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Posted by Steve Balsavage
In Reply to: Back surgery questions? posted by Geoff
Hey Jeff,
I feel for you; I have been the route myself and have dealt with both
chiropractors and neurosurgeons a lot. My first problem was sciatica and my
chiropractor rid me of this problem, BUT it was not as bad as you are
describing. Of course, it hurt like hell, but I didn't have a prolapsed
disc; the problem was in my sacariliac (?sp). It sounds to me like you may
be further along if you have actual spurs. Most neurosurgeons (that I have
dealt with anyway) will try different methods including chiropractic care
and physical therapy before suggesting surgery.
After my bout with sciatica, I hurt 2 discs in my neck (5-6 & 6-7); first my
right arm went and then my left. I was faithfully seeing my chiropractor,
but he couldn't help me; in fact, he may have worsened it by snapping my
neck so often. I finally opted for surgery, once for each disc. They did a
mylogram with die to spot the problems and then arranged a time to go in.
The first one was not fused; I wore a neck brace for 3 months until nature
filled the cavity with bone tissue. The second time I had a piece cut out of
my hip and this was used as a wedge.
This was a real tramatic time for me and my family, lasting almost 5 years.
Let me say this; when I woke up in the hospital after the second surgery, I
was brand new. The pain and paralisis were gone instantly. When I spoke to
the doctor, who I feel I owe my life to, frankly, he said that he had to
remove the pieces of disc with a vacuum; there was absolutely nothing left.
Had I not done the second one, I would have lost the use of my left hand.
Apparantly, when a nerve is traumatized, there is a point where the pain
goes away, which happened to me. This is where it gets dangerous because the
nerve doesn't know that the pressure has been removed, so even with surgery,
if it's too late, the nerve may never heal.
My advice to you is to seek out a good neurosurgeon and have some further
testing done by him/her before you ruin what you still have left. If
chiropractic is needed, a good surgeon will suggest this.
My best to you! Steve
