Spinal Problems Archives

Re: L5

My husband is 25 years old, we have 2 young childrenans he works full time in sales. In August of 1999 we were working in the yard when tried to lift the lawn mower into his pickup when he felt a terrible pain in his abck and shooting down his right leg. I put him to bed for the weekend thinking it was just a pulled muscle. When the pain did not go away after a few days of taking it easy we went to see our family doctor. During that time his right butt check went numb and his right leg goes numb at times. He was diganosied with a ruptured disk at L5-S1. His family doctor gave him Nalbuphine HCI Injections. He takes .5 to 1.0 cc every 3 to 4 hours, and has for 18 months. Due to a troubled pregancy and delivery and insurance "games" we have not been able to see a specalist until the first of this year. We have now seen a neurologist and a surgen. The neurologist told us that accoring to the MRI results (he had 2 sets of test - Aug of 1999 and Dec of 2000)his only problem was the medication. He told us flat out that he was an addicted to it and that if he went off the injections that he would have no pain. He even talked about sending him to a rehad center in another state. We did not belive that after 18 months that the problem had just gone away, so we got a refferal from our family doctor to a surgon. When the MRI results from both sets were reviewed this time, the doctor clearly saw the problem. He told us that a small piece of the fibrous tissue between to vertabre had broken off and it floating in the spinal canal. Once he showed us where it was at on the film we could clearly see the little circle beside the nerves. He has recommened that my husband start to take himself off the medication for the surgery. I have searched your wed site and everywhere else I can think of and I have not found much on the procedure he wants to preform. He called it a Disectomy. I asked him about spinal fussion and he said that this new procedure was less painfull and more successful, however he did not go in to much detail about the surgery. My questions are as follows: Hiw new is this type of surgery? Is it risky or is there a chance of damage to his spinal cord? What does this surgery invole? Is it more successful than other procedures? Why is it so important for my husband to completely of the medication before surgery? Do youthink that the numbness in his right leg will ever go away?
Also, I have read several of the posted questions on your BB and others about the pain coming back after a few years. Is this common with all types of back surgeries? Will it most likely happen to my husband?
Thank you, Whitney

Follow Ups:

• Re: L5 & S1 ruptured discs (Archive) Walt Stoll 11:26:27 2/26/01 (0)

In Reply to: Re: L5 & S1 ruptured discs posted by Whitney on February 24, 2001 at 10:50:34:

Hi, Whitney.

I cannot conceive of a physician addicting anyone like this and still having a license to practice. The surgeon is not about to take on an addict prior to surgery.

Just because he has a ruptured disc is no reason to believe that surgery is his ONLY option although it MAY be. He has had NONE of the other options offered him. See the archives about spinal conditions. There is a lot there but he needs to know all of it.

Spinal surgery statistics are: 30% get better, 30% get worse and 30% stay the same---even with this surgeon's "new" surgery (which wasn't even new when I was in medical school 40 years ago).

Remember: "To a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

I had 5 ruptured discs in MY back (1970 myelogram), in constant pain with numbness of my left leg and no reflexes there for years prior to learning relaxation techniques and a proper diet.

I have had no surgery and NO pain for nearly 30 years.

All of your surgical questions are only properly answered by his surgeon.

Hope this helps.

Walt