Any of you guys had a spinal fusion l4 l5 s1 ?

[Bio]

i know exactly what kind of pain you’re experiencing. be carful. that amount of pain for long periods of time can take a mental toll on you. especially being so active like you were. i’ve been there, it’s a dark place no one want to be in.

I’ve waited too long to get one of my surgeries. some of my nerves still have not come back online and most likely will not. I lost most of my muscles in my legs because of that. mainly my left leg. don’t wait too long to get something done. it can ruin your nerves for good.

if i were you i’d never lift heavy again after your surgery. it’s not worth the risk. you can still get fairly big with lighter weights and some gear. i learned light weights with a lot of reps, good form can build a decent amount of muscle. maximizing blood flow to the muscle is the trick, imo


i don’t know what’s best for your situation, fusion or getting your discs chopped off. i’d get a couple opinions from the best docs on your area.

wish you all the best

Exactly! Always keep in mind that nerve damage can be permanent and sometimes it can come on quickly. Have you ever tried decompression? I would exhaust most remedies before you do any fusion. Remember, once you start the fusion process, it doesn't end. You will need more fusion around the previously fused area at some point, on average 10 to 12 years. Plus, your insurance company will want you to try different "therapies" before they approve you for a fusion(s).

 

[danieltx]

Great points on not waiting to fix it - when you have disc issues, you need to fix them ASAP or you risk permanent damage.

I herniated a disc in my lower back very early into my lifting career and let it go for about a year before addressing it. I could train around it but had sciatica.

I was able to fix it with rehab, but the damage left my left leg smaller than my right and it will never be the same size no matter what I do with single leg training, injections, etc.

 

[lookslikesausage]

i know exactly what kind of pain you’re experiencing. be carful. that amount of pain for long periods of time can take a mental toll on you. especially being so active like you were. i’ve been there, it’s a dark place no one want to be in.

I’ve waited too long to get one of my surgeries. some of my nerves still have not come back online and most likely will not. I lost most of my muscles in my legs because of that. mainly my left leg. don’t wait too long to get something done. it can ruin your nerves for good.

if i were you i’d never lift heavy again after your surgery. it’s not worth the risk. you can still get fairly big with lighter weights and some gear. i learned light weights with a lot of reps, good form can build a decent amount of muscle. maximizing blood flow to the muscle is the trick, imo


i don’t know what’s best for your situation, fusion or getting your discs chopped off. i’d get a couple opinions from the best docs on your area.

wish you all the best

thank you. very much appreciated.

was in very bad pain up until today. could barely walk, push off left leg, or stand still recently. Putting weight on left leg was excruciating, which is new because usually i hurt more on the right side. This was new as usually hyperextending and walking made me feel better. This time i was not even capable of hyperextending my spine at all and moved around like a hunchback because being upright was very painful. Then came the glute spasms.

Waiting to hear from a specialist as he's interpreting my last MRIs and will compare them to ones from 2015. I guess at this point i could live without
super-heavy weights (for me, it's relative)/powerlifiting but i'd be very depressed if can't wrestle twice a week. It definitely is exhausting mentally and has lead me to some dark places. Recently got a script for Gabapentin.

 

[Backfrominjury]

Wow, here I was bitching, complaining and whining bc my surgeon wants to do another surgery on me L5/S1 to get a herniated disc off of my nerves that has my ass hurting and toes numb, and this guy has hardware and fusion and still training. Nerve pain from back injury is the worst I've ever experienced, worse than the pain I felt from ripping a pec.

One thing I've done is I changed to training back only once a week and I don't do anything bent over. No dbell rows, no bent over barbell rows, no deads, no squats and no leg presses. My legs suck bc of it, but my back is being maintained with a lot of pulldowns, chins, and hammer strength rows.

 

[TheEagle]

Is Artificial disk replacement better than Fusion? As with Fusion you will need more surgeries down the road, but ADR mimics the disk movement thus absorbing the load.

There are some advanced Artificial disks in Germany.

 

[Gravyv]

Is Artificial disk replacement better than Fusion? As with Fusion you will need more surgeries down the road, but ADR mimics the disk movement thus absorbing the load.

There are some advanced Artificial disks in Germany.

From what I can recall, my surgeon told me the opposite, a disc replacement would provide better mobility but the disc's will eventually need to be replaced in 15-20yrs. Another important factor is age, a disc replacement may be better for a younger patient due to better recovery. However there's no guarantee's with back surgeries.

I was leaning towards a disc replacement because once a fusion is done you will lose some mobility. For now, I am just waiting, I'll only elect for surgery if the pain or my mobility gets worse. I can't really run or do any heavy free weights anymore but at least I can walk and bend.

 

[jeroendebleser]

Is Artificial disk replacement better than Fusion? As with Fusion you will need more surgeries down the road, but ADR mimics the disk movement thus absorbing the load.

There are some advanced Artificial disks in Germany.

I had/have both and I can tell you the artificial disc in my L5-S1 level failed on me even without doing any lifting whatsoever. I had to have the level fused afterwards and that felt A LOT better. More stable, more firm.

L5-S1 and L4-L5 are not levels that 'move' a lot anyway so I would always go for stability (a fusion) there over mobility (artificial disc).

Just my two cents.

 

[lookslikesausage]

I had/have both and I can tell you the artificial disc in my L5-S1 level failed on me even without doing any lifting whatsoever. I had to have the level fused afterwards and that felt A LOT better. More stable, more firm.

L5-S1 and L4-L5 are not levels that 'move' a lot anyway so I would always go for stability (a fusion) there over mobility (artificial disc).

Just my two cents.

what's your opinion on the discectomy procedure?

 

[heavyb]

I had it done lasted about a year before I had problems again. Now I am looking at a fusion now.

 

[jeroendebleser]

what's your opinion on the discectomy procedure?

My knowledge is limited to the 2 procedures I had done

 

[lookslikesausage]

My knowledge is limited to the 2 procedures I had done

i see you have had fusion procedure and artificial disc replacement. i didn't see where you mentioned your experience with a discectomy. Was it something you would recommend?

 

[jeroendebleser]

i see you have had fusion procedure and artificial disc replacement. i didn't see where you mentioned your experience with a discectomy. Was it something you would recommend?

I didn't because I don't have any From what I know about the procedure, if you can get away with a more minor procedure like a microdiscectomy, by all means opt for the minor procedure.

My hernia's were too bad for the surgeon to consider anything less than the other two procedures.

 

[heavyb]

I have MRI tomorrow so I should know 100%. He wanted me to get new MRI they are concerned about a disk that is higher up in my back along with my lower.

 

[heavyb]

Well looks like I dont need a fusion.. I have some disk leakage on the disk i had worked on before but looks good other wise. He wants me to get a injection and go from there.. So looks like I will recover and get back it at. Relieved actually I just knew that old disk was going.. Word of advice dont run a 5k if your doctor tells you do anything but run. He said the impact on my disc caused the leaking of the fluid to the nerve.