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When Will I know if I need to have more surgery? Pain meds, Dexamethasone, seems to work to relive pain. Can I take this long term? I would like to try laser therapy and decompression therapy but my insurance will not cover and I cannot afford to pay out of pocket. What came I do to get the treatment I so very much need?
So on a scale of 0 – 10 it is the following:
0 when I wake up in the morning since I’ve been sleeping on my back all night
can get up to an 8 when I’m at work since I’m sitting and standing for 8 hours
gets down to a 3 or 4 when I get home and go to bed
walking bring it down to a 2 usuallyBefore surgery pain was only in left leg and foot
Now my pain is in my lower back and leg buttock and leg although not at the same time. The back pain is pretty much the same as the buttock which can get up to a 6 if I sit for a long period of time. Dexamethasone helps to relive the pain greatly and make it an almost 0, but the pain does eventually come back.I also have no weakness anywhere.
Ok so before I had my surgery I was having left leg pain. I tried PT, steroid injections. heat/cold therapy, walking, acupunctured, chiro. Nothing help for about a little over a year. I did no for the first few months what I had. This time I went back to the gym 6 months post surgery and I now have pain in my lower back and left leg. This time I have a better understanding of the symptoms and exactly what I have. This time I’m going to PT, trying decompression therapy and stopped going to the gym. biking and running.
Please take a look at my MRI results before and after surgery and tell me what you think.
The first MRI was on 7/25/2018
L1/L2: This level is normal
L2/3: This level is normal
L3/L4: Mild loss of disc height and signal. The spinal canal is normal in caliber centrally. There is 1 to 2 mm of lateralizing disc material in the neural foramina bilaterally, appears some partial compromise of the neural foramina, left greater than right. The exiting dorsal root ganglia appear surrounded by fat.
L4/L5: There is mild loss of disc signal and disc height. There is 1 to 2 mm of disc material lateralizing to the right. There is some partial compromise of the right lateral recess as well as inferior aspect of the right neural foramen. The existing dorsal root ganglia are surrounded by fat.
L5/S1: Mild loss of disc signal with 1 to 2 mm of disc material localizing to the left. The is partial compromise of the inferior aspect of the left neural foramen. The exiting dorsal root ganglia are surrounded by fat. The spinal canal is normal in caliber centrally.
On 4/15/2019 I had surgery preformed:
1) Left L3 and L4. left L4 and L5, and left L5 and S1 lumbar laminectomies, medial factectomies, and foraminotomies.
2) Left L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1 lumbar microdiskectomies
3) Intraoperative microscope and microscopic dissection use.
4) intraoperative fluoroscopy use.
5. Intraoperative short-latency somatosensory-evoked potential, electromyelogram and motor-evoked potential neuromonitoring use.Second MRI was post-surgery on 6/6/2019
L1-L2: No evidenced of disc disease or protruslon, central canal stenosis, or neural foraminal narrowing
L2-L3: No evidenced of disc disease or protruslon, central canal stenosis, or neural foraminal narrowing
L3-L4: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Posterior left subarticular 2.0 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous disc herniation extends into the epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.
L4-L5: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Posterior left subarticular 2.4 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous disc herniation extends into the epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy with mild left neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.
L5-S1: Status post left hemilaminotomy with microdiscetomy. Grade 1 (2mm) anterollsthesls with uncovering of the intervertebral disc. Posterior central 2.0 mm disc protrusion-subligamentous disc herniation extends into the epidural fat and indents the thecal sac. Bilateral facet arthropathy without neural foraminal stenosis. Central canal is patent.
Been having low back pain and ;left leg pain since I went back to the gym at the beginning of October:
Had another MRI done on 10/19/19:
T12-L1: There is no disc disease or herniation at this level. No annular disc tear. Central canal and neural foramina are patent.
L1-L2: There is no disc disease or herniation at this level. No annular disc tear. Central canal and neural foramina are patent.
L2-L3: There is no disc disease or herniation at this level. No annular disc tear. Central canal and neural foramina are patent.
L3-L4: There is no disc disease or herniation at this level. No annular disc tear. Central canal and neural foramina are patent.
L4-L5: There is no disc disease or herniation at this level. No annular disc tear. Central canal and neural foramina are patent.
L5-S1: There is posterior herniation of 3.1 mm of L5-S1 disc indenting thecal sac and abutting the traversing S1 nerve roots. No annular dis tear. No canal or foraminal stenosis seen.
What do you make of all this. Going forward what do you see is the best option? I got a second option from another spine doctor and he said that I should try PT, pain meds and massage. He wants be to come back in one month. If my symptoms don’t improve a fusion might be in my future, which I want to avoid.
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