G'day everyone,

Well i'm 6 Months Post Op L5-S1 Spinal Fusion with rods/cages/bone harvest etc. I must say my leg pain has decreased a lot, but for my actual back it sucks. Before surgery i used to get this feeling at the end of the day when i layed down and my back would really hurt and i could tell i had over done it for the day, i call this my "oh s**t" feeling. After my op i went to rehab and did very well etc etc but now i feel that even if i'm only up for a few hours then lie down i get the "oh s**t" feeling, but this time its so early.
I havent had an Xray Yet so i have no idea if im fusing or not i have it on the 24th of August. Is it too early to be gettin upset about this outcome? maybe i should let my body have 6 more months to heal and then maybe i'll feel better?

any input would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks Monas

Hello Mona :wave:

It must be harder for you because you have to wait 7 months before you finally get your first x-ray. I find this to be so strange but I guess things are so much different there. Maybe if your surgeon would have done the x-ray sooner it would have given you some piece of mind and also confirmed that your instrumentation was in place and that your fusion had begun.

If you are starting to experience more pain then maybe you should give your surgeon's office a call and maybe they can reschedule your appointment sooner. This fusion recovery is long and sometimes can be even longer for other's. Not everybody heals at the same rate. Honestly I do think that it is to early to get yourself upset about the outcome. Gosh, you haven't even seen any films yet... I will be keeping you in my prayer's.

:angel: Jeanne :angel:

Hi Monas,

I'm so sorry you're going through this, but I wanted to share my own experiences in the hope that we're both normal, and just taking awhile to heal.

I"m 4 months post-op. Recovery going well. Per the x-rays, fusion has begun. I too had terrible leg pain pre-op and now that's all gone. Before surgery, I didn't have much lower back pain but now I do have some. I recognize the "oh s**t" feeling you mention, :) , but I get it after more activity than you do. In short, I have back pain primarily when I first wake up in the morning (or anytime after I've been laying down) and it's more than soreness ... it's very sore .. it hurts!

I'm not sure either if this is "it" or if recovery continues. I'm hoping it's continuing because thruout this whole process it's almost as if the hurt area keeps moving around, so I'm thinking this too shall pass (fingers crossed here). I seem to go much longer than you before having the ' "oh s**t" feeling, but I do definitely get it at night. No, I don't think it's incorrect to think that healing can still occur for months longer. I'm hoping that this improves for you.

Aloha Monas, :wave:

I was just asking my PT this same question this past Monday. I asked her if it was time to start panicking, it was kind of silly to expect that she would say yes, but I have the same feeling as you. As you and onthemendnow has, I also feel that “oh s**t” feeling. It is very disheartening to say the least. At the same time though I agree with Tomorrow that it is too soon to think that this is “it”. I am giving my self another 12 months before I start to panic (ya right :rolleyes: , but I'll try). I also find it odd that they make you wait so long for your x-rays, I have already had two sets of x-rays done, of course the second set was done because one of the PT roughed me up on 6/11 and it felt like something came loose because of that. Everything turned out to be OK, but it still set me back a good month, and I suffered a great deal because of that.

Hang in there Monas, I know that’s very easy to say, much harder to do, keep on strengthening those core muscles…onward and upward! We’re all pulling for you! Of course, I can’t pull very hard, so you’ll have to give me a hand. Good Luck with your pictures on 8/24.

Carl

G'day Everyone thanks for the replies they helped to ease my mind.

Jeanne,
i think you're right it is too early to be getting worried and plus if i had had my xray sooner i would have a piece of mind in knowing wxatly whats going on.


onthemendnow,
it's good to know im not the only one with the "oh s**t" feeling. i hope the xray shows good things and the next 6 months i make a lot more improvement.Thats fantastic that your xray shows you are fusing you must be stoked!

Haw'nCarl
i'm unsure as to why i had to wait so long for my xray i dont knwo anyone else who has waited so long. apparently my surgeon is the best and have only heard good things from other people who i have accidently bumped into at rehab who were operate don by him, so he must have his reasons, i just think if something isnt right wouldn't you want to catch it early, he must be very confident in his work i guess.

Anyway i have a lot of homework to do,
hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Monas

:wave: Monas!

I just read your post, and I feel terrible for you! I am sorry that you are down and out, but you have to find a way to look on the brighter side of things! Your leg pain is gone for one. That I know is an incrediable feeling all in itself. Maybe you are feeling the way you do because this is the way your body is telling you to slow down. It takes time for your body to heal, it has gone thru a tramatic experience, and you have to give it time to mend. Try to keep your chin up, and remember that we are all here praying for you! :angel:

~M~

G'day mlachowicz,

i do need to slow down and take it easy still but its so hard when your at the stage when you think you can do stuff, for example i feel like i could run and i have a 2 story house and its hard to remember to just walk up and down the stairs instead of run, im at the inbetween time where i feel like i can do somethings yet i know i shouldn't.

i have been extremly good to my body on the social side, as i have not drank since the operation so thats 6 months! not a bad effort for someone who likes a social drink at the pub on the weekends, and i havent been out to pubs or clubs as they are so crowded and i dont want to be on my feet for long periods of time. but its more at Uni that i over do it, cos i dont want to leave early incase i miss anything.

anyway i guess there is nothing i can do until i have the xray. just over a month to wait now. before then i am having my wisdom teeth out so i have to make sure they are careful with me when they lift me when i wake!

anyway time to go.

Hope all is well mate!

Hi Again Monas!

I am at the same stage as you, however my surgery was extremely less invasive then yours. I suppose when you are independent, as it seems you are, it is so hard to not be able to do things for yourself! I know exactly how you feel! I am the same way, and it kills me that my daughter can't sleep here during the week because I can not lift her in and out of her crib. :mad:

I had a breakdown just this past weekend, and was feeling sorry for myself... I had to get myself together, it would do no one any good if I moped around. I just keep telling myself just a few more weeks........

I wish you luck. Hang in there, and try to be strong! "Just a few more weeks!"
~M~

Hey Monas!

I just wanted to let you know that my doc is also one who doesn't seem to see the value of Xrays.....I am 3 month post op and also haven't had one. He "released" me from his care at my latest visit, without ever having done one! Since I am feeling so great, I am not completely alarmed, although, from posting here, I know that it is VERY much out of the norm! My husband is a doctor, and has been trying to figure out his reasoning with me, but, I have not called and insisted on one. I am just continuing to be cautious and careful!

I hope you get good results from yours! It is hard to bounce back after surgery, and everyone is so different in how we recover. I know it feels like we will NEVER be able to feel like we didn't just have a major surgical procedure! But, I have had several major surgeries, and, somehow, it just happens.....we wake up one day and feel fairly "normal"!

Hang in there!

Melinda

G'day mlachowicz

That must be so hard for you not having your daughter on the week nights, but its for the best for both of ya's :)

i have not been out for so long but i have a mates 21st bday party this saturday night so i'm going to sleep in the afternoon so my body is rested and se how i go! i went through the feeling sorry for myself period earlier on but it didnt last long, just need to go out see your mates and then its not so bad!

how far along are you now post op? have you had any xrays?
i cant wait for mine i need to stop thinking about it so the time passes quicker.



G'day Melinda,

My surgeon does actually value xrays but didnt see the point in having one any earlier as it wouldnt show too much bone growth at that stage. As far as checknig all the hardware i think he is extremly confident in his work and the fact i haven't complained about anything i guess he didnt see the need.
After this Xray i will have another one exactly a year after my op.
i have seen him about 2 or 3 times since the operation and i see the non-surgeon who is incharge of my rehab once a month, my surgeon only operates on people who agree to continue on at rehab with the non-surgeon and his team. For that i am extremly lucky as they have helped me so much.

I find it a bit un-nerving that he has released you from his care at 3 months, what did you actually have done? how will you know if you have fused etc? Are you at rehab or anything?
my xray is my motivation its kind of like a goal for me!


Monas

:wave: Monas!

Not having my daughter at night was the best decision for all people involved. My husband leaves for work very early in the morning, and that would mean that my mom would have to be here that early as well. :yawn: It's bad enough that my poor mom is falling over her feet as it is, as my daughter is running her ragged. :eek:

I am 1 week 5 days post op today, and have not had any xrays yet. I am not sure if he will do Xrays, as I only had a microdisectomy not a fusion. :confused: I don't know.

Take it easy when you head out for your friends party! You don't want to overdo it! Have fun, but be safe! :angel:

~M~

Monas, :wave:

I had fusion L5/S1, posterior with screws and rods. It is a bit unnerving not to be Xrayed and to be "done" with it already. I am the only one on the board so far that I've seen to be let go this early, with no films. The only thing I can say, is that my doctor has been so conservative (up until now!)with my recovery....I didn't get into a car at all for 6 weeks, didn't drive for 2 months, didn't really sit for any length of time until after my last visit. And, unlike you, I am feeling so great, and my energy is twice what it was before my surgery. From what he has said to me, it is hard to see fusion on film (like your doc said), and that pain is an excellent indicator of what is going on in there. He said that I won't "miss" it if I mess up and jerk my hardware loose, or something else goes wrong. I guess he is thinking that if I weren't fusing, I would still be in more pain. I really don't have pain....I have some lower back muscle soreness, but no pain like I had earlier after surgery, and definitely not like before.

I have not had rehab....just lots of walking very early on, and swimming. He said that he would prescribe it if I felt I needed it, but I don't. I am functioning very well, and I had my fill of PT before I had surgery! I hated it, especially since it didn't improve my pain. I am able to bend some, now, and lift a little more, but, basically, I am taking it slow and easy. My family does any lifting that I need, and I try not to bend much at all. I sit for longer periods of time, now, too.

I know that if I start having any trouble, I'll head on back into his office, but, it would be nice to see it fused at some point, even if I do feel fine!

Thanks for your reply, and I hope you get your energy back, soon!

Melinda

My doctor told me the very same thing about not being able to see a fusion on an x-ray. I had lumber decompression and 3 level fusion l3, l4, l5, with instrumention in feb. 04. Also he was consersative with my recovery, I didn't drive a car for 3 months, lift,(no more than 5 lbs.) bend or twist for 4 months, began PT at 4 months. So i am 5 months post opt, doing well, but yes i also get tired. I am going back to work in August (secretary) by then i'll have been off work for 6 months. My doctor told me to resume normal activities as tolerated and not to lift anything heavy ever! Our bodies have been through alot with major surgery so it makes since that its going to take some time to get back to normal. My PT told me that an indication of failed fusion would be continued pain as before the surgery.