I have to make a decision as to whether or not to have this surgery. It would be a double fusion (I believe that’s what it’s called): L4-L5-S1. Both of my facet joints are broken at L4 (spondylolysis) which is contributing to spondylolisthesis of L5 and S1. I have been to chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapy, tried multitudes of medications, tried ignoring the problem, and also recently had a bilateral epidural in an attempt to relieve the problem. I have been told the only way to fix the spondylolysis is through a fusion. I am 31 years old and have been having back problems for quite some time now. Sometimes my back flares up, and I literally can’t walk… crawling to the bathroom is about the only I manage to do when I have a flare up. I have been told that at some point in my life I will need a fusion, and I basically have to decide whether to do it now, or continue dealing with the pain and have it later.
Any suggestions/experience/advice anyone has with this particular surgery would be extremely helpful.
Thanks! 
Posts Tagged About
“Health Service typos
These are sentences actually typed by Medical secretaries in NHS Greater Glasgow [it says here .... ]
1. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
2. Patient has left her white blood cells at another hospital.
3. Patient’s medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
4. She has no rigor’s or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
6. On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it disappeared.
7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
9. Discharge status:- Alive, but without my permission.
10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert, but forgetful.
11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
12. She is numb from her toes down.
13. While in ER, she was examined, x-rated and sent home.
14. The skin was moist and dry.
15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid
18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life until she got a divorce.
19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our care for physical therapy.
20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
21 Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
23. Skin: somewhat pale, but present.
24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
25. Large brown stool ambulating in the hall.
26. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities
27. When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
28. The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of fuel and crashed.
29. Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant
30. She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
31. Patient was seen in consultation by Dr. Smith, who felt we should sit on the abdomen and I agree.
32. The patient was to have a bowel resection. However, he took a job as a stock broker instead.
33. By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.”
What is medically being written about you?
(Okay not exactly a joke, but this is probably the best section and I hope you like it)
I am so miserable. I hurt my back three weeks ago coming back from a trip and carrying heavy luggage around the airport. I finally went to the doctor and he said it was a muscle spasm but he wanted me to have x-rays incase it was a herniated disc. The x-rays didn’t show anything but I suspect that x-rays would only show a break. I’m in so much pain. As soon as my back feels a little better I overdo it and then it hurts again. Right now I’m on muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories. My doctor said that the next step would be physical therapy but I can’t afford it and I don’t know what to do. I’m really suffering. It’s hard for me having small children. I live in a big house with two stories and it’s hard to get around. I’m especially miserable because right now I have bronchitis. I am just getting so frustrated because I am falling behind around the house. My husband owns his own business so he isn’t home a lot to help me and he isn’t a very compassionate person. He tells me to stop complaining. I’m in so much pain. He’s being really unfair.
I am 22 years old and within the last 3 weeks I would say, I have been experiencing constant knee pain. It is worse when I bend it and sit for a while then straighten it out and walking up or down staris makes it worse too. Bad knees run in our family…dad has had 6 knew surgeries and 16 year old brother just had his first 8 months ago. I have done physical therapy for my knee before, when I played basketball, but then I quit basketball and haven’t done therapy in about 8 years. When should I see the doctor about it?
I’m pretty sure I have a herniated disc. I have been in extreme pain for 11 days now with no sign of improvement. If I bend over or move wrong, it feels like I’m getting shocked by electricity. I mean REALLY shocked, not just tingling. It usually shoots down my legs, but yesterday I had one that made my cheeks tingle. This is the worse pain I have ever felt. I don’t have insurance, but it doesnt matter because I have had back problems in the past where I had physical therapy, so this is considered a pre-existing condition. I don’t want to form a habit of taking painkillers, but right now that seems to be my only option.
Hey Bush! How About Some Of Those Hundreds Of Billions To Take Better Care Of Wounded U.s.troops?
Feb 27
If nothing else, it seems to me that the Democrats, instead of looking for ways to cut funding for the troops, would be looking for ways to direct more of those billions towards VA-facilities woes; there are tens of thousands of US troops who need continuous care, (both mental & physical),as well as more hospitals. For God’s sake, some of our troops are having tremendous difficulties returning home after being in that hellhole called Iraq. “Suck it up” you say? Well it might be a little different than when wars meant the use of more conventional weapons. These troops are seeing people cut in half, body parts strewn throughout markets’, or being sucked though buildings or grotesquely burned, not to mention their returning to Walter Reed for ‘rehab’ because of the loss of arms, legs, feet, or having had part of their heads blown off. Not to mention the number of suicides relative to this war. Not to mention troops being asked to pay for ‘uniforms’ or boots that may have blood on them.
Here is the situation, I was in a car accident about a month ago, and a couple days after the accident I went to the er for symptoms I was feeling. I had nausea, minor voomiting, neck, and back of head pain.
The dr told me I had suffered from whiplash and gave me a soft collar to wear for about a week and a half. Since thin I have still felt thses symptoms and every day have throbbing pain in the back of my head accompanied by seldom episodes of tingling in my hands and feeling lightheaded (not sure if this is all tied together).
I went to see my regular doctor last week and was told that physical therapy would help
Are these common symptoms to experience, ro should I be going back in, as I am not being relieved of my discomfort.
I was hurt on the job last year, i injured my hand by tearing my legiments in my right hand, and the pain is so horrible now, a year later, and l&i are being complete jerks about this, they decided to cut my pain clinic medical help and wont pay for my medicine anymore, I talked to a nurse at the University of Washington where i got my surgery last march, and she said l&i decided to send me to a rehability center in Seattle, which is a ferry ride away from my house which if forever away to me, to take care of my medical needs, she said i will get an small apartment and $60,000 worth of medical costs along with physical therapy and medical attention including medicine, but im completely lost and they are sending me a borchoure within the next few days, but what i dont understand is why are they going to pay that much money for this when they wouldnt even cover small amount of costs from medical care in my town whats your outlook on this? anyone been to a rehab for injury matters?
I’m in frequent, moderately-severe pain. Please help! Recommendations and “talk to the doc about ____” diagnosis are welcomed…
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I’m a healthy 22 year-old female who suffers from hip pain during rest and activity.
Back in Elementary school (~10 yrs old), I experienced discomfort in my groin– the tendons, I think– when running the mile. It was minimal and very temporary, so my family decided not to do anything about it: we thought it might be brought on by the gym teacher’s insistence on certain performance levels regardless of the student’s athletic ability.
There were no more problems until High School, when I happened to be walking with my hands low on my hips. I could feel the right joint ‘popping’ when I took my weight off it, but there was no discomfort The left hip was fine. Again, we decided to let it go.
In college (~18 or 19yrs old) I discovered that being highly active would cause temporary pain in my hips (localized in the outside-center of either buttock). My right hip was worse and inevitably, the pain started to occur more frequently, even when I was seated. My boyfriend (a paramedic) insisted that I go to the doctor.
I gave her the information above, and I asked her to feel the hip movement as I walked across the room. She told me that she didn’t need to, she believed me, and so she had me lay on my back as she manipulated my legs in different directions (looking for unnatural tension or movement, I guess?). I told her that I didn’t have problems while on my back and she told me that I might have a “loose” ligament that might require physical therapy, or some kind of deformity that might be keeping the joint out of proper alignment.
The x-ray came back negative, so she told me to take two asprin twice a day and call back in two weeks.
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I’m not ashamed to say that I was furious at what I feel was an act of incompetence. I maintain a healthy weight, am active and young, so I firmly believe that I was dismissed on the basis of my appearance. Since I was angry and had informed her repeatedly that I had a chronic problem, I decided not to take her advice and I never called her back.
Surprise, surprise, my hips got worse. It hurts a lot, so please don’t berate me for what I know was a stupid choice. At this point, the pain is interfering with my daily activity (driving, sitting at a desk, during sex, after visiting the gym, prior to going to sleep, etc) and so I don’t have any options but to return to the doctor and get a recommendation. I don’t blame a General Practitioner for overlooking what must be a fairly specific problem, so I’d like to know what I need to say to be fair and get her to direct me to the right specialist. For my hips, should I see a joint specialist or someone else? Is this something a Podiatrist would treat, or a Chiropractor? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks so much.