3 bulging disk's........

[RottManK9]

and 3 needle holes in my neck!  It's a great day!   :'(

Any one had bulging disk's in their back or neck before?  This is the second time I've had to deal with this problem in 3 years.  Dr say's if this series of shots don't keep the problem under control then they are going to take a disk out of my back and JB weld (joke) the other two to each other.   :-?

Just wondering the success, if any, anyone else has had with a similar situation.

Jon

[Sam]

Son has a bulging disk and when it flares up he is out of commission.

He takes shots for it and does exercises but it can come back at any time.

He will need surgery to repair it in the future; but for now he stills plays soccer and does everything else he wants to do, including yard work.

My wife has had one neck and three back surgeries two years ago. The doc took enough wacks at it to get it right!

Good luck with your situation and do what the docs say but save those pennies and dimes for your your hospital inpatient copay!!!

[Zel]

I also went throught the 3 shots and they helped with the pain, and another procedure to stop growth of a bone spur.  

My wife's aunt had the procedure done with vertebrae in the neck. They used donor bone to fuse the neck. She now has lots of back problems, but the doctors can't say if its related??????? That's why I am not having it done. Mine is a little different, I had a sledding accident as a child so now I have crushed and degenerating vertebrae (C-6,C-7), and now have a large bone spur that extends 2/3 of the way into the spinal cord. Will live with pain (neck, right shoulder and right arm) for the rest of my life, and have to watch myself in what I do as to not make the situation worse.

[Ninerman]

RottMan

cry me a river...gosh....we still going on sunday even though your 35 bulging disc's are killing ya.....lol  ;D

[Tom Bass]

Pard,

I feel bad for ya. I have had back problems all of my adult life. They come and go but I have never had to worry about surgery. In my case, thank God for the good Chiropractors that I have found to help me when I had problems.

I'll keep you in my thoughts and I wish you well.

Tom

[skillet]

 booyah posted something along this line. If you do a search, there was some good information (really).

 There are quite a few of us on the forum that have been in pretty much the same situation, (and I hate to say this) with varing degrees of help with the pain and everything else that goes with the problem in the long term.

 I am fairly tall (6'4") and also have a long body. Because of this the doctor I had wouldn't do a fusion. The way he explained it was you basically ended up with a place in your spine that didn't bend with the rest of you. He opened me up and just removed the pieces of bone. I had to go thru it twice :-/. Thankfully I have had no major problems in a lot of years.

 Be sure of your Dr. and you agree with what he wants to do. Try and not put it for too long. That can create more problems. I almost ended up crippled in my right leg. Any time the have to cut into you it's da**ed serious, but sometimes.........

                                                    As Ever,

                                                     Skillet

[frogtog]

Yep! Had the surgery and they put me in four Titanum plates, In hospital for

three days, out of work a total of five days ( fished two of those days ) would recomend the surgery to everyone with this problem. Best one I ever had. Only

thing is I can tell the weather before the news people can. I could'nt belive where

they went in at ( no not the lower end ) they went in through my throat and

repaired it. No more pain, easy surgery. Thank God For Surgeons. 8-)

[RottManK9]

My problems are between C5/C6 and C6/C7 and C7/C8 or what ever is below 6/7.  

I'm hoping that this cures it.  With the way they are putting people out of the military these day's, 16 years is alot to throw away with out a retirement!  That's my worst fear.  I'm going to stay away from the surgery for now if I don't have to have it.

FrogTog I'm glad your surgery went so well.  I only hope if I have to have it it works that well for me too.  If you don't mind me asking what disk's did you have replaced?

[frogtog]

C4,C5,C6 and 7  I put mine off untill one night one of the disc collapsed. Man

I am talking PAIN. Morphine would'nt even work, they finally got it under controle

with Finanal ( I thinks thats wright ) it took two weeks before they could get me

into surgery. The surgery wasn't about an hour and instant relief! Man I went 47 years and then I started falling apart.

[RottManK9]

Well I'm 35, my first time with this probelm was 3 years ago almost to the month, so my math put's me at 32 at the onset!  At this rate I'll need a power wheel in the next 10 years.

You don't suppose it has much to do with the fact that I normally have dogs weighing up to an access of 100 lbs running me over and using me as a chew toy on a daily do you? ;D

[frogtog]

Could be! They told me they thought mine came from driveing my boat in

rough water and taking a beating to much.

[razyrsharpe]

my twin brother had 2 removed at once in '84.  he couldn't continue with contact sports, but other than that he is much better.  prior to the operation, he walked in a very odd posture, we used to call him "pringles" because it looked like he was walking with a potato chip up his a** and was afraid to break it.  

[MALTESE FALCON]

I feel your pain. Litterally. I've had six spine surgeries, three cervical and three lumbar. I have enough titanium in my spine to build a bridge.

I was in an auto accident in 1996 and they had to do the procedures seperately. Some anterior and some posterior. Thanks to my doctor I'm able to walk. Due to permanent nerve damage I have to take alot of strong pain medication. Thankfully I'm able to fish, but not as much as I'd like.

I hope your problem isn't going to put you out of commission too long.

Good luck

Falcon

[fishbear]

Rott,

My dad had 2 different fusions in his life.  One was 3 vertebrae in his low back, the other was 2 vertebrae in his neck... never slowed him down.  He worked in Construction, logging and in a plywood mill.   Heck after the one in his low back he was back falling timber in 6 weeks(against doctors advice).

I also have a compressed disk in my low back, and when it acts up I can hardly walk,  doc has been hounding me for almost 2 yrs. to have surgery, but I do not want anyone cutting on me anymore... have had 3 surgeries(not on my back), and I hear back surgery knocks you out of commission for a long time.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers, and do whatever rehab the doc reccomends, it will hold back the surgeon for as long as possible.

[Guest avid]

I'm at the point in life now, where something always hurts.

After careful consideration and many hours of pondering, I have come to the conclusion

that pain sucks.

Also that most doctors are snake oil salesman who will make promieses that they can't keep and then tell you "everyone reacts differently".

I should get another surgery but my doctor hasn't agreed to let me do surgery on his shoulder if he fails again to get mine right.

[BOOYAH]

Well I will have my surgery on the 10th of april, I had many concerns about this because its a major part of my body. I have 2 disks they are going to take out and fuse, after thinking about this for a month i went back to the doc and talked to him. This is one thing I can't STRESS ENOUGH  (write all questions down, EVEN if you think its a dumb question) Then go to your doc and ask everything possible that concerns you, I spent over a  hour talking to my doc with piddly questions, BUT i have the right to know.

This surgery will put me out of work for ATLEAST 3 months before he will release me, so this was a major concern for me. But its what has to be done, I feel alot better after talking to the doc and having him explain allllllllll the minor details an such. I wish you all the luck in the world with whatever you decide to do, just remember to get as much information as possible when making your decision.