I suggest you ask and read to get all the facts and then remember that on the other side the stats suggest and my personal experience suggests that your pain will be hugely improved and probably gone.
Yes the surgery knocks you for a month or so, but I could still look after myself in general, lived alone, did get some help with shopping and changing my dressing, but you get better. Also I note your age, you must have a better chance of a fast and full recovery being young. Stay postve and good luck. Sap
Hi, I ran into this blog since I was diagnosed with grade 1 spondy recenlty. Obviously not as severe as yours but you story has gave me some hope. I have been depressed for a few months now. This condition is affecting my personal life greatly. I pray to God everyday and I don't want to do the surgery because im terrified. Thanks for posting your story. You story is proof that God is great.
Best Regards,
Zanoni Rosales
Hi. I had fusion for spondiolysthesis 30 years ago & have had 2 normal pregnancies & deliveries since. Get occasional sciatica if I overdo things but consider my op to have been very succesful. Hope that helps.
Hello, I am a "guest" as I don't want to register. I have a grade 1-2 spondolythesis. I have tried tens, meds, ect. They helped pain be manageable but now my pain management doc now doesn't want to give me meds for pain saying I need to try nerve ablation. I am scared of this. I have had injections in past that have somewhat worked, but I don't like the thought of burninb nerves off. I was told to not have surgery unless it is last resort....
Just wondering if anyone else has been told to get nerve ablation??
Thanks
I've got a question about suregery of spondylolisthesis. Is the surgery always need metal roads or it is possible to stabilise the spine without any metal in my body? I'm playing a lot of sports, mainly football, and I need to know, how long after surgery it would take till I could again doing sports? I'm 17 years old, and I've got 4 mm spondolythesis at S1-L5 level.
Hello I had a spinal fusion L5 to S1 when I was only 13 yrs old. I feel fine now, just get stiff sometimes. Im a collegiate tennis player, runner, workoutaholic. When I keep in shape and stretch daily I feel great. If you are considering a fusion for spondylolesthesis make sure the surgeon fuses it where the slippage is and that he/she doesnt try and pull the vertebrae back and fuse it. If you are in great pain I reccomend the surgery.
I recently have spondolythesis surgery about 6 weeks ago and I am amazed at how great I feel! The pain is almost gone and I'm not even done healing from the surgery. It has changed my life!
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your coming back after surgery to report on the results. I have been reading all of the accounts & was actually becoming afraid to have the surgery scheduled for June 3rd. My spondy has progressed over the past 5 years to a point that leaves me unable to walk more thana few yards, stand for more than 3 minutes, and walking up the stairs is extremely difficult (and I live on the second floor & work on the second floor with no elevators in either case) I also drive almost 1 hour each way to & from work 5 days/week, and do most of the driving in my family over the weekend. This sends much pain down my right leg. I've had 5 epidural shots (they each worked for only a few months/weeks & I just had one yesterday (approved by my surgeon) to "tide me over until June 3rd. Your feedback gave me new hope for the surgery, while others described it as painfull & not very helpful. I have to agree with another person's post wherein they said that success is up to the individual (not just the surgeon). I plan to attack my PT with fervor no matter how much it hurts. I currently have limited movement & I hope that I will regain that movement (or most of it) thru surgery & PT. Thank you again for your post...it was extremely helpful to me. Oh, I forgot to mention that I am 65 years old & pride myself on not looking or acting my age..lol I need to get better to play w/my grandchildren again.
I had nerve ablation a few months ago.....it didn't help me at all....I do, however, know a lot of people that it did help...but none of them had spondylolisthesis.
I was told they would us screws....no mention of rods.
Okay so on December 18th, 2012 I had my surgery I was 13 years old, I stayed in the hospital till christmas day. It was very painfull but in the end its all worth it. I did physical therepy from december 19th, 2012 through march12th,2013(my b-day) so now im 14 and i feel GREAT!!! I mean I can walk normal I dont get made fun of anymore because of how I walk I just started gym last month and my doctor said im doing good. I would recomend the surgery I had stage 5 and a severe case of it and scoliosis (hope i spelled it right but anyways yeah it was painfull at first (like any surgery) after surgery i just got nerve pain in my feet for like 1 month or so but now i feel awsome if you have any questions you can email me at
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hope i helped :)
oh.. great!! i too had the same surgery when i was exactly 13 yr old/female ... same procedure too ..actually two surgeries ...first one was from posterior spinal fusion with bone from my hip and the second one was from the anterior with bone from my leg . i am 26 yrs now , and reasonably healthy. i do get leg pain occassionally,but its very less and manageable,i think thats mainly because ive gained weight in these yrs . i have had a consult one yr back with another ortho doc,and he has given me the go ahead for having babies since my fusion is solid and successful . in between iom from india ..where are u from?
Hi, I am a 30y/o male and have been diagnosed with Spondylolisthesis L5-S1 grade 1-2 and it is causing me a lot of pain in the lower back and down my left leg with most of the leg pain in my hamstring/thigh since Nov 2012. I have been attending(and still attending) physiotherapy and hydrotherapy since Jan 2013 with no progress and I saw an ortho dr in March and he reffered me for an MRI scan and my follow up consultation in May after the scan I was told that I have no evidence of premature disc protrusion or disc degeneration. I am now awaitting a Chronic Back Pain Programme and recently had a fall which has made my pain worse and a dr has told me he will reffer me to a spine expert. I am considering asking for surgery as I cannot carry on with this pain and I want to get back to normal life with my 2y/o.
can anyone please advise me????
Lots of interesting stories and outcomes. I'm 57 and have grade 2 spondy at L5. During late college years around 30, I had a lot of sciatic pain in my right leg. I was not in terrible shape, but not getting lots of exercise due to studies and work. Dr gave me exercises to strengthen core muscles and said I would be back when I was 40. The following years I stayed in great shape - hunting and hiking in mountains, skiing, backpacking, etc. with rarely a pain. Two years ago, the pain in my leg and glute returned. Along with intermittent numbness in my foot and at times severe pins/needles in my belt and hip area. I've tried PT, epidurals, RFA, and more exercises. MRI shows L5/S1 disc totally gone now and the nerves are being compressed. As someone in an earlier post said - it is a mechanical problem, and nothing will help at this point except mechanical fix. So now I'm scheduled for ant/post fusion at L5/S1. Good luck to all who are facing this or still recovering. I'm encouraged by the reports of good outcomes I've read here.