Has anyone had a lumbar laminectomy?

[ZandZsMom]

I have a herniated disc l5 - S1 since the beginning of October. I have tried ibuprofin, pain meds, chiropractic, physical therapy, medrol pack, 2 transforanimal injections, gabapentin and 2 massages. None have provided adequate relief of my buttocks, leg and foot pain and tingling and the occasional falling.

After seeing 2 neurosurgeons (didnt like the 1st and really like the 2nd) I have decided to proceed with the surgery. He said he does it micro, I will go in the am and go home late afternoon. I have 2 kids, 9 and 10. My husband is going to take the week after the surgery off to help me out and the second week the kids are on Spring Break.

If you had this done, my questions are - how long until you could drive? any suggestions on what I should do ahead of time to prepare? We live in a 2 family home, with us being on the 2nd floor and my bedroom on the 3rd. Have already decided to bunk with DD (she is excited to sleep on the air mattress and "camp out" with mom) as the stairs leading to my bedroom are steep and have fallen down them on a good day

Please, please, please do not post any "horror" stories you may have had. I know some people have good results and some not so good. After waying the benefit/risk, I think this is the way for me to go and really want to go into it confident and knowing I am going to be in tip top shape for my 40th birthday WDW trip in September Just hoping some of you may have some good suggestions on how I can prepare for the recovery. Thanks

 

[Magic Mom]

I can't answer your question, but I wanted to wish you luck. Back pain is awful. Keep us updated on your progress.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I have no info, but I have two herniated discs (L4 and L5) that I almost had to have surgery for, but they've pretty much resolved on their own, thank goodness.

I wish you luck - sounds like it's a pretty simple surgery.

 

[The Princess]

I had surgery and my dh had 2....1st week is tough 2nd week is much better!!! We weren't able to drive for 6 weeks!!! that was the toughest part no wait the toughest part was wearing those stockings I think they are called compression stockings.....hated those!!! You will feel instant relief and so much better!!!

 

[Jennasis]

Laminectomy or a discectomy? I had a massive herniation of L5-S1 on March 26th of last year. The pain was unimaginably excruciating. I couldn't walk (had to crawl around the house to get anywhere). Pain shooting down my right buttocks, right leg and foot...then the loss of feeling in the right leg and foot. It was terrifying. I couldn't sleep due to the pain. No driving...no walking. Just torture.

Was diagnosed on March 31st via MRI (called an hour later with results by my doc who begged me to "not move" until he could get me in to see the surgeon), saw the surgeon on April 1st, and was in for surgery on the 6th. The surgeon said it was the weorst herniation he had ever seen! He showed me the disc too (gross!)

However, it was 1000000000% successful and I would do it again! INSTANT pain relief. I woke up from surgery feeling such relief!! I drove (out of necessity) about 9 days after surgery and was in physical therapy two weeks after surgery. I finished 3 months of PT with great success (hada few setbacks) but here I am in complete recovery a year later.

COMPLETE RECOVERY.

I can do everything I did before surgery but am much more careful about how I treat my back now.

I think you'll be fine! Be positive and follow ALL of your doctor's directions and advice.

 

[deegack]

DH just had this surgery almost 6 weeks ago! He feels better then he has in years! He was up walking that day and driving a week later, short distances. He actually was walking an hour a day about 5 days after the surgery (slowly on a treadmill). He was out of work for 4 weeks but that was because he has a long drive to work and his doctor wanted him to take it easy. He can't lift anything over 10 pounds until next week and will also start pt then.

If you want any info about his doctor pm me. He's one of the best at this surgery and does hundreds a year.

 

[ilovepcot]

No horror stories from me. It was one of the best things I ever did.

Sounds as though you are thinking ahead and planning well. Avoiding steps is good...I did have difficulty with them for quite a while afterward. Sharing the room with your daughter is a good idea...just don't share a bed with her or anyone after surgery. (This is the nurse coming out in me.) I see you've planned on her using an air mattress. Great idea.

I'd suggest cooking meals ahead of time and keeping them in the freezer to pop in the stove or microwave when needed. Have plenty of reading material on hand and a T.V. to watch. I slept a great deal after the surgery but didn't experience much pain. Thing is, people seem to want to test their limits....don't! Follow orders from the doctor and if ANYTHING doesn't seem right...phone him. If you do as well as I did, you'll be a happy girl soon.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

I had a laminectomy with discectomy back in 2002 also at the L5-S1 disc. I waited a long time for my surgery because of insurance issues so by time I had the surgery (about 10 months after it all started) I could barely walk and was in pretty bad shape, no driving, no sleeping, no working, no nothing.

When I woke up from surgery I freaked out because I still had some pain in my back and tingly, numb foot and leg. My neuro told me it does take time for nerves to heal. I also had some nerve damage because I had waited so long to have the procedure. I think within a day of surgery the pain I had dealt with for months was gone, the numbness and tingly-ness took a little while longer to go completely away. The pain I felt in my actual back was where they made the incision. I had to wear inflatable stockings for about 4 hours after surgery, they were hooked to a machine that inflated them automatically every 20 minutes or so. It's just to make sure the blood continues to flow correctly in your calves. After the stockings were removed I was able to walk around the hospital corridor and had to prove to the nurse I could indeed walk. I was only required to stay in the hospital overnight.

I agree that the first week post-op is rough, you are scared to do much of anything. We have a ranch style house so I didn't have to worry about stairs, if we did have stairs I don't know what I would have done. The worst pain/feeling was when trying to get up from a sitting position, you tend to put all your pressure on your lower back when you get up from sitting. For the first 2 days my DH had to life me up from under my arms like a baby to get out of a chair lol My neurosurgeon's orders were no bending, no twisting and no lifting over 5lbs for atleast 3 weeks. It is tough!! I think I was able to drive within 4 weeks. Good luck!

 

[Jennasis]

Oooh! NO "BLT's"...not the sandwich...No BENDING LIFTING OR TWISTING!!

Period. Full stop. Do not bend, lift or twist at ALL. If you need to turn and look at something, turn around with your feet. Do not twist at the waist. Go out and buy one of those grabber bars they sell at the drugstores.


ETA: I see others agree! Also, it took a few weeks for the numbness and tingling to subside, but the pain was gone immediately. I have some residual weakness from the nerve being compressed but PT really helped mitigate that.

 

[ilovepcot]

When I woke up from surgery I freaked out because I still had some pain in my back and tingly, numb foot and leg.

Ah yes, I had that as well. I thought the doctor way lying when he said that would go away shortly. I just knew it was a side effect that I was going to have to live with. Nope. It was gone shortly as he had said.

 

[ZandZsMom]

Everyone is so helpful. Thank you for the replies and for being so positive (I had a friend try to talk me out of using this surgeon as she says he "almost killed her husband" but had several people recommend him and I felt very comfortable with him. First surgeon said disectomy (btw, changed from him when I asked for info on the surgery and he told me to "google it"...oh, yes, you did just read that right ), 2nd said laminectomy but micro (when he scheduled the OR, he said laminectomy).

He said he did not think PT would be necessary and when I asked him about driving he said, as soon as I was off the pain meds. I thought that was great as I generally dont take anything (tylenol is pushing it for me), he did laugh then and said, well, I wouldnt quite count on that . My hope is that I will be driving by the 3rd week to bring my kids to/from school. They can't take a bus as we "choice" to another town. He told me short distances would be ok, I have about a 15 minute drive each way and will be able to get out of the car and walk a bit when I am in the car line.

I am overweight which I know is not going to help me out any and have started a walking regimen now to hopefully help me out some. I'm pretty postive about it. I am a wee bit of a control freak so I'm worried about my kiddos dealing with mom being down for a bit but they are great kids and will help DH out.

Did any of you do day surgery? That is probably my biggest worry, that I wont come home that night.

 

[dislaney]

Everyone is so helpful. Thank you for the replies and for being so positive (I had a friend try to talk me out of using this surgeon as she says he "almost killed her husband" but had several people recommend him and I felt very comfortable with him. First surgeon said disectomy (btw, changed from him when I asked for info on the surgery and he told me to "google it"...oh, yes, you did just read that right ), 2nd said laminectomy but micro (when he scheduled the OR, he said laminectomy).

He said he did not think PT would be necessary and when I asked him about driving he said, as soon as I was off the pain meds. I thought that was great as I generally dont take anything (tylenol is pushing it for me), he did laugh then and said, well, I wouldnt quite count on that . My hope is that I will be driving by the 3rd week to bring my kids to/from school. They can't take a bus as we "choice" to another town. He told me short distances would be ok, I have about a 15 minute drive each way and will be able to get out of the car and walk a bit when I am in the car line.

I am overweight which I know is not going to help me out any and have started a walking regimen now to hopefully help me out some. I'm pretty postive about it. I am a wee bit of a control freak so I'm worried about my kiddos dealing with mom being down for a bit but they are great kids and will help DH out.

Did any of you do day surgery? That is probably my biggest worry, that I wont come home that night.

I did day surgery. Had it in the morning -was home by that evening. I had PT for 2-3 months after and it really helped me a lot. What really helped was getting my core muscles stronger with the exercises they had me do and just learning the proper way to lift, etc.

 

[Jennasis]

My surgery was out-patient. I checked in at 12:30pm, got hooked up to IV's and then wheeled in at 4:30 (the OR got behind due to a tricky case early in the day). I was out of surgery in about an hour+ and discharged at 6:45 (in a bit of a rush by the nurses as there was some concern about needing to keep me overnight if I was there past 7pm??)

Plan to do NOTHING for about 2 days post surgery.

OP, I do wonder why your current surgeon would do a laminectomy for a herniated disc? Laminectomies (I thought) were supposed to be for those with spinal stenosis, but perhaps your disc is bulging in such a way as to make a laminectomy necessary to reach it?? A laminectomy is a removal of a portion of the bony structore of the vertebrae. I found a wealth of knowledge and support both pre and post surgery on www.spine-health.com

 

[ZandZsMom]

My surgery was out-patient. I checked in at 12:30pm, got hooked up to IV's and then wheeled in at 4:30 (the OR got behind due to a tricky case early in the day). I was out of surgery in about an hour+ and discharged at 6:45 (in a bit of a rush by the nurses as there was some concern about needing to keep me overnight if I was there past 7pm??)

Plan to do NOTHING for about 2 days post surgery.

OP, I do wonder why your current surgeon would do a laminectomy for a herniated disc? Laminectomies (I thought) were supposed to be for those with spinal stenosis, but perhaps your disc is bulging in such a way as to make a laminectomy necessary to reach it?? A laminectomy is a removal of a portion of the bony structore of the vertebrae. I found a wealth of knowledge and support both pre and post surgery on www.spine-health.com

My MRI does note a "narrowing" so I believe that is why (honestly, I'm not quite sure why) He discussed a laminectomy and removing the ruptured part of the disk (assuming that is the discetomy) but he booked the OR for 2 hours for a Laminectomy. I will read my MRI report again tomorrow.

I have read so many sites that I have found I am making myself crazy with it. I almost get to the point where I talk myself out of it. Then I try to sleep at night (virtually impossible) and wake up in the am with the painful reminder of why I want to do it lol

 

[Jennasis]

That spine-health site has a GREAT support forum.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks for pointing me to that website. I've got spinal issues-herniated disc, "probably" spinal stenosis. So far, I've avoided seeing a neurosurgeon, but knowing this has been a help.

 

[MomRN]

I work on a floor that takes care of many back surgeries. Typically those are more complex cases, but we have had lami's stay the night. Pain control, late surgery, post-op oxygen saturation issues (particularly with smokers), and various other issues. While it is unlikely you will need to stay the night, have a back-up just in case.

I don't know what your surgeon will do for dressing changes, but if it's not a long-term dressing, make sure whoever changes your dressing washes their hands. Infected backs can be bad news.

 

[ZandZsMom]

I work on a floor that takes care of many back surgeries. Typically those are more complex cases, but we have had lami's stay the night. Pain control, late surgery, post-op oxygen saturation issues (particularly with smokers), and various other issues. While it is unlikely you will need to stay the night, have a back-up just in case.

I don't know what your surgeon will do for dressing changes, but if it's not a long-term dressing, make sure whoever changes your dressing washes their hands. Infected backs can be bad news.

Thanks for the advice. My neice is an EMT so she said she'd change the bandages. I rechecked, it's a laminectomy with a microdisectomy.

I appreciate everyone's advice

 

[sbell111]

I had a decompressive lumbar laminectomy with fusion and posterior lumbar interbody fusion with pedicle screw fixation after my run in with a drunk driver. Years later, I still have daily pain, but it is nothing like before and I can walk.

I was out of the hospital the next day, but I was out of work for a couple of months.

Here's my advice: Your doctor will prescribe some painkillers/muscle relaxers. He does this for a reason. Have someone fill the prescriptions BFEORE you leave the hospital. Take this medicaine before the pain gets bad. This is very important. When the pain gets bad it will be very bad. You want to stop the pain from getting bad. You really, really want to.