I was injured in a car accident and I have Spinal Stenosis. I want to know what treatments help relieve pain.
Hi! I am Mike Kidder. I have been suffering from forimal Spinal Stenonsi for about 5 years. I am seeing a very good neurosurgeon. He has found relief for me by arranging a set of three epidural injections to be used as a nerve block. After the first series, i went without pain for nearly 8 months. I am presently finishing my 2nd series. I realize there are risks with any spinal surgery, but I would really prefer to solve the problem than cover up the symptoms.
I have Spinal Stenosis and was told I can have Decompression surgery. I need to know alot more about this before I submit to any surgery.
Thank you.
Was diagnosed with SS exactly two years ago and am finding it difficult getting around. Maybe there are a few others in the same predicament with some advice.
my name is tony . i had back surgery . L2 L3 L4 L5 . STENOSIS AND HERNEATED DISKS. I HAVE TRIED TO WORK ON AND OFF FOR THE LAST 8 MONTHS BUT I HAVE TOO MUCH PAIN AND MY LEGS ARE TO WEAK .
after 3 years of trying to convince doctors that i was in pain i finally got a doctor to diagnos me with stenosis and bulging discs. due to my insurance companies rules, i went through physical therapy first which didn’t help. i was a marathon runner till this past march when i couldn’t do it any more because of the pain. i have just had my first epidural shot and want to know if this will help?
I would like to learn more about this condition & how others are dealing with it.
My Doctor said I need surgery but it would be “ill-advised”. I also have diabetes, ulcerative colitis, polio/postpolio syndrome, history of kidney stones, high blood pressure and have had a vetebral artery stroke.
I had undiagnosed spinal stenosis for six years. My neurologist completely missed it. Finally, my PCP ordered an MRI to investigate my severe bilateral leg pain, difficulty walking, and there it was, clearly lumbar spinal stenosis. My symptoms were typical of spinal stenosis, so I guess my neurologist slept through that chapter in school.
Rosy,
I can relate to the symptom masking: I had Adult Onset Hydrocephalus for
years, and its symptoms mimic those of spinal stinosis. Fortunately, spinal
stenosis won’t kill you, but mine was very painful. I had the laminectomy at
the fourth lumbar vertabra on July 23, 2007, and it completely cured my
excruciating leg pain.
I also had a fusion of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertabrae that day, and
recovery from that surgery has not been so easy. I had to use a walker for a
month, and a cane for two more months after that. I have a friend who had my
surgeries a year ago at age 82, and he is still wheel chair bound. On the
other hand, there was a young man I met in the hospital, and he was doing a
lot better a day after his surgery than I was three months after mine. So
maybe recovery is tied to age?
If I had it to do over, I wouldn’t change a thing, though. I feel the
surgeries were correct for me at the time they were done.
Hi to all,
My name is Ellen. I’m an almost 50 year old woman who was diagnosed with mild to moderate spinal stenosis a little over three years ago. I saw a surgeon then who said there was nothing to do for it at the time. Because I was on prednisone for 14 months for asthma, it masked my symptoms. About three months ago I started having severe back pain along with cramps in both legs that were so bad I’d have to sit down. I had another MRI done the night before Thanksgiving and it showed moderate to severe spinal stenosis. It’s in the lumbar region. I have not seen the report yet, so can’t say if there’s anything else going on. I’m suppose to see a different surgeon the 27th of this month. It’s nice to find a group of people that can understand what I’m going through.
Ellen
Ellen,
Sorry about the name confusion. I recall that Rosy was part of your email address, so I guess I just took it from there! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! Anyway, good luck with your situation.
I can’t advise you whether surgery might be right for you at this time, but I wish for myself that my neurologist had caught this years ago. I can say that my Orthopedic surgeon is definitely one of my heroes!
A negative thing about surgery is that you can find an awful lot of bad experiences with back surgery on the internet. But pain in my legs was so severe I was willing to try anything. Fortunately, I got a good referral to an accomplished surgeon.
Frank
Hi all I am 56 and have been diagnosed with degenerative disk disease and spinal stenosis. After 5 months of treatment looks like surgery is ni my future.
Just want to connect with others that are going through the same thing.
My name is Lois.
I was diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis last year in 2007. I lost over 45 pounds, and I have no pain anymore in my back. Losing weight really helped my back.
The cold weather affects my back, I can tell when we get bad weather.
OK Lois, tell me your secret to losing weight.
I only lost 20 pounds from 281 down to 260 so far. I am surprised my doctor didn’t even mention trying to loose weight to me when I went in to see him.
Dennis
Hi Dennis, my name is Barney, Sorry, thought I mentioned that,
I have lost 30 lbs since this started from 210 t0 180, it has really made no difference other than I overall feel better. I am very conscious of my wight and watch it very close.
Hi I’m Kathy -
I have been dealing with diagnosed severe spinal stenosis for over four years. The first almost year was spent in bed and the rest of the time has been spent trying to stay out of bed and start redoing things again. I can now go out to dinner and shopping with my husband. I haven’t tried going to the Movie.
I am on Topomax (300 mg a day) Amiprominine 1 pill a day. I have been both on Vicodin and Methadone. I am kind of stuck this way as the doctors say that I am not a candidate for surgery. I have lost 100 and have almost that much to go. Maybe then I might be a candidate if it is weight that makes me not a candidate. my pain is always about a 4 and can jump to a 9 at anytime but you all know about that.