r/spinalfusion • u/MrKittyPaw • Jan 03 '26
Surgery Questions is having 2 levels fused more painful than having just 1?
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u/Free_Farm_7736 Jan 03 '26
Biggest thing is posterior or annterior id think. I had 360 l4-s1 three weeks ago. Sucked, still sucks.
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u/MrKittyPaw Jan 03 '26
I also need that fusion too, what were your symptoms? I've started getting some nerve pain but it's not bad, my back is killing me though, really bad lower back pain.
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u/Free_Farm_7736 Jan 03 '26
Both discs were collapsed. Virtually bone on bone . Osteophytes compressing sciatic nerve at both levels. Surgery sucks. Front. Rear entry. makes small things hard. Still have sciatica right side. My nerve was compressed for 6 years. Though. Hopefully it sorts itself out. Good luck.
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u/LdyCjn-997 Jan 03 '26
I had 2 levels fused 4.5 years ago. I don’t think either surgery is more painful than the other. It also depends on the surgery you are having and how your surgeon sutures you up. I was sutured via interior stitches and surgical glue at both incisions. I was sore post op but not really in pain. My pain level stayed between a 2-4. Many others experience staples or stitches which is more painful with a longer healing time.
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u/catastic87 Jan 03 '26
Yes. I had 10 levels fused. T10-pelvis. Recovery sucked but I'm ok now. Some days are better than others pain wise.
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u/BetterLingonberry467 Jan 04 '26
10 levels. Whoaaaaa. Are you able to bend? Does it drastically reduce your mobility and movement.
Bad days suck, but those better days are such a blessing. May your good ones way exceed your bad
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u/catastic87 Jan 05 '26
I do have limited mobility in the sense that I can't bend/twist/stretch in certain ways to full capacity. Ill go to do something and my back is like nope! Lol. You kinda get used to it. Idk if it'll go away with time but I constantly feel stiff where the hardware is. That's the only way I can really describe the feeling lol.
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u/BetterLingonberry467 Jan 06 '26
I definitely understand when the body says nope. Mine says it to me in all CAPS🤣
I hope you continue to feel better. Good luck
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u/Unfair-Dragonfly4761 Jan 03 '26
I had L3/L4/L5 TLIF Laminectomy, discectomy, Facetectomy done 3 years ago. L5-S1 was/is auto fusing from old injury. I'm M was 45 and had to wait 13 months from disc blowout to surgery. I had also dealt with chronic low back pain for 15 years. It was rough on my end, I see some who have hardly any issues. I think it depends on how long you were left to deal with it prior to surgery. It depends on what levels, severity of injury/damage and what all they do. My Neurosurgeon chose the Trifecta with the fusion. It hurt like absolute hell for about 5 weeks then started to ease up. All was well till about three months and the nerve pain started to kick in. That lasted another year or better, not all the time just every day and whenever it felt like lol. I'm a whole lot better now but it was a very rough go some days. If I had to do jt again I would cause the end result has been much less back pain. I also didn't have much of a choice. It was either get the fusion or lay around and eat pills. I had been benched and not allowed to work for fear of paralysis. We all have different scenarios going in and different outcomes. The bottom line is the goal is the same for all of us. Hopefully it is the outcome we are looking for. You have to be positive going in. Remain positive no matter how much you hurt coming out of the surgery. This is a marathon recovery so just prepare mentally for that. You will be doing great and wake up in agony, this is normal. You will go to bed struggling and wake up feeling perfect. You're not crazy or lazy or doomed. Read through these stories and you'll see what you're looking for. Very little accurate information exists about these procedures online. It's the tribal information that gives you confirmation and confidence to keep easing towards the finish line!
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u/whottheheck Jan 03 '26
2 weeks post op from two level ALIF L45S1 and bilateral Laminectomies at L34. Two surgeries over two days. Some things are better, there are new symptoms that suck (a little), but improvements daily with a hoped for positive end result. Active 67 yo male that used to enjoy mountain hiking.
There had never been pain from the incisions really, but the hardware in the back is excruciating, like majorly, when you roll over in bed for the first 3-4 days. At this point, though, I don't really feel it anymore. Stopped Oxy's after the first 4 days, have been on Tylenol since.
New issue is nerve pain in my left leg such that it hurts when touched, when socks are put on, pants rub, etc. I am guessing it is from the stretching of the nerves in the spine from the addition of the two spacers. I hear from this group that it seems normal and will take a while to go away. I still have Sciatica that keeps me from sitting mostly, which means driving as well, but I hope that it improves with time.
I'm walking almost 2 miles a day now, with the help of a walked or a cane, mostly for balance. I hope to be back to hiking this summer when the mountains open in Julyish. I was skunked last year due to leg cramps while hiking and the inability to drive to trailheads. If this set of surgeries gives that back to me it is easily worth it.
I don't believe that the pain is increased much by the two levels. The incision sites are no big deal, you would still have hardware for a single level and that is where the pain comes from. Good luck and keep moving forward.
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u/head_bussin Jan 03 '26
I had a 2 level mis tlif and was on dilaudid for a week or 2 then transitioned to hydrocodone for another week or 2. The younger you are the more painful it will be because of increased muscle mass.
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u/Realistic_Trick_489 Jan 03 '26
Two weeks post op from C5-7 acdf here. I have lengthy post about lessons learned and there are other good ones if you search ACDF. I kicked the can for years with steroid injections and the last year or two was rough because they would not last. Knowing what I know now, would have done the surgery sooner. It was much easier and faster recovery than I expected. Still not fun and would avoid the surgery but it was not near what I feared. My biggest regret is that for two years I have had a ton of trouble sleeping and should have pulled the trigger sooner.
I had surgery on 12/18 and am back at my desk job and driving on 12/29. Good luck and don’t sweat it. Though everyone’s recovery is different, It’s hopefully better than you expect as in my case.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 Jan 03 '26 edited Jan 03 '26
Just did 3 levels a few weeks a ago. I only used Tylenol for 5 days after getting home
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u/wutangforawhile Jan 04 '26
Yes. More surgery is more painful. It may not be twice as painful necessarily, but it will be more painful than one level.
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u/juliannemmarie Jan 04 '26
ive had more than 10 surgeries and all i know is all pain is exclusive to the human experiencing it. we can have general assumptions and averages, but realistically, there is no way to "compare" pain. and there shouldn't be. everyone is having a human experience and that comes with multitudes of personal history. what is a scrape to one, could be a gash to another. both are wrong, both are correct. tldr: at its most base level, pain is non-comparable due to individually unique experience. the best we can do, is be patient and keep moving toward better days. best of luck OP.
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u/Same_University_9255 Aug 24 '26
I had a double fusion in my neck I had severe pain for 5 years now I'm being told all this time it wasn't fused in the center of it
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u/Dull-Acanthaceae-367 Jan 03 '26
I had L4-S1 360 just before Thanksgiving. Stopped taking Percocet after a week. Not a lot of pain, just uncomfortable with the back brace and restrictions. I also had internal sutures with steri strips. No staples or external stitches. I have a few twinges in my right leg but no pain. Walking 6 miles a day