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Originally Posted by Jakea222
Iso tell me yours I am ready adn I am trying to decide because right now I am on the fence and ready to jump to the NOT A CHANCE - I WILL DEAL WITH IT until I can't walk....so thanks guys - you have already been a huge help to bring my knowledge WAY up now I need some opinions...CHef G
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Jakea222,
I think I have read in your previous posts(?) that you are already having trouble walking and experiencing neurological problems so I would encourage you to talk to your doctor about the consequences of NOT doing something surgically (ADR, Fusion, etc..). I had DDD at L5/S1 and I am someone who waited until I was having trouble walking thinking a) I can push the pain out of my mind (only took Advil) and b) I was too afraid of the surgical outcomes from reading too many blogs!! I truly wish I had the fusion done last fall before the neurological deficits came on. My MIS TLIF was done 19 Feb and I am still hoping to recover from nerve damage. Maybe this is a typical woman's thinking but I would place being able to walk before sex!
I think the men who have had fusions will be better at answering the sex question. At this point I would not be able to go back to any kind of meaningful work. Sitting for more than 45 minutes is not possible and standing for more than an hour is tiring because of the nerve issues in my legs. During my research I have come across many people who have had fusion at L5/S1 and found that those that "waited it out" had more difficult and longer recoveries. A guy I met through a friend of mine had a fusion at the same level, had the same procedure by the same doc and is roughly the same age as me was skiing bumps the year after his fusion. He has absolutely NO back pain, or nerve issues. He did get his fusion within 3 months of the chronic issues coming on where as I waited for almost a year. The bottom line is, you just never know but my gut feeling is that I would have been better off by not waiting. BTW, before I decided to get the fusion I would wake up and the first thing that went through my mind was "I can never shove titanium rods and screws in my back", just the idea of it horrified me. I thought I would be freaked out by looking at the xrays but I wasn't probably because the actual surgery was truly a breeze. I was out of the hospital in 24 hours. If you do go for a fusion, there are many ways to get it done and I think that some are less invasive than others. I wish you well.