Hi,
This is my first time posting, although I have read alot of the info on the boards. I had a fusion on 8/15/06 from L3-S1,with rods and 8 screws from the back only. I am wondering what is normal at this point in terms of recovery. Prior to this I had 5 knee replacements from 2004-06(I had to have several revisions), so I have been pretty much been recovering from various surgeries for the past 2 1/2 years. At this point I am a little more than 3 months out from the 4 level fusion. I still need to take pain meds fairly consistently if I am up and about. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner today for about 25 people and was in a ton of pain by the time it was dinnertime. I put my legs up for a little while and was then so stiff I couldn't clean up. After some meds and resting for about an hour I was able to get up, but was fairly uncomfortable. I am supposed to go back to work part time next week, but am not looking forward to having to sit at a desk! At this point what is considered "normal" is terms of activity and pain? Also, is it common to still need pain meds at this point? My surgeon was great ahead of time,but not much help now that the surgery is done. Should I be concerned that something is wrong that I am still having pain in my lower back and legs when I do much activity wise, or is 3 months still pretty early in the game? BTW I am 42 if that matters. Thanks very much, Cindy

Hi Cindy,

Welcome to the board! I'm so glad you found it. It's been a huge help and encouragement to me. I hope it will be the same for you.

I'm a little more than a month behind you --- my fusion was done 9/25/06 --- so I probably can't be of much help. But I'd like to echo your question to those who have already been there.

I called for more pain meds last week. I was down to only 3 Percocets a day, so I thought I should try to get off them and asked my doctor's nurse at what point they would want me to go to something less strong. She said they would normally go to Vicodin now, so that's what they gave me. I was doing so great with the 3 Percocets. I wish I was still on them. The vicodin is okay during the day, but I'm so sore by halfway through the night that I think I"m going to use my remaining Percocets for my last pain med dose before bed for the next week or so.

I also did something really stupid today. I've been so careful, having my kids or husband do anything that was even questionable for me. But I've been reaching things that are just a little low by bending at the knees and keeping my body completely straight and going down just a few inches. Today I got over-eager to get little things straightened up and went down too far and slightly off balance. I landed on my knees with a big "omphfff." I was able to hang onto a piece of furniture and get back up, and didn't feel pulling or anything, but I'm hurting now. I'm pretty sure I didn't do any damage, but it sure shook me up! I hope I'm hurting just because I was up for a long time and doing a lot of little things, even though they didn't stress my back. I think my legs have gotten very weak.

Are you walking at a normal speed? I feel like a grandma, I go so slow. If I try to go at a normal clip, I really feel it jarring me. I do lots of walking, but it's at turtle speed.

I still use a cane to go up and down stairs and also if I'm going out someplace where I may need to walk a long distance, just in case I get too tired and there's no place to sit down. Just walking around in my house, I don't need it.

I hope some foiks will respond. I really want to know if I'm at a normal place in recovery.

Thanks for starting the thread, Cindy.

Blessings,
Emily

My mom had this same surgery a couple months ago. She prolly should have left well enough alone. She never complained about hurting before, then she suddenly wanted to have this major operation. Now she always has me and my brothers doing things around the house. she says she isn't allowed ot do them. She said the no bending lifting twisting thing, too. Well, maybe I didn't understand too well what she's going through. But I think after a couple of months she should be able to do more of the stuff around the house. I love her a lot. She's always been there for me and my brothers no matter what. Now I'm feeling guilty just writing this. Maybe I'm not being there enough for her. But I don't think she's in as much pain as she says. She just wants attention, is my opinion. I don't want to be an "enabler". I think me and my brothers need to have the truth about what is normal for after her surgery. Maybe we're all jerks and she hates us now! (no, she doesn't hate us. She's always so sweet to us even when she hurts.) Can someone tell me if I'm wrong? I guess I need to hear it. She's never been an attention getter before. I think maybe she decided it's her "turn".

CINDY & EMILY, I think your recovery sounds completely normal. If either of your are around my age or older.. you should remember Tim Conway. He had a skit on the Carol Burnett show, where he portrayed an oldman. Tim Conway would move across the stage in a shuffle, taking him forever to move a few feet.. which was nothing short of hillarious!!! He say.."Im coming"!! WELL, I could imitate him to A "T"!!! at the post surgery stage you are at.

I went into physical therapy that way, and a bit hunched over as well from the tightness and trying to be so guarded. It took a good month for them to work with me before I could stand tall again and start walking with reduced pain and get a normal gait going again. I still dont take the long strides I used to, but it's getting better and better.

This just takes time. Be good to yourself and let things progress.

CHOPPED EGGS - Only you know your mom and can better tell if she is letting you overly pamper her or not. BUT I can say.. we all heal differently, and this is surgery takes a HUGE TOLL on us. I am 45 now, and I was a very very active perky person before I hurt my back. When I had this surgery.. it kicked the wind right out of my sails. Not only can we not lift, bend, twist, etc.. there is little to no energy left in us other than to do little things, then it's time for a nap. I am not a napper by trade. It took me a good 4 to 5 months to start regaining some energy level of any account. I dont know the age of your mom, but if she has never taken advantage of your assistance before, I doubt she's decided to do it now. I am 7 months fused at l4/l5 and am a very independent woman. There is still much that I can not do and MUST rely on others to take care of those things. And yes, I can do less now than I did before my surgery. In time, I hope that changes. But my pain is less than before the surgery and I am not crying and dying inside with each movement like I was before. If you have an open relationship with your mom.. talk to her about it. Ask her about certain things (besides the things she is NOT supposed to be doing), is she in pain or is she just afraid to try them. Also, do you have access to her doctors and open discussions of her limitations, etc.? HIPAA laws must be abided by, but if your mom granted permission to you for this, then maybe everyone can work together as a team.. to help you understand better about your mom's limitations, but also help you rehab your mom toward being more independent by everyone working as a team. Hang in there.. and don't grow to resent things. She obviously needs you very much. You said it yourself.. she's never been an attention getter before.

All the best to you all! Tammy:wave:

Thanks for the laugh, Tammy. I'm 48 and remember Tim Conway's old man bit very well. And thanks so much for the encouragement! I really needed to hear that i'm at a normal place in my recovery!

Choppedeggs, are you an adult and still living at home, an adult living not at home, or younger? I'm making a guess that you're younger. Please don't be insulted, but if you're a teenager, my experience with my own teens is that they're concerned about me but are still in their own little worlds and perhaps a bit oblivious to other people's lives. I'd encourage you to think back very hard and see if you can remember in the last year or two if your mom was doing things any differently, maybe because she was in pain but didn't want to bother you or your brothers about it. Just because she didn't complain doesn't mean she wasn't in pain. It just means she didn't burden you with it. It sounds like you have a good relationship with your mom. I'll echo what Tammy said: talk to her. It will probably mean a lot to her to know that you are concerned for her, even if your feeling is that she's wanting attention. Ask her what her pain was like before the surgery and why she decided to go ahead with it. You might want to show her this site. I'm glad you found it and are trying to understand what she's going through. This site would be a big encouragement to her, too.

One last thought: if she's always been there for you no matter what, please show her that you're always there for her, too, no matter what. I wish you and her well!

Blessings,
Emily

Hi Cindy, I am only a week behind you, I had L4/5-L5/S1 fused with rod and 6 screw and cages on July 19th. I am in worse pain then before the surgery. I have developed nerve pain in my right side. I also had a second surgery on October 24th to remove scar tissue. So I think what you are feeling is normal. I understand what you mean about your surgeon. Mine was the same way after my first surgery. Now he is very upset because he does not understand why my surgery turned out this way.
As for going back to work, do you have to? Were you on short term disability? I am and if I were to go back to work then I would have to start all over on my disability. I get long term disablilty at 27 weeks.
I do not think you should go back to work if you do not think you are ready. I have read posts of people who said they wish they would have waited.
Can you go to the grocery store in a resonable amount of time? Can you do the things that you need to do? I know like Emily said everything is at a snails pace for me.
I had to go to the mall to order a wedding present and by the time I got from the parking lot to the food court I was exhausted. What would have normally taken me about an hour took 3 hours.

I do not know if this helped but I do know exactly what you are going thru and feeling. I will be 44 next month and supposed to be celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary on Tuesday and right now I feel like 100 and don't know if I will make it until Tuesday.

Have a nice day and take care.
Barbara

I will be 5 weeks postop, and this thread helped me a lot. Thanks.

Many of you are a bit further than me on the recovery scale, and it sounds like you are still taking it slow. I can get impatient....only with myself though. I want to go, go, go...heal, heal, heal....its been rather hard to keep it steady. But I see that I am still an infant in the recovery process yet.

I think we should all expect to be moving slowly for at least the 1st 12 weeks...am I wrong?? Fusions need time to do their thing....and it is our job not to disturb what the fusion is trying to do. No crazy movements...try and keep it slow....like a group of rather good looking turtles. :) How much does age matter do you think?? I am going to be 32 soon.

be well

babs

Choppedeggs- Until you have gone through the surgery and pain that your mother has gone through, I suggest that you not say that she is just looking for attention. Trust me, none of us who have gone through this have done it just for attention. This is MAJOR surgery. Your body has been invaded, muscles have been moved and cut, nerves have been damaged, foreign objects have been inserted...this isn't something that we do for kicks.

Talk to your Mom. Ask her how bad the pain is. Go with her to her Dr. appt. If you are a young adult then you should be willingly helping out with the tasks your mother cannot do. BLT(bending lifting and turning) is a no-no for us back surgery people. I bet that your mom has suffered for years with back pain and you haven't even noticed. Most of us don't complain. Mom's aren't suppose to be sick, doncha know?;)

Hi all,

Thanks for all the replies - they were all very helpful. I think I need to keep practicing this thing called patience:) I actually saw my second surgeon today - I had a spine specialist orthopedist and a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon was very pleased with how I was doing. He said to remember they say it is a year recovery for a reason! So, for 3 months I am doing great, but it will take a while to get all the way back.

I am going to try going back to work tomorrow. I only work part-time and am an independent consultant. So, unfortunately I don't have disability to worry about, but if it is too soon I can just wait a little longer. The drs think I will be ok for half days, so hopefully the sitting will be OK!!

Take care, Cindy

Cindy and Emily,

My boyfriend had revision surgery on 9/26 (he never fused from 12/22). He had a 2 level (L5 S1 and the disc above). Mornings are the worse in terms of pain and stiffness for him but once the pain meds kick in then he is okay. He has been walking pretty good (and we have 2 1/2 flights of stairs). He never had to use a cane or walker. He said the pain in his back has definitely subsided. He said that after the december surgery, that he felt like his back was in two parts and now he feels put together again. He even decreased his medication (he takes Oxycontin for long acting and Oxycodone for breakthru pain). He is 45 years old and has tried just about every pain medication possilble and this works best for him now.

Lynne

Hello. I hope everyone on here is doing better. I wanted to tell you that I talked to my mom. I asked her if she had pain for a long time and I just didn't know it. I felt really bad because she's had pain for longer than I've been alive and I never really knew it. I just didn't pay attention to it. I am 20 and she is 45. I keep telling her that I'm an adult now when she forgets and tells people her kids are all teenagers. I guess I need to act like it more! I read some of the different posts in here to her and she said she could have written a lot of them. I don't think she just wanted attention. I told her I'm sorry. We just got our Christmas card pictures back and the one we chose looks so good of her. We took it just before her surgery. I asked her how she could look so happy if she was in so much pain. She said she was good at masking it or just focusing on something positive. Then she reminded me that two people had to help her get up after the picture because she was in so much pain. I had forgotten that. My classes end in another week and I told her that I'm hers after that. I am going to take her Christmas shopping and carry everything and if she gets tired she can sit at the fountain in the mall and send me wherever she needs something and I'll go get it and she can just sit with the packages beside her. I don't know what else I can do for her, but I don't think she just thought it was her turn for attention. But now I think it's her turn and I'm going to make sure my brothers understand that, too! I'm glad I found this board and that you told me what I needed to hear. I was really a jerk, but I"m going to grow up now! Thank you everyone who helped my mom by making me have some common sense. If she wasn't so computer illiterate I'd get her to sign up on here.

Cynwoo~
I am 35yrs old and had 3 level (L3-4, L4-5, L5-S1) fusion 14months ago. You are still in the early stages and yes it will take every bit of the year to recover. After 14 months I am still in a lot of pain (more now than before surgery) and I am seeing a new pain specialist. Unfortunately, I have DDD and I was kicked at work by a teenage boy, and now that workman's comp is over as far as their doctors it scares me that I may loose my insurance or that my insurance will not cover the rest of my treatment. I have a TENS unit and I am on of pain medications. I still have no enegry but I am hoping that will still improve. I have been back to work since about 3 months after surgery; however, I wish I could have waited a bit longer to have time to concentrate on the healing process. Now I feel like it will never truly heal properly because I was pushed too soon. I suggest you take your time and be very careful with BLT for this will cause the most damage post surgery. If you are having nerve damage I suggest you be even more careful and make sure it gets documented in your medical records. I fell several times shortly after surgery due to my doctor hitting my syciatic nerve. Please be careful and don't get in a hurry it will take time to heal.


Choppedeggs~
I am glad to hear your change in attitude regarding your mom and her surgery. It takes a big person to admit they are wrong. Congratulations! As far as your mom, make sure she takes time to get rest when she is tired. Resting, walking, physical therapy (hopefully she is in water therapy) are all going to be her best friends right now in order to heal. It will take every bit of a year to even begin to feel somewhat normal maybe even longer. There may be several things that she may never be able to do again please don't question that if she states it is something she can't do. Life is completely different after surgery and I have had to give up a lot in my life that I really enjoy after having surgery. This lifestyle change is enough to get you down let alone the amount of pain. My doctor had told me that 3 level fusions are not recommended because they usually don't make a huge difference, but my theory is, if it helps a little it is that much less pain I have to deal with later. I hope all goes well for your mom. Please be patient with the healing process. It will take time and she will need your help for a while. Just remember she is the one who took care of you when you were sick as a youngster now it is your time to take care of your mom for a while.

Choppedeggs.
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! Thank you for growing up so much and seeing how much your mom has really suffered over the years. I am sure your mom is like myself and my mother.. My Mom always said "It doesn't do any good to complain. You can't fix it and no one wants to hear it." So we suffer in silence.

You are a bright young adult who truly cares about your Mom. Thank you for being a big enough person to admit that you made a mistake. I am sure that your mother will appreciate the help you can give her. Just remember that she will tire easily, she shouldn't be bending or lifting or carrying things. She will probably poop out in the afternoons and need to rest. And remember that it will take-with a normal surgery- a full year to heal.

And remember to tell her you love her. She is lucky you are there!