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...just went through surgery for L4-5 & S1 for probably about the same thing - narrowing of the nerve channel (stenosis) with compression of the nerve especially on the right side, but I also had a ruptured disk, and had to have fusion with laminectomy (Rods & screws after they cut away the excess bone spurs).
My surgery was obviously in my lower back which I think takes a lot longer to get over since there's more weight and movement involved. My father has had a couple of surgeries in the area that yours is at, and was able to get back to basic movements much quicker than I was. I will be out of work for 2 months barring any further complications (I'll explain later).
Things you need to ask -
Is he doing a laminectomy? If so, does he have to do a fusion (rods and screws to fuse 2 or more vertebrae together)? If so, he may have to take bone from your hip in order to help the fusion take hold and heal. Find out if he intends on doing this as this is more painful than the surgery itself. My doc used "enzymes" which required no bone graft from your (or someone else's) hip. (They can also use this from animals, etc)
It will be a full year before the bone fully heals with this surgery - not sure how long it will be for lesser surgery.
If you don't have it, It will get worse with time, and there are no non-surgery options. I think the bone spurs probably caused my ruptured disk (after a fall).
If you are having nerve pain, (arm, neck, etc) it will get much worse with time and may cause tingling or numbness. I found that after surgery, the places where I had severe pain (nerve damage) are now numb (side of my hip and thigh). My doc said it could take up to a year for this nerve damage to heal.
I wish I had not waited so long to have mine done as the nerve damage might not have been quite so bad. (I had 75% compression of the nerve)
I would not have cortisone shots. If they work at all, they are temporary at best, especially for your condition.
Will you have to have surgery later, again? Probably...stenosis is a symptom of arthritis and doesn't go away. I also have it in my neck, and will eventually have to have surgery on that, too. :(
I also asked if I could roll my kayak after I had this surgery (he said I could). I said, "Great, I never could before"!! I don't plan on even trying this until well past a year from now.
Ask all the nurses in your hospital's spine unit who they would have operate on them, and listen to them. They know!!! There are good ones and there bad ones.
You should be up and moving around very quickly, but DO WHAT THE DOC SAYS. Don't overdo it or you will pay. WALK, DRINK WATER, EAT FRUITS AND VEGGIES.
My doc told me to walk and drink, and believe me, its magic.
Now for the bad news - yes, you can have complications. This is around your spinal cord, and it is dangerous, no matter how you look at it. Do not go into this lightly. I got an infection, and ended up having to have another surgery to cleanse the wound. I am on iv antibiotics and will probably be on them for another month at least. Like I said, its your spinal cord, and nothing to mess around with. Not trying to scare you - my case was probably one out of a hundred, but it does happen. But I wish I had known more about that side of the surgery before I went into it. If you want details, email me and I'll explain more.
Bottom line - the pain I had before is gone. Yes, I'm still having some pain, mainly "healing" pain, mostly in the morning. Once I'm up and moving, I'm good. Mine is worse than yours will be because of location. Would I do it again? Yes, even with my complication.
I hope yours is such that there is some non-surgical solution available. If not, I wish you the best of luck - let us know how you get along. |
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Hey Rick - got a few questions and a few answers too, I hope... New 
BoaterTalk 
