Hi Darryl
I had a five level laminectomy with fusion and instrumentation on December 3, 2013. Laminectomy and fusion was C2,3,4,5 and 6. Instrumentation down to T3. I was in the hospital for 5 days and then re admitted a few days later due to uncontrolled pain. I was in surgery about 5 hours and all went well. I woke up in intensive care with a hard collar and remained there for about 3 days. While in the hospital, my pain was pretty well controlled with IV pain pump and oral meds for break thru pain.

The best advice I can give you is to make sure you have a recliner to sleep in when you get home because sleeping in bed will be difficult, at least for me it was. Take your pain medication as directed even if you are not having severe pain cause it can get out of control quickly. Have someone to help you at home for the first week or two as you will find your strength will be diminished. Take stool softeners and even a laxative if needed because those pain meds will cause severe constipation. Walking, even if its just a few feet or so is important and make sure you eat even though you may not have much of an appetite.

It's been six months since my surgery and I'm still recovering.

Hope all goes well for you. If you have any questions, please, don't hesitate to ask.