discectomy/decompression

[GogReignunuro]

hi all new to this site im hoping u guys can give me some reassurance and some words of comfort!!went for mri scan in dec 2008 after 4 years of back pain was told by doc it was only muscular!!!got results back just before xmas had a damaged disc that was crushing 1 or 2 nerve roots would hav to c a specalist which i did in march 2009,was told it would need to be operated on but could be done by keyhole surgery.after hearing nothing for a couple of months kept ringing hospital to be told waiting for dictation notes,witing for mri results (coming from diff hospital) havent forgot you,surgeon off sick!!phoned back after xmas 2010 as pain was really bad now no feeling on inside left leg was told surgeon had left would have to see another one new appointment came 17 march 2010 nearly a year bar 4 days since i'd seen original one!!things took a turn for worse on 17-2010 woke up couldnt get out of bed rang doctor who came to house prescibed gabapentin which were like a miracle after 4 days could get out of bed worse was to come though on 22-2-2010 woke up with feeling down below which had started on sun night didnt realise how serious this was why did no-one tell me about cauda-equina??? was rushed by ambulance to hospital and had emergency operation had to have discectomy and decompression 4 weeks ago now still have no feeling in my bottom (just know i need to go to toilet) will this get any better?? still no feeling in my outside left leg and 3 toes other side is fine feel like im dragging my leg and tripping over it all the time and no strength in it whats so ever please someone tell me this is early days and i will get better im hoping someone been through this and come out smiling at the other end .thanks for reading my life story

 

[ehgvllbk]

Hi Debbie, what a terrible experience. As an osteopath I find this kind of story very frustrating, but I'm afraid there are too many unknowns to offer direct advice from here, or offer a prognosis. Hopefully someone who has been through this can tell you how they progressed.

What I will say is that your surgeon and/or GP need to know thay you may have what are called foot-drop and saddle anaesthesia. I presume you have some kind of surgical follow-up due? You can always phone NHS direct and ask if you need seeing sooner in light of how things are going, they may be very reassuring or else tell you to get off to the docs straight away.

What I will say is that there is nearly always something that can be done to make things better - although how much better I couldn't tell you. The sooner you start looking into this the better, don't wait another two years.

But you should definitely seek help from your gp to find out what options and resources are left open to you.

I would suggest you also consider looking for another opinion outside the medical profession - there is usually more than one way to see any problem. However, for free help the NHS is still your best bet, unless you have good insurance.

If you think the system has failed you in some way, there is also a legal charity called AVMA (action against medical accidents). However, you should bear in mind that pending legal action is actually known to slow recovery in some cases - in other words, what really matters is getting the most out of your recovery.

Sorry I can't give you a simple answer, but I hope that helps, and best wishes.

 

[Jenna Lalap]

Hi Debbie,

Welcome to the forums. This is a horrible experience to go through. Have a look in the forums, and maybe you'll get ideas of what to do as well as the medical route.

I hope this helps.

 

[Archer]

thanks for advise im due to go back mid april for follow up will mention the foot drop and saddle problems and hopefully will get some reassurance from consultant that this will get better.

 

[unliddips]

Hello debbie m, and welcome to Healthypages.

I've moved your thread over to the Back Problems forum, as hopefully you will get some further replies here, and can keep us posted in the meantime.

Could I just ask that you don't use 'text speak', eg 'c' for the full word 'see', when posting again, as some of our members don't understand it and it disrupts the flow of your text. Fine for text messages on mobile phones Many thanks

Holistic
Healthypages Moderator

 

[Mike Mazz]

I am so sorry to hear of your plight, but I've heard of this situation so often. When back pain sufferers are young-ish and generally healthy, Surgeons drag their feet and delay & delay, afraid of causing damage with their poor procedures. As soon as patients are suffering with something very chronic, they are more than happy to rip patients apart with highly questionable procedures, safe in the knowledge that they can use the excusse, that patients 'cannot prove' that the Surgeon has not made things worse. This is because their pre-operation condition will have clouded any accurate post-op review.

Best wishes


SPINELF

 

[JenniferM]

Hi Debbie
your storey sounds identical to mine. I had a herniated disc back in November 2007 and was in agony - my gp at the time was useless and in fact I didnt find out that I had a herniated L4/L5 disc until I ended up in A&E on boxing day - this was despite traipsing backwards and forewards to see my doctor up to 20+ times between the start of November and Xmas with ever increasing pain and mobility problems.
Anyway I had an emergency MRI scan at the hospital and found out I had a massive disc herniation - I was sent home with all kinds of drugs and told to contact my GP after Xmas and request to be referred to see a spinal consultant.
Well the referral was made, but I never actually got to the point of receiving the hospital appointment. I woke up on the 15th January 08 with no feeling in my left leg at all and all the muscles from my butt down were jumping - it was so bad you could visible see the muscles contractions, however the pain vanished. I made an appointment to see my doctor, who sent me home for bed rest. I went to bed, and then on the 16th Jan tried to get out of bed - my leg collapsed underneath me, my husband phoned the surgery and they asked if I was in pain, I wasnt - so they told me to go back to bed. By the 17th January I couldnt walk, not only could I not weight bear but even with a stick my left foot was dragging behind me and I couldnt pick it up off the floor. My husband (bless him) literally carried me into the doctors surgery and started making a LOT OF NOISE! My GP came out and ordered me straight to hospital - emergency MRI - my disc had practically fallen out of my spinal column and they couldnt see my nerve - I was in surgery later that day - I was told afterwards that I was hours away from losing my bladder/bowel (full cauda equina) - I do have a drop foot still - two years on - but it has partially recovered!
All I can say is this - I spent 6 weeks post op with no feeling or movement in my left foot - I spent hours upon hours willing my toes to move and willing my foot to move - It was the most desperate time of my life. I was given a plastic splint to wear in my shoe - I could not get it on with anything other than trainers (I was a strappy sandles and heels girl), I thought my life was over.
Anyway - at the six week mark I suddenly got pins and needles in my left foot which lasted two days - then I got full feeling back. By then my physio had me in the gym trying to build up my left leg muscles which had wasted overnight due to the nerves being compressed. As soon as I got feeling back in my foot she had me on the step machine to try and recruit the muscles in my lower leg - within 6 weeks I had movement first of all in my toes - my toes now fully dorsiflex. Within 12 weeks I got a little bit of dorsiflexion in my ankle. My toes are still very weak and the muscle has not recovered to give me full range of movement however I can walk without a splint and without tripping up but I am slow - so I have had a partial recovery.
What I am trying to say - is dont give up hope. If you cannot cope with the plastic splint there is a fantastic orthotics company in Dorset called Dorset orthopedics - they have a website and they manufacture an item called the SAFO (google it) - it gave me my life back and the days of wearing the hideous plastic splint ended.
I am afraid I cannot comment on the saddle numbness, thankfully I got into hospital just in time to avoid that - but again the nerves take time to heal and there is nothing to say you wont get some feeling back.
I wish you a speedy recovery - I know from my own experience how long and hard it is.

Bonnie10

 

[onederful2nite]

Thanks bonnie for sharing ur story with me,im glad im not alone in wearing trainers thats all i can wear myself at the moment not an attractive look when your not used to them!!!ive had a quick look at the website you recommended but not sure whats going to happen yet as seeing consultant next week with a list of questions in hand.glad your on the road to recovery but really didnt realise things could take so long to heal suppose i just presumed that i would be fitting fit after the op not used to feeling so useless but im sure you can relate to that! thanks again x