Originally Posted by MJ5514

Just want some input. I had a herniated disk which needed to come out. Had a one-level fusion. Thank God for no major complications. I'm in a collar and sound's like I will be for several more weeks. I went with a graphite biomedical device instead of my own or donor cadaver bone. The NS also used a titanium plate with screws for stability. I'm hoping it was the right choice. I took about a week for my sinus membranes to dry up as I suspect they were quite irritated from the anesthesia??. I also report the common sore throat which continues to get better by the day. After reading some of the posts, I invested in a bed wedge which allows me to sleep pretty comfortably. I have yet to be able to sleep stretched out. I've done very well with the pain and can't say more about making sure you're prescribed pain relief that can control the pain. It helps!!

I have experienced a "rare complication" (according to my NS). A nerve in my throat seems to have been injured during surgery. This is one of the nerves that controls the eyelid elevator muscles. Consequently, if I look closely, my eyes do not open evenly i.e. "lazy eye". Hoping it's a temporary thing and the nerve will recover. I'm not sure how I feel right now about it but I want to know if this is really rare or has this, or similar, happened to anyone else.

On a lighter note, my steri-strips are driving me crazy and I'm going to turn my attention to getting them off soon. Thanks for your suggestions.

Oh yeah. Any input on hair shampooing???

Thanks for your input!!!