Help Please !

[Robbo]

I'm sorry for indulging myself here but since it's my site, I'm gonna try and use it for my benefit even though it has nothing to do with paintball, rather it's an appeal for information if you can help.

I know lower back problems are really common and almost all of us will experience them at some stage with varying degrees of seriousness.

My question is this, does anybody here know someone who has had chronic back pain whereby it needed surgery?
The reason I am asking this is because I need to have an idea of success rates of that surgery.

I have been requesting some sort of lower back surgery for over 10 years now and I have always been denied it on the basis of the risks involved; those being, making no difference or making things worse either by increasing pain levels or even something more serious such as paralysis of lower limbs.

The clinical brigade, i.e., all the docs, consultants, physios etc that I have seen over the years have invariably used this argument as a reason for not doing any surgery on me.

I'd like if possible for any of you to let me know if they are aware of anyone they know of, either family or friends that is, who have had surgery on their backs and I'd like to know the outcome of that surgical procedure in terms of success please.

Thanks in advance for anybody contributing, I really appreciate it.

 

[SabreWolf]

My bosses wife needed to have surgery on her lower spine in later life from damage when she was beaten to a pulp from a group of girls when she was a teenager.

She has had 2 or 3 operations on her spine, all of which have not crippled her but i would also say that they didnt necessarily cure the problem completley but did help, however she has problems with her leg now, where she gets severe pains which they say maybe caused by the operation.

On another note, i have a friend who may be having surgery on his lower back for a collapsed disc, however he has run into a similer wall of, "you could end up paralysed" etc.

 

[rustyneedle uk]

hi, i know two people who have surgery due to lower back pain from an old injurey,

1st male age 24 at the time of op
9months intense physio and rehab after op
didnt fully recover to full fitness )couldn't pass 10min 30sec mile and a half test due to pain in his back)
and was medically discharged from the army,
Not really a success but he is able to function normally in civilian life (works at savercentre last i heard)

2nd male 31 at the time of op
14 month physio and rehab after op
and fully recovered, passed all fitness tests and now age 39 is fitter than ever
he does everthing, runs climbs mountins, weighted runs and full assualt pt
Success in everyway i think

I know more people have physio only, and fully recover time scales being around 12months to 18 month to been fully fit, time scales all depending on the individual and type of injurey.
hope this helps, if you decide to opt for surgery i wish you all the best in regrads to a successful recovery
regards rusty

 

[Bolter]

Im sure Duncster had surgery on his back, I'll check with him and ask him to post on here if he has.

 

[renie]

Hi Robbo
I think it comes down to what surgery you need,my personal experiance our NHS dont seem to want to know with back issues.
My spine is damaged, I have a fractured L2 and all they offered me was spinal injections which were bloody uncomfortable and didn't last for more than a fortnight,
Surgery hasnever been disscused with me, but ive seen a program were some guy in the states had a simular injury as mine and they fixed his with pins and a plate if i remember correctly?
problem with the back its a tender area for surgeons,and most try and avoid like the plage, a independant specialist may be able to advise you better.

 

[Robbo]

Ren, I got 2 herniated discs which as you may know sometimes impact upon a nerve root causing varying degrees of pain from, a dull ache to 'oh my god' ........ with the latter sending you down to the floor on all fours screaming like a banshee ... not nice ...

I have had back pain for over 14 years now and have been on morphine for over 5 years now but that doesn't really work too good anyway even though I take waaaaay too much of it.

The procedure I need is a trimming of the herniated discs coupled with a decompression of the spine by attaching two metal braces, one either side of the affected disc.
Problem is, my spine ain't in such a good condition and so fixing these plates to my spine might not be an option which would would be a frikkin disaster for me if they couldn't perform that op.
Even if the risk involved was 50-50, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

 

[renie]

I totally understand mate, pain killers dont do sh*t for me just dull it a little, unless you had back pain its hard to understand but i know exactly where your coming from, i also live with the dull ache every day, varying on pain levels but you kinda get used to it, and then u get the big one like you've been stabbed with a hot knife..

have you had a bone density scan on your spine? that would give you some idea on the strength of your bones whether that route is visable..

 

[Tony Harrison]

Stewart Wilson (ex-SoManc, Method) is a Chiropractor. He may be able to offer a view - I'll point him in your direction.

 

[Robbo]

I totally understand mate, pain killers dont do sh*t for me just dull it a little, unless you had back pain its hard to understand but i know exactly where your coming from, i also live with the dull ache every day, varying on pain levels but you kinda get used to it, and then u get the big one like you've been stabbed with a hot knife..

have you had a bone density scan on your spine? that would give you some idea on the strength of your bones whether that route is visable..

Hi Ren, as you say, you tend to get used to living with 24/7 pain and you can eventually function; I've had the cat scan to determine bone density etc, I've also had 3 mri scans now with the last one done a few weeks ago and even I could see what was fuhkk'd up.
Let's hope the bone density is good enough to operate upon :/

 

[renie]

yeah i had the same with my xrays clear as day what the problem is but will they do out... nope lol.
Hope all goes well for you mate