Shoreline

Hey James, I understand thepain is what's concerning you the most and although the doc seems to thnk you should be jus fine, without takng your complaints seriously he can be overlooking some major problems.

You could have an infection, The donar bone could have slipped out of place because the hardware is attached to the vertabrea, not the donar bone to hold it in place. Screws placed into the pedicales can cause fractures. Rather than simply complaining about pain, I would ask this doc how does ehe know that something hasn't gone wrong. Have you had any foloow up with the NS yet or simply a couple scripts written or called in.

What dose of meds were you on prior to the surgery. If you were on a large dose of meds, the vicodin may not be effective and often folks that have been in pain mnagement for awhile r[prior to surgery have a much more difficult time managing post op pain. Surgeons don't always agree with PM docs and the meds your on and tecan be quick to get you off. If your experiencing withdrawal from a decrease in meds, that would ncrease your level of pain without anything being wrong.

If your NS is unresponsive when you ask him about the possibility of infectin or slippage or fractures, I would go to the ER and get some basic diagnostics done to check the integrety of the fusion and posibility of infection. If they can't find anything, they will likely give you something to relive the pain then and then follow up with your GP if the NS isn't going to be more helpful. But an increase in pain at the two week point could very well mean something has gone wrong an you need to be checked out. Simple Xrays and blood work can rule out infection or slipage of bone plugs or fractures from screw insertion.

I certainly wouldn't sit around and just suffer when you don't know if there is a problem and I certainly wouldn't check out when you may be feeling much better in a matter of weeks. You have to be proactive in your care and if your surgeon isn't willing to consider the possiblity of complications or surgical failure than you need someone that can at least evaluate what's going on. You can get an Ortho or NS consult at the ER and if there is a problem get it adressed by the doc that diagnosis the problem. If they can't find a problem than follow up with your GP and explain the situation.
Good luck, Dave