There are some lovely people out there who are coming up for surgery soon or giving surgery some thought. I would love to hear from good fusion outcomes so that those coming up for surgery can gain the support and confidence that we all gained from the first Good Fusion Outcomes Wanted thread. Stillwater, Camelia and SHG we could all benefit from your postive attitudes if you're still around.
I was the same. I had a PLIF L5/S1 on October 29 of this year. All i wanted to know was how much pain i would feel when i woke up. To be totally honest when i woke up i was in no pain whatsoever. This was because of the anesthetic which was still working together with the epidural inserted in L1. I was lying on my back. It is once the anesthetic wears off that you will begin to feel the pain more. You have to be turned from side to side or on your back regularly and this is when you will feel pain, as you're being moved.
Hi Y'all,
Had a discectomy and fusion from the front at C6-7 in 86. They used a plug from my hip to fuse the vertabrea together with a pressed fit (as the surgeon put it). Waking up from surgery was bliss as the constant nagging awful deep-seated pain in my neck was gone. All I can remember was some tightness in my neck in the area of the incision and my hip was so sore, I had to walk with a cane for a couple of days. A soft collar for a few weeks and then only as required. It seems to me that at three months I was no longer using the collar and had the occasional muscle spasm but overall felt as good as new. There is a God. I went on to work as a DI in our military's boot camp for three years with very little pain. I do not recommend anyone returning to a physical labour job after surgery as you want the rest of your joints to last as long as posible.
Good Luck to all with fare winds and following seas.
Thanks for your story, i would be so scared to have a cervical fusion but your story sounds like a success story. I think you are right, any kind of physical labor after surgery of any kind on the back i would prefer not be involved in, just so as to maintain the integrity of the rest of the spine.
That said my surgeon said that once my fusion heals I would be able to go back to what ever activity i desired. I think i'll still be careful what i do.
I have a PLIF scheduled for Dec. 30. My doc has said it would be about a 3 month recovery -- does that go with what most of you are experiencing? I'm a 5th grade teacher and am wondering if I will be able to return to teaching perhaps around the first of April? I'm in excellent health other than my back, but I'm 62 years old. I've already retired and am teaching at a private school now, so returning is not a big deal for me. I'm just wanting someone to look into their crystal ball, I guess.
I have a PLIF scheduled for Dec. 30. My doc has said it would be about a 3 month recovery -- does that go with what most of you are experiencing? I'm a 5th grade teacher and am wondering if I will be able to return to teaching perhaps around the first of April? I'm in excellent health other than my back, but I'm 62 years old. I've already retired and am teaching at a private school now, so returning is not a big deal for me. I'm just wanting someone to look into their crystal ball, I guess.
I had an ALIF 360 but with infuse cage and not a bone graft. Surgery was on 11/12. I had a miserable first two weeks but went to back after 3 weeks. I get very tired but don't have much back or leg pain. I was walking with a cane prior to surgery. I am 36. Each person responds differently.
Everyone's experiences are different but in my case I was the surgeon's second youngest patient (24yrs). I am fit and healthy and my surgeon had expected a really good outcome. I will be seven weeks post op tommorrow (Wednesday). I saw my surgeon last week and he said he is not to keen about me returning to work even for 3 hour shifts (which i had begun doing the day before i saw him). A lot of people do go back to work early, i dont know whether this is because they have to for financial reasons but my surgeon would like me to have a few more weeks of rest before returning to work and even then i just have to gauge how i am feeling, if it becomes sore well then i'll know that's enough.
When i say rest i am not in bed, i am still getting out and about but just very carefully. If for some reason i become sore then i'll lie down for a while. It is so important not to twist and bend for really the first 3 months, even more really. The fusion takes around 6 months to solidify (when a bone graft has been placed in the interbody space) can take more but usually not less and therefore you have to be really good for that period. You must do things like walking as this is the best way to get a blood supply to the area.
I think there is confusion amongst GP's and even physio's about fusion rates. My GP and Physio said that the fusion is usually pretty solid at 6 weeks. They likened it to the period it takes for a fracture to heal. I had therefore gotten my hopes up but my surgeon and indeed others on these boards have said that at 6 weeks you really cant see any fusion even beginning to solidify.
I think 3 months is a reasonable period. As long as you dont have any other health concerns such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis or anything like that you should be fine to return by that date. Unfortunately its one of those things were you cant give a date to return, its really up to your body.
My surgeon never ordered a disogram. He could tell from the MRI and my symptoms that there was significant nerve damage. The MRI showed that my L5/S1 disc was very dehydrated and was bulging and squashing my sciatic nerve, it clearly showed foraminal narrowing.
At my last appointment with him i had experienced a new symptom, every so often i would experience a 'burning' pain, it would come and go much like an electric shock would feel (i imagine). He said that is a symptom of permanent nerve damage and therefore it was time to act.
I have complete faith in him because i am almost 7 weeks post op and do not experience leg pain anymore (unless i do something i shouldnt like standing too long).
Along with the PLIF i had a decompressive laminectomy as well. I had bone graft from my hip (taken internally) mixed with packed cells that i had donated a few weeks prior to the surgery and these were placed in the interbody space between disc spacers (metal spacers) and then rods and screws were set in place.
Thanks, you guys, for your replies. I find this board to be a real source of information and support. I guess you told me what I already knew but needed to hear again - the recup time just depends on the individual.
Yes, I'll have a bone graft from bone taken from all the bony spurs I have on my spine. It'll be a mixture of bone and bone marrow.
Right now I have a terrible cold, cough, and fever. I'm to see my primary physician tomorrow - - have to get rid of this in the next two weeks!
Try to stay as warm as possible. Are you currently working? Can you take time off? I know its probably not much help but try not to stress about being sick, its just another thing that could hinder a recovery in time for surgery.
I'll be thinking of you and wishing you a good recovery
Try to stay as warm as possible. Are you currently working? Can you take time off? I know its probably not much help but try not to stress about being sick, its just another thing that could hinder a recovery in time for surgery.
I'll be thinking of you and wishing you a good recovery
Brooke
Yes, I'm working right now - this is the last week before Christmas vacation, and Friday will be my last day. I came home at noon today and probably won't work tomorrow, but maybe the last 3 days. Thanks so much for your help and words.
Hey Brooka!
good to see you started at GFOW2!! our last one was huge!!
have u heard from shg? i hope he pops in and helps all the new comers and gives them some advice like u have done.
i feel like i have been here for so long and gotten no where! everyone is booking surgery and having surgery and post ops and i still havent got a date thanks to the lovely receptionist i deal with.
anyway for those of you who don't know me i'm 19 and i'll be
having a PLIF L5-S1, decomp laminectomy, spinal rhizolysis probbaly in feb sometime.
Hi Baby! Look at it this way, you may seem like you're getting no where but just think about how much you have learnt along the way and how much more at ease you will be going into the surgery knowing all you know.
Feb some time? well yeah i suppose it has to be. When are you back from holidays?
I havent heard from SHG, and others that do not seem to be around anymore, either that or perhaps everyone's too busy being the festive season and all!
From the sounds of it that is nerve damage and i would have thought that it is from the disc bulge and degeneration, however that said i also would have thought that that kind of information would be visable on an MRI. I am almost certain though that the discogram will show up the nerve damage.
I know it sounds bad but i am hoping it does show damage because at least that will clear up some confusion, there could be nothing worse than you living with the signs of significant nerve damage that may cause permanent damage and the doctor saying he doesnt see a significant enough reason to operate.
I'm also wondering why he suggests that there may be lactic acid in the region. To my knowledge lactic acid is a source of fuel for muscles requiring an immediate burst of energy (the lactic acid) or is he suggesting that there is a muscular disorder as well and this is why there is the presence of lactic acid?
Hi Baby! Look at it this way, you may seem like you're getting no where but just think about how much you have learnt along the way and how much more at ease you will be going into the surgery knowing all you know.
Feb some time? well yeah i suppose it has to be. When are you back from holidays?
I havent heard from SHG, and others that do not seem to be around anymore, either that or perhaps everyone's too busy being the festive season and all!
Love and hugs to you
Brooke
Hi Brooke,
I wanted to say that I am still around, but haven't been posting until I had more positive news to report.
My surgery was deemed a success, but I continue to have problems with my left foot. I had an L5-S1 fusion with rods and screws on November 12th. I had a collapsed disc which led to excrutiating pain in my left foot due to the nerves being pinched.
I saw the surgeon last week and he said that, because the nerves had been deformed for over a year, it might well take anywhere from 4 months to a year for them to return to their normal shape.
Every time I put any weight on my left foot, it still feels like my toes are being ripped off my foot. Other than that, the surgery site itself is doing quite well and I wear my back brace constantly.
I went and saw my G.P. yesterday and he put me on a drug called Gabapentin, which is used to treat pain due to abnormal nerve stimulation. I have to give it some time to work yet as so far I have seen no results.
So, yes, I continue to have a Good Fusion Outcome per se, but am waiting for more positive results with my foot. The surgeon said that, because I can now move my toes, that is a good sign and it will be a matter of time for the nerves to regenerate.
I hope to be able to post more good news in the near future.
David
Nerve meds can take a couple of months to work i've heard so hang in there. You must find it difficult to exercise (walking to assist in muscle recovery post op) because of the pain in your left foot? Can you overcome this?
Is the pain you're experiencing now in your left leg less than before the surgery? Thanks for keeping us updated David,
I'm glad to hear that your surgery is past, and "deemed a success". My doctors have also told me that because the nerve compression has been there so long that there may be permanent damage. With my left foot, there is more numbness and this weird uncomfortable feeling that rope is tied tightly all around it and bandages on my toes. At night it drives me crazy, and I find myself reaching down to rub it, both to assure myself there is really nothing there, and to alleviate the discomfort (it's not exactly pain, but very uncomfortable).
I think Gabapentin is the generic of Neurontin. I've been taking it since last March. At first I couldn't tell that it was helping but after several increases in dosage, I could definately tell a difference. It's not something that you feel a definate pain relief, like tylenol, vicodin or something like that. But it does relieve nerve pain. Now, I can tell a big difference if I miss a dose, especially in the evening or at bedtime. If I miss a dose then, my left foot keeps me awake and nearly crying.
Being able to move your toes now, sounds like improvement is on the way ! That is great!
Good Fusion Outcomes Wanted 2 
All I can remember was some tightness in my neck in the area of the incision and my hip was so sore, I had to walk with a cane for a couple of days. A soft collar for a few weeks and then only as required. It seems to me that at three months I was no longer using the collar and had the occasional muscle spasm but overall felt as good as new. There is a God. 
I went on to work as a DI in our military's boot camp for three years with very little pain. I do not recommend anyone returning to a physical labour job after surgery as you want the rest of your joints to last as long as posible. 
