Not for me but I could some help and recommendations. Trying to research all that I can.

After two surgeries to repair a herniated disc, the pain is back. The back is fine but the pain down the leg is horrible.

The first time was a really bad herniation and resulted in a trip to the ER and surgery shortly after to prevent drop foot and further pain. Pain such as laying on the floor, sick to the stomach and trying not to breath pain all down the leg. It herniated again 3 weeks later and involved getting into the hospital for pain management and a second surgery for unbearable pain.

The summer was ok with PT and yoga but now the pain is back and has been for a few weeks. Like 6-7 out of 10 much of the time with some relief in the evenings with Gabapentin and such.

Trying very hard to avoid a fusion but the pain is pretty limiting to quality of life. The other fear is having issues with the foot.

It’s a bad road to go down. I’ve had two lumbar fusions in that area and am facing a third surgery because of stenosis. It sounds like the disc above each fusion is giving out in your OP. Get at least two opinions. Once vertebrae are fused, it puts even more strain on the section directly above...for many it’s a matter of time before it gives out as well. Others do fine.

No fusions yet and the discs at L4/L5 and S1/S2 looks good on the MRI.

Ok, well that’s good. Does your friend have pain in both legs or one? It could be stenosis as well. Fusion surgery is a tough one to recover from. It’s weeks if not months before pain can subside...in my case it hasn’t. I have a pain management doc for that. I guess my best advice is to get the best surgeon you can find/afford, plenty of imaging, and second opinions.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
No fusions yet and the discs at L4/L5 and S1/S2 looks good on the MRI.

Just the left leg and limited foot lift but that’s getting better via PT.

My wife had L5/S1 fused about 12 years ago after trying therapy, nerve blocks, and anything else available. It was a long recovery but she's great with no pain and no range of motion loss. She was diligent with her post op therapy and has no regrets today.

That’s good, stenosis usually does not improve with PT.

quote:

Originally posted by Riley:
Just the left leg and limited foot lift but that’s getting better via PT.

I have so, l5 and l4 fused. They now want to fuse l3 and 2. Pain never goes away. I would avoid fusion at all costs.

I’m feeling some of your pain. Have bulging as of last year at L5S1 and I can’t lay down an entire night due to the pain and have to get into a recliner. Driving, fuggetaboutit. Really bad pain hits from butt to foot while driving. Having additional osteo and rheumatoid arthritis in the spine isn’t helping any. Oh, and it’s VA care which has improved and I’m grateful to have it but getting anything fixed or help with pain is a long, laborious, and often disappointing process. Best of luck with your friends spinal woes.

Had L5/S1 discectomy/lamenectomy because of major herniation. The last few weeks I couldn’t walk. My left leg was dead. I literally crawled into the hospital for the surgery. Thank God it worked. I’ve been relatively pain free for 5 years. If your friend is that far gone, have the surgery and do the PT. It won’t get better on its own. It will get worse. I wish I hadn’t waited as long as I did.

quote:

Originally posted by ruger357:
Had L5/S1 discectomy/lamenectomy because of major herniation. The last few weeks I couldn’t walk. My left leg was dead. I literally crawled into the hospital for the surgery. Thank God it worked. I’ve been relatively pain free for 5 years. If your friend is that far gone, have the surgery and do the PT. It won’t get better on its own. It will get worse. I wish I hadn’t waited as long as I did.

Yep it took quite the effort to get to the hospital the first trip to the ER and then when it herniated again, it was only slightly better. Very similar and with two discectomies, there isn’t material for more. The options are PT/pain management or a fusion.

Sorry to hear you friend is dealing with that. It will wreck your life. I have a pretty bad L5/S1 herniation. Started in my mid-20s...severe sciatic pain down my left leg, ended up on the floor at one point and had to stay down there for a few hours before I could get to bed...where I was stuck for days. Did the pain management thing, PT, inversion table, etc...it helped some, but for years it kept coming back.

Doc told me it will always be there, but as long as I can keep the inflammation down around it that is causing pressure on the nerve root, the symptoms will be minimized. The real fix for me has been getting in better shape. I lost 60lbs, strengthened my core, get plenty of Vitamin D, and try not to do things that will aggravate it. If I do have to do something that puts stress on it, I ice my lower back afterwards and take Ibuprofen or Aleve (not something I have to do regularly, thankfully...you don't want to overdo it with that stuff). I've been mostly pain free for four or five years now.

I've got bilateral pars fractures and thus L4 is floating forward over L5. So, spondylolisthesis pinching the nerve (stenosis) like a cigar cutter.

After a few years of trying many things (spinal disc steroid injections, multiple surgeon consults, physiatrists, sports med docs, multiple chiros, multiple PT docs, meds, more meds, ...

The things that helped some for me were:

1.) Spinal PT -- I've been to FOUR different PT places, but the spinal dedicated guys are the ones you want. Electrostim irritated me bad. Don't let them try that at all.

Also, 2.) chiropractic helps a good bit, but the very gentle and precise ones. I'd call and nail down ahead of time their approach. Mine uses a little reciprocating gun to push vertebrae. This is NOT the throw your leg over sideways and jump on you type. This made a HUGE difference in like three visits. But I have to keep going every month or so, or it degenerates. Fair enough IMO.

3. Sit less. or, sometimes, stand less. Mostly sit less for me.

I have a dealing with a ruptured disc for the past 15 years. Lucky nothing that requires surgery.

In my research most people say avoid orthopedic surgeons and go to a neurosurgeon. People were reporting much better results.

Wife has entire back fused. Constant pain. Get a second opinions and even a third.

I'm not sure if this fits you needs but look into it if it does.
My dad had this done when he was about 80 and it helped him a lot without any complications. I believe it was a recent idea when he had his done. He live about 8 years after the procedure before passing from a stroke and I would expect it is only better since.

https://www.spine-health.com/t...gery-spinal-stenosis

The surgeries were done by a neurosurgeon team. Two doctors in the practice, one primary and one secondary during surgery.

Looking at the X Stop procedure, I believe that’s been ruled out personally, no medically.

We have talked to other patients and they have been happy, 3-4yrs post op so far, with the L5/S1 fusion from the same surgeons. However, the more knowledge and experiences the better.

First I've seen that X stop. But I've often thought a better external mechanical solution is needed, and should work.

i had a spinal fusion in 95 L4,L5 S1.. Was out of work for a year it was a long road to recovery for me .. Went back to my job (ironworking) and worked another 20 years >it was tough but im retired now and cant complain to much Nobody cares anyway LOL

I'm 10 weeks post L5/S1 spinal fusion and for me so far it has been life changing, in a good way.

I've had living with this for 10 years but I suffered an injury last September that put me out of commission until surgery, which was postponed several times due to Covid 19. For just under a year I was housebound with debilitating pain.

Post surgery My back pain is just gone. I have decreasing residual nerve pain in my right leg and foot. Nerve pain can take a long time to improve.

The first 4 weeks post surgery sucked but are manageable when you find the right pain management pain.

I got off of all meds after 4 weeks.

So far so good for me. It all comes down to the surgeon in my experience. Get a second or third opinion. Make sure you are comfortable with the surgeon and the hospital.

Choose a hospital that sees a lot of fusion surgery's. That can make a big difference after surgery regarding the level of care and pain management you receive.


Best wishes to your friend.