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Bob
May 1, 2009 - 11:38PM
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2 Failed Spinal Fusions
I have had 2 spinal fusions, L4-S1. I have had the nerve endings burnt off my spine with microwave impulses. 15 Epidural injections. At least 12 trigger point injections. Tests up the ying yang.... Now my surgeon wants to cut me again because , maybe there is some scar tissue up against a nerve!!! My last surgery was 8 hours on the table and my condition is not any better, in fact it is getting worse.
Now another , pain management doctor is telling me I have a nerve desease called R.S.D. which there is no cure and can spread all over the body....
Have any of you people out there been through this and been told the same thing? If so, what has helped you deal with the pain? I take about 20 pills a day. Oxycontin, Percocets etc. Thanks for reading my story and good luck to you all....
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Paul
May 2, 2009 - 12:59PM
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Re: 2 Failed Spinal Fusions
Bob-
I am sorry to hear of your continued pain. I do not know if i would let him go after the scar tissue. that is a controversial topic. Many surgeons believe it is benign. What I would do if i were you is see Dr. Marcus in NYC. His website is www.backpainusa.com and he is the last stop for many fusion patients who have become bedridden. He has devised an instrument that will tell you where your pain is generating from and more times than not it is from muscles...shortness...tightness.....trigger points...etc....I went to see him and he injected my adductors/groin and told me i did not have a back problem after horrendous back pain for 4 years. I saw many people in his waiting room who traveled from across the country to see him. He was president of the American Pain Association and consistently makes Top Docs in NYC. He is an innovator. Please go to his site and watch his videos. I stumbled on him by accident and he injected me and i got relief. In fact since seeing him I had to see another doctor who is going to operate on my Wednesday because 2 of my adductors are torn off the bone as well as my rectous abdominis.
Good luck. Watch the videos of the patients who had failed fusion. I would not have believed it had i not seen it in person
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annette wooley
May 28, 2009 - 5:22PM
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Re: 2 Failed Spinal Fusions
hello, i have read your message with interest, i am too in a very similar position to you, i have had fusions which came after 3 ops the first of which when i was 11, i am 39 now, i am in bed 90 pcent of the time and on oxycontin, oxynorm and fenytynal patches, still n pain and still trying to find an answer, i have just been told i have another ruptured dics, i have just had a nerve root block, and i guess another op?, i am at a loss as whether to go ahead or would another op cause more problems, i have the prob with the scare tissue and nerves.... so i know its not alot of help to you but i really do understand your pain and your frustration it is awful....
annette
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Tracey Dalia
May 28, 2009 - 9:49PM
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Re: 2 Failed Spinal Fusions
Hi, also. My name is Tracey and I, too, have had two failed fusions. I am not certain that I would entertain the idea of another surgery. I am 41 now, and know that neither of my spinal surgeries helped at all. It was a different surgery (not back related) that caused the back injury for me. I, too, spend much of the day in bed (70%). I have done the PT(actually, I AM a PT!!!),epidurals, chiropractic, massage therapy, inversion therapy, trigger point, acupuncture. Not improving. All radiographs are "fine"... yet I have to take dilaudid and use Fentanyl patches to be out of bed for a few hours per day. I can honestly say, unless I REALLY saw that the surgery HAD to be done or it would be worse, I doubt I'd do it. I really do not want a spinal cord stimulator, either. I've seen some failures, and i am scared. Good luck with your decision... know that you are not alone.
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Bob
Jun 23, 2009 - 11:44PM
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Re: 2 Failed Spinal Fusions
Thanks, but I guess you reach a point where you almost forget how much pain you were in after the surgery and when , again you have tried everything and are still in so much pain that you drive everyone in your family crazy you grab at straws of hope that doctors dangle in front of you. I really don't want to shovel pills down my throat for the rest of my life. I have foot drop now because my Paroneal Nerve in my left leg is dead from the surgery which controls your muscles in your ankle, so now I can't even move 1 toe. What could possibly get worse from another surgery. End up in a wheel chair, I don't know. Anyway, I'm running at the mouth.... feel better and good luck in what ever course of treatment you decide for yourself. Your to young to be strapped with this for the rest of your days. Be well.
Bob