TOTALLY RANDOM POST II

[CharlesU Farley]

So you had a laminotomy after your initial laminectomy? Or just a trimming of bone spurs near or at the lamina that resulted from the first go-round?

My reading tells me that there's a greater failure rate in second spine surgeries, even if only in the same -general- area, not necessarily -the same exact- location, as long as it's close enough to previous scar tissue to require peeling the original scar tissue back, thus increasing the odds of tearing the dura or fucking up the nerves there, simply due to the initial scar tissue from the first go, growing into/onto to the dura or the nerves in that area.

Was your second go at it a laminotomy? How did you fare?

Some rather abysmal stats put the second surgery at a ~30% success rates. I'd buy a lottery ticket with those odds, but my primary wiring harness in my spine needs/wants something closer to Powerball odds re. failures. Like, you know, maybe 1:1,000,000.

If you're willing, please tell me what you know and what your experience was with your expectations.

Acknowledging that each patient and surgeon, even day, is potentially a different outcome.

I don't have a weakness for opiates, and made my way past the first several different surgeries (knee, spine, prostatectomy, etc.) with minimal issue with them, despite having lots of oxycodone on hand, minus any carrier like acetaminophen (*still have a fair amount of the nasty little ineffective buggers lying about), other than for constipation and not liking being 'downed out' perpetually very much at all (*I noted they offered me no pharmaceutical coke or hallucinogens; cheap bastards!!), but survived the biggest pain in the ass, constipation, by taking a variety of pills, including some 'organics', to combat that miserable feature of the things.

(*The draw to opiates has ALWAYS befuddled me, by the way... Walking uphill through fucking beach sand is no recreational buzz, in my opinion; make life faster or prettier, by all means, but doubling the required effort toward movement is a non-starter for my list of recreational pharmacological pursuits).

Omfg, here I thought I was the only one!

Don't get me wrong, a good opiate buzz can feel good for a _little_ bit, but I don't want to feel like that all, most or even part of the time. And I absolutely demand that I get whatever codone they choose, oxy or hydro, that it contain absolutely no acetaminophen. The R.N.'s will inevitably ask me why, and I will tell them, if you've ever given a Mucumyst nebulizer treatment to a 6-year-old, who got into a fistful of orange flavored Tylenol thinking it was candy, ate it and you were hoping to keep her liver from fucking rotting out, you'll understand.

Then I explain the horrible Therapeutic Index numbers, and the fact that I already take Advil on a fairly regular basis for arthritis and the MD's understand.

And by the way, the stats you give for success rates for first and second surgeries neurosurgeries are right on from what I remember of my anecdotal experience, _many_ years ago.

Having had herniated discs in both sacral and thoracic vertebrae, I understand the pain factor but for me I just absolutely refused surgery and luckily things worked out for me.

Like Harley just now said, sometimes you just don't have a choice and ya do whatcha gotta do.

 

[tobedetermined]

Was your second go at it a laminotomy? How did you fare?

Just a trim. The surgeon said that it was new growth around the area of the laminectomy. My first op was in Feb 2018. The dremel job was in April 2020. Now, in late 2024 I am in need of something again . . .

I don't have a weakness for opiates, and made my way past the first several different surgeries (knee, spine, prostatectomy, etc.) with minimal issue with them, despite having lots of oxycodone on hand,

I am the same. With my kidney stones, I always traveled with Oxys. Whenever I went out of country I would make sure my script was current in case Customs pulled me over - it might have helped but I was never challenged. I only took them when I was in severe need so I have thrown out hundreds that just got stale. I only took them for the 1st day after my last op and then I switched to some homemade bubble hash that helped me to survive the week.

My MRI is in a month so I will know more then. At least this time I can still walk reasonably well although the leg cramps are impressive at times.