Facing laminectomy; can't wait vs. terrified

First off, sorry Susie for replying to Pie without the introductory post (newby to forums in general here , so here's my story.

Going on 20 years now, I've had bouts of back/leg pain which progressed to include numbness & tingling. The bad episodes would last several weeks, then subside. After about 10 years, it moved to the other side. Then the episodes would involve one leg/buttock or the other and it would last a couple of months. MRI revealed herniated disc at L4-5 and 3 other bulging discs. Did 6 months of PT which did little.

10 months ago I got the double whammy, both sides at once. New MRI showed the herniated disc had moved toward the midline and more stenosis. 4 epidurals from January to May (I know, one too many!). The first 2 game me partial relief, the second 2 almost total relief (YIPEE!)
Those 2 lasted exactly 4 weeks. :-( . New PT helped, but still not where I want to be.

It's gotten progressively worse, pain, numbness, tingling. I can walk, do the elliptical, sit if I get propped up just right, but I cannot stand.

My right outer shin feels like somebody is throwing ice water on it. My left calf feels like something hot is sticking in me.

History of stomach ulcers stop me from taking NSAIDs except in extreme episodes. Narcotics throw me for a loop and bring out my inner monster. So I just deal with it until I can't, then swallow a 600mg IB and pray.

So off to see the wizard I go. He said minimally invasive bilateral laminectomy will fix me right up.

Hi Linda and welcome to the forum. He, he, you are not the first & sure will not be the last to not know to do an intro post, lol. No problem, the reason for the intro post is to give you more exposure to the forum so everyone has the chance to greet you and welcome you aboard.

It sounds like you have really been put the wringer with your back. I am sorry to hear that everything tried was not the ticket to being pain free again. May I ask what kind of dr will be doing your surgery, orthopedic or neurosurgeon? Have you had a 2nd opinion? If not, I urge you to get a 2nd opinion with a board certified neurosurgeon. A lot of your pain sounds like nerve pain. Neurosurgeons have more training when dealing with nerve problems especially when surgery is needed. Orthopedics are more trained to deal with bones & skeletal issues. Yes, orthos do back surgery, but if this were me I would have a board certified neurosurgeon in my corner.

In the meantime you will be needing to get things lined up for home after your surgery. It is important to have easy food you can nuke when you get home and have everything on hand that you will need. Will there be someone at home with you after surgery? I know some times people have someone but not always.

Anyway, glad to read your intro post & welcome aboard!!!! Weekends tend to be slow but others will straggle in throughout the day and will pop in. Take care...Susie

Linda walking will be the only thing you will be allowed to do for a while after your surgery. Doing too much too soon causes major problems besides setting you back. Walking is so important because it helps get your strength back and you can't hurt yourself by walking. Start out slow & work your way up.

Susie

I will hold on to that thought of mental jumping! Today has been exceptionally hard.

I guess I should have mentioned in my background that I have been down this CP road before but on a different horse. I spent 2 years on neurontin and some other add on that I can't think of now for trigeminal neuralgia. I opted for brain stem surgery which was by no means a walk in the park, but was overall successful.

With this episode, my pain doctor tried to put me on a similar drug to neurontin since I don't do well on the other pain meds, but I hated the way I felt on it and just can't bring myself to go there again. Besides, it didn't work that well even with ever increasing doses.

So you can see why I feel like this surgery is my last best hope.