I visited with my orthopedic surgeon yesterday in hopes of finding a solution for the back problem, which is putting more and more limits on my life these days. The visit started out with a series of Xrays, then after quite a wait in the cold, uncomfortable exam room, a talk with Dr. N.
He said the S word.
Well, actually he said two S words. The first was stenosis, which he thinks I have now, along with the degenerative disc disease. I had heard of stenosis but didn't really know what it is. Dr. N. says it is a shrinking or tightening of the spinal column. Sounds painful, doesn't it?
The second S word he uttered was surgery, after I asked him about treatment for stenosis. That is a word I definitely do not want to hear. My life is not at a point right now where surgery would be easy to schedule. Or maybe I just have too high an opinion of myself, put too much importance on my position in matters around me. But when I picture myself recovering from back surgery, I see chaos.
But I'm crossing a bridge here before I get to it. Dr. N.'s statement that I keep holding onto was, "Maybe I'm wrong." I will have an MRI first to rule in or rule out stenosis. If it's to be ruled in, then I can start stressing over who will take care of me and everything else around here if surgery is recommended.
In the meantime, maybe some of you can help. Does anyone out there have stenosis? If so, what has been your experience? Did you find surgery to be necessary? If so, what was your recovery like? What other treatments have you tried? I would appreciate any information you could give me.
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On 05/22/2013, Barbara Anne said ...
Oh, sweetie, I wish I had more information for you. I was a surgical nurse for decades but didn't have information on my patients' symptoms or tests pre-op or their recoveries post-op. What I can tell you is that after back surgery, everyone has a repaired back and not a good-as-new back.
Stenosis means you're losing flexibility. The more stenosis, the more rigidity there is and probably the more narrowing of the spinal column's interior openings that the spinal cord goes through.
Wishing you WELL!
Huge but gentle hugs!
On 05/22/2013, Sandra Neel Hutchins said ...
My 66 year old husband has both degenerative disk disease and spinal stenosis, He has had both for several years. Our long time family doctor suggested no surgery. A time or two my husband has had lots of pain and it will radiate down into his leg. However, the doctor only prescribed pain meds. After a short time, the pain has always gone away on its own. My husband is very active and does lots of work on our 15 acres. Our doctor said that surgery is not always successful.
Best of luck in treatment of your back troubles. I can certainly relate since my lupus and arthritis sometimes keeps me down more and more as time goes on.
On 05/22/2013, Sandy said ...
20 years ago i had stenosis of the cervical discs and could not turn my head. Had to use the side mirrors on my car to back out of my driveway. Went to a chiropractor and voila!! No more stenosis. Took a couple of months but i noticed a difference from the first visit. I know there is a lot of controversy about chiropractors, but I wouldn't hesitate about going to one again if I needed help. Sure beats surgery.
On 05/22/2013, Jan said ...
No knowledge of any of that here...but I would tell you to get a second or even a third opinion before having surgery!! You have to be your own health advocate!! (you know that, right?) Sorry you're not feeling well!
On 05/22/2013, Jackie said ...
Hi I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis but I will tell you to remain hopeful. My sister and I both have stenosis and degenerative disc disease and we both had surgery by the same Dr last year. I had it in my cervical spine. Please email me if you would like more details. I wish you the best.
On 05/22/2013, Sheila said ...
Susan, I wish I could give you more encouraging news, but I'm sorry, I can't. My husband also had stenosis and degenerative disk disease. He did try the injections for pain, which didn't help. Had fusion surgery, 3 years later had to have it repeated, a year later, another 11 hour surgery. He walked thru the hospital before surgery, afterwards, he never completely recovered and lived on pain pills. I wish now that he hadn't agreed to the surgeries, but when you're in pain, you do whatever you can to relieve it. I know everyone is different, and his bones were just too soft for the fusion to work. I will avoid it at all costs. What about mild exercising? Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.
On 05/23/2013, Rebecca said ...
IMHO Sheila said it all. I worked in the medical profession and 99% of my patients had little improvement. I too have stenosis, degenerative disc disease and 3 ruptured lumbar discs. I worked for 50 years doing procedures which required me to lift these patients from the table because they could not get up on their own. I've lost at least 4 inches in height because of the curvature of the spine from trying to lean to avoid the pain. The first physician I saw was a Pain Specialist who told me nothing could be done except exercise and I would have to do that the rest of my life. (I'm not very disciplined!) Physical Therapy helped but I could not afford to continue that. You have to build up the muscles in your core. Weird to think of but the abdominal muscles protect your back. The next doc I saw is a Neurosurgeon who said I could have surgery - the one where they put rods down each side of your spine i.e., the one that would limit my motion even more! No thanks. Well in December I got to the point I could not walk, could not put weight on my left leg without severe pain. I pulled out the crutches from a previous injury. Seems I need a knee replacement - there is just bone rubbing on bone. He insisted I go get a cane, my patella (kneecap) was moving out of place. I'm really not into surgery :) so questioned him about alternatives and one of the suggestions was aqua therapy. I go to a Rehab facility with a WARM water pool and learned exercises to strengthen the muscles of the legs. Again the thing they stressed the most was tightening those core muscles with every exercise I do. Luckily I could afford a membership there and now go at least 4 days a week and do my routine the therapist taught me gradually increasing time and repeats. I also evesdropped on the instructions the therapist was giving to the folks who were there for their back and have now incorporated those exercises and guess what. IMPROVEMENT EVERYWHERE. I am just amazed at how you can exercise underwater when you can't do it on land. I realize my knees won't get back to normal, there is no cushion between the bones. They taught be how to use Kinesio tape to wrap around the patella and that is another amazing invention. I can do a little work in the yard now. At first the back and hip hurt worse but by the 3rd week I could walk from the car into the rehab center without the cane. And now that I'm doing the back exercises I am able to stay up all day. I can feel the abdominal muscles are tighter and think that is what is helping the back. Previously I could have been a spokesperson for that commercial "a body at rest stays at rest, a body in motion stays in motion". I don't know if the warm water vs a regular cold water pool makes a difference or not. I think if would. And we aren't doing "water aerobics" it is more for stretching and strengthening. The majority of the patients there have had strokes and can barely make it down the ramp into the pool but I am in awe of the exercise they can do underwater. It also makes me realize how lucky I am in comparison to their handicaps. I'm sorry this is so long. Numerous times I have wanted to respond to your posts about aches and pains but just had to put in my 2cents worth when you start talking about surgery. Definitely get other opinions. Everyone is different - you could have 6 pack abs for all I know but thought it was worth letting you know others do share your pain. Hopefully you will find an alternative therapy and at least you have your children and cats. I have only 1 cat to take care of me. Good luck
On 05/27/2013, Sheryl Colle said ...
I would 2nd the suggestion about a chiropractor. My situation is different - have sciatic pain. I was fearful of a chiropractor, too, but my daughter suggested it, and I'm glad she did. The first thing he told me was that he was only going to do just what was needed - and only if that helped. Some of them will try to sign you up for a "plan" which will keep you coming back indefinitely. After taking x-rays, he treated me that day and for the last two weeks I've gone 3 times a week. He has done wonders for me. It's at least worth a try.
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