For those of you who remember, my name is shg and I started a thread over a year ago titled, "Good Fusion Outcomes Wanted." I was specific with the title because there was a lot of negative feelings towards fusions, etc. Anyway, Many people helped me and I like to think I helped a lot of people as well.

As an update, I had my surgery on 9/2/2003 and well by simple math, it's been over a year. I am now playing golf, driving, swimming, flying, running, working out and feel better than I had for 3 years prior; even after all my previous laminectomies, etc. Life is amazing and I want each of you to know that the success rates are really great. People who have fears, know they are legitimate but also know that there are a lot of us who have successful outcomes. Sadly (and I am guilty of this), those who have them, often times move on with their lives and forget about things such as this site. For those of you who remember me, I apologize. I am here now and I am here to offer any help I can. I reside in NYC, my surgeon is in NYC and I have talked with people who are going through this surgery to help them. In fact, I still visit my nurses just to say hi.

I wish everyone lot's of luck...and keep this one thing in mind...be positive...

Hi :wave:
Welcome back! It's good to hear from you and it's even better to hear such a positive outcome. I'm so thrilled to hear that you are doing so well. What was your diagnosis that made you decide to have surgery? I have spondy with a fracture at L5-S1 I also suffer from lumbar lordosis and sciatica. I see an ortho on a regular basis but he wants to avoid surgery it possible. He wants me to do aggressive rehab. I have done physio before and I have done epidural shots. I've been off work for over 2 years because of this. I am at wits end and don't know what to do. I would love to be healed non surgically but I am tired of losing my life. I would love to hear about what you went through before you had surgery and what your problems were. Any info you can provide would be really helpful for me. Take care and thanks in advance. Kristy. :)

Kristyg,

Thank you for writing. It's good to be back (no pun intended). Where to start. Let's see, I was always athletic: sailing instructor, swimmer, rugby player, etc and was always in good shape and then one day, pain...i had 2 slipped disc - l4/l5-l5/s1 and i went through rehab, epidural injections, everything and it didn't help so i had my first lami/discectomy. That lasted and did me well for about 6 years, then, bam, familiar pain and tried the same course of actions without relief. So another surgery, same levels. at this point, the doctor mentioned a fusion but i decided against it...big mistake. within 6 months i had my 3rd surgery. Finally, rehab, epi's, etc nothing worked so we tried RFA...that helped but didn't make a huge difference. So i scheduled a 2 level 360 degree fusion with hardware after meeting 4 of the top surgeons in this country and one in the world...all agreed and all knew i needed it...tough to argue with them. So i was scheduled for july of 2003 and chickened out the day before...big mistake again. finally on september 2nd, 2003, I had it done...10 hours of surgery, 7 days in the hospital, however, on the 14th day, after 2 years of pain meds, shots, etc...I have been med free (this remains true to this day). Afterwards, it was not easy but it DID GET BETTER.

Ask me more and I will telll you.

Hi :wave:
Welcome back! It's good to hear from you and it's even better to hear such a positive outcome. I'm so thrilled to hear that you are doing so well. What was your diagnosis that made you decide to have surgery? I have spondy with a fracture at L5-S1 I also suffer from lumbar lordosis and sciatica. I see an ortho on a regular basis but he wants to avoid surgery it possible. He wants me to do aggressive rehab. I have done physio before and I have done epidural shots. I've been off work for over 2 years because of this. I am at wits end and don't know what to do. I would love to be healed non surgically but I am tired of losing my life. I would love to hear about what you went through before you had surgery and what your problems were. Any info you can provide would be really helpful for me. Take care and thanks in advance. Kristy. :)

Hiya Shg:
I remember you. I was going through a lami/disectomy when you posted originally, but have since had a fusion and referred to your past posts when I started doing my fusion reading. It was a great help for me.

I'm so glad you re-posted and am glad to hear you're doing so well.
Funny you mention golf. I was just wondering yesterday when I might get back to golfing again (and whether this surgery would fix my swing HA). I'm 6 weeks post op. My biggest complaint is that I don't know where I should be progress-wise by now. I guess it's the goal oriented achiever in me.

Anyway... keep posting. I, for one, read the positive posts and try to steer clear of the negative ones.

TXHunni,

Interestingly enough, my swing has gotten better as I'm all about the body mechanics now. NO more trying to "kill" the ball.

At 6 weeks, I was doing the basics, walking, taking it easy, etc. Things really got better for me around 9 weeks. In fact last December, just 3.5 months after my surgery, I got on a plane from NYC to Atlanta to visit friends...something I wasn't able to do before. SO if that's any indication, your right on track. Just keep listening to your body and push it a little more each day. When I got home after my surgery, I was able (with brace on) to walk about 50 feet. Each day, I tried to do 10 more and while it was tough, I did it. One thing I wrote long ago was, set daily goals that push the day before's results. If you feel as if you've done too much, chances are you have so take it back a notch. Seriously though, set goals for walks, when you want to get travel, golf, whatever and do what it takes to get to that goal. It's amazing how well things go when you set goals.

Speak to you soon,

shg

Ohhhboy. I'm doing great. I just came back from a trip to Florida from Dallas to see my mom (therapy I personally don't recommend - seeing MY mother) so I have the travel thing down. I am 6 wks post op. I went to Target at 2 weeks and I'm bad with distance but can probaby walk 1/4 mile right now. These are all things I couldn't do pre-surgery.

Looking forward to that new swing. Whaaaaack!

Wow , it is good to hear good outcomes of a surgery. We need more positve results of surgerys, I think you are a good example, so I am glad you are back. Keep up the good work,you are an inspiration to many.
cookie

SHG, I am glad you are back. I am 9 wks. post op from a fusion and I read your thread the months prior to my surgery. It was such a relief to see the good news of people rather than just the bad news. I look forward to seeing your progress as I can now use it as a measureing marker for myself. I work for the airlines and look forward to the day I can travel again. I am still having problems sitting so I don't think I can fly yet...but I am up to 2 miles of walking every day and I can lift items that I havent been able to in years. I have just started swimming too, which is a biggy :bouncing:

Please keep us posted and I look forward to posting with you.

God Bless,

Lorie :angel:

Lori,

Your on target. All bodies are different and the healing process for each is just as individual. If you keep setting those goals and keep doing what you are doing, it will get better on it's own.

This is for everyone...DO NOT get discouraged because you are not doing jumping jacks right away. DO NOT allow yourselves to feel defeated as what each of us has had is a true trauma to the body. Remember this, our lives before this surgery was limited and we all had many losses because of it (traveling, going out, doing the basics, time in the hospital, etc) yet now each of you have HOPE and that hope should carry you forward! Set goals, keep a diary and watch the progression and in no time, with proper care, each of you will feel the success that I and many others have had!

SHG, thank you for starting that "Good Fusions ..." thread!! :D That kept me going in the weeks and months after my fusion on 2/25/04. I tried to focus on the positive to keep my spirits high and that thread helped me tremendously!

It's so inspiring to read how far you've come in your year since surgery and how you've resumed all your activities. I'm now 8 months post-op and I feel fantastic. Recovery had its ups and downs (I had a lot of hip pain at my harvest site) but all the pain has passed and I'm also at full activity -- although, I'm not an athletic type person.

As you said, it's easy to get discouraged because healing can be slow. I love your diary idea; I keep one also and I'm actually still seeing improvement - even after 8 months - in the form of many pain-free days (weeks even) strung together in a row.

Thank you for visiting again and thank you so much for that inspiring thread ... you've helped a lot of folks with that!

onthemendnow,

Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it and I forgot how powerful this site is and was for me. It really amazes me how negative people can be towards one another and the thought that I was able to help just one of you is amazing!

Keep on chuggin...

If anyone else needs info, please let me know. Also, anyone in the NY area, if interested, I can offer you the name of my sirgeon who is a miracle worker. After a total of 4 surgeries, he changed my life. If you don't recall, I pleayed rugby for 9 years so my back was really bad with spondy and I have no discs left.

shg

SHG .... after your fusion, when did you start running and working out again?

onthemendnow,

I started working out again in February. I've nly recently started using weights though. Very light, and lots of reps. I have been bad with stomach excercises though but will soon be starting pillates. As for running, I don't really run much although I could, instead, I use the eliptical machine and that started in February as well. So the quick answer is, 5 months.

Quick reply: Thanks! ;-)

Shg, I too am glad you have shared the good outcomes. Medicine changes every year and surgeries get easier to do and easier to heal from (though a lot of factors are included and can make a difference). I work in Physical Rehab and have seen so many back related surgeries and stuff, and every person differs in their healing. I do know, for a fact, those who keep a positive outlook, get out of bed every morning and try to smile a little, heal faster than those who wish they would just die and that they will never get better. I had one guy who had such negative thoughts, and we knew, he would spend the rest of his life in bed and that rehab would do nothing for him. I may have surgery, a two level fusion and I am not scared. I am 26 with a history but for the most part I am very healthy. I am quitting smoking right now, and watch my weight (though I need to get to the gym, filling out a little :) ). I don't have any particular thoughts or comments, but it makes a huge difference to know that there is LIFE after surgery but you have to make the choice to make that life, and make it the best you can.

Greetings, SHG!!! Good to see your return and the great results. Yes, I would be interested in learning the name of your surgeon. I hope it's postable on this site.

Power to you!!

Standingman


If anyone else needs info, please let me know. Also, anyone in the NY area, if interested, I can offer you the name of my sirgeon who is a miracle worker. After a total of 4 surgeries, he changed my life. If you don't recall, I pleayed rugby for 9 years so my back was really bad with spondy and I have no discs left.

shg

Please do not wonder if something may be posted.

Read the Posting Rules, instead, and be sure.

Thank you!
mod1



*

Hello Shg :wave:

Welcome Back.... I am so happy to hear that you are still doing so well. It seems that you have definitely gotten your life back and are able to do all the things that you were unable to for so long. I think that it is wonderful that you did come back and are giving hope to other's.

:angel: Jeanne :angel:

Jeanne and Mel,

Thank you so much for writing, I appreciate it. Mel, your outlook is the one you need and I thank you for sharing that with me. I was so depressed when I first found out I needed surgery and then when I came here, I became more scared than I could imagine. As a result of all this negativity I branched out on my own and started my own thread and I would not stand for any negative thoughts. In fact, if you go back to the beginning of that thread, you'll see some people tried but did not succeed in taking me or the people who came in away from my mission. Thanks to you, it seems as if your helping the "next generation" of spinal ailment patients. Keep it up.

shg

hi shg,
i'm new here and had lumbar fusion i'm about 11 weeks post-op. your post is very encouraging and it's nice of you to help us.i have faith that i will recover as well as you have but i would like to tell you how i'm feeling as of today and if you could write back and tell me if you felt any of this in your early recoverey and when it went away etc.

first of all i woke up in the recovery room with pain and numbness in my right foot, ankle, calf and buttocks. i never had any of this pre-op doc says it's normal and caused by nerve decompression and regeneration. he can't say when it will go away and it could be permanant. at first the pain level was about 9 1/2 out of 10, now its about a 6. after about six weeks i started getting what i call nerve spasms in my right foot .they continue off and on to this day and can be very painful.
as far as back pain, it was'nt bad after surgery but the last few weeks have been somewhat painful. of course i've been doing more things as time goes on but not overdoing it. it does'nt feel like pre-op pain i hope its just sore muscles and will go away when i start bending and exercising my back. i don't take pain killers or any meds, just don't like to deal with side effects.i'm in PT and i do walk alot. the more i do the better i feel.

any info you could give would be greatly apprieciated. i just want to know if all this can happen and still have a chance of a full recovery.


thanks ,
Bob

bob c.

I'll give you what happened to me. I arrived, had the 360 degree fusion with hardware and woke-up in the recovery with what I would say was pain worse than I had prior to the surgery. On a scale of 1-10 it was about a 30 and I am NOT exaggerating. The anesthsiologist ordered tons of morphine. After 10 hours of surgery, all I wanted was relief and a room in the ICU. However, as luck would have it, a room was not available for about 3 hours. Fortunately though I had a standing order from my pain specialist (my doctor works with a pain specialist for all procedures) for as much morphine as I needed.

Finally a room became available around 11pm where I was greeted by a great staff. My nurse was awesome until she said, "lets clean you up" and proceeded to bathe me in my bed. Finally I was able to try and relax until 4 in the morning when an x-ray tech came in to take x-rays. He did not however seem to read my chart and know I had back surgery and jostled me all over. I screamed for my life as the pain was unbearable and the nurse came to my aide where I thought she was going to kill this poor guy. After that I had a reaction to the morphine and they stopped all pain medication and put me on narcan. I was without pain meds for about 8 hours...8 hours of hell if you ask me. Later that day (day 2) they moved me to a room on the orthopedic floor but only after they gave me 7 doses of "Dilaudid" which is a synthetic drug and is stronger than morphine...boy was I happy after that. I was able to have a pca with that for 48 hours after as well than moved to injections when needed. Anyway, the pain was not getting better and I felt it was worse so they ordered x-rays, etc and everything was ok. The next day, they got me moving and I wanted to kill someone b/c it was so hard. However, it did get better and I kept pushing myself to work through the pain knowing that I can get better and a positive outlook was necessary. There was no turning back now so I had to make it the best situation I could.

The hardest part after the pain was the constipation. They would not release me until I passed my bowels which came on day 7 after much hupla of every single drug, enema, etc they could give me. The condition I suffered from was paralytic colitis. Nice word ha? On the day I was released, it was the last time I had to take pain meds.

Finally I was home at my parent's (wasn't going to go back to my house) with my brace and family to take care of me. I'm fortunate that my dad is a physician and they live adjacent to the hospital where I had my surgery so all doctor's came to their apt. to visit me. Each day I had my goal and I achieved it. On the 14th day I came home to my apartment and I have not looked back.

Throughtout the first 3 months (slightly ahead of where you are now) I still had pain (scale of 1-10 I'd say a 4/5) but I forged on. I also experience muscle spasms in my legs, stomach, head, eyes, etc. But is eventually subsided. Looking back, it wasn't until the 4th month that it was just gone.

As of now you know how well I'm doing and I thank everyone who helped me for that.

Keep in mind your on the way and it should get better. Something I learned through all of this was, empathy. As I walked down the street, I realized something; older people who we sometimes brush by and say to ourselves, "just move" WANT TO MOVE quicker but their bodies don't allow them too, it's not the mind, it's the body. Forunately, I was getting better, not older and I was healing and began to pick up the pace. To this day though, when I pass someone older, I don't say to myself, "move" anymore...I just think about how lucky they are that they can, just like me.

As you go out and about, you'll notice people who have had surgeries similar to us as they walk slow, walk funny, have a brace, etc. My sugesstion to you and to all is to, STOP, say hi and ask them about their experience...you may just find a friend and someone else who has gone through what you have and you may help them or vice versa,

Hope this helps.

shg

Aloha shg,

I just wanted to stop by and say Aloha! It’s nice of you to come back and give people that are considering surgery hope for the future. I am also what I would consider a shining success story, it’s a refreshing change to read posts like yours, although I would say this site has more positive then negative stories, it’s the negative ones that people remember and that also facilitate the chicken skin.

I just wanted to comment on a couple of parts of your most recent post. The day after my 7 hour surgery was the most painful, frightful and downright dreadful day of my life (my pain was also a 30!), however, the coin flipped at that point and it just started getting better and better from then on. Sure there was some deep valleys that I had to crawl out of, but it was well worth the effort. I muse over what I was prior to my injury and it took me a while but I did come to the realization that I just had to let that water go under the bridge (as hard as that was to do) and put that paddle deep in the water and scull ahead. Positive attitude, Positive attitude, Positive attitude!

Then to your comment of old people and their dawdling! I love that, along with the people who have had surgery, I think we are all born without empathy and only when we are placed into a situation to know what it’s like do we cultivate empathy into our psyche. I have been on the business end of the lack of empathy, I have on occasion tried to walk extremely fast to catch a light near where I live on my way to PT, when I noticed a couple of young kids laughing at me. I knew that I must have looked pretty funny, but it still hurt my feelings nonetheless.

Anyway I just wanted to convey my familiarity with all that you have posted, because I too have experienced a lot of it, along with the success that you exude. Like a lot of people have said as well as you, when people get better, they move on and forget about or get too busy with their lives to post anymore. People need the positive feedback of someone who has had a successful transition back into the real world after back surgery, I thank you for coming back and sharing this with everyone, kudos my friend…kudos!

H’C

Great lesson! Some of us older folks who have been around the block a few times (not only with backs) can really relate to what you're saying. And it's great to hear from someone who is younger. This is _really_ what makes the world go round, yes? We're in this ship together, the strong, the weak, the agile, the lame. The sooner we get over pretending otherwise, the better for us all. Thanks to you, s! And thanks to us all!

Spiro

H'C and Spyro,

Your words and feelings are perfectly articulated and you both did a better job than I. Thank you for your thoughts and I hope that others take away from this all that we've said!

shg

Hope all had a great weekend.

If anyone is interested in hearing more, please ask me any questions.