Okay MRI result in full.
Apparently I had a 'hermilaminectomy' - any Idea what this is? All of the docs referred to microdiscectomy.
The new problem is a central and left posterolateral protrusion (explains the severe back pain to the left of the surgical site (surgery was for protrusion on the right) and also scar tissue contacting right S1 root.
I have a sneaking suspicion this happened straight after the operation when I attempted to pull myself up in bed. There was no harness. When I walked for the first time I had this pain on my left (hollow feeling) that has increased and seems to encapsulate my back pain and sciatic pain down to my left knee.
I am now left with no physio, no idea what to do, still off work and a slave to Amitriptyline.
Hi there Doog
So sorry to hear this has happened again. So very frustrating and uncomfortable for you :(.
I am just wondering whether you have looked at diet to change your body chemistry? An [url]alkaline diet[/url] may just alter things and stop this happening. The standard Western diet leaves the body acidic and many cell functions struggle in an acidic environment. It might be a bit of a struggle to change what you eat to begin with - you can call it your eating philosophy if you like ;), but it might just make all the difference.
Wishing you all the best
Thankyou, I guess I have a 'traditional diet' at the moment 🙂 but certainly need to sit down and address some issues for the future. Amazingly every one of my other discs seem in perfect working order. The L5/S1 seems a complete mess!
Hi,
I'm looking for advice regarding herniated l5 s1 disc. Im early 30's fit and energetic not over weight. It started in mid december 2011 and is still an issue to today 28 jan 2012. I got a cortisone injection on the 18th that wasn't fully
effective. It took 5 days to reduce the sciatia and cramp and i still have pain after waking up in the morning and sciatia intermittently. Bending backwards is still painful with more pronounced sciatica but varies by how much i have my legs apart while standing - closer = pain wider =no pain?I was referred to a nuero surgeon after a mri showing herniated l5 s1 and bulging l4. He opted for the injection and said i wasn't a neurological case for surgery. The 2nd meeting with him 8 days after the injection. He said he was willing to operate based on my degree of pain but again i wasn't a neurological case. He said he'd scedual surgery less than 1 week after the meeting.The following day i met with my GP who has extensive experience
in back injuries to get a second opinion and view of the nuerosurgeons advice and the speed at which he was engaging me for surgery. The GP did a further detailed examination and agreed neurologically i wasn't quiet there yet but based on the sharp pain while leaning back still being present that surgery was inevitable at some stage. He went through my options medication wise and exercises etc as one route but said in all honesty he believed i'd be back into him with my work commitments being the way the are within 3 months.So here i am. I'm 6wks with a herniated disc. Ive gone from agony to the feeling of being back to wk 1-2 of pain levels after injection no.1. Ive been out of work 4wks with my wage
being the only wage that covers my wife and 2 kids. My gut says surgery is coming down the line but its just so soon. My body gives me flashes of no pain but is that the injection. Then in the same day i get twinges cramps and nerve shocks. They range from soft to stop you in your tracks. I can manage if my life stays as is, ... as in not working and taking
it easy. The reality is, i need to be able to get up and go to work - don't get paid if i don't work!!- its 3hrs commute and 8hrs sitting.What do i do here? Try and solve it asap in the most effective way with 6-8wks turn around and get back into the gym and try pilates etc after. Or see how it goes by dosing upand working and when the injection wears off consider my options then?
I really really need help and advice here because it impacts my family, ability to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. My head is completely destroyed..
Im due to commit to a yes or no for surgery on monday to be in theatre on wed. 1st feb.
A discectomy (also called open discectomy) is the surgical removal of [url]herniated disc[/url] material that presses on a nerve root or the spinal cord. The procedure involves removing the central portion of an intervertebral disc, the [url]nucleus pulposus[/url], which causes pain by stressing the spinal cord or radiating nerves. The traditional open discectomy, or Love's technique, was published by Ross and Love in 1971. Advances in options have produced effective alternatives to traditional discectomy procedures (i.e. Microdiscectomy, Endoscopic Discectomy, and Laser Discectomy). In conjunction with the traditional discectomy, a laminotomy is often involved to permit access to the intervertebral disc. In this procedure, a small piece of bone (the lamina) is removed from the affected vertebra, allowing the surgeon to better see and access the area of disc herniation.
Okay MRI result in full.
Apparently I had a 'hermilaminectomy' - any Idea what this is? All of the docs referred to microdiscectomy.
The new problem is a central and left posterolateral protrusion (explains the severe back pain to the left of the surgical site (surgery was for protrusion on the right) and also scar tissue contacting right S1 root.
I have a sneaking suspicion this happened straight after the operation when I attempted to pull myself up in bed. There was no harness. When I walked for the first time I had this pain on my left (hollow feeling) that has increased and seems to encapsulate my back pain and sciatic pain down to my left knee.
I am now left with no physio, no idea what to do, still off work and a slave to Amitriptyline.
Hi Doog
A hemilaminectomy - hemi = half; laminectomy = removal of the lamina, part of a vertebra, thus it probably means removal of half the lamina. Which half is the surgeon's sphere. The disk is obviously protruding and pressing on a nerve which passes against the lamina causing pain etc. It would seem the disk is damaged and unable to hold against the pressure of the weight of the torso and head compressing it so it squeezes outwards pressing on the nerves - a bit like squeezing a half-empty tube of toothpaste with the lid on where it bulges away from the pressure. The disk at that position is particularly under pressure especially when posture is out of alignment, the body is overweight, the body is acidic, is arthritic and/or lifting heavy weights incorrectly - and muscle spasm is not helpful either!.
I'd request/demand another appointment with the surgeon as what he did was inadequate to solve the problem. I expect he thought doing what he did would be enough, but it clearly isn't. This time you will have the experience to ask more probing questions and demand he sort it out 😉
Love, Light and Healing
Things continue...now have a date for an epidural. Its like groundhog day, although this left side sciatic pain is totally different from the pain on the right I suffered for 4 years.
Its much deeper and less intense in the leg but more intense in the buttock and thigh. It doesnt go further than my knee unless I try and drive and press the clutch in fully. Bending down is a nightmare.
I have been told the epidural will be a 50/50 chance of success. I have had two before that didnt work, however on this occasion I have a nice little scar for them to aim for:D
I had the Epidural today.
Completely different from my two previous injections. This time I was given a ' general' rather than a local....wow, what a difference. Go in , lie down, put out for 15 minutes and none of that horrible pressure feeling on the back. I woke up with zero pain from the procedure.
It was the same hospital that did the Micro D / Hermi - L 😀
Basically a private hospital treating NHS patients. Brilliant service and the surgeon who did the operation did the Epidural so I guess he knew where he was aiming.
They reckon it may take a few days to kick in, so here's hoping .
Hey Doog,
Hows things? I hope all is well. I'm still working away. Finding it a bit difficult these days with 14hr days coming up to xmas. Mad busy in work so its sitting all day long. On and off the difene as i need it. Walking when i can but not as much as i should.
Still get leg pain etc and buttock pain on and off. Going through a rough spot at the moment. Back to trying to find the balance of when to rest and when to walk.
Looks like life after a discectomy isn't all roses. Its nearly one year on exactly since first signs of it and im in the same situation - much less pain but there isn't a day goes by without it. Ya just keep picking yourself up again and again.
Roll on xmas and a nice break from work!!
Hi Ricky
It certainly isn't the instant cure the experts would have us believe eh! Don't over do it.
I see the surgeon again next month:(
In a other bizarre twist... I went back to physio and was shown a stretch. I lie on my back with my arse to the skirting board... while putting my legs up parallel to the wall. And stretch the life out of my ham string. After the initial burning feeling its amazing relief. Taking breaks every 2mins etc.. MASSIVE MASSIVE relief. ... on the right side... But the left is still sore on and off??
I dunno.. I don't know what to be doing these days..
Best of luck with the surgeon. Hang in there. Its nearly xmas time so you can get away with falling over every now and then!! 🙂
Amazing information
Hi guys, thanks for all your posts, I've been reading over the past two days.
I've just been put on the NHS waiting list for surgery (after 2 years of suffering) and having tried physio etc. The hardest thing I've read so far has come from doog...
"It certainly isn't the instant cure the experts would have us believe eh! Don't over do it."
I'm a 45 personal trainer and sports therapist by trade, I'm also a competitive mountain biker, road cyclist and snowboarder.
My current pain level is manageable, however, as soon as I try any form of exercise (particularly running) the pain in my right leg is unbearable. I've stopped all training and competing and to be honest am probably at my most depressed. Work is difficult as I don't do the exercises myself, I can stand for just about an hour doing a massage treatment but have to rest fully afterwards.
I agreed to surgery because I'm too young to give up on my career and thought I could cope with a maximum 6 week recovery. It just doesn't sound like it's worth it?? Do I have to accept my lot or will I ever get back to full fitness and training as I was 2 years ago??
Yours very miserably
Hi MTB Anna,
I had surgery on the 10 feb 12' as you've read in this thread when i was seeking advice. The one thing i've come to realize with people and there backs is every case seems completely different. I've had a very tough year. A life changing year. I've stopped doing certain things i really enjoyed, offroading and tinkering with engines etc. I would'nt even attempt to change a tire these days. But on the up side the result is i'm indoors with my kids and wife more, the weekends are more family orientated etc so its while it does change things drastically its just opens a new chapter in your life. You can get down about it for a while but try and dust yourself off and stand up straight and move on.
I'd class my surgery as a success. But my work life forces me into a situation of sitting and commuting for long periods of time. So its now a case of balance to be able to work and provide for my family but walk and gym to undo the negative effects of having to work / commute.
Its a long game your about to play. It seems my disc seems to be being absorbed and breaking down so i'm feeling numb in the tailbone the last 2-3 days. I was pissed off and down last night but woke up with fighting spirit. I walk every lunch time and gym every weekend and nothing is going to stand in my way of staying active and as pain free as i can be.
Keep the head Anna, as a personal trainer endurance is key. So fight it. x
A quick update as its almost 12 months since my operation and 4 1/2 years since the original disc prolapse.
The disc has re-herniated as already mentioned :(. I had an epidural which took the edge off for about 5 weeks but now back to big time pain.
I have opted for another epidural before surgery as I have always thought surgery to be a last resort. I am told they can do two micro D's then its fusion as the disc becomes unstable.
My herniation was excessive and they took alot away, hence my surgeon mentioned fusion. However he also said it was an extremely painful procedure so that put me off going under the knife again.
I really dont know what to do next 😀
Seems i've just picked up a Central Serous Retinopathy (CSR).
Directly linked to stress and Anti inflamatories. ie difene
6-8mths of blurred / Distorted vision in my left eye.
discectomy
Hi all
I had dicectomy on my lower back i think it was L4 and L5 causing me big issues with siatic pain. Its now 8 days since the op and i am finding my pain alot worse. I cannot stand for long and movement seems to really agrivate it although i am trying to make sure i do move to keep blood flow going but to be honest i am a bit worried as i am a satellite engineer and my job is quite active. So what i am asking is can any one offer any advise on wether this is normal and what i need to be doing to make this better.
I have not been given much advise by my consultant and physio is another 3 weeks away.
I am currently taking co codamol which help for about an hour.
Hi Ricky
I dont know if you read this forum anymore but I hope you recovered from your issues -we both had surgery at the same time in early 2012 and it was good to talk and get through it together!.. I guess however this post may be lost in cyber space.
I had my second micro D last October (2013) after the first reherniated and it appears the second has now reherniated 😡
The second op seemed easier after what we went through but the next step is an MRI scan.
Surgery is truely the last resort and I think its led me down the path to regretting ever seeing a surgeon.
Anyone reading this - dont do it