Sorry I meat to say yesterday... I saw the Dr. yesterday. But have not had any relief with the injection that was given.

Hi Bettme

I am so sorry that you are going through this and it is no wonder you are confused.

Here is what I have been told my several experts ...fusions are a frankenstein procedure that should not be done unless absolutely the last resort and it has a high rate of failure ...failed back syndrome...or failure because the discs above and below become very unstable and you have to have another surgery to fix those.
I would say Fusion is out unless it is the ONLY hope of you WALKING again.

As for the other diagnositics....all I can say is you have to go with whom you trust the most and based on your history too.

You did not post a lot of your history...so it is hard to offer a detailed opinion. I always feel that the bottom line is what YOU want done to your body and what YOU are willing to put up with.

As an example....

I have severe spinal stenosis of my lumbar region due to facet and ligament hypertrophy ===Damn bad osteo arthritis has pinched off my spinal canal and is killing the spinal nerves.

I also have moderate canal stenosis in my neck...thoracic and athritis in my si joints....degernerated discs and bulging discs---those things are a whole separate issue.

The neuro surgeon, my doc and some others, as well as people on this site, have said that surgery should be done if there was neural impingement. I have it, bad. However, due to some issues in my life, I have chosen to NOT have the decompression surgery unless it become an emergency--ie, I lose control of my bowel and bladder functions. That would be my limit.

Do what you feel you must, be comfortable in the decisions you make and weigh all your options. Once you have decided on one or two things....come back and post for opinions. See what people have to say. I will tell you though...the chronic pain forum is far more active than this forum.

Anyway...good luck to you and I hope you are able to find some relief for your pain.

HUGS

Surgery should always be a last resort, especially spinal fusion. The laminectomy which is minimally invasive will help with the herniation, but because of the other issues in your back perhaps causing the problems, I'd wait on it. The injection that you got sometimes takes up to 3 days for relief. The intense pain is because of the inflammation in the area which the injection is supposed to help. The numbness is from the novacaine that goes with the injection to so it's pretty standard. Prednisone is to help with the inflammation and swelling. The lift in your left show is likely for the piriformis syndrome and could help stabilize the back, although it may take some getting used to.

I've had the injections twice with no effect but that isn't the case for everyone. My back had many problems and one doctor told me the only option was "sharp knives and steel" (fusion). We tried the injections, the first time with the same reaction as you except I guess I was so pale that they kept me for a bit before helping me out to the car. The second one they did under sedation between the Dr's surgeries. Quick and without the intense pain. After this I went to Pain Management. After a careful review of my scans and a couple others as well, they did a Medial Branch Neurotomy, which goes by several names. Basically it uses x-ray guided radio waves to burn the nerves causing pain. This is painful but no sedation because they have to know which nerves are involved (is this your pain, do you feel this in your bladder, etc.) The nerves die and then eventually grow back, hopefully re-routing themselves around the damaged area. I've had these procedures many times over the years, and plenty of physical therapy including hydrotherapy.

I've also had spinal fusions. The first time I was losing bladder control and using a wheel chair when out for extended periods. I figured that at age 30 I was too young for Depends so at that point I went for the surgery. Because of the spondylolisthesis, plus vacuum disc phenomena, it truly was the only way to stabilize the spine. I was told that once inside the situation was worse than expected and they would have done more levels but were hoping for an artificial disc when I needed another fusion, expected in the standard 10 years. Wear and tear does cause more breakdown and it's pretty standard to need additional fusions. I had several years totally feeling great - no failed back surgery that time. Eventually things did get worse and I went through all the stuff before in the following years.. Finally I agreed to another fusion - I was using a walker and was a fall risk. The artificial disc, while now available in the US was not an option because of the previous surgeries. So more titanium later and I'm no longer falling all the time or using a wheelchair. However, it's considered failed back syndrome because I still have pain and take low dose narcotics when needed. When I get tired I'm more of a fall risk and have broken at least one bone because of the right leg dragging when tired. That was in 2009. I still don't use a cane, and try to be as active as possible. I would not choose to have another fusion, even in 10 years, unless totally unavoidable again.

But, this is a decision that only you can make for yourself. Evaluate your life - stress and drama, legal cases, smoking, and excess weight all increase the risk of failed back syndrome. Read up on things. Research research research is all I can say...