I suffered debilitating back pain for over ten years. I went to several orthopedic doctors were unable to diagnose me or alleviate my pain. I tried exercising more and pain medications, but nothing worked. At an extremely active thirty-nine years old, something had to change and it sure wasn't going to be my softball or bowling hobbies.
I finally went to Dr. Steven Mather, a spine surgeon with M&M Orthopedics in Chicagoland. It took only one x-ray for him to identify the problem. I had Degenerative Disk Disease in the L5 area of my spine. Basically, the disk wore away.
The available treatments were: physical therapy, pain medications or surgery. We ruled out physical therapy because my back muscles were already very strong. Long-term use of painkillers to me was not an answer. I was left with surgery.
Dr. Mather then introduced me to a new procedure called Lumbar Disk Replacement. An incision is made along the spine in the back. The worn away disk is removed and replaced with a plastic cage device. The cage is filled with bone scraped from the hipbone. Two rods and four screws are inserted into the spine, to support it during the healing process. The success rate was ninety-percent, meaning only ten percent had some kind of returning pain or discomfort.
The average healing time was over a year, but a full recovery is expected. Although the healing process and physical therapy are agonizing, the positive results far outweighed the negatives. The process included: home rest for eight weeks; wearing a special brace for three months; eight to twelve weeks of physical therapy. The therapy is intense, but if done with dedication could have resounding results. It depends patient's desire and pain tolerance.
He left me with this unforgettable quote. “This is a profound quality of life decision that only you can make. I will not tell you to have the surgery. I will tell you I recommend it for someone your age who is as active as you are.”
This was right around the start of softball season, so I decided to wait it out, which turned out to be a painful decision. The straw that broke the camel's back came on a trip to Las Vegas with my wife in September. Twice, the spasms were so intense I fell to my knees. I decided right there that I could no longer live life this way. I called Dr. Mather and scheduled the surgery.
I am not afraid of too many things in life, but I have to admit, on the day of the surgery, I was scared to death. However, I mentally prepared myself for a painful battle, which turned out to be the best thing I could have done.
Here is a recap of the surgery and the results.
The Hospital Stay
The pain was without a doubt excruciating. Thank god for powerful drugs. The surgical area hurt. I had pain going down to my left calf from some minor nerve damage during the surgery. I had a dull ache to the right of the surgical area where they scraped bone to fill the disk cage.
A tube was inserted into the surgical area to drain excess fluid. A catheter is inserted because quite frankly, there was no way I was getting up to go to the bathroom any time soon.
By the second day, minor therapy began. I had to perform the following tasks in order to be discharged. If that's not motivation, nothing is. I had to: stand up; put on socks and a shirt; walk with a walker; take a few steps up stairs. The key here was my mind-set. I knew it was going to hurt, so I dug deep and found a way to work through it. My tolerance for pain is very high, so I actually passed every test quite impressively.
I was in the hospital for three days. The normal stay is three to five.
Getting and Being home
The first night was the toughest. With no intravenous drugs the pain seemed to worsen. I needed help from my wife and a buddy to get from the car to inside the house and to lie down.
The next morning a cold hard reality set in, that although temporary, I had lost my independence, because I could not get around on my own. That's a tough pill to swallow. However it became my motivation. I had a decision to make, either muster up the courage to do whatever it takes to heal quickly, or succumb to my misery, prolonging the healing. I chose to heal quickly. I did exactly what I was supposed to do from pain medications, to minor exercises, to lying perfectly still, to getting up on my own, and even eating right.
Each day I felt better and better. The strides I made were quite astonishing even to me. At times I did not realize how quickly I was progressing. The pain was temporary, and eventually it changed to soreness, which meant I was healing.
Physical Therapy
After eight weeks of home recovery, I arrived for my first day of physical therapy in early January. I gave my therapist five goals, telling him that failure to achieve even one of them would be unacceptable. 1) I would not go to therapy beyond the minimum eight weeks. 2) I was going to Disney World in nine weeks and wanted to ride Space Mountain. 3) I wanted to bowl the last week of my bowling season at the end of April. 4) I wanted to start my softball season at the end of April. 5) I wanted to play golf in Las Vegas at my buddy's bachelor party in May.
Together we embarked on a horrific physical and mental battle that included many peaks and valleys. At about the halfway mark I seemed to be getting worse, but as I learned that was to be expected. So, we backed off a bit. Once we got over that hump, the progression rate drastically increased.
The Result
In the end, everyone was amazed including myself. I accomplished every goal. Therapy ended in eight weeks. I road Space Mountain four times. I bowled the last two weeks of my season. I started and played the entire softball season. I played golf at my buddy's bachelor party. And all of the activities were done completely pain free!
Even Dr. Mather was astonished with the speed and success of my recovery. “This is unheard of. It's only been nine months and you are completely healed”.
Conclusion
When I first met Dr. Mather I had very little faith in spine surgery. He made a believer out of me. I recommend it to anyone who suffers from the same problems and wants to live an active pain free life.
Surgery like this is a quality of life decision. It depends on your age, activity level and pain tolerance. There is nothing more powerful than the human mind when it comes to the will to survive and to heal. Post-surgery pain is temporary and manageable if you are prepared.
