Spinal fusion - was it worth it for your back pain?

Question

OK guys, I went to see a surgeon today and he suggested a spinal fusion. I know what a spinal fusion is so I dont need that explained. What I want to know is if you have had one for your back pain and do you think it is worth it? They gave me about a 70% success rate. I am supposed to think about it over the next 6-8 weeks and get back to the surgeon. I'm just not sure if I want to go this route so I'd like some personal opinions from people who have had it done for low back pain. I have disc degenration and a herniation at L5-S1 with some facet arthritis (which will not be helped at all by a fusion) so I already know it will not releive ALL my pain. I sure think it would be nice to be able to live and function on no pain pills other than an occasional OTC or light pain pill. So if you have had a spinal fusion could you tell me if you think it is worth it and would you recommend someone to do it for low back pain?

Answer

I would not do it. I had a spinal fusion six months ago, and am so sorry. I have more pain now than I had before and my mobility is a lot worse. Using a cane or a walker is a daily occurrence. Maybe I am expecting too much, being 78 years old, however I had complete mobility before. I am going to my surgeon this week because, I have a lot of pain in one foot and it feels like nerve pain. I also had disc degeneration and herniation.

Good luck, Patti

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I have been to 4 surgeons. I was told fusion and cage is what they do for my case. I have 2 herniated disc and 2 bulging. Spinal stenosis and degenerative disc. The one surgeon said that it typically puts stress on the disc below and above the site. This causes failure of those disc and then they have to go back and put longer rods in. He said success rate is 50%. Saw another surgeon and he said same thing. But he said success rate was more like 48%. My neighbor had it done and a couple years later they are recommending longer rods. He said he will not have it redone and wishes he never did it. He said he felt good for a year and a half. Another guy I know had it done with overall success. He said he is still only comfortable in a car for an hour before he has to get out to move around some. He did admit to losing some mobility. My friends cousin is having it done by the first surgeon that I saw. This guy is no where as bad as I am. He is still able to work.

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My friend said his cousin most likely persisted because he's not much for pain. First surgeon told me try to tuff it out that some times conditions improve as you enter your 60's. I turned sixty, 7 months ago. No relief in site. I live in a four season climate and last December and January felt really good for reasons I can't explain. Last night pain kept me up most of the night. I saw a 3rd and 4th surgeon. The 3rd one asked me why I was seeking a 3rd opinion after seeing 2 of the areas top surgeons. I said because I have lost my quality of life. He said if 100 people come through his door only 20 will be considered for surgery. Out of those 20 only 10 will be successful. A year later surgeon no 4 and pretty much he said what the other 3 said. Sometimes I have to wonder if they do not want to deal with medicare. I use an inversion table, ice packs, tens unit. I walk when I feel good and stay in decent shape. My primary care doctor said lose 20 lbs. which I did but it made no difference in pain. Too me 50% odds was not enough for me to bet on. Also the 3rd surgeon said I might come out of it worse off then when I went in. I hope you find some relief and I am open to suggestions from those who have found relief. Good luck!

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I had spinal fusion 18 years ago I'm still in pain I take  pain medication  on a daily basis have for the past 18 years was not worth it

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Hi I had my surgery for l4 l5 s1 in Feb 2003 with pedicel screws rods and cages not sure if you are going down same route . Please rear have your surgery and surgeon ask questions what type of surgery are they going to do . My advice to you is think twice before having a fusion they do not work . My fusion surgery was 9 hours long as soon as I came around I realised something wasn't good . Fusions using pedicle screws and rods is outdated do some research into differing surgery techniques . I know in London Kings hospital I think a Chinese surgeon has fantastic results by replacing your disc with a mechanical disc this still gives you full motion . He has been doing this surgery for years with fantastic success only wish I had known about it before hand . I don't wish to scare you but I feel I must be truthful in my situation surgery made me worse . Yes it stabilised my spine and yes without surgery I would have become paralysed .

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In pain terms though I live in agony everyday I do not have any pain free days ever . Before my op I could go several weeks before I was ill with it not anymore . Sorry if that has worried you that's not my intention as I said research as much as possible . I know some people do well with fusion I think it depends on how bad your spine has become but if I were in your shoes I would reach the newer types of surgery . Disc replacement is the way forwards I personally think and you can get this done remember a fusion is for life not just for Christmas ha sorry I couldn't help that anyway good luck keep everyone informed on here as too how you are doing .

Answer

Hi my name is Roberta my advice don't do it.I am a mother of 9 kids been with my husband 30 years..i was the passanger in my friends car.we got hit from the back i got badly hurt.bulg disc plus bone was broken every where.i did therapy pool and physical therapy.didnt work  pain meds  didnt as well.both doctor's said 80% chance i could go back to hula dancing and be like before... wrong choice i made was on oxycontin first got off fast then morfine 15 years on 150mg of morfine a day.did no relief... been 2 years i been off morfine take Percocet 5mg 4 a day.dont help at all i am 80% in bed most of the day.cause of stopping strong pain meds i get grand ball seizures from my pain also did brain surgery cause fluid was building up from the seizures.did a recent mri have another disc above the 2 i fussed above 4-5 so yes i struggle daily with pain my kids help me daily bless to have them.so my advice dont do it made my life way worse then ever.i will pray for you hope you heal well

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I had the same problem you do and I decided to do it. The fusion went well. What didn't go well was the fact that I had a crushed nerve that they tried to repair. My back is worse off now than when I started. If I had the choice again I wouldn't do it. The doctor did his best and I don't blame him at all. The spine is a very complex part of our bodies. I think the reason why I did it was the fact a had degeneration. I hope you make the right choice.

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No,had mine done in 2003.l4&l5 fusion ,always in pain especially in rainy days and winter ,can't sit for too long or stand for too long either so now im considered disabled, I thought by having the surgery I could go back to work, that never happen so I should of said no

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Absolutely not! 2 fusions front back and I'm in more pain than I was before and chronic nerve damage is worse numbness pain in arm completely numb fingers useless hand no strength

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I was bent in half with 3 ruptured discs. I thought the pain was bad. And then I had 9 ops! I do not recommend using your own bone for a fusion. Cutting off that bone is a pain you will probably never recover from and the success isn't much better than donar bone. I used my own first (deeply regret) and the fusion didn't take. I had no option but fusion and ignoring it can cause a progressive injury which would create even greater problems to fix (like mine). I was 53 when I started and had to go on disability. Was really active before and now my day is spent lying down and spending time on computer. Be careful about the drugs you are prescribed. If presecribed every 4 hrs. Lortab can cause hypertension because of the tynynol. Consult your pharm. Am now dealing with high blood pressure because of that. I don't trust opinions. Especially on their own prior work and as a professionals most will not criticize other's work. (don't mention any dr. Names).

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Look everything up and always carry a digital hand recorder to all appointments. My daughter had the same problem at the same time. Make sure you only have I rupture. You cannot have a disc replacement if there is more than 1 because there is no stability. She has managed to come through it after many yrs. But had to change professions. She is 23 yrs. Younger than I am. In my experience, most drs. Are more concerned about covering their a$$ than fixing others. Don't expect much pain relief. My pain is worse and her's is not much better than it was. She was lucky to find a dr. Who was only concerned about his patients and not insurance companies. He did a good job considering the mess he had to work with from another dr's botched job. She should never have had a disc replacement. I am not on meds and cannot find any dr. To help with pain. Wish I had pain management. Sorry I haven't been more positive. Pretty much screwed my life. Guess it beats being bent in half. Ask around for doctor recomendations. Back patients walk early in the mornings in the malls. Ask anyone not on meds. They will be more than happy to help. They know what you can be facing and they know their dr. And how they are treated. More importantly, you can see how they are moving and getting along. Ask those in carts and don't go there. Best wishes for your future. Would love to know if any of this helped.

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When I first saw the question I thought it had been asked in Feb 2017 - now I see that it was an old question. I thought I would still answer, however, because all I ever saw before my surgery was negative ...
I had a lumbar laminectomy, discectomy, and L4-L5 fusion 6 1/2 weeks ago. I had pinched nerves in multiple places (stenosis, facet arthrosis, bulging disc, spondylosisthesis ... ). I had been doing PT for 3 years, and had had 2 steroid injections. My legs and feet had been numb and tingling for 6 months before surgery.
I woke up in recovery after my surgery pain free - and other than surgical pain, am still pain free. I am walking 2-3 miles/day. I am still in my post surgery back brace and have not started PT yet, so I can only see things getting better as I heal. Please do not listen to all of the negative feedback out there! I truly believe that people who have positive experiences rarely comment or visit online message boards - it is the people who still have issues that are online scaring the rest of us. I was truly terrified before my surgery after reading some of the online comments I saw. Thank goodness I trusted my doctor!

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Hi Dzoobaby- I know your question was 6 years ago so I am going to ask you- did I go through with it and how happy we're with the results? I never had back pain in my life until one day in 2005 I woke up and couldn't walk- it was excruciating- it went on for a few days like that and then came back stronger a few more times over the next year- I finally had an MRI and was referred to my neurosurgeon I still have today- I had 3 herniated discs and he is very very conservative with surgery especially with patients that are young- well unless it's something that obviously has to be done- I went through PT, medications- lots of different types,

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many different injections and nothing- finally in 2007 he went anterior (through my stomach) and placed 5 titanium screws in the L4/5 level- the final test they did was a discogram (by his own words legalized torture) a procedure that gives them a definitive answer that a disc or multiple disc are causing the problem- it was a living hell but did give him what he needed to do the surgery- I can say at about the 3 month post op time I was feeling pretty damn good a I still had pain and he said you always will- as long as it's manageable and u can live a normal life we will deal with that easily- after a year the pain came back with a vengeance so we repeated EVERY SINGLE THING WE HAD DONE BEFORE- including the discogram but I also had a rhizotomy which is where they burn the nerves at the facet joints hoping that the pain may be from them and no the discs- well it didn't work either so I endured another discogram and it showed L5/s1 was the culprit- this time he went in through 2 small incisions in two different spots on the back and placed 3 more titanium screws- this was 2009- again I finally got through the after surgery pains and got back to the manageable pain from before about the end of 2010 I once again started having this incredible pain worse than before- it was more intense in the left lower side but did radiate across the back but mainly lower left side- they figured out it was my left SI joint it had separated - but I still went through many different procedures to see if anything helped- again he hates doing surgery on younger patients - after all the procedures this time no discogram because it wasn't a disc- so in 2012 said ok we have to fix it- I was scheduled for February and 5 days before my insurance company refused to pay for it- I was devastated- I was in a deep depression and literally getting out of bed took 10 minutes this one took the cake by far- we fought them with the insurance commissioner in Tallahassee- our local state senator got involved and fought them but they didn't budge- because my life was non existent and my daughter was getting married in may we finally laid out 70,000 and had it done- it was worth every penny- after this surgery I was back in the gym for two years 3 days a week with a trainer (still had pain but managed it- it will always be there) I had a nasty fall in 2014 where I separated my shoulder and broke some ribs- from there it went down hill- they finally fixed the shoulder in feb of 2015, then I broke my ankle and tore a ligament, tripped over my dog jammed my thumb and had a partial tear in the thumb and then had the amazing ( sarcasm at its finest) peri- rectal abscess that in 5 days grew to the size of a softball on my butt cheek - I had no clue what was going on other that unbearable pain- called my dr he flipped out on me- sent me to a surgeon where I had emergency surgery to remove and drain it- this was not fun- so by September they had me in a walking boot and cast on my thumb- then they tried bone stimulator on my ankle for two months- finally once again I had ankle surgery in feb of 2016- in April they went back in because a suture was rejecting and coming out my skin- so after all this my back was so freaking bad I was able to do nothing- they were treating it as severe inflammation and spasms because of walking off balance for two years- just in December of 2016 finally another MRI- this one was really bad - L3/4 was completely blown and the facet joint were eroding at every level due to severe arthritis and there was ligament involvement and sever canal stenosis- I just had the legalized torture test 2 weeks ago and by far this one sent me over the edge- it's followed by a Ct scan to check where the dye goes once it's inserted through the needles into the disc during the procedure- well last Tuesday I saw him and he said it's bad but I will talk to the dr who did the test- re- review the CT films and call you- he was on the phone at 8 am last Wednesday- he said this one is really really bad and the two levels done in the discogram were both positive- you don't want them to be- but due to the severity of all that's wrong I am having a posterior two level fusion on Thursday the 23rd - he said unfortunately this surgery will have a more painful and longer recovery because he has no choice but to go through the back which will mean muscle involvement- all I know is I'm in so much pain I haven slept in months and cannot wait to get it over with- surgical pain goes away- as long as the fusion works then hopefully I can go back to my normal pain that's managed- so just wondering what you did and how it went- I will also be have a bone stimulator placed over the levels of fusion to hopefully help heal them right and faster- live to hear how you are doing- like I said it's been 12 years of ups and down and surgeries - I have 8 titanuimum screws and trhree titanium blocks inserted into the si joint to help close it- back pain sucks- but I trust him with my life and he has an amazing reputation and puts up with me and my grouchy self so he can't be all bad- let me know if you get a minute- thanks. Julie

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Same question 3 years ago please read this do not Shake It Off literally the same first time on here went on your page 2004 that means scar tissue for at least 10 years the simple fact that you have Scar Tissue means that it will only get worse your doctor may not acknowledge that little fact and if you don't read this you won't find it for years took me three after it was all said and done my outpatient disc replacement turned into a triple fusion in two inches of Kadabra paste bone that he went down and got for me my father was a mortician I know death I know blood and now I know it never ending pain I beg of you please do not have any back procedure of any kind. The commercials are full of s*** there is a lot of money in this business disability will pay out with or without a surgery I suggest being one without the f****** surgery you do not want to be in my shoes I was the kind of guy that when you asked how I was doing I always told you it was good no matter what it happen somehow I get a sticker out of you you asked me how I'm doing right now chances are you will not get an answer

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I had a spinal fusion done in 2008 and it was for L5 S1 and they went in the front and the back. I had already had 2 microdiscectomies and was told that they would not do a third. I am to assume that this is your first issue with this problem? If it is then why is your doctor going to do a fusion and not a microdiscectomy first. I was doing great after my first one and if I would have changed jobs ( was a truck driver) I would not be in the condition that I am in now. I am hoping that you did get a second opinion? I will tell you not to get the operation without getting a second opinion. Mine only took the pain going down my right leg and the knitting needle in the butt cheek away but the low  back pain  got worse not better. And back then they went in from the front and the back. The wife just had one done about 7 week ago and she only has 3 little incisions where they went in, but she had to have it done because when she bends forward her disc's move forward and back. Hers was for spondolicethis ( might need a spell check). BUT ALWAYS GET A SECOND OPINION, it's your back, not the doctor's.

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Just remember, a fusion so low will limit flexibility, and bending. I used to work for a neurosurgeon, at age 25 that subject came up for me, but I was to young, and with young ones. He did a disectomy of the herniated disc, I did really well for awhile. Consider the 6-8 weeks. I don't know your case, but any spinal surgery is risky. Pray on it. Educate yourself on your diagnosis, and God Bless

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Hi DzooBaby,
I think anyone who is scheduling back surgery should have a second opinion.
Spine surgeons operate. It is their interest and their bread and butter.
Nothing wrong with that for all appropriate cases.
You have nothing to lose plus they may offer more options unknown to you.
One thing you do NOT want is regrets.
Best wishes
:-)

Spinal fusion - was it worth it for your back pain?

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