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Oct 11, 2008, 03:18 AM
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Member Since: Sep 2007
Location: Hawaii
Posts: 7
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Aloha Mouse!
Wow! You and I are alot alike with the exception that I had all my surgeries (three of them!) within the first 4 years of dealing with my herniated discs and sciatica. All of them failed and I am now entering my 12TH year of living with sciatica and severe back pain.
From what little I can gather from your short post, you have somehow managed to "live with the pain" for the past 13 years. I know what that is like to be FORCED to "live with it" due to my first doctor not being very good with chronic pain patients. Luckily, I only had to deal with her for the first 18 months of my now dozen years of living in CP.
If you've managed to 'live with the pain', yet be very miserable and all that goes with it...I KNOW what it's like, remember?...maybe instead of going into a surgery without talking to others that have had similar surgery to find out what the "odds" are of coming out of it "better off"...May I suggest that you build up a trusting relationship with your doctor who you have finally found to be a compasionate soul and perhaps all you really need is a mild to medium pain medication.
It isn't unheard of for CP patients to take a pain medication every day. Since all of my spine surgeries failed and there was nothing more the surgeons could do (or so they said), I've been taking pain medication for the past 8+ years and probably will for the rest of my life.
My quality of life without the pain medication is almost non-existent and I fall into such deep depressions that I have actually scared myself in the past. However, WITH pain meds, (yes, mine are a narcotic), I at least can feel like I should be alive and try to enjoy my marriage of 30 years and 3 (now adults) children that came with it. Even though I'm on SS disability after struggling with the pain for 8 years, my wife has decided to stay with me and I will be forever grateful for that. That, along with the reduction in pain from the medications, makes my life at least feel worthwhile to live now.
In hindsight, I am actually in MORE pain after the 3 surgeries and wish I'd never had any of them at all!
Ahhhh, if only all of us had a TIME MACHINE. Wouldn't that be nice?
Just my opinion to you. You seem to be an individual of strong character and if you can avoid surgeries at any cost, I'd suggest that. Sometimes, like me, we end up with surgeons who are only chasing the dollar bill and really don't have our best interests in mind. I didn't have much to choose from here in Hawaii and back in 1997 - 2000 the medical care here was practically that of a "developing country". It has come a long way since then, fortunately.
Let us know how things work out for you, OK? I am a very concerned and hopeful fellow member. Good luck! 
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Happily married for 30 years. 3 Children. Lived for 25 yrs in Minnesota then we moved to Hawaii. Have lived here for 20+ yrs so far. Perm. Disabled since 2005 from 3 failed disc surgeries. All started in March 1997. I managed to cry/suffer for 9 yrs as an accountant until I had to "throw in the towel" on a 30 yr Accountant career.
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