Case Summary  |  Spinal Stenosis Causes Problems in Life

I am an older woman who was diagnosed with osteoporosis several years ago. As I began to age I noticed I was beginning to have more and more pain. In October of 2009, this pain escalated a great deal and my neck would always feel like it was cramping, like there was really something wrong with it. In the middle of October, all of my pain suddenly worsened. I could feel pain throughout my body - not just in my neck. My stomach was hurting as well as my legs, knees and back. I felt like I was going to die. I could not do anything because the pain was so severe. All I could do was lay in bed. My husband was worried and insisted I go to see a doctor for my pain, but I did not want to. Even so, I eventually gave in and visited the emergency room the very next day, where my doctor diagnosed me with spinal stenosis.

I had never heard of the disease so I did not know what it did, but my doctor told me that it involved my spinal cord. He told me that this sometimes happens to people as they age and it was a form of spinal degeneration. I was pretty upset because I knew this was serious business. He told me that the only option was for me to go into surgery.

I was prepared for a laminectomy surgery the next morning. I was scared, absolutely frightened. Still, I knew this was the only thing that could be done. The morning came and went, and I quickly found myself in recovery. I could feel a new pain; pain from my surgery, but at this point the other points in my body did not hurt anymore, so I felt a sense of relief.

I recovered from surgery for a couple of weeks afterwards in the hospital. When I finally was sent home on 10/28/09, I felt a lot better. My neck was still sore, but my body did not ache. My doctor told me it was possible that something could happen in the future, so I should call him if any new problems arose.

Thankfully, today, I am pretty healthy. I continue to work in my garden, bake for my grand kids and do everything that I did before. I do still have pain, but I can use Aleve to get rid of it. I am just happy that I do not have to suffer like I did for those few days in October.