the system wont let me log back in so now im bloomer2,
exactly 7 days since l4-s1 decompression and fusion, and in the words of zacary smith" ohh the pain the pain!!!" (thats an obscure lost in space referance) heck yeah it hurts! and all the time, but even here at 7 days post I can already see each day is a little less. Its tough to be soo absolutely helpless, someone mentioned lifting no more than a coffee cup, they were serious, this morning I had a big cup, probibly 12-16 ozs, and it hurt to hold the cup. good thing I have a loving wife who puts up with me and two teenage boys that can do the lifting.
as long as it hurts a little less each day we'll get through. that percaset sure messes with your stomach, I now have crackers and water on bedside and eat a few with each pain killer dose, and that seems to help.
one thing that surprised me was after a shower, a bath towel dry is fine but just the weight of the bath towel after drying off was suddenly too much? whats that mabe a 3-4 oz difference? If you dont already have a hand held shower nozzel, get one, it hurts just to bend over to wet your hair.
I made a huge mistake and tried to sit on the couch this morning, even with my wifes help, trying to get back up was honestly one of the hardest physical things I have ever done, and it left me sweating and shaking for 15 minutes after...I wont be trying that again soon....spooky.
at this point things what Ive done right is walking alot, im up to 2 20 minute sessions a day, walking is fine and with a walker for balence I can do alot more than I expected at this stage, its just the getting up and down that kills. If I had it to do over I would try harder to loose more of the weight I gained in the last 7 months sitting around waiting for the proceedure to be aproved( workers comp) the less you weigh the less you have to move around, I have to believe that would lessen the pain some.
and having a huge bed helps!!! the matress top is probibly 33-36 inches off the ground and I'm 6'2'' the lower your matress the harder it is to get in and out of bed, I would suggest before surgery putt on a second matress or whatever it takes to raise the height of your bed to just below your butt level when your standing. as you bring your legs down by the time your toes touch ground you'll be almost standing position already.. that's an honest suggestion hope it helps someone else.
thanks for the help, and if anyone has any pointers for the first few months pleas feel free to let me know what worked and didnt work for you
bloomer