Back Surgery...

[Treadhead]

Good news! Like you, the only real pain I had afterwards was the incision. I pinched it in my backbrace a few days later and thought I was gonna die! Get a piece of memory foam (I had a tempurpedic sample) and place it between the brace and incision. It helps. Don't try to do too much too early.

[SSMAN]

Get a second opinion. Once they hack you back up, it will never be the same.

[CRASH]

Get a second opinion. Once they hack you back up, it will never be the same.

You're a little slow on this one, Barry. Read a couple posts up. He already had the surgery.

[black2002ls]

Good news! Like you, the only real pain I had afterwards was the incision. I pinched it in my backbrace a few days later and thought I was gonna die! Get a piece of memory foam (I had a tempurpedic sample) and place it between the brace and incision. It helps. Don't try to do too much too early.

No brace here.

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[Raskal]

make sure you follow through with the physical therapy.. I cut mine short because I got tired of the co-pay thinking I'd maintain at home and didn't follow through.. Stiffness and weakness in tender areas being the result however 4 years later though everything is good now, mostly aside from not being able to sleep on my back anymore...

[Pooter]

Do NOT go to Rothbart, dude is a hack. We still have the bill from the second back surgery to fix what he DIDNT remove as he said he was. My wife had a herniated disc and obliterated disc, both were supposed to have been fixed by him and werent. The same exact discs(that Rothbart said he removed/fixed were still there/damaged, only did a slight repair on the herniation). Obliterated disc eventually pushed into the spinal cord and lost feeling/nerve control in one leg and caused a great deal of pain. Almost had to do the 360 procedure(front and back full open surgery) to fix his messup, luckily they were able to remove all the fragments and install the cage with the first incision. The second surgeon was able to repair it finally and id highly recommend him, Dr Sethuraman. Great bedside manner, did great work(which he coincidentally fixes Rothbart mistakes regularly). If you've seen/met rothbart you know he thinks hes God's gift to medicine and is about as arogant as it gets. My Dad also had a consulation with him for a neck/spinal problem and again his solution was surgery to lose mobility(fusion) right off the bat.

[black2002ls]

I saw Dr. Bartolomei at the Rockwall Spine Team Texas office. My surgery was conducted by him at Presby Rockwall. It has been a wonderful experience (if you can call back surgery that). I initially saw Dr. McPherson, after we decided that the consrvative methods weren't working, I was scheduled with Dr. Bartolonei. He didn't seem to have the god complex. He has been great to talk to, explains everything clearly and it has been great. I am now 2 days post op and still, other than incision pain (which is better today) I feel great

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[Special K]

Dr. Sethuraman/Spine Physicians Institute was amazing. I would recommend him to anyone with back or neck issues. STT did nothing more than charge for some worthless "injections" then performed some sort of mystery surgery that not even my current surgeon could detect. The disc that was obliterated and in my spinal canal 4 years ago was still there, however now it was vertical along spine and caused perm nerve damage to my left foot and leg. He did however leave enough scar tissue damage to where Dr. Sethuraman had to operate from the front, increasing the risks, cost of surgery and leaving me with an enormous scar.

Glad to hear that your surgery went well. It is a fact that once you have the back surgeries, especially when cages are put in like I had, the rest of your back will deteriorate at a faster rate. It is imperative that you maintain a healthy weight and increase your core strength.

[black2002ls]

It is imperative that you maintain a healthy weight and increase your core strength.

I've always been small in stature. I'm 5'8" and only weigh 125-130. I've found a workout partner so that when I'm able to get back in the gym I've got someone to work out with. I refuse to let myself get as bad as I was. I let myself get out of shape, and I feel that had a contributing factor to all of this.

[Special K]

I've always been small in stature. I'm 5'8" and only weigh 125-130. I've found a workout partner so that when I'm able to get back in the gym I've got someone to work out with. I refuse to let myself get as bad as I was. I let myself get out of shape, and I feel that had a contributing factor to all of this.

Hopefully you didnt think I was implying that you were not in shape I was just stressing what my cousin who is in orthopedics told me about post op, the deterioration increases in the areas surrounding the repair and that can further be exacerbated by extra weight and weak core.

I cannot wait to work out... even 2 mos post op I am not even allowed to "stretch" any muscles. They want to make 100% sure the cages have healed in place properly and the bone growth is adequate. Up until a few weeks ago I was required to wear a bone growth stimulator for 2 hours a day. They wanted me to wear it for an additional 6-8 months.

I wish you the best of luck with your recovery, hopefully you do not have anything permanent. I am thankful that I no longer have the constant pain but it would be nice to get my foot and leg back!

[Treadhead]

No brace here.

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Lucky you then! I hated that damn thing! Good luck on the recovery.

[black2002ls]

2 weeks post op today! I had my follow up last Tuesday, Dr. Bartolomei, released me to resume normal activity as I was comfortable and so long as it didn't cause any pain. I started my Physical Therapy exercises this morning. I'm thinking I was a little too active this past weekend (I work in retail and it was tax free weekend). That compounded with a lack of sleep for almost a week has me pretty sore. I'm hoping the lack of rest, and the increased activity this past weekend has caused the incision site and all of the stuff they moved/poked/prodded, to flare up.

[black2002ls]

Thought I would drop in and update this for those who might still be interested. Had a bit of a hiccup about 3 weeks ago. Started getting that pain in the center of my hip again. This time, though I could control it through motion/shifting my body, with no need for pain meds. So I scheduled a follow up to see what the doc said. From what I described and his evaluation, he determined that I had inflamed the site more than I was seeing from the post op recovery. I'm not on a 3 week tapered pack of Dexamethasone, and it seems to be knocking everything down. Though I look like a damn teenager. I didn't have acne this bad when I was a kid! I've got it all over! That and the steroid jowls and eating 12 times a day, its great!

[davbrucas]

And so the complications of back surgery begin for you...

I'm no paramedic, but I would avoid back surgery at all costs!

[black2002ls]

That was the approach I took when this road began. However, after the disc ruptured and all other treatments failed. I did some research and took the plunge. I was diminished to a shell of myself due to the limitations from the pain. Taking Norco 10's and they weren't touching it. At this stage of the process, I am still 100% happy with the decision I made! I am in more control of my life, feel better than I have in nearly 2 years! My energy level and physical activity have both increased dramatically. I am still very cautious as to my activities. I think its 6-8 months for full recovery of the disc from the discectomy?

I got a bit worried with the onset of pain. But I have responded will to this steroid pack, I scaled back my PT and exercise a bot to help things settle down.

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