The comment about pregnancy was for Ireland Girl, and to Guest who is going to the Neurosurgeon and wants someone to help you smile thru this, its not easy, you know that. But doing nothing will yield nothing. If you get it fixed now, then in a few months you can have a much higher quality of life with your family as opposed to being stuck in the "should I or shouldn't I mode". I'm going in Wed 11/4 to have a neck surgery, I can barely type because my hands tremble after a bit. So I gotta go. Good luck to all of you and keep me posted. I will do same in a few days. Postop.....
Hi! My 34 year old wife is going to be getting surgery for her grade 3 (nearly 4) spondylolisthesis. Like others on this site she was in pain for years before she got properly diagnosed. Be very careful!! We've been to other "specialists" and "surgeons" who told her her spine was stable, don't worry, lose weight (not easy to do when minor movement hurts like all hells) come back in two years if the pain is still there. Well it's been just over a year and her spine is so bad that without surgery soon, she will be paralyzed. The current specialists (Orthopedics International - Spine) are appalled that she was made to wait at all. At this point we are just hoping to avoid paralysys, pain-reduction would just be icing on the cake. Had she had surgery earlier, her chances would be improved. My only advice to anybody experiencing this horrible, debilitating condition is GET A SECOND OPINION. Surgery is invasive, it is risky, it is a last resort, but you must be careful not to wait too long either. Do some homework, find a real specialist in spine problems. Also remember it is not just you who is suffering, but all those around you as well.
Well said. My whole "message" aside from my experiences with my surgeries is that you find a competant dr. Do not go to a general orthopedic surgeon, or to a neurosurgeon who doesn't do lots of spine surgery. If you have to travel to a bigger town, do so. You can get all your mri's, ct's, all that in any town practically and send cd's thru the mail to the clinic in a bigger city. Then they can review them and if they can help you they wiill make an appt. Don't not do it because its inconvenient. You are betting that the surgery will improve your quality of life, and it can only do that if you have a surgeon who 1- feels like he/she can help you, and 2- is very well versed in the type of surgery you need and does lots and lots of it. Good luck to you all
Hi im 28 and currently considering surgery I have spondylolisthesis and I started out with a grade 4. Im currently going to the chiropractor which is expensive and does help a lil but not much. I used to be a very social person now Im a couch potao who can't work and it kills me. If I stand for a long period or walk I get alot of pain and im on a weight restriction of under 20 lbs. Im to a grade 3 after 5 months and still get the pain in my lower baCK, ankles, right leg especially in my growing. Im a CNA so when I was working and transfering the patient I took care of I got spasms in my feet and calves and this person can bear weight some and isn't very heavy. I also have scolosis which was treated when I was a teenager and I was told that they should have spotted it then. My family and friends want me to have this surgery but im so scared, don't want to be off of worker any longer than I already have and one day I want a family.:-( I hear stories that it does work and some say it doesn't work but everyone is different so Im debating on this surgery since Im kind of lost on what to do.
I am 28/F and have been told I have spondy grade 2 L5-S1. When I was 10 I had a osteomia tumor (begnine) on my spine causing sever scoliosis, which was removed. I straighten up and recovered almost completely (in my opinion). Last year before my wedding I noticed numbness in my leg. I have always had a "weak" back but this year is when the doctor diagnosed it as spondlolisthesis (sp?). I may have had some birth defect that led me here.
Anyways, this week I've noticed I have more pain than numbness in my left buttocks and left calf. I am scheduled to return to the neurosurgeon in March for a review of my grade to see if it is continuing to move. I workout to relieve pain as I avoid anything stronger than Ibuprofen to avoid it interfering with my work. I respond very extremely to medications.
I am very nervous about the recent developments with new stronger, steady pain and numbness (where once it only occurred when I crossed my legs, now it is pretty consistently all the time). My husband and I have not had children yet but are planning to do so. I have concerns about maximizing my life as I am only 28 and things seem to have all of a sudden started developing within a 15 month time span. As I have had back surgery before I am hesitant to volunteer for a re-match. I was young and returned to my active lifestyle but I had the ability and time to recover. Chiropractors are NOT my friend for whatever reason, it causes me greater pain. Heating pads are NOT my friends for the same reason.
Any tips for non-surgical aids to pain relief and improvement of enjoyment of life??
Anyways, this week I've noticed I have more pain than numbness in my left buttocks and left calf. I am scheduled to return to the neurosurgeon in March for a review of my grade to see if it is continuing to move. I workout to relieve pain as I avoid anything stronger than Ibuprofen to avoid it interfering with my work. I respond very extremely to medications.
I am very nervous about the recent developments with new stronger, steady pain and numbness (where once it only occurred when I crossed my legs, now it is pretty consistently all the time). My husband and I have not had children yet but are planning to do so. I have concerns about maximizing my life as I am only 28 and things seem to have all of a sudden started developing within a 15 month time span. As I have had back surgery before I am hesitant to volunteer for a re-match. I was young and returned to my active lifestyle but I had the ability and time to recover. Chiropractors are NOT my friend for whatever reason, it causes me greater pain. Heating pads are NOT my friends for the same reason.
Any tips for non-surgical aids to pain relief and improvement of enjoyment of life??
I am 28/F and have been told I have spondy grade 2 L5-S1. When I was 10 I had a osteomia tumor (begnine) on my spine causing sever scoliosis, which was removed. I straighten up and recovered almost completely (in my opinion). Last year before my wedding I noticed numbness in my leg. I have always had a "weak" back but this year is when the doctor diagnosed it as spondlolisthesis (sp?). I may have had some birth defect that led me here.
Anyways, this week I've noticed I have more pain than numbness in my left buttocks and left calf. I am scheduled to return to the neurosurgeon in March for a review of my grade to see if it is continuing to move. I workout to relieve pain as I avoid anything stronger than Ibuprofen to avoid it interfering with my work. I respond very extremely to medications.
I am very nervous about the recent developments with new stronger, steady pain and numbness (where once it only occurred when I crossed my legs, now it is pretty consistently all the time). My husband and I have not had children yet but are planning to do so. I have concerns about maximizing my life as I am only 28 and things seem to have all of a sudden started developing within a 15 month time span. As I have had back surgery before I am hesitant to volunteer for a re-match. I was young and returned to my active lifestyle but I had the ability and time to recover. Chiropractors are NOT my friend for whatever reason, it causes me greater pain. Heating pads are NOT my friends for the same reason.
Anyways, this week I've noticed I have more pain than numbness in my left buttocks and left calf. I am scheduled to return to the neurosurgeon in March for a review of my grade to see if it is continuing to move. I workout to relieve pain as I avoid anything stronger than Ibuprofen to avoid it interfering with my work. I respond very extremely to medications.
I am very nervous about the recent developments with new stronger, steady pain and numbness (where once it only occurred when I crossed my legs, now it is pretty consistently all the time). My husband and I have not had children yet but are planning to do so. I have concerns about maximizing my life as I am only 28 and things seem to have all of a sudden started developing within a 15 month time span. As I have had back surgery before I am hesitant to volunteer for a re-match. I was young and returned to my active lifestyle but I had the ability and time to recover. Chiropractors are NOT my friend for whatever reason, it causes me greater pain. Heating pads are NOT my friends for the same reason.
My 12 year old daughter had surgery for spondylolisthesis in Oct of 09 (3 months ago). She had very little feeling in her feet, walked on her toes from her hamstrings being in spasm, and had back pain. She said it was very painful the first 2 days in the hospital. She was released on day 3 and she walked in the house. She had to wear a form molded back brace for the first 2 months. She has NO complaints about the surgery. She is doing 100%.
Her lumbar spinal fusion with instrumentation was between L6-S1 (yes I said L6 !!!!!)
Her lumbar spinal fusion with instrumentation was between L6-S1 (yes I said L6 !!!!!)
Hello,
I am a 21 year old male, who was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis (grade 3 slip) about 7 months ago. The doctor said i developed it over time from playing a lot of sports (mainly football), lifting weights (Squats) and too much manual labor. The doctor first recommended that I do physical therapy to strengthen my core and basically just prevent my vertebrae from slipping out any more. After about 2 months of PT I was still in pain. Like most of you I had my good days where I wouldn't feel much pain and my bad days where I'd be in pain all day. I could not stand their and do the dishes for more than 5 minutes before I was in extreme pain. I would usually wake up in a lot of pain. Finally, I decided enough was enough, I'm only 20 years old and I dont want to deal with this the rest of my life. So I decided to get surgery. I saw several doctors to get as many opinions as possible and they were all saying the same thing. A spinal fusion for L4, L5, and S1 using titanium rods and pedical screws. Dr. Kramer from Cincinnati Spine came accross as the best doctor in Cincinnati for this kind of surgery so I went with him. He decided that he would have to come in anteriorly and posteriorly for the it to succeed. It was a 7 1/2 hour surgery and I was in the hospital for 3 1/2 days. It been about 2 1/2 weeks since my surgery and I already feel better than I was before surgery. It takes 3-4 months for the fusion to set so I have to wear a back bace at all times for the next 3 months and I'm slowly increasing excercise. I am walking and riding a stationary bike everyday at this point and in a month He is giving me ab and leg excercises to strengthen my core.
As of now I'd say this surgery was a success. But i'm not going to jump ahead bc it does take 3 months for the whole healing process to finish. So, I knock on wood that I keep recovering the way I am!
If you have any questions let me know!
I am a 21 year old male, who was diagnosed with spondylolisthesis (grade 3 slip) about 7 months ago. The doctor said i developed it over time from playing a lot of sports (mainly football), lifting weights (Squats) and too much manual labor. The doctor first recommended that I do physical therapy to strengthen my core and basically just prevent my vertebrae from slipping out any more. After about 2 months of PT I was still in pain. Like most of you I had my good days where I wouldn't feel much pain and my bad days where I'd be in pain all day. I could not stand their and do the dishes for more than 5 minutes before I was in extreme pain. I would usually wake up in a lot of pain. Finally, I decided enough was enough, I'm only 20 years old and I dont want to deal with this the rest of my life. So I decided to get surgery. I saw several doctors to get as many opinions as possible and they were all saying the same thing. A spinal fusion for L4, L5, and S1 using titanium rods and pedical screws. Dr. Kramer from Cincinnati Spine came accross as the best doctor in Cincinnati for this kind of surgery so I went with him. He decided that he would have to come in anteriorly and posteriorly for the it to succeed. It was a 7 1/2 hour surgery and I was in the hospital for 3 1/2 days. It been about 2 1/2 weeks since my surgery and I already feel better than I was before surgery. It takes 3-4 months for the fusion to set so I have to wear a back bace at all times for the next 3 months and I'm slowly increasing excercise. I am walking and riding a stationary bike everyday at this point and in a month He is giving me ab and leg excercises to strengthen my core.
As of now I'd say this surgery was a success. But i'm not going to jump ahead bc it does take 3 months for the whole healing process to finish. So, I knock on wood that I keep recovering the way I am!
If you have any questions let me know!
unfortunately despite what chiropractors and others tell you, when it comes to most real and most serious spinal issues, usually surgery is the only way to resolve the pain. Why? Because its usually a mechanical problem, ie something squeezing either a nerve root or compressing the spinal cord. Adjustments, pills, none of that is going to fix it. If it did, none of us would be stupid enough to have surgery. If chiropractors actually cured someone (not saying they cant help with symptoms from time to time) then you wouldn't have to go 2-3 x per week for life. It gets very expensive and its not the "adjustments" that help, its usually the heat/ice/massage/ultrasound therapy they do that helps. There is a reason they dont have respect amongst most MD's, and there is a reason they cannot admit to hospitals or do prescriptions. They dont have the training despite their little plaque that says "your chiropractor has had the same training as an MD". A friend of mine and its on the web, I can direct you, is a DC. He wanted to go to MD school after becoming a certified orthopedic and certified neurologist chiropractor. He went back to school to retake chemistry, physics, etc, to prepare for the MCAT. He couldn't pass it with high enough scores to get in. He said the MCAT (med college admissions test) was much harder than the chiropractic state boards (the licensing test after graduation from chiro school).
I'm not here to rag on chiropractors. I'm just pointing out that if they worked, ortho and neurosurgeons would largely be out of business with the exception of trauma. The reality is they are so busy it takes months to get in to see most neurosurgeons. Almost everyone has gone the chiropractor route, epidurals, and after no relief of any length of time, they require surgery.
It sucks. I had a grade 3 in my neck and was told that any accident like a whiplash type accident could kill me. I saw a neurologist who said "You can't be walking around with this". It was pressing on my spinal cord, slipping towards the cord not away.
Its such a tough thing because a lot of time you dont have back symptoms. You get leg or arm symptoms. Mine started in my arms. It took one xray to show the displaced vertebrae. I went to a chiropractor and he took an xray. He was looking at it and I said isnt this a "sublaxation", their famous condition. This guy was smart enough not to adjust my neck even though they claim to cure sublaxations. A true sublaxation is a serious thing (vertebrae out of place) not a thing that can be "popped into place".
My hearts go out. My advice is get a ton of opinions. Go to physical and rehab med MD's, go to neurology, go see a spine surgeon, just keep getting advice and learning until you find someone that either makes you feel better or you have confidence in. If you are a young person, you may grow out of it, if you had an injury (like me) you wont. GOOD LUCK.
I'm not here to rag on chiropractors. I'm just pointing out that if they worked, ortho and neurosurgeons would largely be out of business with the exception of trauma. The reality is they are so busy it takes months to get in to see most neurosurgeons. Almost everyone has gone the chiropractor route, epidurals, and after no relief of any length of time, they require surgery.
It sucks. I had a grade 3 in my neck and was told that any accident like a whiplash type accident could kill me. I saw a neurologist who said "You can't be walking around with this". It was pressing on my spinal cord, slipping towards the cord not away.
Its such a tough thing because a lot of time you dont have back symptoms. You get leg or arm symptoms. Mine started in my arms. It took one xray to show the displaced vertebrae. I went to a chiropractor and he took an xray. He was looking at it and I said isnt this a "sublaxation", their famous condition. This guy was smart enough not to adjust my neck even though they claim to cure sublaxations. A true sublaxation is a serious thing (vertebrae out of place) not a thing that can be "popped into place".
My hearts go out. My advice is get a ton of opinions. Go to physical and rehab med MD's, go to neurology, go see a spine surgeon, just keep getting advice and learning until you find someone that either makes you feel better or you have confidence in. If you are a young person, you may grow out of it, if you had an injury (like me) you wont. GOOD LUCK.
hi everyone,
My name is Dusty, Im 25 with congenital sponderlolithesis at stage three. I have not had surgery and I am living a healthy life with out any operations.
I was told a year ago to go and see a back specialist because my sponderlolithesis was unstable and geting worse. I was told to be prepared to get pins and fused discs.
However due to the long wait (still waiting on that appointment) I decided to try alternative medicine/approaches which has been a real break through for me. I was in so much pain that it hurt every day for most of the day. Anyway, I went to see a holistic chirporactor, they were able to fix the nerve damage in my arm and leg and reduce the pain by 50 percent through nerve stimulation and breathing techniques. But you know it goes up and down depending on wether your diet, posture, water consumption(our joints are made of fluid so if you drink lots of water it eases the pain) and exercise (lots of walking/pillaties and no jolting exercises) is good.
I really believe that if you have sponderlolithesis you try this. I found the mainstream chiropractors to be only a band aid approach would proabably be okay for stage 1 sufferers.
My second break through happened only today by seeing someone for chinese medicine and accupuncture. I felt great after the accupuncture, no pain at all. This combined with vitamins to help my deffciencies should mean even less symtoms such as bladder issues and dermatitis. Pluss by geting the minerals you were lacking you could save yourself from alot more illness in later life.
If your in pain try this!
Dusty
My name is Dusty, Im 25 with congenital sponderlolithesis at stage three. I have not had surgery and I am living a healthy life with out any operations.
I was told a year ago to go and see a back specialist because my sponderlolithesis was unstable and geting worse. I was told to be prepared to get pins and fused discs.
However due to the long wait (still waiting on that appointment) I decided to try alternative medicine/approaches which has been a real break through for me. I was in so much pain that it hurt every day for most of the day. Anyway, I went to see a holistic chirporactor, they were able to fix the nerve damage in my arm and leg and reduce the pain by 50 percent through nerve stimulation and breathing techniques. But you know it goes up and down depending on wether your diet, posture, water consumption(our joints are made of fluid so if you drink lots of water it eases the pain) and exercise (lots of walking/pillaties and no jolting exercises) is good.
I really believe that if you have sponderlolithesis you try this. I found the mainstream chiropractors to be only a band aid approach would proabably be okay for stage 1 sufferers.
My second break through happened only today by seeing someone for chinese medicine and accupuncture. I felt great after the accupuncture, no pain at all. This combined with vitamins to help my deffciencies should mean even less symtoms such as bladder issues and dermatitis. Pluss by geting the minerals you were lacking you could save yourself from alot more illness in later life.
If your in pain try this!
Dusty
Dusty, thats awesome. Most of us have tried everything from accupuncture to zyprexa (a drug) had to get a-z in there. If you found something that works, I am thrilled for you. I was not so fortunate, but with surgery I did. PLEASE PLEASE promise you wont repeat my mistakes and many others in here and go to some id**t quack dr for several years. Make sure whoever is in charge of your care is highly regarded in the community (by someone other than him or hersellf) and they are highly thought of in the medical community (except their employees and patients). You will find, and I dont know where you live, but yhou will find in most larger cities, that the GOOD dr's, ie primary care, internal med, family med, general med, etc, get referrrals from teh good doctors, the good ones being on staff at various med schools as clinical professor, etc. You will find that the this little group of doctors all see each other. You want to get into that group. Once you do, you find the care is second to none, and things happen immmediately, not sveral months. They change things and you feel better, they suggest tests or referrals to specialists, who find issues that the old specialist didn't. He/She fixes it and it solves the problems you have had for years. The key is to get into the clique of good doctors. Hange in here
mtsaz100,
I have a friend who is a holistic chiropractor so she has recommended some good people. Im also starting clinical palaties (the difference being that you have a trained physiotherapist that specialy designs exercises for you, for those who don't know), cold and heat therapy, acupuncture, deep tissue massage pluss they will work on my posture.
Ive been on my lap top all day reading articles and research both operative solutions and alternative medicines. From alot of articles I have read, it seems that many people try alternative therapy and because they don't get the result they want in a short time frame they give up and get surgery. Your realy looking at about a year of regular therapy before your at your best, but i went from chronic back pain to moderate in about three months. I started off going to a holistic chiropractor three times a week. It's not cheap, but neither is surgery. Now I go once a week and spend about $80.00 Australian per session and I have private health care cover. When I start pilaties after 6 weeks of $70.00 sessions it will only cost me $37.00. But to tell you the truth, money isn't an issue, I just want to have a good quality of life and not have my disc slip any further.
Dusty
I have a friend who is a holistic chiropractor so she has recommended some good people. Im also starting clinical palaties (the difference being that you have a trained physiotherapist that specialy designs exercises for you, for those who don't know), cold and heat therapy, acupuncture, deep tissue massage pluss they will work on my posture.
Ive been on my lap top all day reading articles and research both operative solutions and alternative medicines. From alot of articles I have read, it seems that many people try alternative therapy and because they don't get the result they want in a short time frame they give up and get surgery. Your realy looking at about a year of regular therapy before your at your best, but i went from chronic back pain to moderate in about three months. I started off going to a holistic chiropractor three times a week. It's not cheap, but neither is surgery. Now I go once a week and spend about $80.00 Australian per session and I have private health care cover. When I start pilaties after 6 weeks of $70.00 sessions it will only cost me $37.00. But to tell you the truth, money isn't an issue, I just want to have a good quality of life and not have my disc slip any further.
Dusty
Hello,
i'm an 18 year old girl from Israel. Last year a rocket fell on my house and when they took me to the hospital someone told me my spine doesn't look right. i have been suffering from back pain for years but my parents ignored me.
anyway, after that i went to three different doctors and they all said the same thing that i had spondylo. with complications. after another year of waiting i decided to do the surgery.
the surgery lasted 7 hours and when i didn't get any blood during the operation, my Dr. said that because i'm young my body will just repair the damage quickly. i was 5 days in the hospital, first two i couldn't move, on the third day i started walking.
it's been four months since and i'm swimming , running with my dog and playing Frisbee.
i can't say the pain completely stopped, but i can say that this surgery was affective, i can stand for more then three seconds and i can move without thinking twice about how painful it would be.
i think that if you are in pain, you should do the surgery. it's not as bad as everyone think it is, and if you wan't to do it and get back to your normal life, you will succeed .
i'm an 18 year old girl from Israel. Last year a rocket fell on my house and when they took me to the hospital someone told me my spine doesn't look right. i have been suffering from back pain for years but my parents ignored me.
anyway, after that i went to three different doctors and they all said the same thing that i had spondylo. with complications. after another year of waiting i decided to do the surgery.
the surgery lasted 7 hours and when i didn't get any blood during the operation, my Dr. said that because i'm young my body will just repair the damage quickly. i was 5 days in the hospital, first two i couldn't move, on the third day i started walking.
it's been four months since and i'm swimming , running with my dog and playing Frisbee.
i can't say the pain completely stopped, but i can say that this surgery was affective, i can stand for more then three seconds and i can move without thinking twice about how painful it would be.
i think that if you are in pain, you should do the surgery. it's not as bad as everyone think it is, and if you wan't to do it and get back to your normal life, you will succeed .
Hi im 15, i had spondy for 8 months before i knew on L5 and S1, the only symptoms i had was a numb less, im a boxing and race motocross bikes, so you can amagine the impact that would have on my spine. I had the opperation just over 4 months ago and was succesful, but i still have numbness in my leg, not as bad though. The doctor recommended i wait about 6 months before i start swimming, running, ect..., but iv just started boxing again and my back feels great, i can move and bend fine, but my leg numbness comes and goes, the only think i worried about when i started training was if the bone could possible move after its been fused with bone from my hip after 4 months?, could anyone tell me if the bone could move after 4 months without back pain, only leg numbness.
whats up, im a 19 year old male just diagnosed with spondylolisthesis. lvl 5 wutver you wannuh say i cant walk. i cant find anyone my age who has ever had this hahahahah