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qbforeva · 02-26-2010, 06:24 PM

hey Kellie, hope you are feeling better, to be going through 3 back surgery is brave.....I have L5 S1 herniation as well since Jan 2008 (car accident at work).....with P/T the pain is on and off. This winter is the worst winter of my life im seriously considering surgery (discectomy) at this point. Keep us up to date with your condition.
Take Care

Kelliew · 02-28-2010, 10:40 AM

Hey all been a tough week seems like it has been a month but nope just under two weeks, meds have been helping alot more now that the doc figured them out. I do have one question for anyone who has an answer what is the best position to sleep in seem like i can fall asleep but i wake up every morning between 1am and 3am and in so much pain that i just have to walkfor about half hour maybe this is normal for me but just wondering if is me or does anyone else have to do the same, Thanks....Kellie

back2emt · 02-28-2010, 04:43 PM

Hi Kellie I understand your fear. I had the exact same fear as u. However my situation is slightly different in the I have had 2 disectomys at L5-S1 since Sept. The last one was on Jan 27th. Then on Feb 1 I ended up back in the hospital and had to have the fusion performed. I am only 4 weeks post-op but I can already tell a difference. The pain in my legs is finally gone. It did take about 3 weeks after surgery though. Now the only pain, which is more of an uncomfortable feeling, is from the surgery itself.

I do recommend the toilet seat riser and a grabber. Nobody mentioned these things to me before, and I wish they had. It is terrbily hard to get on and off the toilet. Luckily the bathroom I do use has handles, but no riser. And I can't tell you how many times you are going to drop something, and need to pick it up. So do yourself a favor and go buy these essential items. Learn rom my mistakes, otherwise life will be hard.

As far as the period goes, this surgery also triggered mine to start 2 weeks early. I have no idea why, but it seems to be a popular thing. It either postpones it or makes it come early. Only time will tell with you.

Good luck and best wishes. Think positive, because I know how much the surgery has helped me.

Kelliew · 03-02-2010, 05:38 AM

Hello all,

Two weeks to the day since my surgery and my doc finally has my pain somewhat undercontrol so much better now than it has been, i know that i was told over and over how painful it was gonna be from people on this board and by my doc i guess i just did not think it was gonna be that bad BOY was i wrong. I do alot of walking around the house mostly in the middle of the night.

I dont know if i amsleeping in the wrong position or what but i have so much pain when i wake up all i can do is to get up and walk because it is just too soon to take more meds, soi justt wait and try to walk it off sometimes it workd and sometimes not.

So my question for the ones that have been through this how long does the worst of this pain last and is there a better position to sleep well that it or now very tired right now time for a nap i will check back later take care all...Kellie

BlueAtlas · 03-02-2010, 04:58 PM

Every week you'll see a difference. My first really big turning point was at 3 months, but even before that I saw steady progress.

Sleeping can be really hard when you're in pain. I slept with a pillow between my knees and one in front of me to hold me up. I also put one behind me because I was afraid my hubby would accidentally bump into me and hurt me. It was a bit of a production getting myself all positioned with so many pillows, but it was worth it. I also made sure I carefully turned to each side and onto my back for part of the night so I wouldn't be so stiff. And definitely set the alarm to take your pain meds at night. Even if you have to wake up to take them, you'll be better off keeping it in your system for now.

Keep your chin up. The worst is over. It's only going to get better from here.

Blessings,
Emily

janiee08 · 03-03-2010, 09:52 AM

As far as the worst of the pain, for me it was the first two weeks. And you just went through that. Then, second worst is the next two weeks. So, just two more weeks, and the worst is behind you!!

....janiee

back2emt · 03-03-2010, 02:04 PM

I actually started seeing a little difference at about 3 weeks. Not much, but I noticed I was not having to use a walker as much. I wish I could tell you more but I am only 4 weeks out myself.

As far as sleeping goes I will give you my little secret. The best investment I made was to buy from walmart. They have a 19.88 tempurpedic body pillow. IT has been the best thing. I was having a lot of trouble sleepin because of the pain myself. After the pillow arrived I have only had 1 bad night and that was the first one. The only reason that was so bad is because it takes 48 hours for the pillow to plump up fully. Trust me it worked very well for me. I tried just the regular pillows but I could never get them quite right. This pillow is designed for people with back problems.

soCalman · 03-03-2010, 11:26 PM

I just got the word that my appeal for ADR was denied, so I am probably going to have to have L5-S1 fused. I hope I can return to pain-free active lifestyle after that.

I'm following everyones recovery with a lot of empathy for you all and interest since I will probably be following that road soon. Keep up the good work you have been doing in keeping us all up to date. Thanks.

Kelliew · 03-04-2010, 05:48 AM

Hi All,

Well its been 2 weeks and 2 days and the past 2 weeks have been rough mostly because my doc seemed to have a hard time finding the right pain meds if i left the hospital with a scrip for Percocet i think things would have been a little better, dont get me wrong i am still in alot of pain but the new meds help unlike the norco he sent me home with that was like taking advill and did not even touch the pain but now it is still there but they help to take the edge off i do have times during the day and at night that the pain is still pretty bad but it will be well worth it if this works.

I will not suger coat anything about this surgery and there were days before the pain was under control that i had said to myself and to my husbend that i wished i had not done this. As time passes and the pain is more under conrol i am much more confident with my decision. But do go into this knowing this is so much more painful than you think, i heard all the stories from posters on this board and from my doc but i truly thought i could handle it with no prob haha

.Just make sure you have a talk with your doc about pain management after you leave the hospital, I had this talk and i cant tell you how ****** i was with my doc for making me try the other meds when i knew and so did he that they were not goin to work. Well i will check back in a few days take care everyone...Kellie P.S. soCalman keep you head up and let us know when your surgery is set

janiee08 · 03-04-2010, 04:55 PM

I just can't say how really shocked I am that so many people come home from a spinal fusion surgery with either no pain meds, or something less than the strength of oxycodone . It really is not the norm....janiee08

Kelliew · 03-09-2010, 04:53 AM

Well three weeks post op now and not sure but it might still be too early but i still have such weekness in my right leg i have not had to use a walker but i do use a cane and i had hoped that i could be done with it by now but like i said it just might be too early still.

I still have a lot of pain and i do know that (well i hope that it is normal) to still have so much pain the meds are helping. Had my first time out of he house on sunday for a baby shower for my son and his girlfriend so yep i will be a grandma in just a few weeks and yes they are young we were all shocked at first but i am very excited now anyway i felt like crap the morning of the shower and did not think i was gonna make it just too hard to sit for long so i took my meds about a hour before the shower i took 2 Percocet 10mg and 1 Valium 5mg the car ride there was not great and i knew it was gonna be alot of sitting or walking so i took 1 more piil with me just in case i needed it and i did as soon as i was sitting for awhile i knew it was gonna be hard and i really wanted to stay, i had hoped i would not get sick from too much meds but i was ok still had trouble with sitting so i just did what i had to to get through it sit walk sit walk i was happy to be able to stay the whole time it was a great shower and they got lots of great stuff.

I have my next doc appointment on friday and i hope he tells me that it is normal the pain and weekness in my right leg and my toes are still numb that is getting better but just weird feeling, still not sleeping very well at night so i do sleep alot during the day but after laying down for a certin amount of time i have to get up and walk because of the pain someone tell me that this is normal please cause i think my doc told me to walk as much as i can, I dont walk too far just laps around my house. Some days are better than others pain wise but the lowest level of my pain has been about a 6-7 since i came home from hospital and from what i have been told this is normal too right??? Well i think i have gone on long enough i hope everyone is doing well and has LP days. Megss where are you i have not heard from you in a long time i hope that means you are feeling well enough to be doing other things than being on the computer

qbforeva · 04-23-2010, 09:12 AM

hey Kellie, haven't heard from you? How's your recovery going so far? Hope you are back to your normal life

Kelliew · 04-24-2010, 08:44 AM

Hi all well its been just past 2 months since my surgery and yea I am getting better but still hae pain to the point that I am still on pain meds I still take Lrycia 200mg 2x day percocet 10mg/325 1-2 every 6-8 hours and i am still on Avinza 30mg in the morning and 60 mg at night this med is a pill form of morphine i am now being wheened off of these because i have been on them for about 9 - 10 months.

I have been dealing with server leg pain since the surgery and nerve pain in my foot numbness in the bottom part of my lef and 2 of my toes and a burning feeling on the top of my foot this was so bad at one point that i cold not put a shoe on thankfully this has gotten much better i still feel the sunburn pain but much less and the numbness feels like it is getting better too so that the good news now for my back i still have pain and i am not sure but i think that it should be better by now the back pain seem to get worse some times and sometimes it is pretty good. Dealing with all of this is really tough i knew it was gonna be a long recovery but sometimes it just seems like itwill never get better, i still havefaith that it will but sometimes ijust have a pitty party for myself and just get in bed and have a good cry.

In the mean time since the surgery i have become a grandma for the first time and he is the sweetest little boy ever his father (my son) and his new family live with us and I just love being able to see him every day he is such a good baby only crys when he is hungry or when he need a diaper change lol sorry to go on about him but cant help it.

Well thats my update i do have some good days but lately i seem to have more bad than good days just hope to get back to my life and off all meds within a year of my surgery i dont think thats too much to ask for do you???

I hope that everyone is doing well and are having low pain days and nights take care everyone i will try to keep updating my progress thanks for asking how i was doing

...Kellie

dunerkat58 · 04-24-2010, 03:02 PM

Congrats to you on the birth of your grandson! Grandchildren are such precious joys in life. My gdaughter is 10 and brings me such joy. I plan to have surgery on my neck, and if I can schedule for this summer, she will be helping take care of me. I'm so blessed to have her.

On the other hand, sorry you are feeling badly, but hopefully it will start to get better. If nothing else, that new baby will help you get back on your feet as soon as you can!

qbforeva · 07-31-2010, 09:53 AM

how's your recovery going? are back to some what normal life yet?

soCalman · 07-31-2010, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by qbforeva

how's your recovery going? are back to some what normal life yet?

Still pain 10 months out from surgery, but I'm able to be pretty active. I loose my balance some. I don't run or play basketball for cardio workouts, but I wish I could. I'm afraid to try that yet. I can jog to my car without pain, but I don't want to subject my back to that pounding for prolonged periods of time. I can get sore after a day of bending over, or climbing up and down a latter. I can do these things, but I have to limit it. I'm hoping that some day I can get back to a regular workout. I'm not sure if I need another Microdiscectomy to clean out the additional herniation or not. My Nerosurgeon said I should get ARD, but all the doctors said No, and I think that was the correct decision, but at the time, I was a little upset about it. One doc recommended another MDE, and one said I wasn't a good candidate for ADR because I have DDD in L5-L4. I am hoping that Stem cells can be used to rebuild natural tissue of the discs. Has anyone heard if Stem-Cell therapies are being used? I heard a case where they completely rebuilt the cartledge of a German Sheppard dog in 40 months after injecting Stem Cells. I figure, they should be able to do this for Discs too.

aborgfield · 08-01-2010, 10:06 PM

Hey Im 26 and in 4 days im having L4-L5 and L5-S1 fusion. I am also scared and hope that this helps my pain. I also had a microdiscectomy in april of 2010 it helped for about 2 weeks. I feel for you and hope things go well. Good luck

Kelliew · 08-07-2010, 07:42 AM

Hi everyone its been a long time since i have posted an update mostly because i dont like to think about this crpa i have been going through i have had a very slow recovery and had alot of pain and nerve pain that i did not have before the surgery. I wish i could say that things are going great but they are not going that well and i keep being told it will be a full year before you will be fully healed.

I now am dealing with a hurniated disc in my neck with left arm pain and tingling i dont understand why i have not had any injury for either of my problems. I still have lower back pain and still on pain meds but the doc now has started to wheen me off the percocet but it not going that great i know that i have to get off the meds but i would really like a quality of life and right now even with the pain that i have with the meds i can still do some things with my family not much but atleast i can walk with them even though i do pay for it the next day.

I still have numbness in my foot and on the side of my right leg not sure that will ever come back its just been too long it got better from right after surgery but its still pretty bad really hard to whear a reg shoe since its summer i where filp flops. well i really hope that things are going well for everyone and i will check back soon have a LP day and night, Kellie

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