Outstanding News!!!!!!! I think that at times, for me, action always beats inaction, and now Aine, you're going to get some action!

Either way you go on the surgery, the chances are very high on your side to have a great outcome. I had the full surgical laminectomy and outside of the surgical pain which was truthfully very minimal, I had no side effects whatsoever. I know of at least 6 others who have had either laminectomies or the Endoscopic Disectomy and they are all well and functional and pain-free folks now. I do know one other who had a minor complication of numbness in the leg and foot but it lasted only about 6 months and was nothing compared to the pain beforehand. They say the surgery is 90% successful and I wouldn't expect anything less than a complete recovery.

Lammies are kinda' like "miracle" surgeries. When it's over and the pain is gone, it's like a miracle! And the best thing is that the pain is gone from the first. I had to wait for the nest morning for them to get me out of bed and Karen will tell you I was a mean and nasty sumbitch until then! I had some surgical pain but that wasn't a problem....What I wanted to know was, "What will it be like when I stand up?"......When they got me up and there was no longer any pain, it was like a miracle and from that point on I was a happy camper. The worst thing probably for me was obeying the post-op rules because I felt so damn good.......And dear Aine, I know you will too!!! Thirteen years later....no problems [at least with my back(:<))]. You'll want to do more than you should from the start.....Follw the Rules!

After following the post-op rules and all the only other thing I ever noticed was that I became aware of every twinge and every little pain in my lower back for about 6 months until I finally got it through my head that it wasn't coming back! After going through what you have (and what I did), it takes awhile to realize that you're okay! Do the exercises and start using good rules and limits for lifting and believe me, no one will ever believe you had back surgery.....you will be almost as good as new!

HERE IS A WEBSITE that explains both procedures and risks and gives some excellent information on going through the procedure. Don't worry about the list of risks, but they are good to be aware of. Some of them relate to any surgery in general. YOU are going to be just fine!!!!..........The Saggy-Ass Tortoise done said so!

Spaw