back surgery before hunt

larrbo · Jul 29, 2012

I have been dealing with a punky back for years and finally it went belly up in late May. After going to rehab and treatment the MRI shows that I need surgery. I am getting a spinal injection to calm tha pain down tomorrow and getting the surgery as soon as possible in early August. The good news was that I don't need to have it fused with titanium bars in my back only a laminectomy that removes bones to take pressure off of the nerves. The surgeon says I should be good to go for my hunt in mid October in Nevada and my California hunt in November. Hope I made the right decission.

1911 · Jul 29, 2012

Hope it works out good for ya. Not much worse than back problems.

feddoc · Jul 29, 2012

LAST EDITED ON Jul-29-12 AT 07:35AM (MST)[p]A couple of years ago I had my back and neck surgery planned around elk seasons.

Back fused in late April, neck fused in late May. I had a couple of titaniumm plates installed at L4, 5, 6 and a couple at T1.

Not an issue during the season in late October, other than no wood chopping. Do what the doc/therapis say and things shoulc work out in your favor.

SlinginLead · Jul 29, 2012

You will be glad you had the surgury! After years of back pain,
I finally had a lumbar microdiscectomy (L4-L5), and did I feel great after the recovery process. I had mine about 5 months before the hunting season, but was feeling almost normal around
6 weeks after the surgury. You will immediately go into physical
therapy to help get your range of motion back. Make sure you have plenty of happy pills on hand, the first 4-5 days are a little tough, even for such a small incision. If you haven't had
a epidrual before, they often do wonders for short term relief.
Don't worry, it will all work out great.

nfh · Jul 29, 2012

LAST EDITED ON Jul-29-12 AT 09:16AM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Jul-29-12 AT 09:15?AM (MST)

last year at hunting season my MRI showed i had a bad disc. so to prove it they injected die and pressure into my disc. after the painful test my lower disc came back as 17% good. they said i needed surgery but at my age i dont think surgery is the best option for my young age. i was at the chriopactor 2-3 times a week.

now i do a few workouts a day for my back and i see the chriopactor maybe once a month now. any heavy lifting i always ask for help... this seems to be working really well...

i dont want to loose range of motion in my back after a surgery... make sure the dr. doesnt go by just the
MRI. number one back surgery failures is going by just the MRI. thats why they did the pressure test on me to prove the MRI.

eldorado · Jul 29, 2012

You will be fine. Here's to a quick and complete recovery.

Eldorado

sageadvice · Jul 29, 2012

Get well soon Buddy!! We got hunting and fishing to do!

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

completesportsman · Jul 29, 2012

Good luck with the surgery, hope you have a speedy recovery and knock down some big ones this fall!

eelgrass · Jul 29, 2012

Back surgery isn't nearly as invasive as it used to be. (or so they tell me). You should be fine larrbo.

You better take the rest of baseball season off though. No going to the Giants games for the rest of the year.

A bad back probably doesn't do much for your golf game either, I bet.

Eel

larrbo · Jul 29, 2012

Thanks for the kind words my MM friends. The doctor said I should be able to do almost everything 8 weeks after surgery... even play golf. Since mid May I have only played a couple of times. I can wait for golf, but I don't want to miss hunting Nevada this year for mule deer.

brymoore · Aug 1, 2012

I had a microdisectomy in January. After 10 months of pain, it was a great decision. I feel great at this point - I'm running and hiking with heavy packs. I have no pain but I'm a little sore in my back in the morning.

You won't be 100% at 8 weeks after the surgery. I was around 60% strength at that point. Personally, I didn't start walking off road until past the 90 day point. The uneven ground would strain my back.

I'd recommend walking every day post surgery to gain strength. Use hiking sticks for stability and take a buddy or two along to pack out your game.

Good luck. Don't rush it or you'll end-up back in surgery.

stillhunterman · Aug 1, 2012

Ditto on what some of the other fellas are saying: you should be good to go. I've had two discetomies, both back in the olden days when they cut you open a few inches. Now days the surgery is much less invasive and recovery time is shorter. DO WHAT YOU PHYSICAL THERAPIST TELLS YOU TO and you should be good to go. Best of luck to you and good luck on your hunts!

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