Can I ask you dridobits what has made you decide to look at surgery now?
I see you have been on opiates for 10 years and seem to have a life.
Is it that the symptoms are getting worse? Or are you more restricted now than before? Are you glad you waited this long to have surgery?
Sorry if these questions are a bit nosey. Its just that I have been told by one ortho surgeon, a physiotherapist and a pain management doctor to wait it out and stay on pain meds and keep with conservative options, as they dont think that spinal fusion will necessarily get rid of the pain or that I might trade in some pain for different pain. And that I will have problems with adjacent levels down the road. And if I wait long enough i may fuse naturally
My pain management told me that the surgeons give fusions about an 80% success rate (mine only said 70%
) where as everyone else (pm, pt,etc) give a 30% success rate, because they see the patients further on down the track.
I am not saying this to depress you, its these kinds of comments that have made it very hard for me to make a decision on what to do.
It seems that maintaining some movement is the key and if you can get by on a small amount of pain meds every day and keep the excercises up then that may be better than fusing. I dont know sometimes I wish i had a crystal ball. I think If I was STILL a candidate for ADR then I would definately consider it, Im just not sure about fusions
Its a big decision and I want this one to be the LAST!
Unfortunately though there seems to be a cascade of continuing surgeries for some people and I know I am not cut out for that at all!
Please save me from my own negativity
!!!!!
Michelle.