i got the freedom disc
 

On march 16th 2011 i had the freedom disc replacement done on my lower back. The surgery was done in sherveport, la. Dr. kerr is my doctor in this study. I am now close to two months after the surgery and i dont have the same deep pain i had before in my lower back but man i still hurt very bad. I still have my days where i dont even get out of bed. i have been taking lortab and percocet for the pain but they dont seem to do justice, i find my self having to take the med more often then they think i need it. Has any body had to go to pain management after having a disc replacment? i would love to not have to take meds but the farther along i get with this the more it seems that i may have to take meds. when i do take the meds i feel just fine, i mean normal, i dont ever take them to get a buzz but instead to just feel normal. Maybe i can get some good input from this post, feel free to email me @ los51881@gmail.com and thanks for all your time.

Trey

What are your pain patterns before surgery, and after surgery?

Please make short, specific lists.

Mark

Hi Treylos and welcome to the forum,

I'd offer my congratulations on your 2 month old surgery but you're not happy. You're still in too much pain. The question is- is your pain different? Did you have radiating pain anywhere other than your back and has that changed? How many and which levels were done?

My back pain included muscles pulling very tight, in constant spasm... After my surgery, I wore a brace for several months which allowed them to rest and heal. Are you still wearing a brace?

Asking all those questions, the answer to your question is yes, many, many ADR and fusion patients need pain management following this very invasive surgery. True, some do quite well very quickly and some do quite well after about 2 years but most fall inbetween that. What does your doctor tell you?

Please give us more details and as I've said before, if we could harness the energy of worrying and panic, we could light the world. Hopefully, all your conern is premature as 2 months is still pretty early.

Dale

Hi Treylos,
I had the video assisted thoracic surgery to remove one extremely painful disc T7-8 and another T 11-12. The upper one was successfully removed then fused. Well 2 months later i still had the horrible pain, just less frequently. I don't know when i last experienced it , but believe me it is totally gone thankfully. Maybe at 4 months?? I was still recovering , it was a rough surgery for me, but the pain was gone , hopefully forever.
So hang in there as long as your doctor says it is normal at this point
judy

My pain after surgery.
 

Well now after the surgery my pain is quite different. Before surgery I had what I would call a deep constant pain just in my lower back and sometimes down my right leg. After the surgery the deep pain is gone but I now feel a very sharpe pain and the sharpe Pain mainly affects my right side of hip and down right leg. I can't even sleep on my right side cause it hurts so bad at times. The pain to me feels kinda like a pinched nerve. It hurts very bad when I drive or when I'm sitting down. I have a tendency to some what hunch forward when I drive or sit and that feels like my back is tring to pull apart. I have to drive 2.5 hours one way to my doctor, So needlsy to say I hurt very bad after making the drive to my doc. visits. I go back to doctor Monday for a post op. Visit and I'm gonna tell them about my pain and see what they say. I will let you all know how. The visit goes. I hope I answered your questions good enough for you all to understand how I feel. I'm only 29 years old. Some times I get so depressed about this cause I'm to dam young to be going through all this but it is what it is. Thanks for your imputs.

Trey

Trey,

At least you're going to the doctor tomorrow and should come away with a better understanding of what's going on.

What level(s) were done?

Please let us know what your doctor says.

Dale

Trey you are too young for all this pain. Let us know what the doc says tomorrow and drive safely
judy

Well I went to my latest dr visit and everything looks to be just fine from the exrays I took. I am now taking a steroid dose pack to help with the healing. And since taking that dose pack I feel alot better. So things are looking better. I will post any changes of how I feel.

I am glad to hear you are feeling better.
judy

Good news. I know every little thing after surgery makes us go straight to the worst thing our minds can come up with - so I'm glad you're doing better. The road may not be easy but will hopefully get you to there.

Take is slow, Dale

I had a fusion at L5/S1 and it took about a year for the nerve pain in my legs to subside. I still have it on the bottoms of my feet though. My lower back hurts worse than before the surgery. Sounds like you are doing a bit better. Give it a good 6 months I'd say. Might be longer or shorter. Everyone heals differently.

Well it's been a few years since my surgery. my back doesn't hurt as bad as it Did before the surgery. I wish the doctors could have done a better breakdown of my back problems and what all was causing my pain. Only after the surgery I realize now I was feeling a few different pains as a whole before the surgery. The disc replacement Did get rid of a huge part of the pain. I still have the pain on my right side. Like a needle sticking me. Doctor says it's my " facet" joints. I still take pain medicine. I hate every f-ing thing about pain medicine. I DON'T WANT TO TAKE IT. doctor says exercise to help build muscle stronger, I've done automotive collision work all my life. It's pretty labor intensive, I Love playing baseball and doing anything that can be done outside. I think I have fairly strong muscles in my back. But I still hurt!

I'm sorry you are still in enough pain to need pain meds. I have had several surgeries on all 3 parts of my spine and am still in pain as well. Some in my neck down to my shoulder blade and some in my lower back. when i do skip a dose of pain meds i am hurting pretty bad so i know i still need them and would very much love to be rid of them for good.
judy