3 weeks post-op from ACDF - feeling sad
 

So, it will be three weeks tomorrow that I had my C5, C6, C7 fusion... and I'm struggling not to get depressed. I still have pain, although the numbness in my hand comes and goes, there is pain and muscle spasms in my neck and shoulders. I realize that I'm only 3 weeks along and by no means healed, but I am really having a hard time staying positive about ever getting better.

I'm still taking Oxycontin 3 times a day, percocet 4 times a day and a muscle relaxer, it helps me cope, but I'm not actually doing anything. At what point should I be weaning myself off all these narcotics and starting to feel normal again?

Has anyone out ther have experience with how long it took them to feel better? How long were you on pain meds (and how much).... feeling very blue and trying to snap myself out of it... help? I don't have a follow up with my neurosurgeon until April 26 (which is 8 weeks post op) so I'll be in my hard collar until then. I think the collar makes all the muscle spasms worse, but I need to wear it... sticky situation.

Appreciate any input anyone has.
Cathie

I understand
 

Try not to get too depressed. At least you have mainly nice weather. I had my surgery 12/9. Winter was horrible. Try to get out and walk as much as you can. Focus on your posture. Did you see your surgeon at all as of yet. I saw mine at 2 or 3 weeks post op. By this time I had weaned myself off of the major pain meds and was only taking muscle relaxer and hydrocodonce as needed. If you can try to wean yourself off of the oxycontin since I think that is the strongest of the meds. But only if you are not miserable. Actually you should talk to the surgeon if you feel you still need that much pain meds. It took me a while to feel better. I think it was the 6 week mark that I finally started to feel like myself. Until then I was still sleeping on the couch and only getting a few hours of sleep at a time. I couldn;t eat much either since I was having swallowing issues.

Do you only have a hard collar or also a soft collar. I had a hard one for a few days and then switched to a soft collar. Much more comfortable. I was told at 3 weeks to wean myself off of that also. Which I tried to do. When I was home on the couch I sat with my head back and no collar. It felt nice. I was told that being without the collar strengthened the muscles. I think it is true. Do you have a plate and screws, if so that will keep your neck stable and safe. I felt much better when I did not wear the collar. I still wear it when I sleep and I am at 14 weeks. When my neck is very sore I put it back on. I had to work in front of a computer for 4 hours today and was hurting badly. I wore the collar, took meds, iced my neck and relaxed.

I know it is tough, but try and stay positive. Get out and walk as much as you can. Do something or yourself : get your nails done, buy some flowers...something to put a smile on your face. You are not alone.
Hope this email helps. :)

thank you....
 

Thank you... the email did help. I'm trying to stay cheery, it's pouring rain outside, so I'm sure that's not helping my mood. I don't see my neurosurgeon until 8 weeks post op, and I was told I have to wear the hard collar at all times until I see him. Once in a while I take it off and sit still and ice it, but then my head feels so heavy and I put it back on. I do have a titanium plate and screws. No soft collar at all though.

I was on the oxy's for so long before surgery, that I have to wean myself off of them slowly to avoid the withdrawal, I have been going down 5 - 10 mg a week, but my husband has told me to not do more than that since he is keeping track of how much pain I'm in everytime I drop a dose. I think the pain meds are part of the problem, it's hard to tell real pain from narcotic withdrawal. I'm determined to get off them in the next couple months but it sure is harder then I thought it would be.

I do try to walk everyday, except when our weather is like this of course.

I can't believe you're back at work so quickly, kudos to you, you're one tough cookie... this isn't easy. I didn't expect it to hurt this much for this long.

I am sleeping lying down now, on a cervical pillow, best if I sleep flat on my back, but then I get sore and spend a bit on my one side. I tried sleeping sitting up for the first week and couldn't sleep more than an hour at a time and was miserable. The cervical pillow has helped.

I'll keep trying to wean myself down, I think it's because I was on them before surgery that it is so difficult to come off of them now.

Thanks for the encouraging words...

Hi Cathie,

I am 6 weeks post double disectomy (lumbar spine), with partial foot drop and I am depressed too. I think it may be a natural reaction. I was feeling very injured and all alone. Though I had support, what i wanted was someone to mommy me. LOL (that's never going to happen with my lot.) Someone told me the further away you get from the surgery the better you will feel. 3 months is usually what it takes. Also if you are taking oxy... I took it for 4 weeks and had anxiety the day after my last pill. Anything you take for 4 weeks can cause a bit of withdrawel. It's better to wean yourself off gradually.

Good Luck!
Aussie:)

thank you.... and I believe you're correct
 

I think you're right, after searching around on the internet and talking to a few others, I may have been trying to wean myself off the oxy's a bit too quickly, I've been taking them for 8 months, so I definately need to do it slowly, I was trying hard to get off them and it was causing more pain and lots of depression and tears. I've gone from taking very high doses before surgery, then weaning off to lower amounts, then back up because of surgery, now trying to come down again... it's brutal. I think it's playing with my emotions.

The best thing about this forum is the feeling you get from not being the only one going through what you are... my father had his lumbar spine fused and has suffered with your drop foot for 10 years now, he battles with it daily also. He too told me to stop trying to rush myself into healing too quickly.

I'm trying to stay positive, some days I just feel like lying there and sleeping until I can be my old self again. It's such a frustrating experience to loose one's independance.

I hope you find relief from the drop foot, my father tells me that bothers him more then his fusion. Especially in the winter months.

Thank you for the positive thoughts... working hard on my smile this evening.:winky:

Hi Cathie,

Hope you're feeling better! I'm 1 week post op and feeling quite good. Of course i'm still on pain meds, however I'm starting to ween myself off them. Just back from the Dr for my 1 week check up and everything is healing up nicely. I'm experiencing the same pain as you across my shoulders. He explained that this pain can last 6-8 weeks. We all forget how big of a surgical procedure this is. 5.5 hours under anesthetic laying in one position is very traumatic to the body. It can take 6 weeks to cleanse the anesthetic out of our bodies. I can hardly wait to be able to walk once our snow melts!!! We just got a new puppy so she'll need lots of walking :-)

Stay positive and remember one thing; you'll be looking back in a month or so with all of this behind you! I'm so excited about moving forward with my life again with no pain :)

Keep smiling and reminding yourself that tomorrow will be a better day! Good luck:)

Dave
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

Thank you
 

Hi Dave,

So glad your surgery was successful for you... I believe mine is too, the pain is being controlled by the meds. And most of the time my numbness in my hand is gone. I think I was rushing myself along too much, your right it is major surgery, I'm glad you told me about the shoulder pain and what your dr said, I don't have a followup until 8 weeks post op, so information on what is normal is only what others can tell me. Did your dr. Give you muscle relaxers for the spasms? I can't wait until our weather improves, it's been freezing rain here for 2 days, I'm dying to go for a walk outside! I'm a big outdoors person, and can't wait to go on my first hike of the season.

Please keep me posted on your recovery process, it's nice to see how others are feeling who share the same surgery.

Ps... I am feeling much happier today, just needed some reminders i guess. :winky::winky:

Cathie

Hi ~ I had 2 diskectomies/laminectomies - they were the "open" kind, not the minimally invasive kind. It took about 4 1/2-6 months before I felt REALLY okay. I was able to go back to work part time at 4 1/2 months and full-time at 6 months after the first surgery. It takes a long time to heal after surgery, especially after fusions. There's alot of inflamed tissue/nerves that are might angry after surgery and it can be very painful during the healing time. The nerves heal at the average rate of one inch per month - so depending on how much damage was done, it can take quite awhile for them to heal.

Be patient and try not to do too much or expect to get better too soon. You'll heal in time. God bless and take care of YOU. Hugs, Lee ;)

To Leesa: thank you...
 

Hi Leesa,

Thank you... it's hard to remember all the trama our bodies go through during surgery, I'm slowly coming to the realization that I just have to be patient and wait for my body to heal itself. This site is great for getting an understanding of how long it took others to feel better or 'normal', since my doctor really doesn't tell me much. I wish they would issue a book of some sort explaning all the healing stages so we have an idea of what to expect for the first 6 months after these major surgeries.

I was told to expect to be off work for 6 months, I'll be grateful when I can get my collar off and gain some independance with driving again. I have cabin fever!

Today has been much better, my tears have all dried up, trying to remain positive that all this will work out with a happy ending.

Take care... Cathie

Glad things are starting to look better for you. I wish my OSS told me how long they really wanted me out of work. I thought I would go back to work within 2 months, I waited 3 months. It was tough the first 3 weeks, but now it is a bit easier. I mainly go to work, PT make dinner and then I am done for the night. I am giving myself a year to try and get back my life meaning: little or no pain, being able to drive more than 1 hour with no problems, carry laundry and groceries and life what I want and not get tired by daily activities plus anything else I want to hope.
Good luck and "keep your chin up" (LOL) Have a great day.

getting better all the time
 

I am 8 months Post. C3-7. Horrible first three weeks. lots of pain. At 4 weeks I started to get better. Hang in there, I do believe you will get better in time. It was worth the suffering to get the relief I have. Hope your surgery turns out to be worth it too. Keep taking the meds, and sleep as much as you can. I had a wedge, and lots of differnet pillows to get me in a better position. Keep trying to be positive, I know it is tough to go through. ginnie

11 weeks post acdf
 

Hi, I HAVE JUST JOINED AND HAVE READ POSTS BETWEEN YOU AND cATHIE AND AM FEELIG A BIT BETTER, KNOWING THAT WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH IS NORMAL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MY VOICE AND SOME SWALLOWING ISSUES. I have not been doing a lot of walking, but will start today. Sounds like it helps. You really do not know what to expect and there is a lot more to the surgery and recovery than they tell you. 6 weeks and all will be better, doesn't even begin to tell the story. My voice is embarrassing, i sound like Minnie Mouse with bronchitis!!!Doesn't hurt, but cannot carry on a conversation, and then it just disappears. It is really weak and almost like a shortness of breathe. Now a lot of mucus and feels like a cold, just what i need. I hope that you all continue to improve, and i am so happy that i found this site, at least i can talk to someone that has been there and done that. I have not seen anyone with voice problems, is it just me. Thank you. Gramato3

Re: hello gramato
 

[Lay low, and rest alot. It does take alot of recovery time. Much more than what they tell you, you are right. I spent three weeks in bed pretty much from C3-7 fusion. My thoat was effected also. I hope you continue to recover with as little pain as possible. ginnie

Hi there,

I'm now at 8 months post op, and although I still have some issues and pain, I'm much better then I was. The recovery was (and still is) very slow, and much more difficult then any doctor's let you believe. I had a little bit of trouble with my voice, and quite a bit with swallowing, still have difficulty swallowing large vitamins or pills, but my voice has completely recovered. Hopefully with some rest and time yours will also.

Walking helps, but do it slowly, I over did things in the beginning, got heck from nurses later when I hurt more because of walking too much. Start with short walks, no more then 15 mins, then SLOWLY increase to where you feel comfortable. You will hurt later, not during the walk. Pace yourself, those nerves are inflammed and angry for a long time, bouncy will make things worse.

Hope you heal quickly and painlessly.... I'm still going down that road myself.
Take care!!
Cathie

gramato3
 

I am glad that you feel a bit better after reading the posts. Believe it or not there is no real "normal". Everyone heals at a different rate and has varying amount of pain. Much of the difference occurs because we have all had surgery at different points in our lives. Some have a low tolerance for pain while others have a higher. I was told 24 -48 hours in the hospital. I was in for 5-6 days due to swelling and swallowing issues. I had to go n oral steroids to decrease the swelling. In the hospital, I just laughed at the nurse when she replied can I help you after I pressed the buzzer. She figured out that she needed to come to the room. Then when I requested pain meds, she came with a pill. I told her that I needed a shot and couldn't swallow. It took a while, but they came with the shot and it took a few days then I moved to crushed pills in applesauce. By the time I left I could swallow with sorbet a small pill. My surgery was 12/9/2011 so it was hard being able to take a walk outside due to the snow and cold. I did try to walk in the house. I thought I would go back to work in 6-8 weeks. I went back on 2/14/2011 for a week and then had a week off. I was totally exhausted afterwards. Just remember, everyday is a new day. Hopefully you are not in the pain that caused you to have the surgery. I had ACDF C5-6 6-7. I was finally doing really well this past summer and beginning to have my life again. I was ready and excited to start work as a teacher. Then on Sept 2nd I was rear ended. September was tough but October was a bit better. I am still suffering from sever whiplash. Going to PT 2-3x a week. I am still getting muscle spasms (pins and needles across my neck, shoulders) and major knots all over. My lower back is also sore which I never had. I just had a new cervical MRI done, waiting for the results. Hope you have a better day. :)