NeuroTalk Support Groups - L4-S1 Fusion Success Story

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Uplifted my bad night

:)Hi Mike,
I really was having one of those nights. Thanks so very much. I have tried to write before to forgive me. I am not very good at this. My knowledge of posting and blogging is minimal. But I guess when you are in pain and have no one to turn to you learn quickly. I was really having a bad day/night and came across you site. Thanks. I try to hard not to read the very negative, not that I am taking away from people's pain or that they need support. I have a degree in psy and bereavement counseling/ hospice. But... when it comes to yourself it is very different. I have had my back problems for 5 years now since I have been 35. This last surgery L4-S1 fusion I am now post op 7.5 weeks and I guess I had expected to be "better" if you will. I tried the treadmill my 2 week post op. I am, like you a person who just am going crazy. My first surgery was a lami had a staph infection that took 8 months for them to diagnose that turned into osteomyoletis (7mn of IV vancomyocin) than crushed tailbone had to be removed, right hip torn labral repair all this due to a fall in my house. Look I just want somewhat of some encouragemet that I might live without pain if I walk my dogs and shop with my kid and try to have some family life that doesn't hold everyone else back around hear. Oh, we have to go home because Lisa can't make it today. Oh, Lisa is hurting we need to leave. I am tired of this quality of life for me and my family. So thank you Mike I needed some light at the end of this. I was crying tonight thinking what did I do this for if I am in more pain than before? I have no one that can give me a marker to let me know have far along I should be at this point. I try to walk and I don't know is it too much? My NS say's no PT at this point. PT, I can do those exercise's in my sleep anyway I've gone so many times. ESI I have had so many I have lost count. This is a long road that I would like to find an exit and get off and never get back on. Thanks for letting vent. Please all take care and have painfree days and restful nights.

Warmly,
Lisa

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiwimike (Post 81241)

Firstly i just wanted to post this to encourage all those out there that are thinking of having spinal surgery because there are good success stories out there. Before i went through mine i had read alot on the internet about peoples horror stories and it almost put me off having it. but the constant thoughts of suicide were annoying me and i didn't want those things in my head anymore and i thought it surely can't get any worse than it is now. So i had a L4-S1 posterolateral fusion with instrumentation and now 3 months later i am pain free. Please be encouraged , these guys can get it right, sure there are horror stories out there and i know that those people to can be fixed, just hang in there (thats you Pam :wink: ). And to those who are thinking about it please go for it, because you don't want to carry on as you are with pain and always think to yourself, "i wonder if the surgery would have fixed it ?" , i waited 10 years before i finally had the courage to go through with it and i wish i had done it years ago.

This was briefly my situation somedays my pain was bearable , other days I could hardly bend over or climb stairs, (the day I was to have the op in hospital I felt great , always the way though isn’t it! , but I still went through with it)

Heres a few tips if you do decide to go through with it.

1. Firstly ask around about surgeons, find a good one ,ring around as many medical places as you can and ask “who’s the best spinal surgeon?” I managed to speak with a patient of one surgeon who raved about her op and how good this guy was (she had the same problems as me and had the 2 level fusion done to fix it and never regretted it) so I went with him in the end.

2. If you have the op TAKE IT EASY !!!!, no running, jumping , lifting for at least the first 3 months, this was hard for me as i am an active person, but fight the urge!, the best thing you can do is walk, just a little to start with , then go further and further each day.Listen to your body, it will let you know if you over do it (i had this happen twice) I have only just started light running after 3 months but will continue to not do much up until month 6. There is still lots of healing going on inside you, even though you may feel great, TAKE IT EASY PLEASE! , i can not stress that enough. This is major surgery and your body needs lots of time to heal , don't stress it out by thinking that you feel great after 2 months and can do whatever you like. I laid out on the couch for the first 3 weeks and just watched movies, the only thing i did was my walk each day and i believe this aided big time in a successful recovery.

Well that's all for now, if anyone has any questions, please ask me!! and please all those who still have issues from things that have gone wrong , hang in there! and all those considering this type of surgery , as long as you have exhausted all other options (ie physio, chiropractic, orthopaedic methods just as i did as surgery is the last option) then go for it and i wish you the best!

Cheers
Mike :)

PS Don't expect to end up so your as good as you were when you were 18 cause i'm def. not! , but i'm active again without pain and i'm happy with no more suicide thoughts at all.My goal is to beable to play soccer again, i am aiming to play my first game on the 1 year anniversary of my operation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lconroy (Post 467978)

Hi Lisa,

I just read your message. How do you feel? You are still in a lot of pain? Because you know some pain is excepted after this kind of surgery, and that is ok. It will go away. Just take it easy, do walk slowly and easy. Do not over do it. I am 4 1/2 week post op. and yes a little uncomfortable, but I know tath is just temporary. I feel pretty good considering. Also I am back to work. (office job) and I am driving. Be patient and just take care of your back be gentle with yourself, and healing will come. I work in a medical office, (dermatology)and I just had a patient come in who had 6 level fusion done just recently. His operation was 9 hours. Can you imagine that? He is still in a serious body brace, but he is doing just fine. His Dr. told him, that he will be able to ski next year.So, there is hope for us. You will get better !! It just take time, some slower, some faster.
Take care,
Maria

Thanks for your info. Glad to hear your doing well. I am trying to back off a little more. I just jumped to quick I think. I was on the treadmill the 2nd week. Maybe too soon while I was in pain after a long surgery that my blood pressure dropped so low and I had a rough time. As for you, the pain level between 4 weeks to 7.5 is much better. I am not taking any pain meds. and I really as long as I don't push am OK. I am not going to lie to you. I wish I could do more, and I am frustrated but my doc. called me last night and assured me that I will be fine and it is just going to take time and that there was just so much scar tissue that was in my back and the nerves are still angry. He explained it this way it was like pulling noodles out of cement. They were trapped. Well I am so amazed you are back at work. Good for you. I don't think I could have done that at that time. :) As for a 6 level fusion, 2 was enough for me. I can't even comprehend that. God Bless that man. Well if he will ski, all I want is to have somewhat of a normal life without pain. I guess there is hope. Thanks. Take care, Lisa

Quote:

Originally Posted by mariam (Post 468180)

Hi Lisa,

I am glad to hear that you are doing a little better. I do understand the frustration, I have it too. But I also know that If I follow the instuctions I was given, no matter how annoying they might be, the outcome will be much better. For example, I have invested in a couple of little things that helps me to be pretty independent. I have bought a "grabber" or "reacher" I'll pick up even a dime from the floor with this thing. It helps me to get dressed pick up stuff and I do not have to bend or squat etc. and by chance to injure myself by making a wrong move. And there is a "sock puller upper thing" (great stuff) the long shoehorn, they all help just a little, so you can be kind to your back. I am walking too on the treadmill, but I did not do it after 2 weeks, I just started doing it 4 weeks post op. I did however walked up and down in my house. I would sit for 30 min. watch T.V., then get up and walk up and down the house for 15 min. sit back down for 30 and so fort...so on..As to my sciatic pain, my Dr. called me and explained the same thing as your Dr. did. and gave me some excersises that I should do to "un-trap" the nerve, and it has been working. I must say my pain level now is pretty minimal. I can actually see that light at the end of the tunnel:) In my opinion the key is, just patience and moderation, and yes a lot of modification. I am staying positive (learned from Mike) and every day will be better. Just be gentle with yourself.

Feel better,
Maria

Hi all,

Well I tested my back today. It has been 8 weeks and my cousin's baby was being baptized today. I really thought I could do it. Not to mention if you miss a Greek family get together you really are in for it.

Boy am in trouble....It is evident by the time. It is 3:49 am and I am still in horrible pain. Nothing is taking this pain away. The back pain is radiating towards my abs. My Legs feels like there is a band around my hip/groin. Why? 1 hour church ceremony and lunch afterward. Does not seem like too much . Why is that something that would totally throw me off this bad. Was it that soon. I hate that look that people look at you like your a broken horse too.:( Sorry just very discouraged thought I would do better than this.

Oh, Well it was worth some of it I love seeing a baby being baptized. Soooo cute.:winky: Ok all, does this happen after first outings? Did I just push it a bit. Will I rebound? Right now I can't walk again down my stairs. Sorry so many questions. Thanks.

Take care and bless
Lisa

Quote:

Originally Posted by lconroy (Post 469923)

good god woman!

take it easy! you just had a pretty serious surgery, and you were in need of it for a long time before then. another few weeks on the couch won't kill you. and all you have to do is tell your family you're on doctor's orders. that better be enough for them....

i didn't have nearly the scar tissue buildup that you seem to...that could be pretty bad. it seems to me (keeping in mind that i'm not a doctor) that you should probably stick with being as inactive as possible, and pace the floor for 10 minutes every half hour plan.. i think nerves in scar tissue need to stay stretched out. tho.... during surgery, they shoulda scraped out the scar tissue.

either way, pain radiating around to your front sounds serious to me. your surgery was in your back, and you did already have a staph infection, right? or was that someone else?

but most importantly, TAKE IT EASY! find your limits gently and slowly. if you walked 10 minutes too far today and you hurt tomorrow....walk 10 minutes less the day after. you WILL get better, it's just gonna take time. you've already spent a lot of time crippled, don't rush it too soon, you'll break a bolt or something. and that would be bad. really bad.

Doc said surgery went well, I had alot of work done. Fused from S1 to L4 with cages, rods and screws. Right after the surgery, the pain and anxiety was near unbearable. Pain meds didn't touch it. I couldn't move or sigh or anything without pain. Dont' want to dwell on the pain portion too much tho, because things are many times over better than they were.
I was in hospital for 6 days due to levels of pain and my being unable to do what I needed to do such as walk, climb stairs, get into car, etc. After different combos of pain meds tho, the pain was taken down enough so that I could do my pt and ot. I am now at home. I can walk, roll over in bed, do stairs, get in and out of car. It is now wednesday, my surgery was last wednesday. I am now working on cutting back on the heavy hitters in pain meds, don't want to be relying on them. I get lots of rest and have my room set up so that it works well with my condition. My husband is in and out of work to help me. But I am very optomistic, I can see myself easily returning to work and carrying on with my life at some point - whether it be 6 weeks or longer, who cares, I will be able to do it.
I am so glad it is over, so glad, so glad, etc etc etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by libra (Post 474819)

hey hey, good for you! just take it easy and wait for the bone to fuse, and all will be well. and don't be afraid to be on the painkillers for a while. i'm 7 weeks out, and while i haven't really NEEDED them for 2-3 weeks now, sometimes i'll still use them for a day a week just because it gets mentally irritating to be sore and hurting all day every day....which is why we all had this surgery done in the first place.

just take it slow and keep up on the vitamins. and get one of those claw/reacher things. those get really handy.

Hi Mike,

I just read your success story on the same spinal fusion surgery I will be having on 3/12/09. I just turned 30. I'm extremely nervous and worried about the post-op pain and rehab. I've been dealing with the pain on and off since 2003. I had a microdiscectomy in 2003 and it didn't seem to help me completely. My biggest issue is prolonged sitting. I know with back problems, you'll never be 100% again. Perhaps it has a lot to do with my expectations. I do not get severe back pain right away when I sit. It just gradually sneaks up on my after 30-1 hour sitting and it's usually a dull achy pain. I'm not in my best shape now, but even when I was two years ago, I still had issues with sitting. The doc says it's probably the disc becoming weaker. I'm had a flare up recently that has made it difficult for me to walk. It actually is starting to slowiy get a bit better as my Surgery day nears. You were saying that even when you went into surgery, you felt fine, but you knew it was needed anyway. I'm just worried that it wasn't really needed, but I feel like i want to get my life back and not to have to baby my back forever.

Hope to hear back from you. Your post was really uplifting for me.

Marina:confused:

Worried but Hopeful

Thank you for your story Mike. I have also read the horror stories and it has made me extremely anxious. I am scheduled to have 3 discs fused on March 18th. I have degenerative disc disease. This will be my 3rd surgery in six years. L-3 and L4 were fused in 2003. I also had a cervical fusion in 2004.
My left leg started to atropy in the past year and 1/2. Degeneration above and below the fusion was compromising my nerves . I had a laminotomy in November 2008 (hoping to avoid another fusion) but another disc severely herniated shortly after the surgery. I am in more pain now than ever before and my leg is still atrophying. My surgeon is confident that this is what I need. He is an excellent surgeon with an outstanding reputation. He says he has a 98% success rate. I am more worried about the rest of my spine and what is going to happen next. I am living on percocet for pain. I am also taking meds for depression and anxiety. I am hoping to tell you that I am feeling great in a month or two.