Nervous...scared...anxious...
Thanks, Doug. I believe I understand your reasoning. Only thing I would say is that it would be a good idea to get a second opinion from another surgeon. Not to hear what you want to hear...... But to have another opinion to weigh when making your decisions as to care.
The other thing is...... There are advancements in medicine. I don't know how long its been since you saw the last surgeon, but if its been several years or more it would be good to see another doctor for a new assessment and to get a second opinion to his or hers as well. Back surgery has come a long way since my surgery when I went home on crutches with big bottles of Vicodin and Soma and a long incision with metal staples holding things together for a couple of weeks following.
When I had the herniated disc nearly 25 years ago, following 6 months of PT, my surgeon did a lumbar laminectomy rather than fusion. He brought a full sized articulated plastic model of a human spine with him to our meting and explained that if he fused vertebrae, the remainder of unfused vertebrae would need to move even more (than before the fusion) for every movement I made with my back following surgery. And that would limit my range of motion. Or if I wasn't mindful to limit my range of motion on my own...... To make me more likely to develop another herniated disc.
Of course, my range of motion was already limited in my legs due to nerve damage as a result of the back injury anyway, but he meant I would have less range of motion in my spine as well if he did a fusion. So he did the lumbar laminectomy and said that if it didn't work, a fusion might be necessary. Fortunately, it has worked and except for having degenerative joint disease which has progressed since that time, it is still working as long as I don't overdo things and get my spine out of alignment.
In any case, I wish you well and if the pain management units you are trying will be of help, I hope that you can be pain free and possibly come off the pain meds or at least take a reduced dosage if your doctors (with your concurrence) believe it will work for you.
Best regards,
Harry
Evening Harry
Hope all is well.
The last surgeon, whom I saw in October of last year, was the third one I saw. He is, according to my primary care doc, my shoulder surgeon and my rheumatologist the most highly regarding back guy in the area.
Saw the Pain Management team today, for my 5 day follow up on the clinical trial spinal cord stimulator. Met with the reps from Biotronics, the company that is doing the clinical trial. They loaded some new "tunes" into my stimulator box. Nurse from the clinic stuck her head in, said she will see me on the 29th to pull, literally, the trial leads out of my back and do the "wellness check". Tentative date for the implant of the permanent Medtronics Spinal Cord Stimulator is February 24th.
I realize that this thing is nothing more than pain management. Sadly, given how my disc is herniated...and the fact that the disc above it has slipped some, this is about as good as I can get right now. Even if my disc was not herniated out the front a fusion would be a problem. I would need to be fused from L3 to S1. And given the fact that my hips are pretty beat up can only wonder how long they would hold up before needing to be replaced.
Excuse my rant here....but I have been taking these narcotics for a decade. Prior to that I was downing 18 or so hydrocodone, the high dose ones, a day for the previous 4 years...they were not for pain management, they were to "take the edge off" so I did not hurt anybody at work. The postal facility I worked at had a "most likely to go Postal" list....I was number 2 on it. I want off of these damn things. I am well aware of the legal/medical definitions of dependent/addicted and often feel that the line for me is more than a bit blurry. Do I take Oxycontin & Oxycodone to get "high"? No I do not. Do I take more than prescribed? No I do not. Do I take them so I can get out of bed in the morning? Yes I do. But at the same time I feel that I am borderline addicted to them....for the simple fact that I can't live without them.
Plan is to have the stimulator put in. And do my damnedest to get off of the Dopioids. If I need something to supplement the stimulator for pain management I am hoping that I pass the trial for a pain medication pump. No more Milligrams of narcotics coating the pain receptors in my brain...and making me foggy. It will be Micro-grams injected right into my spine....the only receptors that will be effected, if I understand the whole thing, will be the ones in my spine. No more brain fog.
I am tired of more or less having no emotions. I used to be very sharp mentally. Was quick to respond when talking with people. Now I feel about as sharp as a ball peen hammer.
I hope I am doing the right thing.
