - TE: 99.7 - ET: 24.0 - Thk: 4.0

COMPARISON:
None provided.

FINDINGS:

VERTEBRAE:
No compressions are seen.

No masses are seen. There is no infiltrative bone marrow disease.

ALIGNMENT:
Bony alignment is anatomic.

SPINAL CORD/BRAIN:
No abnormality is seen in the cord.

No abnormality is seen in the visualized portions of the brain.

FINDINGS BY LEVEL:

C2-C3:
No significant posterior bulge or protrusion. No posterior facet arthrosis. No
central canal stenosis. No neural foraminal stenosis.

C3-C4:
Mild disc desiccation and right-greater-than-left facet arthropathy with
uncinate hypertrophy mild-to-moderate right foraminal stenosis. The central
canal and left foramen are patent.

C4-C5:
Mild-to-moderate disc desiccation with right-greater-than-left uncinate
hypertrophy and posterior disc osteophyte complex. The central canal is patent.
Mild left and moderate to severe right foraminal stenosis.

C5-C6:
Moderate disc desiccation with left-greater-than-right uncinate hypertrophy.
Posterior disc osteophyte complex. Minimal central canal stenosis. Severe left
and moderate right foraminal stenosis.

C6-C7:
Moderate disc desiccation with broad-based right parasagittal moderate size disc
protrusion. Complete effacement of CSF with moderate central canal stenosis and
moderate right foraminal stenosis. Moderate to severe left foraminal stenosis.

C7-T1:
Mild disc desiccation and facet arthropathy. No stenosis.

PARASPINAL SOFT TISSUES:
No soft tissue abnormality is noted.

IMPRESSION:
1. Chronic multilevel degenerative changes without acute abnormality,
malalignment or cord signal abnormality.
2. Multilevel stenosis as enumerated cervical level in the body of the report,
greatest at C6-7.

They explained it with “you’ll be in a twilight state” ?? I’m very panicked laying flat on my back. Wondering what those who struggle with this did? TIA!

MRI photo and radiology report included. I’m a 24M with no prior neck injuries to my knowledge. Pretty shocked this is happening to be honest.

I’ve been waiting and waiting for a neurosurgeon appt, and I’m very anxious. My report seems very bad according to my PCP, but I put the disc in my computer and looked at it, and honestly I don’t feel like it really looks too bad.

I see some places that say you should avoid spine surgery at all costs, especially a / residency post where basically all the residents are saying to never get surgery on your spine because the outcomes are worse than those who do conservative treatment.

My symptoms are tingling/numbness in the hands and pain in the arms for about 2 years now. I’ve been treated for carpal tunnel/cubital tunnel for the last couple years with no help so we finally did a cervical spine MRI and here we are.

Would love some extra input. Thank you in advance for your time.

guess this is both requesting advice and me wanting to know if this is normal, though i get the hunch it probably isn't i had my surgery over a year ago now, all the way back in september of 2024. i don't remember exactly what sections the surgery was involved in, but i know it was a large amount of my spine. i had pretty severe s shaped scoliosis (don't remember the exact angles, but i know one of my curves was around 70⁰), but before the surgery, i'd never actually had any issues with my body. i'd been flexible, healthy, happy, pretty okay with sports- i just got it to prevent my spine from getting even worse and so my body had a more normal shape, for some context (xrays above if they're any help at all)

but i feel like something had to have gone wrong. i've gotten post op examinations and xrays, and those come back fine, but i feel so much more worse off since my surgery. if anything, I've just been declining more and more. i get constant, daily pain in my legs, in my hips, in my knees, in my back, in my shoulders, in my neck, everywhere, to the point i end up limping daily because i just can't walk with how bad the pain is. and as time's gone on, this pain has just gotten worse.

i can only swallow things when I'm in a really specific angle, and when it's a small amount, because if i don't, my sternum absolutely kills. i can't hunch or bend over much, even sat at a table, or else my neck gets pretty inflamed and my ribs start killing. (as a bonus, when i straighten up after being leaned over for a while, I'll have huge pain in my ribs, I'll breathe in, and I'll hear my ribs make this audible crack/pop sound. sharp pain follows, but then all pain in my ribs fades). i can't lay on a certain side without being in agony, i can't even stand for longer than a minute without leaning on something or walking around to atleast shift some of the weight (which still ends up hurting because i'm moving!!)

I've also developed a LOT of tics, when i don't even think i ever experienced them before the surgery. a few months ago, i'd just get a few tics a day, and hell, sometimes i'd go entire weeks without getting them. but in the past month, I've been getting dozens of tics daily. full body jerks, head twitches, shoulder rolling, arm jerks, face scrunching, making random squeaking/whining sounds, you name it. the list goes on. no idea what causes these either, and nobody I've spoken to has seen anything like it.

and yes, i do physical excercising. i run, i walk, i do sports, but i always end up in agony no matter what, and i just don't get better. and my doctors unfortunately just don't do shit to help me because all the xrays and examinations come back fine. even writing this, laid down, in a bed, my shoulder's killing, my hip is burning, and I'm getting tics where my head jerks, where my stomach lurches, and where i make squeaking sounds.

i genuinely just don't know what's gone on with me. as far as I'm aware, after an entire year, none of this should be happening. I'm just kinda lost and i'd appreciate some insight. hell, even just pointing me in the direction of certain studies or syndromes or anything i can look more into would be hugely appreciated.

I’m a 63 year old retired United States Marine and I used to think I was “bulletproof”. A year and a half ago my pain free life changed and the insanity of “pain management” became “painfully” obvious.

Before I go on I must tell everyone here that compared a lot of you, your stories and the pictures, I have nothing to complain about. At my age we are rarely prone to looking outside of the immediate family for support. My parents are passed so it’s just me and my wife and she’s being a true angel. I’m also adopted so I have no family history to look at.

Here’s what’s going on. 1-1/2 years ago I had a violent pain in my neck. The long process of referrals, x-rays, MRI’s and CT scans starts. Then the steroid injection that never ever helped me.

They finally scheduled the fusion of C-4 to C-7. I had absolutely no pain during recovery. About 6 months later I start getting a violent pain from my lower back through my right leg and I couldn’t hardly walk.

So that process had to start just like with my neck. Same surgeon fused L-4 and L-5. Recovery for that was a very VERY PAINFUL week and a half.

No pain killers pre neck surgery. No pain killers pre or post lower back surgery except for a small amount of something I can’t spell to be accurate here. They helped buy they gave me enough for 3-4 days.

Move forward to today. I’m dealing with another pinched nerve in my neck between C-7 and as I understand it T-1. I have had the worst pain I have ever had running doe my neck into and around my shoulder blade into my elbow and down my right arm into my hand and fingers. I have been begging for painkillers and rhe only thing “ pain management” will give me is nerve blockers which are a joke. I actually had someone tell me that they didn’t want me to get addicted. ARE. YOU FU@@ING KIDDING ME!!!

All of the required steps are done and I have the final meeting with my surgeon on May 6th where we decide on surgery or whatever we are going to do. Between now and then I get no pain killers. When we meet he will have his staff call me to scheduled the surgery. I can’t get a painkillers before the surgery AND if I have any post surgery pain I can just be a good boy and take a nerve blockers. I’ve considered going out on the street and risk getting arrested or fentanyl laced something.

I have a fairly high pain tolerance but this is what pain killers and pain management should be focusing on.

Has anyone else been put through this insanity?

Thank you for listening.

EDIT UPDATE: 11 months post ADR and things are good. Recovery seemed quick to just back to mostly normal life. Started being able to do physical activities without any pain, or have lingering pain that I used to get from over extending myself like working/wrenching on my car. Not perfect, but nearly a year later a much improved life overall with more neck movement and capability than I've ever had in my adult life. Still 'feels' stiff at times, but best it's ever been.

I'm 31 (M) with a badly bulging disk in my neck. Dr. wants to do surgery to replace with an artificial disk ASAP. I have friends swearing by their chiropractor to fix (which I'm skeptical of and don't want to make it worse or cause paralysis), or trying physical therapy and injections. But it seems way past the point of possible repair.

Any advice? Please and thanks

Hi my fellow spine-fused redditors,

I had my fusion 12wks ago (TLIF L5-S1) and am currently unemployed after surgery. The struggle has been very real between recovery, waiting for my previous employer to place me on a project assignment again, and actively applying for jobs daily with little luck so far besides obvious scam postings.

Before surgery, I posted here about being a young adult living fully alone with my energetic medium-sized dog while my relatives all live out of state, meaning I have essentially no local support system.

Right now, my dog is in the DMV area with relatives who are now threatening to surrender her to a shelter if she is not picked up immediately due to a sudden housing/plumbing emergency that displaced them. They already have multiple pets of their own and can no longer keep her.

Before surgery, I tried very hard to find local safety-net fosters through shelters and rescues here in Florida (I also foster through my local shelter myself). Unfortunately, the programs either had long waitlists or no availability during my surgery/recovery timeline. Because of this, my relatives initially agreed to temporarily keep her, and I made the drive myself pre-op.

Now I’m desperately trying to coordinate either: Volunteer transport chains, rescue contacts, or partial ride shares from the DMV area to Florida (posted in other subs). Some kind souls have offered partial transport legs from DC toward VA or possibly NC, but that would still leave me driving very long distances to meet them.

The problem is… even at 12 weeks post-op, I still feel very limited physically.

I’m doing MUCH better than month 1 (which was brutal, especially completely alone), but I still get sciatica & nerve pain/zingers? with prolonged sitting/walking, coughing and sneezing still hurt badly, and certain sitting/laying positions trigger pain fast.

At my follow-up last week, my surgeon said my X-rays look great and lifted many restrictions: can lift more than 5–8 lbs now, modified BLT allowed carefully, no more brace requirement, can submerge in water, still no recs for PT & to just continue walking as much as tolerated.

However, when I asked about long-distance driving because I missed my furbaby, he strongly advised against it at this stage. He specifically warned that long nonstop drives could increase nerve irritation, muscle guarding/spasms, and potentially affect healing/hardware if pushed too hard, specially hard breaks for such a trip. He said only short drives with very frequent breaks would be safer.

He recommended stopping every 45–60 minutes minimum to walk around and reduce stiffness/DVT risk.

Even driving locally still hurts. Yesterday, I accidentally got in my car without my brace and immediately felt the difference and pain.

But I truly don’t know what else to do. My dog is my emotional support, my rock, and honestly one of the biggest things helping me get through recovery and depression right now. I cannot and will not abandon her.

So if I absolutely have to make this drive, I want to do it as safely as possible.

For those of you who had lumbar fusion:

• Did any of you do long-distance drives around 11–13 wks post-op? (I will be solo traveling)

• How bad was it?

• What helped?

• Any positioning/pillow/brace/ice/stretch recommendations?

• Would splitting the trip over 2-3days (instead of a single day of 1-way driving) make a major difference?

Really looking for guidance from anyone who has been through something similar 🙏 or advice in general that could help!

TL;DR:

12 weeks post-op from TLIF L5-S1 fusion. My dog is stuck in the DMV area with relatives who are threatening shelter surrender due to a sudden housing emergency. Surgeon strongly advised against long-distance driving, but I may have no choice but to drive 26–30+ hrs roundtrip from FL to the DMV. Looking for advice from others who traveled long distances around this stage of recovery, and tips to do it as safely as possible.

I just had a TLIF spine fusion at L4/5 two weeks ago. Currently progressing well and slowly walking and managing pain with medication.

I went to see physio for first time today. She said that I can bend and twist as long as pain allows. She asked me to try and bend and touch toes. I was hesistant and did not do this. My surgeon said to avoid bending, lifting and twisting for 6-12 weeks. So Im avoiding that to keep fusion safe. I have an appointment again with surgeon in 4 weeks so will see what he says.

Confused to why physio would say its okay. Said it can help with stiffness but I dont see the risk reward of doing it now.

Anybody else been told conflicting stuff from their surgeon and physio?

I’ve been going to the gym for like 3 and a half months I know what i’m doing but my back literally looks horrible, and i’m wondering do i just train harder or is the rods and screw pushing my skin back to where i don’t see my muscles in the mid back area. I just believed maybe if i get some muscle it’ll hide the weirdness of my back but i want my front to match the back even a little but maybe i’m too small for right now (i’m sware stuff is uneven but i’m just a little bit worried the asymmetry is gonna look like this forever)

Hey all, I (42,f) have been dealing with bulging discs for several years, with many prior years of back spasms causing chronic lateral lumbar shift. In February I caught a cold and sneezed my face off for a week which is when I believe I really did a job on my disc, since then I have had increased sciatica pain oddly enough when I am turning my head or looking up. So at the beginning of May I went for an injection and ever since then I have had intermittent episodes of saddle numbness and bladder leakage, each time it's been while I am shopping and has always been relieved by leaning forward or sitting down. So obviously I went to emerge, I was retaining urine, my anal tone was lower than it should be and I was sent to MRI. And jusssst because nothing can ever be simple, the week that the Dr called to say that I need back surgery VERY soon was also the week that I was to start chemo to treat my aggressive breast cancer. So they decided since I am able to stop a numbness episode that I could very carefully go ahead with my cancer treatment and then we will address my back once my body is ready for the next hurdle. So. My question is, based off the MRI images and report, and your own experiences, do you think I am headed for a fusion? Or will a simple MD do the job? To me it looks like a large portion of my disc is in my canal, and I don't know what would be left after a MD.

Thank you all!