The Prophetess needs surgery

[EstimatedProphet]

We got the MRI results back today. The Prophetess has a rupture in the L4-L5 vertebrae area, which is in effect shorting out her sciatic nerve. Her doctor started calling neurosurgeons today to schedule an operation to remove the ruptured disc. No idea yet when it will be , but it will likely be within the next week or so, if that is possible.

[OzarkDem]

1. So sorry to hear that!

Give her my best. Will it be a long recovery?

[EstimatedProphet]

7. It really shouldn't be.

These days this kind of surgery is microsurgery, and they have you home the next day and back to work in a week. Amazing, isn't it?

[hfojvt]

28. that is amazing

I thought she had it much worse than me. I am going to have my knee "scoped" and I am expected to be out for a month. Mostly because there is no such thing as "light duty" at my job.

[EstimatedProphet]

49. Well, physical labor changes everything

She's a professor, so ther's no heavy lifting of anything other than students.

I had my knee scoped a few years ago. I was out for the next day, and back to work Monday. Had to walk with a can foe a little bit though.

[auntAgonist]

2. best wishes and good thoughts

coming her way!


Please keep us informed.

:hug: for both of you.


aA

[Blue-Jay]

3. My thoughts are with you, EP.

I hope that the Prophetess is back at 100% as soon as possible. Keep us informed, OK?

[BikeWriter]

4. Best wishes on that. My ex had that done. It worked like a charm!

[EstimatedProphet]

8. That's encouraging!

[BikeWriter]

12. You're most welcome. The surgery did wonders for her...

Best wishes for a similar success!

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Omigosh! Will be thinking of her

and you :hug:

Thanks for the news...hope this all goes well. :hug:

[latebloomer]

6. Best wishes to her

for a successful surgery and a quick recovery!

[WCGreen]

9. Best wishes from both Mrs. WCGreen and I......

[EstimatedProphet]

13. Thanks

Hopefully, this will finish soon, since we were talking about maybe organizing a Cleveland meetup on St. Pat's day!

[WCGreen]

22. Just invite us...

And we will put a little green in the party....

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. My thoughts go out to the both of you

I'm sending you good wishes that all will go well and she'll be feeling better ASAP. :hug:

[JI7]

11. thoughts are with both of you

i'm sure she will get through this fine.

[SeattleGirl]

14. The best to the Prophetess

And to you, too, EP. :hug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Oh, man. I was worried a few weeks ago about being in that situation

I was lucky and it was just a blister on the disc.

My heart goes out to EP, I know that pain that comes from back troubles and how scary the thought of surgery is. Just keep telling her that it will help with the pain. *hugs and prayers*

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. All my best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery.....

Glad they can move on this quickly! I hope she feels better fast.....

I will keep you both in my prayers.....

Do keep us informed, OK? I am sure that she will do well....


:grouphug:

[EstimatedProphet]

17. Thanks everyone

We both knew this was coming eventually I expect. Actually it will be good to get over.

[4morewars]

18. Get a second opinion !

Please don't rush into this surgery ! It may not be necessary, and may do more harm than good. Please please please look into alternative treatments. I don't know one person that says, "that back surgery was a great idea !" In fact, quite the opposite.
These doctors present this surgery as THE ONLY option, and often rush desperate patients into BAD decisions with disastrous results.
I speak from personal experience, these types of surgeries are NOT miracle cures.

[EstimatedProphet]

19. OK, good advice

We are planning on another opinion next week as it is. However, we've had independent doctors already give us the same information.

[4morewars]

20. I don't mean to alarm you,

but there can be serious side effects.
Surgery should be her LAST resort.
If alternative treatment doesn't yield the expected results, she can always go for the surgery at a later date. But once it is done there is no way to reverse the procedure.

Just don't let them rush you into it. These doctors know all the things that can go wrong with this type of procedure; Do you ?

Again, I don't mean to scare you, I only wish you both the best !

[TheProphetess]

31. Thanks for the advice

You're right - surgery should be the absolute last resort.

I was in a similar position two years ago. Had an MRI showing some disc degeneration at the L4/L5 area which was causing me pain in my left leg. At that point, physical therapy and Vioxx helped tremendously (although Vioxx is no longer on the market). Since then I have had little recurrences here and there that weren't pleasant but were bearable. This time, however, things are 100 times worse. And the new MRI showed the reason for that - the disc got much worse and ruptured so that I now have a big freaking piece of disc that is literally slamming into the nerve bundle that runs down my left leg and won't let those nerves stop firing their pain signals. We're getting an opinion from a neurologist and from a neurosurgeon to explore other options (surgery does scare me but not as much as living in the hell I've been in the last week and a half).

Thank you for your concern and your advice. We both appreciate it very much. :hug:

[Susang]

45. Here's one

My back surgery was a great idea. As a matter of fact, my doctors persued conservative treatment too long and may have caused my sciatic nerve to be permanently damaged because of the delay. If they had relieved the pressure on the nerve bundle sooner, I may not have had to live with this chronic daily pain. I'm just lucky that my nerve was able to heal as much as it did

Don't presume to know what medical treatment is good or bad for one person. Leave that decision up to them and their doctors, okay? And try to remember that alternative therapies are often just as disatrous as conventional treatments. I'm proof of that, or would you like to see my MRIs pre and post chiropractic treatment?

[In_The_Wind]

21. I wish her the very best.

[XemaSab]

23. OW OW OW!

Good luck with that! Hopefully the surgery will help with the pain!!!!

[Radio_Lady]

24. My husband has had this same surgery and it worked out very well.

Choose the best surgeon you can and ask him/her how many of these operations he/she does every year. The more, the better. A good thing is to "google" your state's medical database to see if the doctor has been in practice, where he/she was trained, etc., etc. I do this regularly with all my doctors.

My husband was operated on by the Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Charles Fager, in the 1970s at Lahey Medical Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts. He had been resting in bed for ten days (conservative management is what that's called). My husband could not walk and was in total agony on the drive from our home to the clinic. Hubby was admitted immediately, tested for various neurological deficits, underwent a myelogram the next day, and was wheeled right into surgery.

The recovery time was about six weeks. There was a further operation years later in the same space, due to the growth of a bony spur (which can happen, but usually doesn't).

A third surgery in 1998 was done to relieve spinal stenosis (a narrowing of the space where the spinal cord goes through the center of the vertebrae). Each of the subsequent operations was also successful, and required much less recovery time than the initial work. My husband is not limited in any way and does everything, including horseback riding in Arizona last week!

Good luck, Prophetess. Humans were not meant to live for more than a couple of decades. Many things wear out or fall out! There's a lot of pressure on our backs as we stand upright on two feet and continue to age into our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. I'm sure relieving the disk protrusion will help you a lot. Scar tissue will form in the spaces and your back will not fall apart! You'll probably have to do some back exercises which will help you with your recovery and upkeep afterwards. Pay attention to the exercises because your back will be REPAIRED but still NOT PERFECT.

Read on the Internet about the L4 - L5 (lower back) laminectomy. Pay no attention to the snake oil doctors (for me, that includes anything chiropractic or acupuncture, papain injections, back braces, etc.) The laminectomy procedures are very successful and doctors have learned many things about this procedure since my husband was diagnosed with a ruptured disc in the 1970s.

Good luck to you and let us know how you are doing.

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[TheProphetess]

32. Thanks for sharing your husband's story

It's encouraging (especially the horseback riding after multiple back surgeries!).

[Robeson]

25. Nice to hear that the surgery has advanced.....

...I had three vertebrae fused in my lower back 22 years ago. I wouldn't sugar coat it...it was a living hell. Really, it took a good 6 months before I felt up to speed. I will say, though, the doctor who did it was head of the orthopedic department at Vanderbilt, and was as good as it gets. I've never had surgery since. So getting the best doctor you can, pays.

Sounds like things have come a long way with surgeries.

[Radio_Lady]

38. Robeson, I can relate. You're right, things in neurosurgery have

moved ahead at a great rate since you and my husband were treated. At that time, they had to rely on myelograms (dye based) in the back. Not even sure they're doing those anymore.

Prophetess didn't mention a vertebral fusion operation, and of course, that's a much more complicated diagnosis and recovery. Good to know you have had a successful outcome that relieved the problem for you, too.

Right now, my husband is looking down the nose (no pun intended) of something called "chronic non-allergic rhinitis" (a pretty constant postnasal drip). He had surgery back in the 1970s to reduce the nasal turbinates and needs some more intervention now. I believe they do it with a small nasal instrument in the doctor's office with no anesthesia. But I'm clueless about side effects right now.

We all have to give these bodies of ours the best care we can afford -- mine is like an old car with multiple parts that are getting more and more mileage on them. Ah, well. Shakespeare said it best -- we go to our final destiny "sans (without) teeth, sans hair, sans eyes, sans everything". Me, I'm having a mammogram in early March and my husband is scheduling a colonoscopy. We're lucky they check all our "dipsticks" periodically at our HMO.

In peace -- for a bright, but very cold Saturday in Oregon,

Radio_Lady

[bridgit]

26. peace, wellness & healing to you folks...

:hug:

[neweurope]

27. Best wishes to the Prophetess!

I hope she'll be fine very soon.

------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[tjwmason]

29. Best wishes for you both.

:grouphug:

[entanglement]

30. Best of luck to both of you!

:hug:

[no name no slogan]

33. Prayers and good karma for Prophetess and you

:hug:

[supernova]

34. Healing thoughts to you and the Prophetess

:hug:

I wish her a speedy recovery.

[TheProphetess]

35. Thanks, everyone, for all of the love and good vibes

The Lounge is a very caring place. :grouphug:

EP will keep you posted, I'm sure. I had no idea he put up a thread about me last night. He's been the most amazing support for me.
All of you make my heart runneth over. :loveya:

[Cathyclysmic]

36. Sorry to hear that

Let us know when and what we can do.


:hug:

[Beware the Beast Man]

37. Aww man.....tell her I wish her well, EP.

:grouphug:

[khashka]

39. Aw man. that's awful.....

Surgery is always scary, but if it helps her maybe it's a good thing. Right?
Anyway, she'll be in my prayers....


Khash.

[auntAgonist]

40. hey khash!

you're back :) good to see you.. I hope all is well with you.

you doing ok?


aA

[miss_american_pie]

41. Healing thoughts for her

Sciatica sucks.

[Susang]

42. I just had that surgery in late December

Severely herniated disc at L-5/S-1, also had spinal stenosis that required a laminectomy (removal of bone spurs in the spinal canal). Feel free to PM me if you need any info, I've become a walking encyclopedia on the process. :hi:

[EstimatedProphet]

44. She says she will PM you later

The pain meds kicked in right now

[Susang]

48. Boy, do I understand that

There's hope, I didn't take any pain meds today for the first time in weeks! :D

[LisaLynne]

43. I'll be thinking of you!

Good luck and I hope she'll recover quickly. It's amazing the advances they've made with some of these things. Hopefully this will fix everything right up! :)

[RandomKoolzip]

46. Dude...sorry! Good luck with that.

I'm sending good wishes your (and the Prophetess's) way.

[LaurenG]

47. I wish you both the best

it should help releive all the pain she's been in. :hug: For you both.

[Zomby Woof]

50. I know the surgery will be successful

Good vibes to her during this difficult time. :hug:

[asthmaticeog]

51. Good vibes coming your way...

I hope this all works out for the best and that the Prophetess is pain-free after the procedure.

[ccjlld]

52. Best wishes

for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.