Prior to the onset of my pain I enjoyed a full and active life.  I’ve been a self-employed Manufacturing Representative since 1986, and my job required a lot of long distance driving and carrying heavy binders and samples to show to retailers.  I also loved the outdoors and enjoyed biking, volleyball, gardening and Yoga. 

The onset of my pain was very sudden, and without warning.  I woke up one morning and literally couldn't walk.  It took me about an hour to get my legs moving, and then I felt fine, except that my legs felt weak.   This same scenario repeated itself daily for about 2 weeks, and then my legs began to ache along with the weakness.  I hadn't suffered any recent back trauma and was totally baffled at what was going on.  After 3 weeks of pain in both legs from my waist to my toes, I went to see my family doctor.  X-rays were taken and I was told I had spinal stenosis and a bulging disc at L4-L5.  My family doctor suggested I try massage therapy, ice and a back support when driving or doing anything physical that might irritate the discs even more.  I did as I was told, but it was of minimal help. 

After a few months of trying the above suggestions, my family doctor then prescribed pain medication, which I was reluctant to try, for fear of addiction.  But since the pain was so severe I gave in and took the prescription for Neuronton.  Addiction wasn't to be an issue, as I only took it once - I got so sick and disoriented, that I decided not to take any more.   My family doctor then sent me to an orthopeadic specialist who suggested exercises to strengthen my back muscles.  I tried that for 6 months, and continued to use ice and the back support, but that didn't help either.

I continued to suffer with constant pain in my hips and legs for 2 more years.  The only time it didn't hurt was when I was sleeping.   I was at my wits end with discomfort and I was only using Ibuprofen for pain to try and make it tolerable.  I asked my family doctor if there wasn't something else I could do.  At that point, he referred me to a pain management specialist who, in turn, sent me to a neurologist for an electromyography and nerve conduction study to check for nerve involvement in my legs.  Those tests were negative for nerve involvement, so the pain management specialist gave me a cortisone injection into my back.  I had a terrible side effect from the injection that paralyzed my legs for 24 hours.   The cortisone didn't help at all, and based on my bad experience, I refused to have any more cortisone injections.

For 4 years prior to my back surgery I had absolutely no quality of life.  I couldn't bend down or kneel to do gardening, I couldn't ride my bicycle because I couldn't lean forward, I couldn't even stand for more than 2 minutes because the pain was so bad.  I couldn't get comfortable riding in a car, driving became almost intolerable and even sitting in a chair was painful.  The only time I didn't have pain was when I was sleeping, and the minute I woke up - there it was, like a terrible toothache that just wouldn't go away.  I was unbelievably discouraged.

After 4 years of intolerable pain, I asked my family doctor to please refer me to the University of Iowa for a second opinion.  He got me an appointment with Dr. Found in August of 2004.  Dr. Found had X-rays taken and showed me the problem and said he thought he could help me.  He had a CT scan and myelogram done so that he could have a clearer picture of the problem area.  Based on the findings, he felt that surgery was the only answer to hopefully relieving my pain.  I agreed and was willing to try anything to get relief.  My surgery was October 18, 2004.   The surgery took approximately 5 hours and went very well, and I could tell the very next day that my pain was gone.  I was in the hospital for 4 days; and even though I came out of surgery with 2 rods, 4 screws, 4 bolts and a piece of my hip in my back, the only pain medication I took was Tylenol for about 2 weeks after the surgery.  Remarkably, I never needed any prescription pain medication.  Dr. Found and his entire staff were wonderful.  I always felt that they were doing everything they could to help me.   Even though the University Hospitals is huge, I never felt like a “number”.  Dr Found and his nursing staff always took time to make sure my family and I had all of our questions answered. 

Prior to surgery I had visions of being confined to a wheelchair.  Since surgery my life has taken a 360 degree turn for the better.  I have had absolutely no pain since my surgery and no additional treatments have been needed.  I have been given my life back.  I am now able to do everything that I did before the onset of my problem.  It's wonderful to be able to bike, garden, ride in a car, play with my grandchildren, and take long walks through the woods and just enjoy the outdoors again.  All the simple things that I took for granted and wasn't able to do prior to surgery - I can now do all of these things again without pain.   I consider Dr. Found a miracle worker, and will be indebted to him for the rest of my life.

In closing I would like to say, please don't put off getting the right medical help – don’t suffer for years like I did.   The staff at the UI Spine Center is dedicated to helping people get their life back.  Dr. Found told me that surgery should always be your last resort, so if you can be helped without surgery they will pursue those options too.  I highly recommend the UI Spine Center to anyone who is ready to recover the quality of life that they once had.

More Success Stories