I have the same problems, im staying away from the surgery, having friends that have had surgery, they dont feel any better, some feel worse, as far as your pain I dont think it will ever go away, its a matter of living with it, so im told. It sucks big time, I use a home tens unit, which seems to offer me more relief than any chiro- therapy has, right now im into taking, herbal supp, devils claw, st johns wart, , there suppose to promote healthy bones, ease pain, relieve inflamed nerves. As for surgery as you know everyone responds differently. You might have a great comeback, its a very hard decission to make good luck.

I understand what you are going through. I am 28 years old and I have had 4 back surgerys the first was when I was 16. At that time I didn't have a choice I had to have the surgery because we had already put it off for 2 years. The first surgery was just a fusion in the same location that your having trouble in. The doctor just fused the bone and that was it. Well the fusion broke and I had to have another surgery when I was 20. This time the doctor put rods and screws in my back and the pain was still there well it turns out that the next level above my fusion the ligamite in the disk had broke so we had to do it again and then last year on dec 9 I had another one because my whole fusion had broke and nothing in my back was stable. I was very lucky that something worse didn't happen it seems I could have very easyly had ended up in a wheel chair by just the smallest accident. My last surgery was 7 hours and my doctor fused my back again and now I have rods and screws in the front and back of my spine and the doctor says there is no way I should break this time. But I had seen him in dec for my one year appointment and he told me that he doesn't think I can work again. The pain has never gone away. Now that I have had all these surgerys I will never be without pain. I will tell you if I had to do it all again I wouldn't have had the first surgery. I never thought that by the time I was 28 I would have had 4 already. It's not a fun experience it's very painful and a long time recovering. I had met another patient of my doctors the last time I was there and he had had his first surgery the same one I had the first time and he feel great so you just never know. My advise for you is don't do it unless you have no choice at all. It should be the last resort because once you do it once the chances of having to do it again are good. If you do have to do it make sure you have a very good doctor. My first doctor was not very good at all and i'm the one paying for it still 12 years later and for the rest of my life. I wish you all the luck in the world and know there are people out there that do know what your going through. We just have to accept that this is it and deal with it. I always think of people that are worse off who can't walk and at least I can do that. I might be in pain every day but at least I can still walk and do things for myself. I hope this helps a little the main thing to remember is your not alone.
Good luck michelle

I had a laminectomy in november and pain free knock on wood.My l-5 was severely ruptured.I did not have fusion done.My neurosurgeon did a myleogram and catscan to identify the problem. I assume he removed the fragments that were pinching the nerves.
Luckily,i had taken prednisone to take away the inflammation before the myleogram.The myleogram is no cakewalk,if you are lucky,you wont have intense headaches.It made me feel like I had pneumonia,it hurt my lungs to breathe afterwards.
Two weeks after surgery,i was back to work not lifting anything over 20 pounds.I am now very cautious of what I pick up and not to make any sudden movements.I would suggest seeing a neurosurgeon,rather than an orthopedic,think they rather do fusions for some reason.Everyone i've heard that had fusions had problems of some sort.
I was seeing a chiropractor when my back first went out.He seemed to help me until I ran out of money.I had no insurance,no workmans comp and a young family to feed.Luckily,with the help of the state,i was able to get some help.Without friends and family,i would have been homeless.
The surgery really amazed me.Soon as I woke up,i noticed I had the strength back in my leg.Before,i couldnt lift it laying down.The first place I went to just wanted to do nerve blocks,a tire patch moreless.I didnt have the money for it anyway,2000 bucks for mri and they didnt even give me a price for the nerve blocks.
If you or anyone are like me without insurance,ask your family doctor what options your state has for you.Luckily my doctor is my first cousin and none of this would have been possible without her.

Good luck

Make sure to exhaust all your options before surgery. Epidural block shots, traction, tens unit are all things that may provide you with enough relief to avoid surgery.
I just had surgery on 12/06/03, and 3 weeks later I feel better, though a long road of recovery is still in front of me before I know exactly how well it all will be. My surgery was a discetomy with fusion at the l5-s1. Be mentally prepared for surgery if this becomes the only option. The pain for the first couple of days after it is quite incredible. I will keep this post short, which is not normal for me, but if you would like more information on what to expect after surgery,I would be more then happy to tell you more.

I wish you the best and hope that you find something that provides you with comfort. Trust us you are not alone with the pain you are experiencing. Also, if you are not satisfied with what this doctor is telling you, make sure to get another opinion.

Everybody has good advice as I did have surgery also. I have ddd and had a pinched nerve in my lower back with siatic nerve pain down my right leg. My dr told me I would have a oral roberts experience or what everybody else has and that was pain every so often. That was 4-1/2 years ago. I continued to have back nerve pain until march of 2002 when someone introduced me to a product called reliv. After taking this supplement I noticed that my back pain was less and less frequent. Now the past yr I have had no back pain. The products are patented and work as I can attest to it. I also have a friend with a bad back who also played lots of sports with even better results. If anybody is interested in trying them let me know. Gamurphy64@yahoo.Com

greg

I appreciate all the responses. I know a few people who have had surgeries to remove herniations, I don't know the medical terminology. It seems like most of them ended up better off than I am now.

I do know one person who had a fusion that involved pins, and it didn't work. He ended up on disability and pain pills. He claims acupuncture has got him off the pain pills, but a lot of frequent visits covered by workman's comp. My insurance won't cover acupunture.

Has anyone tried acupunture? I haven't looked into the tens units either yet; they sound interesting.

Indeed, i'll heed the general advice here to go to surgery as a last resort. I actually have to have an acl repair done on my knee first, and that will take priority over my back for awhile.
Chet

I posted the other day about the products I have been taking. I can't belive that not more of you are interested in trying these products! They have changed my life, some of my friends and thousands of others. I'm telling you that if you don't at least check them out for yourself than you will never know how good they are. I have never seen anybody take these products correctly that didn't get results. They are that good. They are made by reliv and guaranteed with clinical trials to prove it. Please email me so we schedule a time for me to tell you how and why these products work. Trust me if your still in pain then your missing out!!!!!