Update from my visit with the surgeon! Sorry for the delay!

Good luck with everything. I don't know much about back surgery. Hope all goes well.

Best of luck to you Tess. I know this decision has been a hard one to make. I hope the surgery results in alleviating the pain you're in.

This comment is to let you know that this content has reached at least five votes and over 8.0 average rating, and as such has been removed from Rating Resurrectionists! Congratulations!

I have no advice, just wanted to say good luck!

I think it's good you are going to get a second opinion. If you do have the surgery, good luck. Please keep us updated.

Have never had any problems with my back (thank God) but I too am glad you are getting a second opinion! I worked with a girl who had back surgery last fall she said the only thing she regretted was she did not have it sooner............she is doing amazingly well!

BTW, hope all goes well in whatever you decide to do!!

I have never been through this. So I have no words of wisdom. I do wish you the best and hope you recover well.

Good luck and God Bless Tess, you are in my prayers.

Well, it looks like you have a plan, and know a little more. Sorry it's not what you wanted to hear.
I'm almost jealous though, LOL. I've been begging for surgery (different problem on back/cervical spine) and they won't do it until it gets worse. Like they have to live through this pain! They are afraid of making it worse with the nerve damage at the moment.... sigh. I think they are afraid of getting sued myself if something happens...?
Good luck, and wishing you all the best.

I had no idea about your surgery. I do hope you are doing better soon.

This comment is to let you know that this content has reached at least ten comments, and as such has been removed from Comment Speedway! Congratulations!

Thank you all so much for stopping in. I am trying to find the right doctor to go see next to get my second opinion. I have been having some really bad flare ups of the nerve pain these past several days, and that is NO fun at all. I am hoping that this is not a trend, because if so...I may not be able to make it much longer. :-(

John, I am sorry that you seem stuck in a rut with your pain. That is not good that they do not seem to be offering at least some sort of relief for you.

Ed, the surgeon says that I "should' have significant pain relief. Of course he gives me his disclaimer...There are no guarantees as to how much relief or for how long. That is one of the things that scares me so much.

It is not a Veterans hospital that the surgery would be done at, but thanks for the advice! LOL

I'm sorry the news was so disappointing. I hope the additional opinions will give you a good idea of what to expect if you do have surgery. If the prospects are good for it ending the pain, it may turn out very well in the end.

well wishes, i dont know much about it so im no help.

Thanks Doug and Angela! I am having another really rough night with the pain in my hips and legs. If this keeps up, I do not know how long I can hold out before giving in and having the surgery.

Good decision on getting a second opinion before agreeing to the surgery. keep us posted.

Thanks JoAnn. I will certainly do that. I am having a rough day with the nerve pain, and feeling quite miserable...but I am praying it gets better.

In the past I had always heard that back surgery is a bad thing, but the last ten years or so that has changed. I think that I told you about my mom. She is like a new woman since hers and I have heard the same from others. Get your other opinions, by all means, but try not to look at surgery as a negative:)

What you have been dealing with is no way to live, if you have tried everything, and I know that you have, this is the way to go.

Getting a second or third opinion is very smart of you. I don't know anything about back surgeries as I have never had problems though I think my step brother just had back surgery from a couple of slipped disc.

Good luck in your decision and keep us posted.

Thanks Gwen and Ang! I appreciate that you stopped in.

Gwen, I am glad that your mother is doing so well.

Ang, I hope your s-brother is healing well.

my prayers are with you

Thank you Samantha

Have there been any developments??? I wanted to stop by and thank you for commenting on my poem and this is the first article I saw since you spotlighted it. My hubby has similar issues in his neck vertebrae where several discs are bulging and putting pressure on the nerve entrances. It's causing pain and numbness. We've seen an osteopath, which wasn't much help, of course, but when I try to get him to at least SPEAK to a surgeon, he doesn't want to. I just hate to see him in such pain.

Prayers and best wishes.

Good luck to you. I really hope everything goes okay!

Where did he say that he would get the bone for the fusion?I hope he told you that it would be very painful if he got the bone from your hip.I had a fusion in 2001 and I still have some pain in my neck and shoulder,but it's a whole lot less than it was.I hope you will tell him to get a cadaver bone for the fusion and you will have less pain.2nd opinions are great and some times a 3rd.

I had surgery on the same area. I didn't have a fusion, I had a partial discectomy, in which they trimmed the area of the herniation, by that I mean they made the edge neat with no ragged edges, they cleaned out the part of the disc 'jelly' that was putting pressure on the nerve and then left everything intact.

I have had a total recovery, no pain where before I suffered intense pain. I do have some nerve damage in the right leg, but not enough to cause me to limp or anything like that. There was a small bit of damage to a nerve for the left leg during surgery, and that is taking a long time to heal up but it is not particularly painful, just a part of my thigh goes numb once in a while.

Overall, I am a raving success! I would make sure that the surgeon you choose is a specialist in this area. Also, make sure that they do this orthoscopic surgery. Small scar, less intrusion and much less pain afterwards.

I would say, do not delay this. Do your homework, pick a fabulous surgeon and then you can get on with your life.

Good luck and may it all work just as well for you as it did for me.

Good luck

Erin, I do hope that things get better for your husband. I am very sorry for his pain. I understand his fear though. I have gotten the go-ahead from my insurance company to get a second opinion. I am trying to find a good doctor to go to.

Thank you Liz and Sarah!

Debra, he did not mention the pain from getting my bone. He said that he would be using both cadaver bone as well as my own. I will have to ask about that! Thanks for letting me know!

Daryl, I will certainly clarify that with my doctor. Thanks for bringing that up! I appreciate it!

Wanda, I wish that I could get away with just a partial discetomy, but unfortunately my disc is not in good enough shape to recover. That is why they are talking about the fusion. Maybe I can get different news from a second opinion.

Thank you Susan!

Tess - I was so put off by the doctor we saw. he told us that he should not see his chiropractor for neck manipulation any more, as it is aggravating it, and that instead he should be going to their physical therapists that are trained in spinal manipulation. Tell me this ... what's the difference? I spoke with my chiropractor back home in CA who is also a trained and certified physical therapist (was in sports medicine prior to that as well) and he said that there is no difference except who is getting paid. The DO said that if the pain meds don't help then the next step is x-ray guided cortisone injections where they inject directly to the nerve --- to which I said NO WAY. At that point it'll be surgery with a specialist vs. fiddling with injections and what not.

As far as a fusion goes, if it's just one or two discs, will you still have a pretty good range of motion? I mean, I think that you'll still have some pain, but not near as much as you've been faced with already. Since hubby's problem is in his neck, I would think a fusion would present problems with a loss of range for motion, but then again I've talked to someone who had three discs fused and felt better than ever.

Erin, I have been through the Chiro, the Physical Therapy, and the injections. None of it has worked. I do know plenty of people who have had lots of success with the injections though. I also have a friend that had a catheter type injection in his neck. It was a new procedure, and he had great results from it. You may try to check into it for your husband...unless you are both completely agains the injections.

It seems the only good side to this is that I should only have to have one level fused. And with that, my range of motion would not be affected too bad. Since it is way down at the very tail end (lol), it should not be that bad. I would be just as concerned about the loss of motion in the upper back though. It also worries me more, because there is a higher chance of paralysis up there. I do not envy you guys for the decisions you will have to continue makiing for his back. I am almost to the point with my pain that I do not even want to postpone it any longer....but the fear is stronger than that and I HAVE to get my other opinions.

I will say this...IF YOU ARE NOT COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR DOCTOR...YOU NEED TO FIND ONE THAT YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH. That would be my primary concern. If I can not talk to my doctor and not feel that he is just lining his pockets and the pockets of his affiliates...I have no desire to be seeing him.

PLEASE KEEP ME UPDATED. I feel your pain and frustration, and I KNOW what you are both going through. Good luck and I am sending thoughts and prayers your way!