Spinal stenosis

My friend has had this condition for several years.
She has had three injections into her spine with degrees of success.
The first two were done by the consultant, first OK, second better but the third done at a different hospital by a nurse has been the best of the three.
Much pain relief although she takes painkillers all the timeGabapentin I.think.

I had this condition for many years and also tried many therapies. My only option was surgery, I had a TLIF and haven't looked back.

My mum had the surgery in her eighties which gave her great relief.

That's amazing Nannytopsy.

Thanks for reassuring messages

I’m waiting for surgery to place a new disc, and because of that, my spinal space has narrowed a bit. I think this is different surgery from yours though Atqui.
I also had a steroid spinal injection, but it didn’t work, so surgery is the only option for me.

Nannytopsy

My mum had the surgery in her eighties which gave her great relief.

Good to hear. A member of our family has been diagnosed with this, waiting to hear what will happen next.

I have this and last summer was admitted to hospital for 5 days as an emergency because of pain. It affects my neck and causes hip pain.
3 months ago I got steroid injections for neck and for my hip. A wonderful result on my neck but didn't help my hip at all.
My consultant said that surgery was always a last resort.

Sorry to rain on anyone’s parade but my sister in law had such an operation several years ago. The pain is less however her balance is not good. Presumably there was nerve damage as she says her feet don’t feel as if they belong to her body incidentally dhe has never driven since the op

Which operation did she have Gwllt?

I had a full spine MRI this week and fear this may be the direction in which I am heading. God I hate this wretched aging lark .......

Hello Atqui I'm sorry you have this. Fellow sufferer here surgery not indicated yet I am told so the answer is lots of physio to keep me going. I too have a foot and lower leg that doesn't belong to me. Thank heaven for pain killers.

My toes already have “neuropathy” No one seems to know of that’s from the back . Pain from the back goes down both legs . The list of possible complications including driving being affected is v . long, but I’m 75 and thing if it gets worse I won’t want op later. Such a dilemma

LadyGracie

I had this condition for many years and also tried many therapies. My only option was surgery, I had a TLIF and haven't looked back.

I looked upTLIF and I don’t think that’s been suggested. Think it’s removing bone to open up the canal. I don’t know that consultants explanation was clear enough.

Atqui I did have 2 decompression surgeries prior to my TLIF unfortunately neither gave any relief.

My consultant said I was just unlucky.

Now you are asking Madeline i was just told it was an op for spinal stenosis It was a few years ago and I only see her a couple times a year and don’t feel I can phone and ask. However I think the gap down the centre of the spine had narrowed and basically the channel was widened

LadyGracie

Atqui I did have 2 decompression surgeries prior to my TLIF unfortunately neither gave any relief.

My consultant said I was just unlucky.

You were very brave Lady Gracie.

The surgical team give you this information about your surgery, so that you are fully informed about the procedure, along with the potential complications, and intended outcomes, so that you can give informed consent for them to perform the surgery.
It is 'not just to cover themselves'; if you are not fully informed about the intended procedure - that is not a good thing.
Ask as many questions of your team as you need, and for as much written information that they can give you, and then you can ask more questions until you are satisfied and can give 'informed consent' for your procedure.
Good luck.

Nannytopsy

My mum had the surgery in her eighties which gave her great relief.

My sister had the surgery a few years ago, she was pleased.

She had no further pains, she did quite a lot of physio after.

Our elderly friend was crippled by a stenosis which the NHS said meant a two year wait so he paid for the operation and is now fine - on holiday abroad this month! He wasn't insured but he dipped into savings. I think it cost about £20k.

My husband had the procedure a few years ago with a very positive result. The operation was quick and he was soon over it, only stayed in hospital overnight because he was last on the list and not out of surgery until after 5.00 pm.
He has a lot of other problems but that one was successfully sorted.
He had all sorts of dire warnings from physios before the surgery but the consultant was very reassuring and confident of what was a good result.

Look into red light therapy

I had this done 5 years ago, picking out splinters of the bone with tweezers. 2 nights in hospital. Miraculous. I have since had a hip operaration after 2 tears on crutches. Another miracle woke up the next morning with no pain. Thank you NHS

They do have to tell you of likely or even possible problems that can arise (as I recently discovered with cancer treatment) but that does mean that all or even any of them will affect you significantly. It's a risk you have to weigh up.