I'm dealing with spinal canal stenosis too but haven't considered surgery - what is the procedure? Sorry to be asking questions and not giving answers. oolbp, you're up! :-)

hi i have that too they said no suregey beyt.. i scare and my reg dr said i wouldnt do it unless you almost in a wheel cahir..

i hope you the best and keep us posted, huggs and prayer ang

DON'T GET THE SURGERY YET!!!

I was dx with this 2 years ago. I was flat on my back. Hubby had to take off work for 2 months to take care of me and our four kids. I couldn't even turn over or sit up w/o help. I was in constant pain and crying and frustrated. Was only 28 at the time. I had 3 bulging disks from it too. In neck and lower back.

I tried a chiropractor. Made it worse.

I tried all the prescription pain meds. They might take edge off, but not help much.

I'll tell you the 3 things that helped SO much and saved me from surgery.

1) Epidural Spinal Injections. Had 2 rounds. They hurt like hell, but helped so much.

2) Physical Therapy following that. Helped bunches.

and 3) Dont' laugh - but 1000 mg of ibuprofen every 4 hours for a few months. It's safe, no worries. Ibuprofen in and of itself is a pain med. But when you take 800 mg or higher, it turns into an anti-inflamatory. Which is exactly what people with spinal stenosis need! B/c the inflamation is so bad! And it acts as a pain med at the same time. It saved me; it really did.

I still have some pain day to day, but is controllable. I just can't sit or stand for long periods of time w/o stretching. And I occasionally do have to take med, but only a couple times a month maybe.

Hold off on surgery. Once you get that, its downhill from there. The scar tissue builds up and you will have to probably continue to have surgeries for the rest of your life.

Hope this helped. Good luck!

I have to agree with futterbyfly - Don't get the surgery!!!!! I've had two spinal surgeries. First fusion done b/c I shattered my back caring for my Dad. Had to have the hardware removed, another fusion due to DDD and hip surgery. Having the fusions for me caused the disk above to crumble. I'd wait until it is so bad and you have to have surgery, Then I had a heart attack at the age of 43 due to a blood clot that had formed and I was also misdiagnoised by my family doctor. My Father N Law of 22 years passed away the day before my 2nd surgery. My family doctor told me I was just having aniexty and sent me home on meds two different times. The 2nd time he ran an EKG. When my husband got the EKG it read abnornal. He should of sent me to the emergencey room the 1st time I went and def. the 2nd visit. I sat home having mutli HA's. If you do decide to have the surgery - RESEARCH!!!!!!! Please feel free to stop by and read my profile. I still have spinal stenosis. I can feel my hardware also. That's why I had the first one removed. I can not have anymore surgeries due to my heart now. I live in Chronic Pain everyday 24/7. Please keep us informed. BIG GENTAL HUGS, Peach

I've had two surgeries on my low back. They helped, but if you can avoid going thru it, I would. The recovery was incredibly painful for the first couple of months, but now I feel much better and can do things I couldn't dream of doing before. If it comes to the point where you can't tolerate it anymore and you decide for surgery, get a second opinion, exhaust all other options and ask many questions. Most back surgeries don't do wonders for back pain. They are more likely to help with nerve pain in the legs, so make sure the surgery they are recommending is actually going to help with your pain. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon!

Only thing about Ibuprophen is that it can cause gastric ulcers in high doses. As I recall the max dose is 800mg ever six hours. Your stomach will let you know if it is not happy.

If fusion is used to treat spinal stenosis the outcome and recovery depends on where it is at. Most of the time it is in the lumbar region. Recovery can be up to a year. There are several types of fusion. The skill of the surgeon, and the type he/she is familiar with makes a difference in outcome as well.

As PB said, research and knowledge are key to making an informed decision. Do not make the mistake of saying "well you are the doctor. Do what you think is best". This site is a good place to start. http://www.spineuniverse.com/

Well, as a matter of fact, I did consult with a neurosurgeon and he told me the 1000 mg if ibuprofen are fine for the few months I took it. If you do take if for years, yes, it can cause problems. But not for the amount of time I did.

I have a spinal stenosis too and my Doctor said not to have the surgery until it is a last resort. There are two basic surgeries and both are dangerous because of the closeness of the spinal cord. He said one slip and it could by paralysis for life.

Masrea,

If you can hardly walk or stand up already, having the surgery now might be your best option. A friend of mine had the surgery and they fuse 9 vertebraes and she is doing just fine! She went back to work and is doing fine.
At the point that you are in, I don't think that waiting, or Ibuprofen is going to work!

Check out this site, and read up on all of the information that it contains about SS surgery;

http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1677.html

Before choosing to go for surgery, get at least 3 opinions. If possible, have the surgery with a Doctor at a major university hospital, and if you don't have one of those close to your house, make sure to check the credentials of the surgeon, very, very carefully!!

Good luck to you, and I hope that your surgery would be a success.

I had a buldginng disc, and a doctor did a chiropratic move on ;me and desengrated;my L-5, I had one surgery that was botched and went through eight years of hell, until I finally found the right doctor,and he went in any put a cage in me. It was working really well until I got into a wreck, and it dislocated my cage, so now I am in the same trouble that I was in before.

I finally found a good Doctor that understands what I am going thru,and is giving me the medication that I need, although,it wakes me up at night with the pain.

Go to a Doctor, but investigate him first through the better business buero, And you will find out what kind of doctor they are. I was lucky to find a good one, but still have problemss with it and have to take pain medicine. The Dr. said that I will be on pain med's probably for the rest of my life. I did not want to accept that, but, I am coming to learn the differencee.

I hope this helped, God bless and please keep me informed.

Lots of Love "LOL"

Kase

Thank you ALL for your replies ,, it means so much to me ,, i really still don`t want to do the surgery but my Dr. said no medicine for me any more b/c i am on 100mg of Fentanyl patch and 400mg Tramadol,,but even those doesn`t touch my back and my legs pain ,, i have no life any more ,,i spend most my day in bed,, no help from any body my 3 children lives out of state my husband have big problem with his back and can`t do any thing ,, i am the one taking care of him ....

The procedure done for spinal stenosis is called a Laminectomy. I had the procedure done a year ago this month. It took me a good 8 months to recover from it. This is mainly due to the fact that I had a Lumbar Discectomy to repair two herniated discs just a few months before in May so I wasn't fully recovered from it when I had the Laminectomy. Even though I still deal with leg pain, I will say that overall I am better for having the procedure. I have a friend who does not have any of the other problems I have and she had he same procedure done and feels 100% now. I also have severe advanced disc degeneration and severe psoriatic arthritis. As with anything the procedure has a falilure rate, If you are spending most of your day in bed with pain and have no quality of life right now, you have to determine if the possible benefits outweigh the possible risks. It is a fairly simple procedure with a quick recovery time. I was up and talking walks within two weeks of the procedure and back to work within six weeks. I personally feel that even with the pain I still am able to more now than I would be able to do if I hadn't had the surgery.

Take care and God bless,

John