From TKR to Spinal Stenosis - Any Others?

[NLK]

It has been a while since I posted, but I wanted to see if anyone else here has followed Mr. Arthritis into their spine. Two years after my TKR due to arthritis, the hip on that side really started hurting. It really has been hurting since before the TKR, but never this bad. So I finally got the courage to go back to Knee Guy to complain. The good news is Knee Guy says hip is not arthritic! He sends me to Spine Guy. Spine Guy says x-rays of lower spine aren't good - orders MRI. Insurance refuses to pay for MRI until I do 4 weeks of physical therapy. Did that. It was good exercise and my range of motion has improved, but that stinking little ache is still there in the hip. We are appealing the insurance co. decision and hope to find out what is really going on. Spine Guy says he can see signs of arthritis in the lower spine with bone spurs probably causing nerve problems. It has been lots of waiting and putting up with the pain. Alieve didn't work so I'm trying a Rx form of Motrin. I'm kind of annoyed that I have done everything they asked and put up with it for so long and all they can give me is Motrin? I stopped working and really only need pain med when I have to be in a car for more than an hour (not driving). Our Summer vacation is not going to be fun. Anyway... if anyone else has been down this road, I'd love to hear what I can expect in the way of treatment. Thanks. NLK

 

[Texas]

I have been down that road with Ins co's I guess anything they can get out of they will. My did pay mine after the appeal. Hope then give in and pay...I sure hope your pain goes away soon............please keep us posted....Oh and welcome.......

 

[dew]

I have the spinal stenosis problem as well. I had TKR 2 1/2 years ago and the spinal stenosis started about 4 years ago. I have had two steroid shots into the lower spine. One was for the right side and worked real well, but the one for the left side didn't work as well. I still have some pain, but not as much as previously. It's difficult for me to walk very far without having to stop to allow the pain to subside before starting again. The past three months I have been able to get by without pain medication. My heart goes out to you.

I am a disabled Veteran and the VA has been my insurance.

 

[brs0660]

Sounds like youa are having a tough time with Mr Arthritis. I showed arthritis in my back when I was 30. It has been behaving since by RTKR however my Left Knee is a hunk of junk. I have put it on notice...that it to
can be replaced:hehe:
Hope you get some relief soon
Barb

 

[JudyS]

NLK
You can see my Hippy,kneesie, spiney thread. I have had a 3 level cervical spine fusion, knee microfracture and synovectomy, thoracic spinal fusion 7 levels and yes I do have lumbar stenosis!!!
I keep asking for a new spine, my doc assures me I'll be the first on his list to get one:hehe:
I am not a normal case so don't think you are headed into what I have endured. Spinal surgery in the thoracic region is quite uncommon.
I have had many sets of epidural lumbar injections with varrying degrees of help. I am scheduled to have lumbar injections this comming saturday. I am looking forward to it.
I have been in physical therapy learning core stabalization exercises on and off for the last 3 years. I was just really getting full on the program when I had an eye hemorrhage last week, now I am not allowed to do any exercise until this gets resolved or figured out in some way.
I do use an ice pad a lot on my back as well.
judy

 

[Jamie]

NLK, my husband's family had a strong history of arthritis and he ended up with it too. All of his 3 back surgeries have been for spinal stenosis. The first two were on the very uppermost vertebrae. It took two for the surgery to work because back then (1982) it was REALLY tricky surgery to be so close to the brain. It probably still is tricky, but then there were only 2 places in the whole country to go for that second surgery. He recovered fine from both of these two and has no neck pain. Both surgeres were laminectomies (probably didn't spell that right). In that surgery, they cut out a small piece of the back of the vertebra to release the pressure on the spinal cord. In one surgery, they also had to add tissue from his thigh muscle sheath to the covering over the spinal cord to further lessen pressure. But, as I said, the surgery worked and he has had no problem with it.

But about 4 years ago, he did start having some pretty serious lower back pain....maybe like what you are having. We found things had really changed in the spinal surgery world since the early 80's and the surgeon we located here in the Kansas City area was superb. He spent about 5 hours scraping and clipping calcium deposits and spurs from 4 of the vertebrae and ended up fusing either 2 or 3 (I can't remember now) with an H-shaped piece of metal to hold everything in place. I worried that Chris's back would not be as flexible, but once again, he is just fine. It's pretty amazing.

Chris had no luck at all with therapy or those injections. He tried them several times with no change in pain levels. But everyone is different, so the conservative methods for pain relief are sometimes good to try first.

But, just as with joint replacement, do your research and find a good surgeon. Ask the same type of questions during the interview, find one you trust and go with it. I was so amazed to find that after 5 hours of what I would think would be tedious surgery, our guy was PUMPED when he came out to tell me how well everything worked. The normal person would have been dragging, but he loved his work so much that he was literally bouncing around as he talked.

Good luck to you....even though it's back surgery, you can still post about any concerns or questions here in the Lifestyles forum. The BoneSmart family will provide whatever support we can - even though it's not a hip or knee.

 

[Josephine]

It's actually quite astounding, as Judy and others will confirm, how adaptable the body is and how it can compensate for loss of function in certain areas. Spinal fusion can be extensive and yet the patient adapts. I have a video I used to use in my study days, a 15 yr old girl who had a moderate case of scoliosis and yet when her thoracic spine was fixed with Harrington rods, she was able to continue swimming and other athletics.