Back Pain Forum - Spine Fusion surgery and work

Conditions and Diseases > Back Pain Forum > Spine Fusion surgery and work

What structures make up the spine? We review basic spine anatomy here...before identifying potential causes of back pain....

Q: Spine Fusion surgery and work

asked by: Sparky123 on September 17th, 2008

New User

Hi, I am new here (today). Its great that there is a forum like this for people to get info/advice. One thing I have not seen a lot of is people mentioning what kind of job they have with their back problems, so here is what I'm going through. I'm a 38 year old male and I have bulging discs at L4/L5 and L5/L1 with severe pain mostly in my back and sometimes in my left leg . I work at a Public Works in the Chicago area and my job consits of a good deal of heavy lifting. I have been on and off work for about two months now and I have tried just about everything from two epidurals (maybe having a 3rd next Tuesday), chiropractor, and PT but nothing has worked. The only thing I havent tried is Acupuncture, but I really have not looked into it much. I have seen two surgeons, a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon. The neurosurgeon said he could do two different surgeries, a Microdiscectomy for my leg pain or a Fusion for both. I guess I was leaning toward the fusion surgery until I talked to the orthopedic surgeon which I saw today. The first thing out of the orthosurgeons mouth was "So, what else are you going to do with your life? Your are not going to be able to do what you're doing now after fusion surgery." When I heard that, it hit me like a ton a bricks. I made the big mistake of not even thinking of asking that to the neurosurgeon when I was there, so I have a call into him to see if he could give me some more info on the work topic.

I guess my main concerns it if I get the fusion surgery is will I even be able to go back to a normal work load and will it get rid of most of my pain? What are the percentages of the surgery working and getting rid of my pain?

Does anyone out there have any stories of getting fusion surgery and still not being able to work because of ongoing pain or not having as good of mobility to do your job right.

Thanks in advance for anyones advice and stories!

Mark

Replies(7)

Sparky123

replied on September 18th, 2008

New User

Update....Went back to the first doctor and he pretty much said the same thing which is a big bummer. Also, I forgot to add in my last post that the second doctor perscribed me more PT along with a TENS unit (which I know nothing about) and a perscription for a med that I can't read on the scrip note. Its supposed to work on the nerve endings and it begins with an "L". God this sucks.

mitchell11

replied on September 23rd, 2008

New User

Hi mark,I've had 2 Discectomy's one in 2001 and 2002 in that short time my L4/L5-L5/S1 had herniated again due the surgery in 2002.after that i was feeling soso my pain level went from a 9 to a 5 after the surgery's.I learned to deal with the pain.at that time i worked offshore so there was no way i could go back to work.at that time i opened a used car dealership and there was no lifting involved so i was good.In 2006 i decided to close my business and opened a painting business and i would lift 5 gallon paint buckets up until march of this year when one day i got a really bad pain in my left hip area,i went to the ER and they sent me right to a surgen.we did a MRI and saw that my L4/L5 had herniated again and L5/S1 was almost gone,it had almost deteriated completly.so on May 27 i had a spinal fusion with cages to take the place of my disc with bone graphs.I was told i was going to go back to work 3 months after surgery and wasn't going to need PT.well i went to Pt for 2 months and i just had my first of three steroid injections yesterday.My surgen said he has no clue what's causing the pain and not sure if it will ever go away.My pain level stays around a 7 to a 9...so after all this my opinion is discectomy's are good but its all about how you takecare of yourself after.now that i have a spinal fusion i can't hardly bendover even when i sitdown its hard to grab my feet to put my shoes on and by the way im 36....if your pain isn't that bad i would maybe try a discectomy first,the recovery time is alot shorter and you may have a chance to have a somewhat normal life.the old saying is true once you have a back surgery you'll never be the same.....

Goodluck,
Mitch

Sparky123

replied on September 23rd, 2008

New User

Thanks mitchell11 for your story. I can't believe the doctor said you didn't need PT. Everyone I've talked to says its the most important thing after back fusion (or any back) surgery. Since I last posted I've talked to a few other people and they said "the surgery worked great, just make sure you do your PT, and walk a lot." I think a Microdiscectomy isn't what right for me. From what I heard from the doctors is that a Discectomy is mainly for the leg pain that is caused by the herniated discs, where most of my pain is in my back and a Discectomy doesn't help back pain.

jem*81

replied on September 25th, 2008

New User

Hello - I am 27 and have just had a fusion with 2 solid rods, 2 cages and a bone graft at L5/S1 level (think thats normal for a fusion) amungst other things they said that that disc had completely gone! At L4/L5 i have had flexible rods put in as that disc is almost gone, they help act as shock absorbers - they are rods to hold and support but also allow them to fex slightly so you loose less movement. I am only 4 wks post op but i was told right from the start that i would not be able to do any lift heavy again. I was also told that i would loose about 6 degress on the bend with this one fusion which i did not think was too bad. Take care - hope it helps x

jem*81

replied on September 25th, 2008

New User

Hi again - forgot to say, I work in an office in a builders merchants (sitting and standing a lot!) , I was told there was a 70% success rate of REDUCING my back pain by 50% or more!!!!! 30 % of people apparently have the surgery and feel no better/worse off.
They did also say that there was no other option for me - either grin and bear it or do the fusion! With the state i was in i figured if they could reduce my pain by just 5 % i would be happier.
****No guarentees that the pain would ever go and of course they also scare you with the risks of what could go wrong**** Any more info i can help with - please get in touch x Keep smiling.

NavyDave

replied on September 25th, 2008

New User

Lyrica??

I think the medication your Dr may have prescribed is Lyrica, a drug from Phizer.

It's basically a drug designed for siezures, but it also affects the nerve transmissions for pain. Another drug used in similar pain mangagement is Neurotonin / Gabupentin.

Good luck- don't rush off to surgery.

I'm in the same boat, age 37. You may want to try accupuncture.

I tried it a few weeks ago (4 treatments) and my pain went from 8-9 to 6-7. So after taking some percocet, my pain would be down to 5-6, vs. 6-7

I'm going to go back to the accupuncturist as I feel like of the past 10-12 weeks of my pain, the week I saw her the pain was less during that week. I had to stop for a short trip, and the pain went back up.

Good luck
NavyDave

bmwjen

replied on April 2nd, 2009

New User

i had fusions at 3 levels and rods and screws implanted at 4 levels. the surgery was 5 months ago and i am still home from work ( i am on my feet almost all the time for my job). Prior to the surgery I had debilitating pain down my right leg and was virtually unable to walk. Since the surgery that pain is totally gone with only some minimal risidual nerve issues (numbness and tingling) which I am told will resolve within a yeasr. I am on Lyrica for that. The recuperation has been tough and I have pain in the area of the fusions which I am told will go away once the bone starts to grow which it has not yet really done. As for physical therapy, even the physical therapist told me the only therapy after fusions and implanting of hardware is to walk. Its a very long process and much longer and harder recuperation than i expected, but the pain that caused me to need the surgery is totally gone. I did have a microdiscectomy 3 months prior to the fusion which left me in much worse shape..pick your doctor carefully and make sure to get a second opinion from an equally qualified doctor...good luck..

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