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Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,913
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

 

Hi @Katcat1 

 

My discs were already completely ruptured when I was admitted to the hospital. This was in 1974 and things were much different than today. They had no MRI in that era and used only a Myelogram to base their procedures. I spent every day on bed with "traction/valium and Demerol shots every 6 hours". 

 

Each day they took me to PT 2 times a day to stretch me and a few other different types of techniques of therapy. I was in the hospital for 22 days, only 5 of it was after the surgery, the rest was trying to see if they could avoid surgery.

 

My surgery was fast, as my doctor said when he made the incision, most of the disc material flew out on it's own. That is what badly ruptured spinal discs did, according to him. 

 

Took me about a month before I could resume my running once again. Before that I was walking 3 miles 3 times every day, and doing 45 minutes of abdominal and stretching exercises twice each day. Within 6 months I was back playing hockey again.

 

My Sciatic Nerve is so damaged from those ruptures that my right leg still goes numb occasionally when I am ice skating, mostly when I am doing my speed work. My legs never went numb prior to surgery, it was just constant sharp pain. I wish the would have gone numb as that is preferable to me than that excruciating type of pain.

 

I still have my full flexibilty and lots of strength I need for my ice skating. I do abdominal and stretching exercises every single day. Each for at least 20-30 minutes, along with my balance exercises for about the same.

 

Both my spinal surgeries were successful and I worked very hard to keep my flexibility and core strength at its Maximum, and I plan on continuing to do so, until I can't, should that time ever come. Same with my ice skating, falls and all.

 

 

 

hckynut

hckynut(john)
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,458
Registered: ‎07-10-2011

Re: Herniated Disc Surgery?

[ Edited ]

@RedTop, do you know if your friend had Cervical Spine Fusion? If so, she should not have had any pain after the surgery. I had two fusions done at different times C3-4 and C6-7, Only spent one day in the hospital for both and didn´t need any pain medications after the surgeries.

 

@conlt, that was also my problem. Couldn´t sit and the pain went from my let arm down to my leg. Couldn´t take that anymore and was so happy after the surgeries. I have two incisions about an inch long in different parts on the front of my neck, but you can hardly see them.

 

Get an MRI done before you make a decision about surgery, and if you do, you would be ok.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 15,523
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

@Sage04,

No, my friend had surgery on bulging discs; my SIL had cervical fusion surgery a few months ago.  

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,258
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

@conlt 

 

I had cervical fusion at C 5-6 in 1994 and my husband just had it at the same level April 30, 2019.  His recovery was 6 weeks, whereas mine was 3 months.  I was placed in a tall soft collar and he was placed in a hard plastic collar.  I had to wear mine 24/7, whereas he was allowed to take his off for a certain number of hours per day.

 

Back to you.  Regardless of the symptoms you present with at this time, the one diagnostic tool required is a cervical MRI to truly rule out a number of things and to also determine where you are a surgical candidate.  Plain films (x-rays) are NOT sufficient to make a final diagnosis, so if your doc orders A/P and lateral films, then makes a pronouncement without an MRI, find another specialist.