Mine was at the other end of the spine, C4-C5.

I didn't get the instant relief described by others here. It was slow enough in coming that I was losing hope, but I noticed a gradual lessening of pain several months later. Over a period of about a year, I was back to near-normal and have been that way since 2005.

It was totally worth having the surgery. I've always thought that the recovery would have been quicker and I would have been left with less permanent damage if I'd had the disk fusion sooner.

I'm so sorry you're hurting.

Mine is herniated L4-L5. I’ve also got slippage and narrowing of the spinal canal. I am seeing”a “board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon who specializes in treating cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spinal disorders, including disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spinal cord compression, and spinal deformities.” (That part is from the website )
I looked at my options and I want my initial evaluation done by someone who specializes in the spine. I’ll exhaust all options before surgery, but I’m starting with the this doctor first. Big part of my issue is my inability to travel in the car - this doctor, and another one from a different orthopedic practice come to Butte for part of the week. Otherwise you have to travel an hour+ to get to see any other back specialists.

I ended up with Medicare A & B (which everyone gets), but I will have to pay for B (about $175 a month) because we are not taking social security for a few more years. I decided on part G (I think that’s right) - a medigap coverage from Mountain Health Co-op (it’s local to this part of the country - I think it covers four states in this area). It’s the company we currently have “Obamacare” with, and it will be about $120 a month, which was less that the top four major companies the insurance agent brought up first. (So you do even have to be careful with an independent agent, she brought those up and then asked if we had any others we wanted to look at and we said yes. The cynical side of me figures her commission was probably greater with the big four, as she did know about Mountain Health, she said she had other clients on it and they were really happy). She was a good agent - she knew her stuff - and was really good at explaining things, and it made this feel much less complicated that it did initially - but it does pay to go into something like this understanding a little bit about it). I got the least expensive drug coverage (.50 a month) because the only medication I take occasionally is for migraines.

It was easy to decide on the supplemental with my back stuff going on - we purchased our current insurance with a $7500 deductible because we never get sick (lol) and hardly ever go to the doctor (you pay a $50 copay to yur primary) but the deductible has to be met before they cover most other things like physical therapy (where I’ve already racked up $1200, or my MRI (which cost $1500 after my 15% discount for paying early). Once I meet my $284-ish deductible on medicare, that stuff would have been covered.

quote:

I decided on part G (I think that’s right) - a medigap coverage from Mountain Health Co-op (it’s local to this part of the country - I think it covers four states in this area).

That's what we got. It covers you all over the country, actually. Any place that takes Medicare.

I've had back issues since my 20s. I have a moderate scoliosis. A few years ago, I was having a lot of pain at L4-L5 from a bulging disc and lifted a heavy turntable which is not my best thinking. The next day, I went to work and ended up taking an ambulance to the hospital as I was no longer able to stand. The MRI showed that I'd broken off the herniated part of the disc - and it lodged further down in the spine - caused oodles of pain. Fortunately, the broken off piece of the disc dissolved over time. A subsequent scan described the L4-L5 disc as "obliterated".

The most helpful doc to me in dealing with my back issues was actually an osteopath. Betwen meds and her work, I've been able to function pretty well.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
I’m able to get relief flat out on my stomach or back, though I still feel a weird buzzing in my leg. I have the numbness that comes and goes, it’s pins and needles that starts all the way down in my foot.

Be careful with this....if you don't get relief soon, you may want to look into more aggressive treatments so you don't end up with permanent issues. Even though my pain was instantly relieved by the surgery, there is still to this day, 20+ years later, a spot on the outside of my left foot that is completely numb. And I still occasionally feel the weird buzzing. My calf muscle in that leg is also significantly weaker than the other leg - I can't really raise up on my tiptoes on that side. I did a bunch of PT after the surgery but it didn't fix it. The doc said the nerve was permanently damaged from the compression and again, it was only about 12 weeks between onset of symptoms and surgery for me.

I hope you are able to find something that works!

Sadly I’m limited by doctor and hospital schedules. I will call the orthopedic office this week (the referral went out on Friday) and not wait for them to call me.

Late to the party. Nothing to add other than jodi, that bites and I hope you get relief soon.