Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Back problems
scubaman154.
Been dealing with back issues for the last year. I had a laminectomy about ten years ago and had a pretty good run but wear and tear has caught back up to me. I have a badly compressed disc that is only at about 40% he height it should be. I have been fairly free of the searing sciatic pain but I deal with constant tingling in my foot and a charlie -horsed left butt cheek most of the time .Doctors say I need a laminectomy with fusion . Are there any good fusion success stories out there?
I have had t done twice discectomy with fusion at c4-5 ,5-6 done6 months apart in 04 and 05, still working as firefighter. After surgery you cant go full steam ahead!, u really have to watch what you do, mine was done at riverside hospital, Columbus Ohio. Before mine were done I had 0% function ut of my left arm. So I had no choice, but I am glad I did it! Most firefighters end up on disability but knock n wood, I am still working!Last edited by scubaman154 on October 22nd, 2012, 11:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i had a ladder slide out from under me and I havehad two bulging disc I had MRI and was not a candidate for surgery. They wanted to pill me up and do injection. My leg was numb and pain was terrible. Did some research and found out about spinal decompression with a chiro. After 3rd treatment pain and numbnest starting subsiding. Pain free soon thereafter and I did have to change my life style but have been pain free since. Might help you.golfen
I had minor back surgury 4 yrs. ago and lower back fusion in Jan 12. I talked to a lot of surgury patients before I had mine. The most important piece for having sucessful back surgury is the quality of the physician. Some are much better than others.
I second importance of quality of physician and multiple opinions especially on a surgery of this importance. I had discectomy and laminectomy about four years ago at 28 yrs old after seeing four doctors and have been good since. Dont rule out travelling to see best doctor you can find. Seen too many friends and family settle for local care for convenience against their better judgement and have poor results.
Had a discectomy about three months ago after my L5-S1 bulging disc herniated. A fragment of the herniated disc was lying on top my nerve causing the worst pain I have ever experienced down my left butt cheek all the way down to my foot. Now i am totally pain free and I agree with earlier comments that the most important thing is do your homework and get a reliable surgeon. Good luck and hope things work out.
I have L4, 5, and 6 fused. Still have some pain because of the scar tissue from 2 sugeries and stenosis. Having said that, Im 75 years old and still fish tournaments. The most powerful medication I take is aleve. As suggested above, the most important decision, after deciding to have surgery, is selecting the surgeon. They are all definitely not created equally. I had a neighbor who decided to go with an unknown minimally invasive process. He was a pro football player in his younger years but now is in a wheel chair sitting at home drooling down his chin. He has a law suit but they have more lawyers and money than he does.I had my surgerys at Hughston Clinic in Columbus, Ga. They specialize in sports medicine and have a very good reputation. My surgeon specializes in back operations and averages about 350 a year. Since then the Andrews Institute (DR. James Andrews) has opened here in Pensacola (Gulf Breeze). This is a world class facility and is where I would go if I need more work. They aslo have a great hospital facility. Go on line and check them out.Good luck and hope this helps.
I have acute degenerative disc disease and radiculapathy. I am not a candidate for surgery other than anterior fusion (access through the guts). I have been down the road of pain pills, de-compression, therapy, injections, etc. The only thing that has truly given me any relief is therapy that I recieved from a sports medicine group. They focused on muscular support of the area and “turning off” spasm muscles. I would say that about 40% of my pain was from spasm muscles. When your body is in pain, the muscles around the area naturally tense up to protect the area. After months of this tensing, they become muscles spasms. Call me if you have any questions. 417-773-4169. I do daily excersises and stretches, about ten minutes a day, and take ibruprofen occassionaly.
Hey whats up with the “balls to the wall or ward?”As for surgeons Id get an ortho spine and an neuro opinion and see what each say. If they disagree get a third.Unfortunately its hard to tell which ones of us suck more than others. Internet only attracts those with an agenda and arent representative one way or another.The best way to tell if one of us is good is this-Goto state medical board site and see if there have been complaints about us. I expect youll find at least one suit on anyone who is busy.I would then see how many places this guy has worked.Usually, if one of us is potentially borderline you will see a lot of locations worked and more suits than most.Most of the guys I know that are good have been in one location only. I dont think hatin on the local guys is a smart approach either. Realize that opinion is coming from a guy that isnt the local small town doc.Everything the local guy does everyone knows about. The guy in the big city aint ever gonna see your butt as much as the local guy will and no one in small town XYZ has any idea about the big city guy because hes only worked on 2 folks in your town anyway. Plus the guy that drove 300 miles to see specialist Dr. Copay Douchenstein has gotta convince everyone he saw Dr. Douchenstein because “hes the best you know”…even though the local guy might be a better doctor anyway.If the guy does a lot of these, genuinely seems to care, hasnt moved around much, has 1 suit only then you are good.C.O.D. Jr. III
Sorry ward, stupid typo!!! I will fix it!!
© 2026 Bass Cat Boats
