Real Army Wife,
I so agree with you regarding the pain of my very bad discs. However i had a 6 level discogram. as i mentioned i had 2 very very bad and painful like nothing my back ever caused levels. the other levels which all had tears and little problems hurt but not that bad compared to the super painful levels. I only gave them a 6 on the 1-10 pain scale. Probably would have scored higher if i had not had the excrutiating levels.
I also had a thoracic fusion first before the discogram which did nothing to stop my pain but was also very painful. Neither my doc nor i could figure out why it hurt me so bad . I lay in the hospital bed for days without moving in a crunched up ball until my surgeon came in several times a day and moved me up and straightened me out. A few months later it was discovered that i had an imflammatory muscle condition called polymyalgia rheumatica. So with my back muscles already inflammed (as were the rest of the muscles in my body) the cutting of the muscle sent me into horrible pain. Even though i softly cried constantly for days, it was not as bad as the pain from my discogram!!!
I have had some huge fusions, the first do to scoliosis and a quickly advancing kyphosis. It was affecting my lung function and i already had a 50% loss of lung function. I was almost on oxygen so I had to do the long fusion. But i don't really have any problems with it. I am much better off. I know most people on this site are for ADR's, as i said i was never a candidate. Another long fusion starting in the cervical area happened because i broke my neck. So that could not be avoided as well. So fused from C4 thru L4 has not been a problem . a little stiffness and only with the last level added did i have problems standing up straight. But it has been a year now since the last fusions and it is getting better , but it was not painful . Just a hard to explain uncomfortable feeling but it is also do to my curve being messed up and not having enough of a curve to my spine.
I think you will be fine, but do find out all you can about ADR and if you are a candidate maybe at your young age that is the thing for you to do. Do find out though
judy
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2007 ACDF 4-7
2008 hip , knee scope, hip replacement
2009 thoracic T-5 thru T-11fusion
2009 VATS T7-8, posterior only T11-12. removal of thoracic hard wear
2010 lung surgery
2010 T2-L2 kyphosis correction
2010 Kyphoplasty T-3, T-4
2011 Cervical osteotomy ,revision C4-T5
2011 Foot surgery
2011 Revision fusion T7 thru L4/laminectomy
2012 Hammertoe correction left foot
2012 Revision fusion T-12 thru L5
2012 Revision fusion L4-L5
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