March 7, 2014 1:55 PM PST
Hey Jimmy! Take it easy, heal buddy! Time will pass...........you will mend and be back in the wind before you know it!
March 7, 2014 4:42 PM PST
We're prayin' and rootin' for ya Jimmy!
March 7, 2014 9:53 PM PST
Heal Quick Jimmy!
March 7, 2014 11:56 PM PST
hope things go well thinking about surgery for L3 L4 let
me know how things go
I'm doing fine. My surgery was a 1-1/2" incision in the small of my back. The muscle was cut away from the spine just enough to move the muscle out of the way in order to get to a bulging disc and bone spurs. The wound area is hardly painful at all. The pain actually comes from where the muscle tissue was repositioned. Sitting up straight is the way to do things. No bending at the waist. No sitting any longer than 30 minutes at a time; walk. I have some numbness in my right foot but as I said, it may be due to elevated blood sugar caused by the anesthesia. It seems to have dissipated a bit this morning and my blood sugar level is getting back to normal.
What type of surgery are you looking at?......bulging disc, fusion, spurs? What kind of pain are you experiencing? I can't tell you what you may experience with fusion personally. But here's the thing. It won't get better if you do nothing and it may just get worse the older you get.
Also, there are a lot of hacks doing back surgery. Make sure you check around. Talk to a couple of different doctors who don't do back surgery but who they recommend. I live in Lima, Ohio. My doctor told me he wouldn't recommend anyone in Lima, though there are a few surgeons here, and that's why I travelled to Columbus to the Ortho-Neuro clinic.
Laser surgery is NOT the way to go with laminectomy type surgery involving nerves. Those Laser Spine Institutes market well but most insurance companies won't cover them. Cost? 20K-25K out of your pocket. The results of laser surgery, according to my surgeon, are not any better than going in with the knife. He can do laser surgery because he didn't want to be one of those "old School" guys who closes their eyes to progress. He stated to that there is a greater chance of screwing laser surgery up because of the heat and gases produced and because a laser doesn't go around corners. It actually takes longer. One slip can mean terrible results. He feels he has a lot more control over the whole process if he does the cutting.
So please, when you decide you're going to get'er done, shop around and let us know. Damn good thing about forums is all the personal info you can get from those who had the experiences.
Good luck.
Peace
March 8, 2014 4:06 PM PST
Glad to see you are doing well & hope the recovery goes good.I agree with you about getting a second or third opinion from others more qualified to know where to go for the work.Its helped me in the past.
stay positive & take it one day at a time !!!
March 9, 2014 3:49 AM PDT
Good to hear you're doing ok and hope for a speedy complete recovery. Keep the grand kids working in the mean time.
March 9, 2014 6:58 AM PDT
hope your recovery is fast, surgery sucks!!
March 9, 2014 7:27 AM PDT
Wishing you a speedy recovery
March 17, 2014 7:35 AM PDT
Hope everything turns out great for you and you can get back to riding...! Sure wish they had this new surgery tech. when they did mine.... Hell, I'm split up both sides, fused 3 levels with two steel plates and four steel screws.... cold weather sucks now! If you have to do any type of medication..natural is the way to go.
Trippin
March 17, 2014 7:43 AM PDT
Hope everything turns out great for you and you can get back to riding...! Sure wish they had this new surgery tech. when they did mine.... Hell, I'm split up both sides, fused 3 levels with two steel plates and four steel screws.... cold weather sucks now! If you have to do any type of medication..natural is the way to go.
Trippin
With what you have had done you probably were a bit worse off than me. I didn't have a degenerative disc or anything like that. Bond spurs and a bulging disc were putting pressure on my sciatica nerve. But man, I can understand the cold weather thing. I once had a halo brace on for 6 months during the coldest winter months. Damn cold would penetrate the metal screwed into my head and talk about brain freeze!!!!!!
I sure hope I'll feel better than I do now. I feel better than I did but my right foot is so freaking numb (from the surgery) it's like it's one big block of ice. And yet, my foot isn't cold. I really need for that to go away. As a diabetic that kind of peripheral neuropathy is worrisome. But thanks for the well wished dude. And, I hear ya about the natural pain medication. 
Peace
March 18, 2014 1:55 AM PDT
Hey there Brother, God's Speed on your recovery. Don't try anything until completely healed, then ride like the wind.
Be safe
Dragon
March 18, 2014 1:56 AM PDT
The surgeon kept telling me the numbness was caused by inflammation around the nerve sack don't remember how long it took to go away but finally did.Hope all goes well for you,ya know all this snow is going to melt one of these days. Good Rides
March 18, 2014 1:58 AM PDT
Hey there Brother, God's Speed on your recovery. Don't try anything until completely healed, then ride like the wind.
Be safe
Dragon
Thanks brother. Hope to get to meet you this time when we head your way.
Peace
March 18, 2014 1:59 AM PDT
The surgeon kept telling me the numbness was caused by inflammation around the nerve sack don't remember how long it took to go away but finally did.Hope all goes well for you,ya know all this snow is going to melt one of these days. Good Rides
That's damn good to hear Hunter. I have my first post-surgery follow-up on Monday. Hope he tells me the same thing. Thanks again. It takes the edge of knowing.
Peace
March 18, 2014 7:15 AM PDT
Be sure to take it slow bro. I had L3 through L5 fused after an accident (in a semi truck, not my bike) and I tried to get out there too soon and paid for it! You'll know when you are ready of course, just offering some advice from someone who has been there.
March 18, 2014 7:35 AM PDT
Be sure to take it slow bro. I had L3 through L5 fused after an accident (in a semi truck, not my bike) and I tried to get out there too soon and paid for it! You'll know when you are ready of course, just offering some advice from someone who has been there.
Thanks Ric, I do appreciate the advice from those who've been there. Hell, unlike my children, I'm open to advice.
March 24, 2014 8:31 AM PDT
Follow up appointment was today. Wound still draining but looks good so now it's antibiotics just in case. Foot still numb so it's double the neurotin med. I hate meds but if it helps with the numbness. Well, you know. Still not released by the doctor and it will be a couple of more weeks. Still too freakin' cold to ride since we do have another storm coming our way. I'll be patient. I just want to heal.
Peace
March 24, 2014 5:41 PM PDT
Glade to hear things look better. I hope your foot numbness gets better soon so you can take that new bike for a ride.
March 25, 2014 1:57 AM PDT
Happy Birthday hope your doing well today
