Anyone had disc surgery? How was the result?

[lee19]

Re: M.S.   A good friend of ours just landed in Israel to get a auto immune reboot (best description I have heard).  She has had ms for 20yrs so she almost did not qualify.  She walks with a cane but is pretty disabled.  The procedure apparently stops the disease in its tracks.  One of those things that the fad hasn't gotten around to approving. 

Happy to keep you in the loop……she starts treatment this week.  private msg me if you would like. 

[lucabrasi]

This has been the most valuable thread on the Zone for me. 

You have really created a special place here and I would have to guess when you went about starting it you wouldn't have even imagined a thread like this popping up on it along with many others floating around here. I hope and wish the best for you.

[surfinJ]

After checking back in with this very informative thread, this latest turn has knocked me back in my chair.  My neck pains are suddenly just a few peanuts.

Randy, thank you for your courage in sharing with us.  It is bound to help others on here.

I wish you the best outcome and strength in the road ahead.

[eastbound]

i am upset. you have created a healthy place for many, including me. seems terribly unfair.

glad to hear you are facing it down. hope progression is uniquely slow, and quality research/results move quickly.

good luck to you. you have a crew of good folks here, rooting for you.

[Tom]

  In the 90's they suggested no exercise at all, but that has been modified due to the greater good noticed from a healthy lifestyle.  I wouldn't have stopped having fun anyways because what the hell would I be saving myself for?  Canasta?   

MS is progressive, but no one knows what course it will take, or at what speed.  My goal is to stay physically strong through exercise and diet because those are things that i can do.  I had already taken steps on both of those things beginning a few years ago.  I knew something was way off but I didn't know what.  It is much better for me to know.  Something to face.

Thanks again.

If you want verification that you made the right choice about having fun and staying physical, here are a couple of links from a friend of mine who made the right decision about that several years ago when he was diagnosed with Muscular Distrophy.

http://ryanlevinson.com/BLOG/

http://www.ryanlevinson.com/%28Home%29.html


He is currently in the French Polynesians with his wife on their 38 ft sailboat. They left here last summer, wintered in Baja and mainland Mexico and are relaxing after their south seas first leg.

p.s. I met him here on the Forum

[Admin]

Hi guys,

Thanks for that additional info and the links. 

Ryan has a great outlook.  I know for myself that being active (having fun) emphasizes everything that is working.  It makes me feel strong and capable.  Doing nothing does exactly the opposite.  That is likely the same for all of us on the forum.  Wake up and load the car.  Same as it ever was. 

I am starting on a drug that might help with the friendly fire tendencies of my immune system.  With luck that will slow or stop new lesions from occurring if I am still in that stage.  After that I will start on Biotin (B-7) which is showing signs in studies of halting advancement/degradation (and in some instances offering improvement) in people who have already transitioned to the progressive form of MS (or started there).  The thought is to first try to patch the leak then set to bailing. 

Thanks again for your thoughts and suggestions

[sterbo]

So, I find myself currently facing major surgery.

Multi level Laminoplasty, to correct deterioration, severe stenosis etc. - C4 -5, C5 -6 & C7.
Have had full spine MRI's, X-Rays, EMG, etc.
Consults with my Primary, two Senior Neurologists, PM&R Specialist and Orthopedic Surgeon.
Consensus by all = Multi Level Open Door Laminoplasty.
This within the Kaiser Group ecosystem.

Next week I'll have a consult with a Neurosurgeon to balance that with the Orthopedic.

Given the repeated cautions and warnings by all of the above, the path seems pretty darn clear. They all say surgery is not a matter of if, but rather, when.
They all say the longer I wait the more I jeopardize my current good health - my spine issues notwithstanding.
A car accident, or unexpected  tumble and fall = quite possible partial or full paralysis.
Wait and see how things go? Again, they all say the same thing; balance, reflex, motor function deterioration will occur - not a matter of if, but a matter of how fast and to what degree. In this latter case the timing of the surgery seems to be the key since I'm told that whatever has gone south up to that point in time may not be remedied by the surgery.
As of this moment I'm still healthy and strong, can get out there and rock and roll.
If tomorrow, next week or month my fingers, hands, arms, legs, feet, etc., start to fail because I've waited, I may or may not ever get those things back.

Mack the Knife looms again after all these glorious years...

:sigh:

[stoneaxe]

Hope it turns out well for you sterbo. I've dodged the surgery bullet for the moment and things seem to be getting better with therapy. Very happy for that, hate the thought of someone messing with my spine.
Heal well and get back at it.

[sterbo]

Thanks stoney

Means a lot just knowing others out there who share my love affair with the sea can relate. These latest events have come on like squalls that seems so distant but kick ass just as we're dropping the outer jibs - no mercy.
I find myself waking up at night, the reality check that it's really real; then merciful dream land - all things beautifully wet and wild, wind, sea, sand and surf. As long as the gulls cry, and days and nights bring the sound of that endless pounding on the beach I'll know all's well...

[supthecreek]

Wow Randy... the "disc surgery thread" was out of my realm.... till I heard about  your diagnosis. Crap, that sucks, plain and simple.
Life is what we get, and facing it head on, as you are, is the only real course.
I wish you the best, and suspect you will continue to live life with all vigor!

sterbo.... be diligent and proactive with your Doctors.... expect the best results.
I hope all goes well for you!