Possible spinal surgery
As5567
Member Posts: 665
Hi all, just as things get better I get bad news. I have been told that the doctors now think that I have OA as well as AS in my spine, have also been told that it looks like due to new bone growth in my spine it is causing a compression on some nerves which would explain why some of my recent pain is not going away for long. I am booked in for a CT scan this Monday and will get the results within the week. Depending on the results they say I might need surgery to correct this and due to my age (under 25) it's likely that things could get much worse if it’s left to its own will. On the brighter side of things the doctor also said that it could be just a slight bit of compression that should respond to steroid injections and be left alone, I hope that is the case. As for the OA at my age....well that’s a bummer but not really thinking it’s a big deal, am i right in assuming pain is pain and AS destroys my joints anyway? Who knows maybe it’s just not sank in yet.
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Comments
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Hello, that's another low blow you don't need isn't it? OA often follows on from an auto-immune arthritis thanks to the joint damage caused by the latter, I have it in both knees with noticeable extra bone growth to either side of my knees - apparently that's my body trying to help itself. Ye gods, if that's the best it can do then I am certainly doomed.
Surgery is not a definite but if required my thinking is that they shave away the extra growths thus making life more comfy. Arthritis does cause pain, and that pain rarely disappears, but it could be that the surgery will ease the worst of it. I've always taken the view that surgery is designed to help and, if it proves to be the case that you need it, I hope that will be so. Good luck and let us know the decision, yes? DDHave you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben0 -
Hello I do sympathize with you, my MRI shows I have a couple of disc bulging..and it it causing this awful sciatic pain...they mentioned surgery, but also said that it might not help matters...and then he went in to a long explanation why....so after I have my hips done I have to think about this.
At the min the gabapentin is holding some of the pain off..I am due more injections I was one of the unlucky ones the last 2 haven't work, but they do work for some..so are worth a go..Love
Barbara0 -
I have had three lots of back surgery - the first was a fusion that got infected, the second was to remove the infected hardware and the third was to fuse the next level up due to arthritis. My experience is that it is not as bad as you think. But, I would always seek a second opinion now. My first surgeon (did my first two surgeries) didn't believe me when I told him I was still in pain. My new one is completely different. He believed me and has now "fixed" me. So, for what it is worth, if you can wait to get a second opinion I would. I wish I had! I am now not even 6 weeks post op and I feel fabulous! 6 weeks post op last time I was still taking cocos for the pain and wasn't doing any exercise. This time I am back at the pool, walking 30 mins a day and only taking paracetamol a couple of times a day.0
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dreamdaisy wrote:Hello, that's another low blow you don't need isn't it? OA often follows on from an auto-immune arthritis thanks to the joint damage caused by the latter, I have it in both knees with noticeable extra bone growth to either side of my knees - apparently that's my body trying to help itself. Ye gods, if that's the best it can do then I am certainly doomed.
Surgery is not a definite but if required my thinking is that they shave away the extra growths thus making life more comfy. Arthritis does cause pain, and that pain rarely disappears, but it could be that the surgery will ease the worst of it. I've always taken the view that surgery is designed to help and, if it proves to be the case that you need it, I hope that will be so. Good luck and let us know the decision, yes? DD
Thanks for your reply, I don't think the OA is really going to bother me much unless it decides to join in with my other joints, such as knee's and hips. From what I was told the operation would be to remove the extra bone which would then take the pressure off the nerves that are compressed, the operation is apparently not that risky and often it will stop the pain almost immediately after surgery. Based on what they find with the CT scan I will most likely opt in for surgery if that is still an option. Would rather get the nasty stuff over and done with sooner than later and things always get worse if you leave them.0 -
barbara12 wrote:Hello I do sympathize with you, my MRI shows I have a couple of disc bulging..and it it causing this awful sciatic pain...they mentioned surgery, but also said that it might not help matters...and then he went in to a long explanation why....so after I have my hips done I have to think about this.
At the min the gabapentin is holding some of the pain off..I am due more injections I was one of the unlucky ones the last 2 haven't work, but they do work for some..so are worth a go..
Thanks for your reply, sorry to hear you have a couple of discs bulging. I find any type of back related pain to the worst type of pain, joint pain such as knees, feet, and sometimes hips I can cope with quite well. The type of injection my doctor was talking about was something to do with injecting into the spinal fluid which is something I’d rather pass at if I’m honest. About 18 months ago they attempted to give me a spinal aesthetic and failed....it also caused a lot of pain! I hope the injection does begin to work for you again, I have found that sometimes steroid injections work for me and other times they don’t0 -
frogmella wrote:I have had three lots of back surgery - the first was a fusion that got infected, the second was to remove the infected hardware and the third was to fuse the next level up due to arthritis. My experience is that it is not as bad as you think. But, I would always seek a second opinion now. My first surgeon (did my first two surgeries) didn't believe me when I told him I was still in pain. My new one is completely different. He believed me and has now "fixed" me. So, for what it is worth, if you can wait to get a second opinion I would. I wish I had! I am now not even 6 weeks post op and I feel fabulous! 6 weeks post op last time I was still taking cocos for the pain and wasn't doing any exercise. This time I am back at the pool, walking 30 mins a day and only taking paracetamol a couple of times a day.
Thanks for your reply, sounds like you have had a lot of spinal surgery! I guess I'm lucky in a way, my Rheumy doctor also specialises in spinal surgery/recovery but I also have an appointment with another type of doctor to do with nerves or something along those lines to asses my CT scan results and decide where to go from there. I'm glad you're feeling better so quickly this time, i was told that the operation they want to give me will take away the pain within a day or so of the operation which sounds too good to be true but who knows.
If you don't mind my asking how did a fusion become infected in your back in the first place? Was this from other surgery or just down to bad luck?0 -
Bad luck I think! And then my old surgeon just didn't believe me, even when my back started leaking! Bacteria will form a biofilm on implants and that is what they did so often my bloods came back normal which didn't help things!
It is true that the surgery should relieve the pain almost straight away. Take the pressure off the nerve, pain goes away. Unless they twang the nerves about while they are in there and then it will take a couple of days to settle down. I wish you good luck with this.0
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