Discectomy - After the Operation

[Scarlett Byrd]

Hi guys. Lots of new people on the site since I last posted. It's amazing how many people suffer with this problem.
Nerve root blocks are for diagnostic purposes mainly and sometimes they do relieve some pain. It tells the surgeon that the disc is causing the pain and probably surgery would work. The fact that some people recover a disc herniation without surgery is down to luck! Not even the medical world know why this is!! If it's not started to improve within 3-4 months the chances are it's not going to and surgery is the only option.
Melza, Ali and Tracey I'm so sorry you are all suffering leg pains. 2 steps forward 1 back seems to be the normal after surgery for us all.
8 months after the op i still consider myself in recovery. My pain has very nearly gone though and am getting full fitness back gradually. I see a chiropractor once a month who keeps everything where it should be so to speak.

I dont post often but do keep up to date with the posts so if I can help anyone with their post or pre op questions I will see the posts.

Keep strong and positive and believe you will all get better soon!!!!
Take care all
Fitbird
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

[Linda Fields]

Well I saw my GP yesterday & kind of wish I hadn't bothered now. He has refered me to a rheumatologist & also for nerve conduction studies. He talked about osteo arthritis & also MS. Talk about a kick in the guts Then just to top it off he laughed when I said I want to be signed fit next week. It might sound contradictory given the probs i've got but I think psychologically its what I need, plus for the first 3 weeks i'll be on annual leave followed by graduated return so it will be a good 2 months before my hours are anywhere near full time. I moaned, i cried, I made an apt to go back next week...... I am not giving up.

Melza-sorry to hear you continue to have crap with the work situation.
Ali- hope the spasms are under control.

Tracey xx

 

[The ready set = ?]

Thanks again to all the advice, I'll bear it in mind for tues x

 

[ChrisP]

I had this vivid sense of deja vu last night when i found myself down A&E with these blasted leg pains/cramps.
They gave me oramorph (I swore i would never touch that stuff again but i was desperate) and i sucked out a whole canister of entonox.....then they said there was nothing they could do, so packed me off on my (quite) merry way with a prescription for more oramorph and more diazepam and was told to see my GP on Monday.
I told them i only saw him on thursday, but they continued to repeat that they could not do anything.

I want to be referred back to the chronic pain team, i was under them when i was pre-op, but was told that all the time i am still under the care of my surgeon i cannot be referred......does anyone know if this is correct information?
I am reluctant to believe anything any of them tell me any more.

 

[CTG]

Wouldn't it be easier for them if you were under the pain management team Ali or am I just making things up again? You see our little friend soon don't you, I hope you're not going to give him any stress. I wish we were able to actually see what is going on in our backs, I'd understand everything so much better if that were the case.

I've logged on to see how I can make a complaint about Southampton hospital, nearly 3 months for them to look at a scan result.....I don't think so! If anyone is thinking I sound like a little wimp, thats exactly how I feel. I was once quite happy jogging around the hospital I worked in to get jobs done faster, now I have trouble just to walk anywhere, what did they do to me?

I hope scissorhands gets treated quicker than I did, I was told several times that the road to treatment is so long because the consultants time is often wasted by people who have conditions not requiring their skillful touch. Funny how that all changes if you have a pocketful of cash though.

Tracey1, sorry you have to go through investigations again, I hope the GPs suspicions turn out to be groundless. We must think positive!

 

[Candice W]

Hi Melza - Hope you are okay. Its so frustrating waiting for the results & disgusting that it takes so long. My dad is going through the same at the moment. He has had oain in his hips legs & feet for several months now & had an MRI initially of his hips which was clear. They didn't think to do his lower back until they got the clear results. He had 2nd MRI a month ago & they gave him an apt for 27th April for the results. He's at the stage now where he can walk about 20 yards & has to stop. Yesterday i decided enough was enough & rang the hospital for him. The consultants secretary was not there so spoke to PALS at the hospital & all my frustrations with the hospital came out in that call. Result - he is being seen on Monday!!! It may be worth you givong them a try at Southampton.
Ali - at my hospital you can be referred to the pain team by your consultant while still under his care. Although I have to say I was referred last October & havn't yet had an apt
Tracey x

 

[toxetleCime]

Just to update evryone. I went to the hospital yesterday to recieve my nr block. As I get onto the ward the nurse tells me that the people who deal with the waiting list have been trying to reach me all morning to cancel my appointment. My surgeon was called to deal with an emergency case.
The strange thing is that my phone had not rung all day. When I asked the nurse what number they had been trying to reach me on she told me a landline number. I have not lived at that address for 10 years. I was told that number had been removed from my file well over a year ago, so how the hell do they still have it?
So now I have to wait for someone to call me today to tell me when my next appointment will be.
This is so frustrating! I understand that emergencies have to be dealt with and I wouldn't dream of saying otherwise, but no one in the NHS seems to listen.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Poor you scissorhands. How frustrating. Have you heard when you will be going back as yet for your Nerve Block?

Ali, I hope you are feeling better. Sorry to hear that you had another visit to hospital and hope all is resolved soon.

tracey-1, best of luck. It is hard having to fight on top of recovery, pain etc it takes up so much strength.

mad_maz, congratulations on going back to work.

Melza, hope you are feeling better too.

My recovery is going up and down a bit. Have some leg pain which comes and goes, and pretty much constant back pain. The longer I spend at work the worse the pain is. But I am finally getting a bit more flexibility in my back. I've been going to a group pilates class in the past few months and have found it enjoyable but very frustrating as I used to be very flexible (not so much now after the op). Four months post-op I can now do most things other people do in my pilates class, but I am careful not to put too much strain on my back. I'm planning to go back to competitive riding in a few months.

Good luck to all the pre-discectomees, and to all of those who are post-discectomy, be strong and keep going!
x

 

[Alverchiel]

Hey Scissorhands,

What a c**k up eh? When i was at physio a few weeks ago, there was a guy sitting in the waiting room next to me and all of a sudden a receptionist went up to him and told him that his appointment had been cancelled cos his physio was off sick and that they had tried to ring him on his mobile and guess what?....He had no missed calls either!!!
Its so bad when they resort to telling fibs eh?!!!

I rang the pain clinic this morning to see if they still had my details on their system, so i could just ask for an appointment instead of waiting for the surgeon to refer me on friday (IF he will), I think i will explode if i get the 'Its still early days, your nerve is still healing' spiel.
The pain (so called) 'specialist' at Dorchester told me that my local pain clinic wouldn't see me while i was still under my surgeon's care.....they are specialists alright.....specialist goons!!

Sorry for ranting folks, just having a bad day.....and its not even lunchtime yet!! AAaaaRRRgggHHHH!!!!

 

[beartree]

Ali,
I find it absolutely amazing that there are so many pathetic rules in the NHS. How can a pain management team not see you? Do they know how long it takes to get an appointment with your consultant? Even when you do get an appointment not only will you have been suffering the whole time but what a waste of your consultants time. It could be dealt with someone who specialises in pain allowing the consultant to deal with people still awaiting treatment in the first place.
You must find it completely frustrating, it's like knocking your head against a brick wall!

 

[Cockel doodle doo]

A crazy suggestion folks, how about we suggest our health professionals read the posts on this site. Would they have any sympathy for us I wonder. Everyone one seems to be having a bad time with hospitals at the moment, and if you're like me scissorhands you will have counted the days for that appointment. I'm still wondering how an emergency root block comes about, but then at least they had a few hours notice to try and cancel your visit

I have complained to Southampton hospital about my long wait for scan results, and I contacted PALS but not much joy really. The secretary phoned to tell me the scan results have still not come through but she will speak to the consultant tomorrow. It's possible that the consultant made me feel so positive when I saw him I thought this was all going to be plain sailing, my fault for being so impatient I suppose.

Today was a 'Sod the Pain' day, I moved furniture and chucked a load of junk out... so at least I now know theres is a good reason for everything to hurt. Not much sleep last night but sheer exhaution should do the trick tonight. Ha! Its unfortunate that now we're on this journey we have to just sit tight until we get to our destination. Happy travelling!

 

[The Beast Unleashed]

Hey Melza,

I'm pleased that you can have "Sod the pain days" shows you aren't giving in to it. Lord knows it would be easy to.
My consultant was called away to deal with a man who had shattered the bones in his arm. He was the only orthopaedic surgeon in that particular hospital when the man came in. It's a bit of a shame that it wasn't for somebody's spine. Seems a waste to have a spinal surgeon fixing an arm but hey, what do I know?

Anyway I'm off to take my amitrityline so hopefully I can sleep

 

[beth l]

Success! After emailing PALS and the complaints office at Southampton Hospital the secretary phoned to tell me an appointment was being made for me.....at last! I hated whingeing at everyone but now see it was probably the only way of showing them I still exist, and it paid off. I feel much better now that I know something is being done, although this is before I find my appointment is months away of course. It's hard to believe that we have to fight so hard to get noticed as far as back problems are concerned, and yet they cause so many problems in peoples lives.

Hope everyone else is doing okay, Ali, has the pain eased off yet. Tracey1, hope things are a bit easier for you too. Subi and fitbird, you're both sounding pretty damned good...long may it reign!

 

[J.S.R.G.]

Hi every1,
Well i had my op on monday and i was home on tues and i can say i was in quite a bit of pain when i woke up, but thats to be expected.

I had to lay flat for 24hrs as some spinal fluid leaked out when he was doing the op.

The surgeon said it will be a few weeks before im pain free as the op went well but it was more enlarged and my nerves were stuck to it ! nice eh !

I go back to see him next week and for the stiches taking out.

I am managing to get about very slowly and my hips were really acheing today so had to go lay down for a while, but apart from a few shooting pains down my leg i seem to be doing ok, but i aint been out of my PJ'S yet !

I was told by the surgeon that surgery was really the only option when he saw how inflamed it had become. so only time will tell, i go for physio next thursday, i was very suprised they told me to take things easy and not to do any bending, stretching, well any kind of exercising, so im gonna do as im told and hope and pray i never get that nasty, horrid pain again.

Hope every1 is ok.

With love, Jayne x x x

 

[Sad Eyed Jokerman]

Hey folks,

Hi Jayne, good to hear from you and hope your recovery goes smoothly hun

Melza....Well done on your success, finally they will do something quickly huh?


I went to my appointment with the surgeon, don't know if you have seen this one Melza, his name is Guy Barham,
I explained all the pain, needing a crutch to get around and the gazzillion painkillers i take every day.
He examined me, and he reckons its probably scar tissue.
If it is scar tissue and it has wrapped itself around my nerve, then thats it....i've had it. Got to live with it.
I asked what happens if it turns out that my disc has prolapsed a third time, and he said that they will weigh up all the pro's and cons of going in for third time surgery....I took this as they are reluctant to do a third operation....again i may be stuck like this for life.
THEN....i asked that if it is a third prolapse, would they then consider fusion surgery....He said its unlikely as a fusion could affect the healthy discs. I explained that my other discs have always been fine after the 2 operations i have already had, and i have only had problems with the one disc.
He then said that they wouldn't want to see me again after having had the fusion, having sciatica because one of my other discs have gone.

He referred me for yet another scan and now have to wait to see what that says.........Feeling disheartened

 

[Pompal 09.]

Hiya
Jane - glad to hear you are doing okay
Melza- glad to hear you are getting some sort of action. Hope they don't take too long about it.
Ali - i'm not surprised your feeling disheartened. These docs just have no idea what we are all going through.
I found myself in A&E again last night & what a palaver. It followed my apt with new physio yesterday. She assessed me & arranged to see me next week. 3 hours later I got a call from her advising me that she was concerned about the number of symptoms I have & a senior colleague had advised her to refer me to A&E as I had red flag symptoms (pain / numbness / weakness / incontinence & falls) of Cauda Equine / spinal Cord Compression. She rang & told them to expect me & gave me a 2 page letter to take with me. I was assessed on arrival as 'urgent' & 3 1/2 hours later was called into a cubicle. (i caused merry hell during this time) the dr came in, didn't examine me but told me something wasn't right although in his opinion it didn't need treating immediately as it was probably a cervical disc problem / spondylitis or arthritis & I was to contact my consultants secretary to bring apt forward!!! I lost it at this point & asked if he could also give me the lottery numbers as he must have special powers to be able to assess a patient from 6 foot away. I have to ring the secretary monday as shes away this week & I am soooooooo p***** off.
So far this week I have been told my problems may be due to MS / Osteo arthritis / cervical disc prolapse or Spondylitis!!!

Rant over

Tracey xx

 

[Sly]

Bloody hell Tracey, i'm not surprised you are p****d off!!
They shoved you from pillar to post and had an x-ray/mri goggled eyed doctor who did beggar all!!
Did you have your scan yet? I know they were fannying around organising (if thats the correct word to use, incompetents!!!) your scan.

 

[WindMiller]

Ali I havn't had the scan yet as consultant pulled rank & decided he wanted to wait to see what happened!! Gp & physio are getting concerned now but 'god' himself dictates what happens. His words were 'I expected you to bounce back as i thought the op went well given the mess we found when we went in' He seems to forget it was his bloody mess after the initial op & then taking me back to theatre to wash out the infection. Have an apt at end of month & I will be telling him I want a second opinion from a spinal surgeon not an orthopaedic surgeon with an interest in spines!!!!!

 

[thelibertines]

Ali and Tracey1, I'm really sorry you're having all this c*** to deal with...they drive you into complete hysteria and then probably make a note ofyour fragile mental state. Tracey, I think neurosurgeons are better placed to make spinal decisions. If you get to see one remember they don't like ortho consultants so slag them off a lot. Ali, you have tapped into one of my new fears...that after all this waiting Southampton will decide it's not in my interests to treat me, or something just as stupid. Will I ask for a second opinion, demand treatment or just burrow myself into my quilt and never come out again....I don't know the answer to that yet, appointment is on the 12th of April, apparently, so I shall let you know which course of action I'll be taking after that.

My surgeon left the hospital after treating me, pure coincidence I'm sure, but I wonder whether you saw his replacement Ali. Just a thought. I think you should have been given a better explanation as he seems to have dismissed you without all the information.

And Tracey, you know very well these people have been blessed with xray vision for heaven sakes, my diagnosed 'slipped disc' with 'back ache' was just a little blip I'm sure.

Jayne69, Glad its all over with, just take it easy now and relax if you can. x

 

[Pompal 09.]

I am having to waiting to have this blasted scan, then wait to see what they have to say for themselves.
If they aren't going to do anything, i will definetely be looking for a 2nd opinion, i have been on the Southampton hospital website and see that they do spinal surgery so will be looking for a referral there.

If the shoe was on the other foot and it was them or one of their family suffering with this, we can be assured that no stone would be left unturned to find treatment for them!
It sucks, it really does