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Hi Alder,

About forty years ago, I hurt my back moving boxes into a new office. My lower back was really killing me. So, I went to a local doctor in the San Fernando Valley (Calif) who gave me an expensive, supposedly full physical, and pronounced me fit and fine. Yet, I still had great lower back pain and the doctor explained it away with a lot of mumbo jumbo about soft tissue this or that.

A friend had a family doctor in Orange County and, out of desperation, I went to him. He prescribed a multi-vitamin containing B12 -- and within two weeks the back pain was gone.

For forty years I have taken B12 (1000 mg time release) and have seldom had any back problem.

About two weeks ago, I ran out of B12 and have not had a chance to get a new supply yet. Guess what? My lower back pain is back and the only thing which helps is to lay on a heating pad. I know that when I get my B12, the pain will stop.

This may or may not help you. Only you and your doctor know that. However, before I had surgery -- I believe I would try most anything.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill
quote:
Originally posted by alderdweller:
I've just found out I have a herniated disk and the orthopedic Doc is recommending surgery. Any readers here had back surgery, if so...was it successful? Any recommendations on Docs?
I am very hesitant to have this done, but tired of the pain. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


Good Evening,
I am the firefighter from Rogersville who was crushed by a wall at a working house fire on February 8th. May I recommend the Spine and Neuro Center in Huntsville. I had a broken back due to the accident (among many other injuries). My doctor's name is Dr. Jason Banks. I am currently under his care. He completed a spinal fusion on my back. As of today, I am in therapy but I am able to move my back in all directions with little discomfort. I have about 3 more months of rehab. I would STRONGLY recommend Dr. Banks. Here is his website.

Link
quote:
Originally posted by MLentz:
quote:
Originally posted by alderdweller:
I've just found out I have a herniated disk and the orthopedic Doc is recommending surgery. Any readers here had back surgery, if so...was it successful? Any recommendations on Docs?
I am very hesitant to have this done, but tired of the pain. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


Good Evening,
I am the firefighter from Rogersville who was crushed by a wall at a working house fire on February 8th. May I recommend the Spine and Neuro Center in Huntsville. I had a broken back due to the accident (among many other injuries). My doctor's name is Dr. Jason Banks. I am currently under his care. He completed a spinal fusion on my back. As of today, I am in therapy but I am able to move my back in all directions with little discomfort. I have about 3 more months of rehab. I would STRONGLY recommend Dr. Banks. Here is his website.

Link
please dont get me wrong, i hope you fully recover quickly, and i wish firemen never got hurt. but its gotta be kinda cool to know a burning house fell on you and you lived. kina hard to top that.
I had my back surgery in 1996, I work as a nurse, and I will say that mine worked great. Yes, there are days it may hurt after I have pulled and tugged on 300lb people but a few motrin and I am better. Dr H. Evan Zeiger did mine he is at Brookwood Medical Center in B'ham. I remember when I went I asked how long it would be before I could go back to work, and he went and got his partner and had me ask again. They said they never got asked that question.
quote:
Originally posted by Bill Gray:
Hi Alder,

About forty years ago, I hurt my back moving boxes into a new office. My lower back was really killing me. So, I went to a local doctor in the San Fernando Valley (Calif) who gave me an expensive, supposedly full physical, and pronounced me fit and fine. Yet, I still had great lower back pain and the doctor explained it away with a lot of mumbo jumbo about soft tissue this or that.

A friend had a family doctor in Orange County and, out of desperation, I went to him. He prescribed a multi-vitamin containing B12 -- and within two weeks the back pain was gone.

For forty years I have taken B12 (1000 mg time release) and have seldom had any back problem.

About two weeks ago, I ran out of B12 and have not had a chance to get a new supply yet. Guess what? My lower back pain is back and the only thing which helps is to lay on a heating pad. I know that when I get my B12, the pain will stop.

This may or may not help you. Only you and your doctor know that. However, before I had surgery -- I believe I would try most anything.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill


The vitamin sounds like a better way to go. It would definetely be worth a try. I have a bulging disc & bone spurs in my neck, so I will be giving this a try. Surgery is something that I would only have done if I had tried everything else known to man. Bill, does the vitamin necessarily have to be prescibed by a Dr. or can you get the same quality from an over the counter vitamin?
In 1991 I had gone for 12 years of severe pain in my back. Local drs.said I had herniated disc,I had not been able to lay in a bed for at least 5 years. I slept on the floor if I slept at all.I was taking all kinds of pain meds. nothing helped. I went to Dr. Mark Hadly at UAB. I had spinal stenosis (severe). He did surgery, I had to have NO pain meds. after the surgery. I would let him do anything he felt I needed. I was told by my family dr. last week that he got a letter from the Kirklin Clinic and that Dr. Hadly had retired. I hope not. I am facing surgery again but not for the same thing, I would love to see him again. He is the best. As for the B12. I took it but it did not help the back pain. Maybe I did not have the same problems Bill does.
quote:
Originally posted by alderdweller:
I've just found out I have a herniated disk and the orthopedic Doc is recommending surgery. Any readers here had back surgery, if so...was it successful? Any recommendations on Docs?
I am very hesitant to have this done, but tired of the pain. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I injured my back in Aug 2006, two herniated disks at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I went to physical therapy, and tried the decompression therapy at a chiropractor;neither gave any relief. My doctor wanted to do surgery as a last resort, and most doctors do. When there has been no relief after 6 months, surgery is a good option. But I waited 15 months until the pain in my calf, hip, buttock,shin,and foot got to be too much to bare. I had surgery in Nov 2007, a double microdiskectomy and was pain free that day, other than of course the pain from the incision. It's only a 1 to 2 inch scar...leave the hospital the next morning...not driving for 2 weeks...and returning to work in 4-6 weeks depending on the amount of physical activity required. You return to an office job earlier. It was the BEST decision that I could have made; I had to put aside what I had heard from others saying to never have back surgery.

My doctor is Cyrus Ghavam at The Orthopaedic Center in Huntsville on Franklin St., next to Huntsville Hospital. The famous doctor James Andrews in Birmingham said that Dr.Ghavam is the best he knows of anywhere with spinal surgery and care. And I attest to that.
quote:
Originally posted by Do the Right Thing:
quote:
Originally posted by alderdweller:
I've just found out I have a herniated disk and the orthopedic Doc is recommending surgery. Any readers here had back surgery, if so...was it successful? Any recommendations on Docs?
I am very hesitant to have this done, but tired of the pain. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

I injured my back in Aug 2006, two herniated disks at L4-L5 and L5-S1. I went to physical therapy, and tried the decompression therapy at a chiropractor;neither gave any relief. My doctor wanted to do surgery as a last resort, and most doctors do. When there has been no relief after 6 months, surgery is a good option. But I waited 15 months until the pain in my calf, hip, buttock,shin,and foot got to be too much to bare. I had surgery in Nov 2007, a double microdiskectomy and was pain free that day, other than of course the pain from the incision. It's only a 1 to 2 inch scar...leave the hospital the next morning...not driving for 2 weeks...and returning to work in 4-6 weeks depending on the amount of physical activity required. You return to an office job earlier. It was the BEST decision that I could have made; I had to put aside what I had heard from others saying to never have back surgery.

My doctor is Cyrus Ghavam at The Orthopaedic Center in Huntsville on Franklin St., next to Huntsville Hospital. The famous doctor James Andrews in Birmingham said that Dr.Ghavam is the best he knows of anywhere with spinal surgery and care. And I attest to that.


I forgot the most important thing. If you do have surgery, follow the doctor's instructions. I had a friend who had the same surgery and he never had any problems either. Don't bend forward from your waist for 6 weeks, don't lift anything over 5 pounds for 6 weeks, walk 15 mins 3 times a day starting the day of the surgery, do the couple of exercises shown 3 times a day, and get in and out of bed the way they will show you before leaving the hospital.

I say all of this because if you have surgery and the results are like mine, you'll feel so good and pain free that you'll be tempted to do things that you shouldn't. The pain before surgery had beaten me into a state of reasonableness, and I followed every instruction not wanting to feel that pain again. And I haven't!
I saw on "The Doctors" how there is a new back surgery where they go in through the side muscles (instead of cutting your lumbar muscles) & replace discs with new ones made from adult stem cells. The guy that was on the show was up walking around & said he felt GREAT after just 3 days. The surgery is apparently very non-invasive.
My dad (age 69) has developed spinal stenosis and scholiosis since his retirement 7 years ago. He has been to 3 surgeons (Dr. Hadley, one in Decatur and one in Florence) with no hope of relieving the pain. He's tried physical and water therapy and spinal injections with no relief. Does anyone on here have any advice or referrals...any info would be appreciated.
quote:
Originally posted by alderdweller:
I've just found out I have a herniated disk and the orthopedic Doc is recommending surgery. Any readers here had back surgery, if so...was it successful? Any recommendations on Docs?
I am very hesitant to have this done, but tired of the pain. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!


Dr. Rhett Murray in Huntsville is great. My wife had a ruptured disk in her neck, and Dr. murray did a wonderful job. Outpatient surgery at Huntsville Hospital, small incision in the FRONT! of the neck. This happened a year ago and now you cannot see the incision site. No problems after recovery period at home.
She now has 3 bulged and 1 protruding lumbar disks and Dr. Murray says absolutely no surgery needed, physical therapy and excercise to strengthen back muscles.

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