Spinal Stenosis

[borderterribles]

Due to persistent lower back and leg pain, my Doctor sent me for an MRI scan which has led to a diagnosis of Spinal Stenosis. Has anyone here any experience of what I might expect, please?

 

[Farmer Fin]

I take it it’s lower lumbar? I have slipped two lumbar discs over the past 10 years and it’s been made worse by stenosis in that there is less room for the bulged disk hence why is compresses your nerves coming off the spinal cord and hence bad back and sciatica.
The stenosis won’t change it’s just the way you were put together it’s the increased risk of sciatica from the disks as you age.
Has the surgeon suggested surgery?

 

[borderterribles]

I take it it’s lower lumbar? I have slipped two lumbar discs over the past 10 years and it’s been made worse by stenosis in that there is less room for the bulged disk hence why is compresses your nerves coming off the spinal cord and hence bad back and sciatica.
The stenosis won’t change it’s just the way you were put together it’s the increased risk of sciatica from the disks as you age.
Has the surgeon suggested surgery?

I haven't seen the surgeon yet. As I understand it, the recovery time from the surgery is two to three months. As pretty much a one man band, milking a few cows , rearing pigs and processing them myself for my wife to sell via regular weekly Farmers Markets, I am concerned how this can go. Not to mention the fact that my BIL's Mum had the surgery, but was unlucky enough to suffer a spinal stroke, a few days later which very regrettably left her paraplegic

 

[Overby]

How bad is it? Stretches, inversion table, rest etc can work wonders. If you're past the point of no return then an anti inflam injection may be worth a shot?
After that it'll probs be a bit of shaving the bone to create more room for the nerves.
Last resort disk replacement.

I've got back issues that I can deal with via excercise / rehab, but my neck got too bad and I've got a titanium disc in there now.

Only you can tell when you're ready for the next stage, pain is relative for us all.

 

[AT Aloss]

A pal of mine had the surgery about 4 years ago in his late forties & it has been very successful. It's revolutionised his working life & he's been able to play golf & go skiing again. However, my father was diagnosed at 75 & was given a 50:50 chance of suffering of a spinal stroke with the operation. Neither he, nor any specialist liked the odds of that, so he didn't have the operation. He is 83 and many of his vertebrae have now fused. In hindsight trying to stay physically toned would have helped a great deal but the extreme pain before his vertebrae fused stopped him. We now wonder whether constant physiotherapy would have helped.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

any back problems I would heartily recommend the Alexander Technique, it is all about relearning how we use our bodies, and use affects the way the body changes. It is expensive and hard work, but well worth it. A lot of musicians use the technique, as their bodies are part of their instruments.

Find a teacher near me | The Definitive Guide to the Alexander Technique

alexandertechnique.co.uk

 

[Farmer Fin]

I haven't seen the surgeon yet. As I understand it, the recovery time from the surgery is two to three months. As pretty much a one man band, milking a few cows , rearing pigs and processing them myself for my wife to sell via regular weekly Farmers Markets, I am concerned how this can go. Not to mention the fact that my BIL's Mum had the surgery, but was unlucky enough to suffer a spinal stroke, a few days later which very regrettably left her paraplegic

I was off work for 2 months first time. Second op which was last November took me about 4 months to get over and I’m still not 200% but that’s as much of a factor in the op being delayed 6 months due to COVID. I personally couldn’t function without having had the ops.
Having local steroids injected can give short term relief and can sometimes allow you to get your muscles working properly again. Many back issues can be managed by correct exercises concentrating on your core and stretching the muscles around your pelvis and thighs (Pilates). Be very careful of people cracking backs. A lot have no training and very little knowledge! I hope you get better as living with chronic pain is debilitating in itself.

 

[AT Aloss]

Many back issues can be managed by correct exercises concentrating on your core and stretching the muscles around your pelvis and thighs (Pilates). Be very careful of people cracking backs. A lot have no training and very little knowledge! I hope you get better as living with chronic pain is debilitating in itself.

Agree with the above statement & my father's condition was possibly made worse by chiropractors

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Agree with the above statement & my father's condition was possibly made worse by chiropractors

I had a terrible experience with a mc timmony chiropractor, I would never go near one again

 

[borderterribles]

How bad is it? Stretches, inversion table, rest etc can work wonders. If you're past the point of no return then an anti inflam injection may be worth a shot?
After that it'll probs be a bit of shaving the bone to create more room for the nerves.
Last resort disk replacement.

I've got back issues that I can deal with via excercise / rehab, but my neck got too bad and I've got a titanium disc in there now.

Only you can tell when you're ready for the next stage, pain is relative for us all.

I am currently managing to work by taking nearly the maximum dose of prescribed medication plus (I feel) far too much over the counter pain relief, too, every three hours. After two and a half hours, if I stand still for even a few minutes, I am unable to walk again without severe shooting pains down both legs.

 

[borderterribles]

I was off work for 2 months first time. Second op which was last November took me about 4 months to get over and I’m still not 200% but that’s as much of a factor in the op being delayed 6 months due to COVID. I personally couldn’t function without having had the ops.
Having local steroids injected can give short term relief and can sometimes allow you to get your muscles working properly again. Many back issues can be managed by correct exercises concentrating on your core and stretching the muscles around your pelvis and thighs (Pilates). Be very careful of people cracking backs. A lot have no training and very little knowledge! I hope you get better as living with chronic pain is debilitating in itself.

Thanks for your reply and good wishes. I am taking a lot of pain relief, which in itself is problematic as the prescription medication is affecting my ability to think clearly and remember things. I won't be going anywhere near any "bone men" anytime soon.

 

[harrow]

Go where Princess Eugenie went, https://www.rnoh.nhs.uk/

 

[Farmer Fin]

I am currently managing to work by taking nearly the maximum dose of prescribed medication plus (I feel) far too much over the counter pain relief, too, every three hours. After two and a half hours, if I stand still for even a few minutes, I am unable to walk again without severe shooting pains down both legs.

I found that naproxen as opposed to diclofenac as an NSAID helped reduce the dips during the day as it 1 tablet every 12 hrs. Topped up with paracetamol and an opiate. It’s harsh on your stomach so make sure your on omeprazole. Have they said which disks are gone as well? If I were you I would seriously investigate getting someone else in for a few months to cover your manual work to allow you to get the op and recover. I know there are always scare stories about the op but you cannot continue in the state your are in long term.

 

[borderterribles]

I had Naproxsen originally and got on quite well with it, but for some reason my Doctor was unwilling to let me continue with it, prescribing Gabapentin instead. As I mentioned earlier, one of the side effects of this drug is that it affects my ability to think clearly and I am currently in the process of changing my medication to Pregabalin Mylan. For reasons I don't understand, both the latter named drugs are principally used to treat Epilepsy.
I really that I can't continue as I am, either with the work or the level of medication , it's just the no small matter of finding someone to do it or the equally no small matter of being able to pay them well enough to do it.

 

[Farmer Fin]

I had Naproxsen originally and got on quite well with it, but for some reason my Doctor was unwilling to let me continue with it, prescribing Gabapentin instead. As I mentioned earlier, one of the side effects of this drug is that it affects my ability to think clearly and I am currently in the process of changing my medication to Pregabalin Mylan. For reasons I don't understand, both the latter named drugs are principally used to treat Epilepsy.
I really that I can't continue as I am, either with the work or the level of medication , it's just the no small matter of finding someone to do it or the equally no small matter of being able to pay them well enough to do it.

Some of those drugs work really well to treat neuropathic pain, like you them didn’t have any effect with me. I found I had to keep asking my doctor for stuff till I found what worked best for me. My surgeon said that after kidney stones, sciatica from a disk is the most painful condition that men will have.

 

[Overby]

I am currently managing to work by taking nearly the maximum dose of prescribed medication plus (I feel) far too much over the counter pain relief, too, every three hours. After two and a half hours, if I stand still for even a few minutes, I am unable to walk again without severe shooting pains down both legs.

Definitely think of the op, I went down that route with my neck and it doesn't end well. Handfuls of Ibu/Paracetamol / Codiene to get out of bed, function, sit, walk, sleep (not much of that)......they stop working eventually and ruin your guts and liver. Naproxin is just a strong anti inflam so works but again not for ever. I hated Gaba, doesn't work very well for pain and definitely plays with your mind. Horrible. There's only one way you're headed so you should start planning for how to manage your workload when you're laid up, get it sorted asap and you'll be back, as good as new (or feel like it), wishing you'd had it done sooner. Do you have insurance? Some cover illness as well as accident and may provide you enough £ to hire some help in. Good luck.

 

[kill]

Some of those drugs work really well to treat neuropathic pain, like you them didn’t have any effect with me. I found I had to keep asking my doctor for stuff till I found what worked best for me. My surgeon said that after kidney stones, sciatica from a disk is the most painful condition that men will have.

I had exactly the same untill my discectomy operation after my lower body had lost of sensation and was going numb pre my emergency operation ( mri to operation under 24hrs) as my spinal cord had completely changed colour on the mri due to being totally trapped and nothing would take the pain away and I had everything the doctor would let me have including diazepam, codeine, tramadol, oral morphine , naproxen and many others.
Only thing that stopped the pain was the operation as soon as came round I was pain free and as near to being given a new life as I could imagine and if I had died on the operating table it would have been a release from the pain as it was unbearable and unstoppable.
I had horrendous back pain all my adult life up to that point due to multiple slipped discs and trauma starting at very early teenage years and chiropractors never helped as alway left me worst than before.

 

[borderterribles]

I had exactly the same untill my discectomy operation after my lower body had lost of sensation and was going numb pre my emergency operation ( mri to operation under 24hrs) as my spinal cord had completely changed colour on the mri due to being totally trapped and nothing would take the pain away and I had everything the doctor would let me have including diazepam, codeine, tramadol, oral morphine , naproxen and many others.
Only thing that stopped the pain was the operation as soon as came round I was pain free and as near to being given a new life as I could imagine and if I had died on the operating table it would have been a release from the pain as it was unbearable and unstoppable.
I had horrendous back pain all my adult life up to that point due to multiple slipped discs and trauma starting at very early teenage years and chiropractors never helped as alway left me worst than before.

That is quite a hard read @kill . Glad that it worked out in the end for you!

 

[Overby]

On a lighter note, you always hear people saying "oh, I've trapped a nerve in y back/neck/leg" etc. These clowns have no idea what proper pain is, as when you PROPERLY trap a nerve you are buckled, ie all the descriptions in this post.

Definitely go and get looked at, you have no other option as things can only deteriorate, you may end up having an accident due to the pain / meds also which is unthinkable.... my vision went in one eye, couldn't feel my hands and I started falling over due to my neck.....realised things had gone too far then.

All the best.

 

[borderterribles]

I would like to thank all respondents to this thread so far. Particularly @Farmer Fin , @kill and @mjdboor for their helpful and valued input. Thanks Guys. I will update the thread when I have seen the surgeon.