Hi, folks. As many of you know, I had spinal fusion surgery recently, and am slowly getting over it (although it looks as if there's some permanent nerve damage to deal with, which sucks...
). I've learned a lot in the more than a year since my injury, and I thought I'd share some of it here. If any of you should suffer a back injury, I hope this will help you.
First, a brief background. I injured my back (bulged disc between L5 and S1 vertebrae, right at the base of the spine) during training at the Federal prison where I work, in mid-February 2004. Owing to bureaucratic inefficiency and some management problems at the prison, it took almost six months before the first surgery, a lumbar discectomy, was performed in July 2004. This operation failed, but it took six months or so for the doctors to admit this and schedule another surgery. They wanted to repeat the surgery that had failed, but would give no guarantee that this would succeed any better than the first operation. I put my foot down and insisted that they do what was needed to resolve the problem, even if this meant a full-scale spinal fusion. They did this on March 22nd.
The recovery from the first operation (lumbar discectomy - basically, trimming off the exposed areas of the disc where it bulges) was much, much quicker than from the fusion. I wasn't able to really move my back with any freedom for six weeks or so. The pain levels were also MUCH worse with the second operation. Conclusion - don't do a fusion unless you absolutely have to!
The nerve pain I'm experiencing has been 24/7 since February 2004, and has not been fully relieved by either operation. It looks as if the sciatic nerve in the left leg has been damaged by the constant pressure on it in the spine, caused by the bulged disc. Therapists have told me that if I'd had an operation within the first two to three months, this would probably have removed the pressure early enough to limit the damage: but because I had to wait almost six months, what with delays in Workers Compensation processing caused by my institution, the pressure continued for so long that it's likely damaged at least some of the fibers in that nerve. I won't know for sure for some months yet, as recovery of damaged nerves is very slow, but some permanent pain is considered likely. (If I can get the doctors to certify that the delay in the beginning caused the nerve damage, you can bet I'll be lodging a claim over that delay!).
Lessons learned:
1. DO NOT take a back injury lightly. See a doctor immediately, and get both X-ray and MRI examinations. The latter will show up potential problems that the X-ray can miss.
2. Ensure that you see some doctor who's competent in the field of back injuries. There are many hidden factors that can impact you, and only someone who's trained and experienced in the field will know how to spot them (or check for them at all). Don't trust this to a regular family doctor.
3. Do anything and everything you can to avoid surgery, even if it's painful and time-consuming. Therapy, exercise, bed rest, etc. can all help to prevent things getting worse. If you push yourself to continue normal activities, you can stress the injury further, without realizing it, and this can mean having to undergo surgery that could otherwise have been avoided.
4. A lot of back surgeries fail. I suspect this is because doctors want to to as little invasive surgery there as possible, so they'd rather do a minimal operation and see if it succeeds before going on to something more complicated. Unfortunately, this can mean that you'll be off work longer, and endure a lot more pain, than if they went ahead with a bigger procedure first. Solution: read up all you can about your particular injury or problem, and get a second opinion. Talk to others who've had surgery for the same problem, and get their input. I found my neighbor very helpful: he's had three lumbar discectomies, in the same place as I had mine, and none of them have worked properly. This helped me to make up my mind (when my first discectomy failed) to insist on a full-blown fusion, rather than fiddle around with a repeat discectomy. Knowledge is your friend!
5. Be prepared to be bored, frustrated, irritated, etc. by inactivity during your treatment. You may find yourself climbing the walls due to the enforced inactivity. Read, listen to music, watch TV/DVD's, etc., but don't let the frustration get to you. (Pets are a big help!)
Hope this helps any of you unfortunate enough to suffer back injuries.
