Met with Surgeon Today

Hello again! I had posted on Monday about my crappy appointment with a Neurosurgeon and was very very discourage afterwards. I was able to find a Orthopedic Surgeon and saw him today. He was so much better than the other surgeon. He thoroughly looked through my MRI documents and performed many physical test on me. Apparently, I only have five degrees of motion in my back. He asked me about my epidural steroid injections and wanted to know if I had any done on my l5-s1 disc. I told him I didn't think so. He said that he wants to go ahead and get that done to see if I gain any temporary relief. I've had two epidural injections since the accident and none of them actually helped. If I get relief from this injection, he said that I need to have part of my disc removed so that it doesn't impede on the nerves anymore. He said that I need a new office chair and wrote a prescript ion for that. He also said that if I don't see any relief from the partial removal of the disc, he wants to pursue fusion surgery on it. He also told me every day that passes; I will become more and more debilitated. I told him that I already have problems with my coordination and walking in general. I also have frequency and can't sleep. Has anyone had part of their disc removed? What was that like and how long did it take you to recover? I'm trying to figure out how to coordinate this with work... What do y'all think about all this. Is this good?   I was also put on elavil 25mg once a day for the nerve pain.    

Hello dhitt!

…did the surgeon happen to apply a name to the procedure?…maybe calling it a Diskectomy?…because that is what it sounds like to me. I have known several men and women where I work that have had this done, and have done well. It is much less evasive than a fusion, and recovery time is much, much quicker.

One of the men I work with had it done on a Thursday, and was back to work on Monday, however he would be an exception and is a tough old bugger! LOL

Good luck!…and I hope all turns out well for you. Keep us informed please!…we all learn from these types of post and of course we want to make sure you receive good support as well

SE