Shaving off bone

[Africanmonkey]

I have been told you can get the spinal bone shaved down to stop it pressing on the spinal cord. This will release the pressure so causing less pain

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee]

Not relevant to fibro. You would need to speak to a consultant and/or a surgeon.

[Al10]

Sounds fascinating and painful. Ew, I bet they'll use power tools! I'm a total coward when it comes to the slice and dice. Would never want to volunteer myself. However, I do like researching.

I've been told there is a long waiting list for anything these days. This sounds like a long term plan. Plenty of time to think it through.

Unless the person informing you of this procedure was your GP, if you want to do this, you have the job of getting your GP to think your plan is their plan and a good one to boot. Not impossible but will take some delicacy to pull it off. Think about how you want to handle it.

You also need to be both well informed but also open to learning from your Doctor who will understand more about your situation and how it affects having any surgery.

Any surgery is risky. You need to know both the risks and benefits before going under the knife. Don't forget to factor in your fibro which may well flare after the trauma of an op. This may mean recovery takes longer.

You may consider private to save the wait? Again do lots of research.

I'm guessing you are getting desperate with the pain. Do you know how much is physical and how much is your Fibro? It's not easy to pick these apart.

It's also worth looking at the success rates for the procedure you want as I've seen quite a few procedures are carried out seeming to fix the visible problem (as identified by the Doctors) but that do not result in any significant reduction in pain for the patient. For a fibro, I'm concerned this risk is higher as we do have a chronic pain problem. Our pain doesn't know when to quit.

On the other hand, if you have a skeletal problem misdiagnosed as Fibro, an op might be just the thing to sort you out. What issue came first?

[Hyacinth64]

Hi Africanmonkey, Google laminectomy. I haven't heard of bone being shaved but they do remove some if it's needed. You'll need a surgeon to decide that. I had it done a few years ago for spinal stenosis and it did work.

[KateMaguire]

I actually had most of my coccyx removed to relieve the pressure on my sciatic nerve and help my coccyx pain but after a long recovery period I have only found a small degree of difference in both pain and pressure- but if I hadn't had it done I would always have thought that I might have found a massive change.

[Fmok]

the procedure you mentioned is called a LAMANECTOMY I was offered this about 30years ago but for me the risk far outweighed the benefit it is quite an extreme operation. Maybe you should look it up and read about it

[Ellenindigo]

My mum had this and it was life changing. It is relevant to fibro that is caused by Osteo Arthritis (like mine!)

Let us know what happens with this if you do see someone.

[Tokillamockingbird21]

Hi Africanmonkey,

I’ve had the operation you’re talking about it’s called a Laminectomy. It is normally used in spinal surgery to widen the track your nerves run through to relieve and trapped nerves. In my case it was the second spinal surgery I’ve had and in my case it has made things worse. But that said everyone is different.

[Choco-holic37]

as horrible as fibromyalgia is, I would never risk such an operation that has the potential to leave you paralysed. Operations around the spinal chord are so risky. I am one for taking risks, this would be a step too far for me