After fighting with a herniated disc for 8 years
and doing all the normal (and not so normal)treatments, I at at the point where I am going in for a Fusion. Doc sets success at 80+ %
This is L5-S1.

If you have had this done what was your recovery like? How long before you could do anything? 3-6 months+ is what I have been told.

I will be happy if the pain is gone after recovery. I am 38, in good health otherwise.

I had the lamanonotmy(sp) about 13 years ago. It took me about 6 months to get back to work and then it was light duty. I don't know about the fusion procedure but I've heard two different types of stories about it. You either wake up feeling perfect because you were in pain for so long before your procedure, or you feel like shit.Could go either way and I'll bet your sawbonz will tell you the same thing. Good luck.

Yes, I had L4-L5/L5-S1 done at the same time.  Recovery was long for me, 12 months, partly because I am a smoker.  Just take it really easy afterwards.  Your back will never be the same but it should help the pain.  Be careful about physical therapy afterwards.

Good luck!!!

Sgtar15

I am a non-smoker, Otherwise this doc wouldn't operate till I had quit. I know my back won't be normal, (Hasn't been for 8 years,) and if I can reduce the pain and other affects that will be great.

As to the physical Terrorists I know all about them and thier antics. (Had two knee surgurys and shoulder too.) Thanks for the data guys keep it coming!

Use the back brace they give you, it helps.  It took me three weeks just to learn to walk again.  I still have two leaking disks at L2-L3/L3-L4 so my condition is still pretty fucked over all.  I can't even do sit ups!!

Basiccally, take it REALLY easy afterwards.


Sgtar15

I had the L5-S1 disk rupture in March of 96 and kept going to the Army docs teliing them I was in pain they kept sayin ghere is some motrin you will be ok everyones back hurts in the military, Finaly in August when I crawled into the emergency room on my hands and knees in pain they finally sent me to see a neurosurgeon in TX and he looked at the orginal x-rays from march that the docs in riley didnt see anything wrong with but the guy in TX saw the ruptured disk so he did an MRI in August and discovered the disk had torn in half now because of all the motion and activity while it had been ruptured for the previous 5 months. He went in and removed the torn off piece and used a laser to smothe the rest of it out that was left in there and all the pain was gone when I woke up from surgery except the pain from the surgery but hey i had lots of morphione and tylox and all sorts of good things to help me out. I was up walkin with the use of the IV stand that evening. Very slowly and small steps they predicted it would be 18 months before i could do anything more than walkin for exercise or pool therapy. I did pool therapy for 9 months in the mornings and then went to the gym on my own in the evenings and did what i thought i could handle and at my 9month check up i got 100% release from neurosurgeons care and othro and physical therapy but to this day 5 1/2 years later my lowr back still sort of aches due to mild arthritis in the area now but none of the original pain ever came back. In the year i was hurt i put on about 40 pounds of gut by laying around and thats been the hardest part for me just getting back in shape after tha surgery cause for years i was affraid to do anything that might put me back in the bed for another year but i have now gotten over it and started to get back in some sort of shape. I have lost about 25 to 30 of the pounds put on but still havent really put the effort into it that i should. I am 100% pleased with the results of my Diskectomy surgery but still am in no where near as good as shape compared to pre op status.

I had the L5-S1 disk rupture in March of 96 and kept going to the Army docs teliing them I was in pain they kept sayin ghere is some motrin you will be ok everyones back hurts in the military, Finaly in August when I crawled into the emergency room on my hands and knees in pain they finally sent me to see a neurosurgeon in TX and he looked at the orginal x-rays from march that the docs in riley didnt see anything wrong with but the guy in TX saw the ruptured disk so he did an MRI in August and discovered the disk had torn in half now because of all the motion and activity while it had been ruptured for the previous 5 months. He went in and removed the torn off piece and used a laser to smothe the rest of it out that was left in there and all the pain was gone when I woke up from surgery except the pain from the surgery but hey i had lots of morphione and tylox and all sorts of good things to help me out. I was up walkin with the use of the IV stand that evening. Very slowly and small steps they predicted it would be 18 months before i could do anything more than walkin for exercise or pool therapy. I did pool therapy for 9 months in the mornings and then went to the gym on my own in the evenings and did what i thought i could handle and at my 9month check up i got 100% release from neurosurgeons care and othro and physical therapy but to this day 5 1/2 years later my lowr back still sort of aches due to mild arthritis in the area now but none of the original pain ever came back. In the year i was hurt i put on about 40 pounds of gut by laying around and thats been the hardest part for me just getting back in shape after tha surgery cause for years i was affraid to do anything that might put me back in the bed for another year but i have now gotten over it and started to get back in some sort of shape. I have lost about 25 to 30 of the pounds put on but still havent really put the effort into it that i should. I am 100% pleased with the results of my Diskectomy surgery but still am in no where near as good as shape compared to pre op status.

I had the L5-S1 disk rupture in March of 96 and kept going to the Army docs teliing them I was in pain they kept sayin ghere is some motrin you will be ok everyones back hurts in the military, Finaly in August when I crawled into the emergency room on my hands and knees in pain they finally sent me to see a neurosurgeon in TX and he looked at the orginal x-rays from march that the docs in riley didnt see anything wrong with but the guy in TX saw the ruptured disk so he did an MRI in August and discovered the disk had torn in half now because of all the motion and activity while it had been ruptured for the previous 5 months. He went in and removed the torn off piece and used a laser to smothe the rest of it out that was left in there and all the pain was gone when I woke up from surgery except the pain from the surgery but hey i had lots of morphione and tylox and all sorts of good things to help me out. I was up walkin with the use of the IV stand that evening. Very slowly and small steps they predicted it would be 18 months before i could do anything more than walkin for exercise or pool therapy. I did pool therapy for 9 months in the mornings and then went to the gym on my own in the evenings and did what i thought i could handle and at my 9month check up i got 100% release from neurosurgeons care and othro and physical therapy but to this day 5 1/2 years later my lowr back still sort of aches due to mild arthritis in the area now but none of the original pain ever came back. In the year i was hurt i put on about 40 pounds of gut by laying around and thats been the hardest part for me just getting back in shape after tha surgery cause for years i was affraid to do anything that might put me back in the bed for another year but i have now gotten over it and started to get back in some sort of shape. I have lost about 25 to 30 of the pounds put on but still havent really put the effort into it that i should. I am 100% pleased with the results of my Diskectomy surgery but still am in no where near as good as shape compared to pre op status.