Anyone had back surgery before?

[aka Cthulhu]

Gonna go get an MRI in the next week or so, for an operation that'll put screws in my lower back.

Gotta be honest, somewhat still rather freaked out about the entire thing. I'm telling myself that it'll just be minor stuff, though the doctor mentioning the risk of paralysis isn't helping out in that matter. Not like I can back out of this. Due to my condition getting worse, my posture is in turn getting worse which is doing havoc to the rest of my body.

So, anyone care to share their experiences?

[The Unconquered Sun]

A few people I know did, most said it was the best thing they ever did. It was a pain management thing.
Best of luck to you, I hope it helps

[OldDirtyBernie]

If there's something wrong enough that you need surgery, don't put it off. My dad had back problems for nearly 30 years and put it off for too long. They did what they could but he's worse-off now, requiring a cane to walk and occasionally losing feeling in his legs.

My wife, on the other hand, recently had the top vertebra removed (for a matter other than back problems) and recovered really quickly.

[aka Cthulhu]

Yeah, more or less it's gonna be a pain management sort of thing, and it's happening this week. On the 18th, but I have to be on the hospital by the 17th.

According to the doctor, they'll be taking out a piece of my back and then insert the screws to correct my back. I'm still wondering if it's possible to keep the piece of bone they'll take out, or at least take a picture of it.

And, somewhat amusingly: I have an aunt who had a similar procedure done to her, and it was from the same doctor. I asked the doctor about it, and apparently my back is in a worse condition. I find it amusing since my aunt is around 60+ years old.

[saneiac]

I had surgery on my lower back to repair a herniated disc that was pushing against my sciatic nerve. I tried to put it off and/or rationalize not doing it - the pain only flared up about 4 times per year, and lasted about a week each time. I thought I could live with that. However, it eventually got to the point that during a flare up I couldn't transition from sitting to standing without screaming on the way, so I had the operation.

The scariest part was when the doctor told me this: "There's a bundle of nerves running down your spine that's right in front of where we have to work. We need to pull the bundle out of the way. Nerves aren't supposed to be pulled, and they don't stretch, so there may be side effects. In fact, there will almost definitely be side effects. However, we have no way of knowing what they will be. Loss of feeling? Paralysis? Yes, those are possible."

I actually did lose 100% of the feeling in my left foot and, oddly, my left pinky finger, for about a week following the surgery. To this day, if something happens that really jars my lower back (for example, I jump down from something that's a bit higher than I should), a little of that numbness comes back for a few days. So, I have to be careful, but compared to the tear-inducing agony of what I had before, that's something I actually can live with.