I have been diagnosed with hernaited disc, a disc with a tear and dds, should I have a spinal fusion?

I have been to chiropractors for years, PT on my own and I had a epidural shot that didn't work. Medication only helps sometimes. I am undecided if I should still go to pain management for them to "try" and help with the pain or just go for the fusion. My neurosurgeon said that I need to get one done. Help please!!!

I have been diagnosed with hernaited disc, a disc with a tear and dds, should I have a spinal fusion?
I had a L3/L4 injury so I can identify with the pain. I was offered surgery and , while the doctors recommended it, I went and talked with people that had taken that route.





Not to many of them were happy with the results.





Now that is just the people *I" talked too. While my disk was herniated, it was intact.





Bottom line is that YOUR injury is different from many others.. and my answer is no better then anyone else's. BUT.. talk to people that have been there and done both ways.. THEN decide.





(BTW) I passed on surgery.. that was 10+ years ago and after 1 year+ of hard work I was pain free and 90% mobility,


(and I have a great set of MRI's hanging in my office).





good luck... whichever course you choose.





.
Reply:Be very careful with the chiropractors if you already know you have a spine injury.





I have a cervical spine injury from an auto accident. I was treated by a chiropractor for about a year and kept getting worse. To make a long story short I ended up having 2 spine fusion operations and permanent nerve damage partly due to the 'adjustments' by the chiropractor. When it gets to the point that you know you have a spine injury you need to get to an Orthopedic surgeon ASAP or you may risk nerve damage like I have.





That was several years ago and I am still in a pain management program for chronic pain. If I would have had the surgery in a timely fashion and had not been injured by the 'adjustments' I might not be disabled today.





I guess there are chiropractors that do people a lot of good,,,but the bad ones can hurt you,,permanently.





Here are a few links that I use often that may be of some help to you.





http://www.webmd.com/back-pain/default.h...





http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/video...





http://health.discovery.com/encyclopedia...





http://www.best4sites.info/08/medical-ca...





Here's a link that will help you find a doctor in your area


http://doctor.webmd.com/physician_finder...








Good luck. As you can see, you are going to get different answers that are all true. That's why I stick with the information from the medical professionals on the links I gave you above. Your health is too important to trust to just anyone with a computer and access to Yahoo.
Reply:Love it, your Neurosurgeon stated you needed one done and left the decision up to you? So if the Orthopedic Surgeon refuses to give you fusion, what happens next? If the Pain Management refuses, what happens then? Usually the Neurosurgeon 'tells' you based on his/her experience, let alone results x-ray, mri, nct, what you should try next. I have never been given a choice, was told no way I will ever have surgery unless it is a life and death situation. Best of Luck
Reply:I'm going to answer this from a PT standpoint from what I see after the surgery. Some people have great results, up and at it day after surgery but there are others who have a difficult time coping with the pain from the surgery and some may even have lingering pain after the surgery. I think you should be aware that the fusion may not get rid of your pain right away.