spondylolisthesis - grade 3

• By algia247
• Posted April 13, 2009 at 9:17 am
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I wish I could help you cause I am kinda in the same position but my diagnose is thoracic spondylosis DDD lumbar and sacrum so my spine from T10-T12 and L1-L5 plus sacrum and is not looking so good .And I am scared too and I wont know what treatment will be until after my x-ray and MRI . To me you should get a second opinion from another spine Dr. before making a desicion, thats what I'm going to do soon I see what my MRI looks like.

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• By barbaray
• Posted April 13, 2009 at 11:25 am
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I have (diagnosed) spondylolisthesis and spondylosis but I am far from being an expert.

However, "tomicheri," I doubt very much if your tingling numb left hand has anything to do with the spondylolisthesis.

From what I read, spinal fusion brings with it a lot of additional problems. For this reason I myself decided against having it done even though I am in pretty constant pain.

You might want to read up on fusion and get another opinion from a spinal expert, not just a physician.

I would be interested in what you decide and what the hand thing turns out to be. Meantime, warm wishes and Happy Spring from

Barbara

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• By deebelle
• Posted April 14, 2009 at 9:39 am
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I have the same thing....l5 over s1. I have had it for years and it has not worsened. Your pinky finger has NOTHING to do with that....Nothing!!!!

Do not and I repeat "DO NOT" take one Dr's opinion. Go for a second opinion or even a third.
My back is very bad and my neurosurgeon is an honest man and does not feel I will benefit from surgery....that may change...but he goes the conservative way as should you!!

I know you are scared. I am as well but back surgery does not always work and can lead to you being just as bad off or worse. Please read up on it. I have gotten a lot of infromation off the internet. Make sure its a good site though. You may also want to join some other on-line support groups. I post on MDjunction as well as a couple more believe it or not. At team inspire is where I have my friends from cyberspace and get additional support!

Read up on anatomy as well. That will help you to realize there is no way your finger has anything to do with the vertebra slippage. Who know, you might have gotten that as a teenager. Lot of evidence suggests it occurs then.....read up on all you can!!

You are in my thoughts. Write anytime and my email is on my profile...Don't be afraid to write me......

Hugs;
Dee

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• By nyla0620
• Posted April 16, 2009 at 2:58 pm
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Wow! I have learned a lot from reading this discussion alone, bascily more than from my Neuro. She has put me on Cyclobenzaprine/10mg muscle relaxers. Which I try not to take at all, what I would like to do is try to find a way to let the body heal itself, if this is possible, because I am not a fan of any type of medicines.
Is there anyone else out there that share my feelings?

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• By tomicheri
• Posted April 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm
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Hi thanks for responding. I have had a 2nd opinion from San Francisco Spine University and the had me fill out my pre admission papers for surgery but I couldn't go through with it. My doctor said I was born with my condition since I never had any trauma as a teenager. The reason I was asking about my finger being numb is it possible that it is pinching my nerves? And if it is progressing to slip I assumed it may be pinching a nerve that's causing my hand to go numb? Lately I have been having trouble when I go to stand up, very unstable! a couple of times I just fell as soon as I stood up, I couldn't hold myself up. And Iam getting weaker in my lower back area. I'm afraid of it slippen and being paralyzed. Do you have trouble with stability? I hope it's not progressing, even if it is I couldn't bring myself to have surgery on my back. Thanks for writing, if I may ask? What if any issues(standing, laying down, sitting etc..) do you have in everyday life? Any weakness, pain etc..?

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• By deebelle
• Posted April 16, 2009 at 9:41 pm
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I have the slippage L5 over S1. I have a pinched nerve right now that is causing a ton of leg pain. I have severe facet joint arthritis and I have 5 bulging disks...as they call it degenerative disk disease. I have spinal canal stenosis at L3-4 andless severe at L4-L5.
As you can see it is a lot..I get very wobbly at times and look like I have been drinking..but I don't!. I use a cane all the time now because I am so unstable....what you have to realize is that I have had this for 10 years now or maybe a little more.
I can sit forever as it doesn't hurt at all. At nite I have leg spasms all the time that continually wake me up. Now, they really hurt!!
The pinched nerve in lumbar spine where your slippage is would be causing leg pain with weakness and difficulty standing and walking..such is my case.

thats about it....oh, i wrote about my consevative neurosurgeon...I called today to make another appt, after having gone thru pain management and he has left the practice.....now ain't that a hoot!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say I was in tears. I will now have to find another doctor. I have an appt scheduled in two weeks with one of his Dr's in his practice there.
I trusted this Doc to give me good advice and he is gone......needless to say I am regrouping tonite!!!

Don't be afraid of being paralyzed as the spinal cord itself does not go thru lumbar spine...app. just to the waist.....then there are a bunch of nerves they call the horses tail that extend out thru the vertebra.....

read up a little as I mentioned...that should ease your mind a lot...at least I hope it does!!

hugs and blessings;
Dee

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• By MORNINGDOVE
• Posted April 17, 2009 at 12:51 pm
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Ialso have this condition both lower lumbar as well as cervical. I do have pinched nerves and it does cause numbness in my left hand as well as left fingers.This is due to the cervical conditions-I am not going to take the risk of surgery for I have heard that there are alot of risk involved. All I can say is read up on the conditions and weigh the options and what the out come is. We are each different so what may be right for one may be wrong for another. Wish you the best

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• By looselinks
• Posted May 1, 2009 at 11:20 am
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If the numbness in your fingers is just in the thumb, second and third fingers, you might have carbal tunnel syndrome. If the numbness and tingling is in the third, fourth and pinky, it is cubiltal tunnel sy7ndrome. These conditions can both be helped by bracing. Also, where are your hands when you sleep? That can cause pinched nerves.
If it is an allover effect , then it is probably pinched nerves in your cervical area.
As far as surgery for slippage , surgery will relieve the pain. The only problem is that sometimes, after spine fusion on one level, the next level above will go , and if you fix that one, the next will go, etc. If you can find a Feldenkreis therapist, he/she can work on your problem and help the pain. Also there are treatments live VAX-D that stretch the spine that you might investigate. The problem with seeing another surgeon for a second opinion is that surgeons operate! That's what they do, so that's what they recommend.
From someone who has had 5 back surgeries and is scheduled for a complete spine fusion.

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• By Lorraine16
• Posted May 1, 2009 at 2:09 pm
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I have had the spinal fusion surgery. It is called a posterior lumbar interbody fusion. I have titanium discs that replaced the ones that were removed. The surgery was for spondylotheseis at L4,L5 and S1. My first surgery was done 10 years ago. I went on to have 4 more because I developed every complication that could happen. My surgeon told me that the slippage was at the point if I had done nothing the nerve would very likely have been severed by the vertbrae slipping. Then I would not be able to walk. I had 3 different opinions before I had the surgery done. I am able to walk but not far. I am limited with what I can do. I live in pain all the time. I have to say that I had more pain after the surgery than I did before. I also have nerve damage in my left leg and foot from L5. It has taken me a long time to rebuild my life after the surgery. It is a long story and believe me, I gave up so much, my career, my dream home, my health because now I have heart disease and arthritis. As you can tell from my picture I am not old but I sure do feel like it most days. I work on my depression on a daily basis because I refuse to give in to it. The one thing I did not do was get addicted to all the pain meds that were necessary after the surgeries.
I do not believe my surgeon did anything wrong. He was very supportive and kind. He saw me through all the surgeries. I would not have had another surgeon touch me. He saw me through a heart attack where I went into cardiac arrest the day after my last surgery. I am glad he was my doctor.
I do not recommend the surgery to others because I don't believe the changes in my life were worth going through it. My life is nothing like I want but I am making the most of what I have. Please do your research, talk with others who have had the fusion surgery before you make your decision. It is definitely not an easy surgery to recover from. Recovery time is long, difficult and very painful. Please don't let anyone tell you different.
I will be happy to talk with anyone about the surgeries.

Lorraine

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• By looselinks
• Posted May 3, 2009 at 12:09 pm
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I agree with Lorainne. Sometimes not having surgery will cause worse problems. The stenosis in my cervical spine was so severe, that the neurosurgeon was afraid that it would cause paralysis if not taken care of. This was confirmed by an ortho surgeon as well.
After the surgery which was sucessful, I developed thoracic problems where the need for more surgery. The same thing with my 3 lumbar surgeries. Now I am scheduled for a full spinal fusion in June.

Would I have had the first surgery if I had known what lay ahead? I don't know.

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• By Ashntorsmom
• Posted May 20, 2009 at 10:47 am
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Hello,
I was having horrible pain in my right leg, sitting, standing, laying and walking was impossible to do. I was put on so many different pain meds and even they didn't help. I went to a Chiropractor and was told I had a herniated disk. A few months after his treatments, the pain was unbelievable. I decided to go to an orthopedist.

I was 19 when I had my first surgery done 1995, second one 1996. I had a grade 4 (almost 5) slip of my L 3,4,5. I saw close to 6 different doctors until I found one who was actually willing to help me (Dr. Randal Betz Temple University Pa). He now is head at Shriners in Philadelphia I believe. I to this day will say he works miracles!!!!

My first surgery (I was cut from my neck down to my butt) was about 10 hours and I had pedicle screws and rods inserted along with a bone graft fusion from my hip. My second surgery was about 8 hours (anterior they cut me from my belly button down) and they inserted a cage along with more bone graft around my spine. To be totally honest, the 2nd surgery hurt worst than the first.
I remember being scared out of my mind (I had a 1 yr old during all of this). It is scary when they start talking about the risks and complications, but that goes with everything. I had total faith in Dr. Betz and knew I could not live with the pain I was in. I can still remember waking up after the first surgery and the leg pain was 100% gone.

It's been 14 years almost since I've had it done and I have had no type of complications. My hardware didn't reject, and I've had good bowel and bladder functions.

I have read some of the other stories and feel for those who surgery hasn't been able to help. Hopefully everything will work out well for you and others.

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