Update for hardware Removal

[Ptweety]

Well, I had the hardware removed on 7/23/03. 2 rods and 6 screws. I am still having a lot of pain in my back, and the Doctor wants to wait for 6 weeks before he sees me to decide whether I will have to have L3-L4 fused. I had the fusion on L4-L5, L5-S1, then I had the pain from the hardware so he removed the hardware. On L3-L4 he took bone out and disk and put in cadaver and my own hip bone and it rejected.
This doctor never believed in fibromylgia in which I had but his sister did.
I told him that I have had 3 clinics diagnose me with it, but I know the difference between the back pain and the fibro.
Now I called and told him how much pain I was still in and he said the pain should be gone by now, but now he says he thinks it is the fibromylgia. But though he never believed in the fibro before! Figure that one out! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif
If I keep having pain, the doctor wants to go in through anterior and do the fusion and have a vascular doctor present to move all the organs and arteries out of the way before He can get to the back. That sounds very scary!!!!
I want to get a 2nd opinion, which before I had my fusion I had several opinions and they didn't want to touch me because of him already being in there. They all said my back was not a candidate for fusion. But the doctor who did the surgery did the extensive testing where all the other Doctors didn't, he did tests such as the myelgram and the discogram (the most painful test I ever had to go through) Besides an EMG! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/dizzy.gif
I am going to Mayo Clinic for my 2nd opinion on the 5th of September, What does everyone think about this. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/idea.gif Is this a good Idea or is there anywhere better than there?????
I am so glad to have these postings they really do have excellent information on here!!! Thank you for keeping it going!
I am taking all sorts of meds for the pain,
I take darvecet 650mg, baclofen for muscle relaxers,
neurontin 300MG 2 times a day, Clonazapam for the anxiety and the pain, and Effexor for the fibromylgia and depression. I am so tired of taking meds, I just want to be healthy again! I wish they could just give me a new back!!!!
We just have to keep the faith and yes there are Angels among us! I believe Whole heartedly!! :angels:
Take care all!

[This message has been edited by Ptweety (edited 08-14-2003).]

[Monie]

Hey,PTweety,
I'm so glad to see your post. I need information about your removal of hardware. I am having my 2 rods and 6 screws removed THIS MONDAY AUG. 18, so I am hoping you will check back quickly. This will be my 5th back surgery. I have degenerative disc disease. Three surgeries were laminectomies and the fourth was Anterior/posterior 3 level lumbar fusion.

I also have info that will help you too because I had the surgery that you are wondering about...ANTERIOR AND POSTERIOR fusion of 3 levels in my lumbar.

I'm gonna have to make this fast. I wrote you a reply that took me over an hour to word it right and make it cute with the smilies only to have it erased or lost!!!! So here goes.

Can you tell that it has made a difference for the better to get the hardware removed???

Was the surgery a bad one??? How long did it take?? How long was your hospital stay???

I am not able to do anything now...driving, cooking, cleaning, and have had to start taking my walker because I never know when I am going to have to use it to walk due to spasms and pain. It takes a huge effort just to take a shower and then after that I have to go to bed because I am in pain and bad spasms.

I take Lortab 10's for pain, soma for muscle spasms, vioxx for anti-inflammoratory, gabitril for sciatic nerve pain.

The Anterior and Posterior fusion is very serious and you should not go into it lightly....KNOW that it is a very painful surgery and recover and will take about a year to fully recover. I'm not trying to scare you but to tell you the truth about my situation. of course everyone is different but everyone that I've talked to about it says that it took them a full year to recover.

The incisions were about 10 inches long. From what I hear though that varies from doctor to doctor...although i did have 2 different ones in surgery at the same time....the cardiovascular to remove organs and things while the ortho installed the hardware and the other work.

I do have other things that will help you if you do have it done that certainly helped me. The hip pain was very painful where they removed my bone to use but someone told me how to relieve the pain for that and I'll explain it if you need it.

Also, I needed to stay longer than I did in the hospital because of the pain (I only stayed 10 days)... but the therapist in the hospital tricked me into doing more walking. I pushed myself to walk more than I was even able to do thinking I was helping myself to recover sooner. BUT when I did that the insurance made me go home because I had walked their required measurement! So be careful not to do that...I'm not saying to disregard what the therapist say but don't push yourself too hard. You do have the right to refuse the therapy...which I did not know at the time! I would cry just thinking they were coming to make me walk and I am certainly no wimp!

I am anxious to find out how you are doing. I HAVE to get well do the fact that my 15 year old son is in congestive heart failure and has been hospitalized 3 times since May and the Doctor was able to treat him at home on 2 other times inbetween so that we wouldn't have to go in. It's only a miracle that I have been able to go with him and stay because of my back pain. He has been in the icu everytime which means sleeping in the waiting room or sitting all day. Ouch!

Also....my other son had fibromylia, lumbar scherllman's disease and bulging disc......what helped him to recover from the fibromylia was about 4 weeks with 2 sessions a week of deep tissue massage from a massage therapists. The insurance wouldn't pay for it because it was not a medical place but it was worth it because it helped him to be able to go back to school. He had been out for 7 months!!! This has happened 2 different times with him and both times that is what helped. (He even has 6 or 7 epidurals and they didn't work!)
Thanks for your help and I hope that I helped you.

May God bless you and I hope to talk to you soon.
Monie

[Ptweety]

Monie,
I am not sure you are going to get this before your surgery since it is now the 18th. I am sorry I didn't get to you sooner.
The surgery went well, but it took 2 hours to wake me up from recover, which was not fun. I could see them trying to wake me up but I couldn't wake up. This does not happen to everyone. this is the first time it has happened to me for all the surgeries I went through. I had a severe headache after the surgery, but they don't know if it was a spinal fluid leak or from any meds they gave me. I had asked the Doctor and he thought it was a spinal headache.
I hope you don't go through that.
The stay was only to be outpatient. Go in one day and just stay over night for observation. Ended up staying 3 days due to the headaches and nauseated.
I had 6 screws and 2 rods also removed.
I am having a lot of pain, and don't know why. It has been 4 weeks tom and shouldn't be this long at all to have pain. I am the same way, I have to walk with a cane, because I just can't walk very good! I walk so far, and I get really sore.
I get so tired of this pain, and I take vicoden for pain, sometime darvacet. Depends on how bad the pain is. I also take baclofen for the muscle spasms, and fibromylgia. I take neurotin 300mg 2x's a day for muscle spasms from fibromylgia and back pain. I take klonopin 2 times a day 1 mg each, and 2 mg at night for restless leg syndrome and for muscle spasms.
I have gone to massage therapist too, but in between surgeries and especially now, it is hard to go since I am in so much pain in my back.
I wish you the Best of Luck with your surgery.
The surgery they want to do on me for L3-L4 is only Anterior. I have already had all the other surgeries Posterior and for what they want to do they have to do Anterior.
I am going out to Mayo Clinic the 5th of Sept. to see what is wrong with the back. Maybe they will do some extensive tests to find out what is going on with me.
I also take unithroid for my thyroid, and they have changed it 3 times in the last 2 months, it won't regulate.
I take Effexor for Depression and for the fibromylgia also.
I take Estrodial for menopause.
I feel like I am falling apart!! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/blob_fire.gif

Ptweety