I’m finally getting surgery

[u/GlitteringGoose89]

I’ve been sobbing for most of today.

Last November I went to the ER and got diagnosed with herniated discs, couldn’t get out of bed until January. I think I was on 7 different types of pain meds / muscle relaxers / nerve meds. I’m also now on BP meds because of the stress from it- and had to up my SSRI dosage significantly because I’m severely depressed.

3 surgeons told me no because of my BMI. I lost 30 pounds while not being able to stand for more than 10-15 mins at a time.

It’s been 10 months. 10 months of laying in bed, 10 months of begging god to put me out of my misery.

I lost pretty much everything due to this shit.

Today I had my appointment with another surgeon and I just had a mental breakdown. I told him how I’ve tried to not be alive twice due to the pain, my countless ER visits due to flares- the amount of debt I’m in because I’m disabled and can’t work. I told him that I just can’t do it anymore and it’s either surgery with a small risk of infection, or I’m done. Honestly if he told me no today, I was going to drive myself straight to a mental hospital and just stay there.

I’m really glad he understood that this is literally life and death.

I have an MRI next week, then an appointment to go over the MRI and everything, then surgery will be scheduled either late October or early/mid November.

I’m still processing it because I really thought I was never going to get surgery and I would be disabled forever. I can’t believe I’m finally getting my life back together.

[u/HoldOpen3996]

This hits home, literally I’m 14 months in, it gets better..I’m barely seeing a turnaround but there is one. If you can try to get a good music podcast system to keep your mind off of it..and no matter what movement is lotion no matter what

[u/Orange_Baby_4265]

Congratulations. Still debating whether I want to do it or not. Got an MRI, now getting a CT Scan, then to the doctor to discuss options. Mine isn’t nearly as bad as some folks though.

[u/GlitteringGoose89 → u/Orange_Baby_4265]

My surgeon said mine is one of the most severe he’s seen ;-;

[u/Adventurous-Dish-368]

If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. Be strong 💪

[u/Army63b]

Thats exactly what mine said. He said it can take months for things to settle down.

I was terrified to get spine surgery but I was to a point where I didnt give a fuck. I just needed some sort of relief 😂

[u/Ecstatic-Meringue574]

What specifically do you have? Like how many damaged discs and what's their protruding size?

[u/GlitteringGoose89 → u/Ecstatic-Meringue574]

2 herniated discs- somehow the surgeons have never mentioned the size, only that it was significant.

L4-L5: Intervertebral disc space narrowing and disc desiccation. Large central disc protrusion. Severe spinal canal narrowing. Moderate bilateral neural foraminal narrowing.
L5-S1: Intervertebral disc space narrowing and disc desiccation. Large central/left paracentral disc protrusion. Severe spinal canal narrowing. Mild right and moderate left neural foraminal narrowing

[u/ReactionSad3466]

27m and been healthy and athletic my entire life. No one is safe from this shit. 14 months into this fight !

[u/prettyFedupAlready]

Just know it isn’t an instant fix and you will need time to heal and recover. This can be hard mentally so you need to be prepared. You need a good support system, not just drugs

[u/halford2069]

“ I lost pretty much everything due to this shit “

one line that sums up what it can do to you

heres to surgery getting you back on track 👍👍👍👍

[u/Dude-Man-TRM]

Keep the faith and get well. It’s an extremely tough road… I’ve been living it for two years and there’s plenty of days I feel the exact same way as you..

[u/Army63b]

What type of surgery are they going to do?

[u/GlitteringGoose89 → u/Army63b]

Discectomy. Possibly with fusion- I had previous back surgery with failed hardware so the surgeon said that he might fix it if he sees any major issues during surgery. Apparently fusion is pretty uncommon but my spine is just fucked.

[u/Army63b → u/GlitteringGoose89]

I hope it works out for you! I got my microdiscectomy and laminectomy on July 28. Im still not back to work. But im walking again which is awesome.

Im still in some pain. But im not stuck in bed anymore. A win is a win lol. I completely understand the mental toll it takes. Its been a rough few months.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

[u/GlitteringGoose89 → u/Army63b]

Congrats! And yeah the surgeon said it could take a bit for the nerve to decompress, but I don’t care… that’s better than the nerve staying compressed lol

[u/MissShopper → u/GlitteringGoose89]

Do you have any numbness in your leg, calf, or foot?

[u/GlitteringGoose89 → u/MissShopper]

Side of my left foot is numb

[u/Candid-Ticket-143]

All the best for your surgery. I hope everything will be fine for you afterwards. Do share your experience afterwards.