Just wondering if this is normal following L5/S1 fusion???? - Page 4

deviphish · 06-01-2008, 03:54 PM

Linda , I am so very sorry that your in such pain , hopefully your doctor can fix the problem.. Just take deep breathes in & out , and relax - - we are all here for you 24/7 !! I hate to hear that you we're crying just because you could'nt walk that far , I'm sorry Linda..

I switched my P.M Dr. this new guy is SO much easier to talk to , he will listen to every problem I have & not rush me out.. He undersands that I'm still in pain and wants to help me any way that he can, he has me on oxycodone hcl (no tylenol) AKA : roxicodone -thy are 30 mg.. This new medicine made a big improvement on my pain level , I'M still hurting though.. I did get termanated from my work , we're only aloud to have 6 months off for a personal leave - MAY 20th was 180 days.. I will be getting cobra for $350 a month , and that will be a major set back for me.. I just took out some of my stock money to pay for my bills , I will NOT tuch my 401k..

How long will I be out of work for ? All i NO IS THAT I'M NOT READY YET !!!!! Linda please let me no if I can do anything to help with your pain , i no we will be chatting soon O.K ------- KEEP YOUR HEAD UP ! BILLY BOY

deviphish · 06-01-2008, 04:18 PM

Linda , I am so very sorry that your in such pain , hopefully your doctor can fix the problem.. Just take deep breathes in & out , and relax - - we are all here for you 24/7 !! I hate to hear that you we're crying just because you could'nt walk that far , I'm sorry Linda..

I switched my P.M Dr. this new guy is SO much easier to talk to , he will listen to every problem I have & not rush me out.. He undersands that I'm still in pain and wants to help me any way that he can, he has me on oxycodone hcl (no tylenol) AKA : roxicodone -thy are 30 mg.. This new medicine made a big improvement on my pain level , I'M still hurting though.. I did get termanated from my work , we're only aloud to have 6 months off for a personal leave - MAY 20th was 180 days.. I will be getting cobra for $350 a month , and that will be a major set back for me.. I just took out some of my stock money to pay for my bills , I will NOT tuch my 401k..

How long will I be out of work for ? All i NO IS THAT I'M NOT READY YET !!!!! Linda please let me no if I can do anything to help with your pain , i no we will be chatting soon O.K ------- KEEP YOUR HEAD UP ! BILLY BOY

kyma3 · 06-02-2008, 01:39 AM

Hey Laf I didn't have the bone graft they used donor bone. I am thinking that maybe it is due to the 4 bone spurs they found that had not shown up on any of my MRI's so we don't know how long the nerves had been compressed and my surgeon said the nerves really looked irritated.

tmv when I mentioned the pain to my neurosurgeon before making the surgery decision he shook his head and said it was due to the condition of my back in the L5/S1 area. One doctor says arthritis and the other says spinal condition. I also had a bad day today but it was the knee giving me the problems today. I woke up in pain and didn't do anything. I hope the pool is warm tomorrow because I want to get in there so bad and my grandson will be over to help me so he can help me get out if I have problems.

Billy Boy you are so sweet and I hate being so emotional but when I was crying I was hurting so bad because I had overdone. I was also mad at myself but then I went out with my husband on Saturday and was out too long because he doesn't understand that I can't stand up on my feet for very long. I said early I just had a terrible day today because I woke up in pain. Then all of a sudden I became nauseated and was vomiting every 15-20minutes and I didn't have much in my stomach so pretty much dry heaves.
I feel like this was a wasted day and my husband just doesn't understand.

I hope things work out for you on employment. When I was teminated I wasn't ready either even though I had given them 20 years. I know if I had gone back I would have eventually been terminated and then I wouldn't have gotten my LTD so I guess things worked out. I had to pay $1000.00/month for my Cobra but we really didn't have a choice with all my medical conditions and my husband had just had surgery for kidney cancer (he is really doing good now). I ended up getting my SS disability but won't have Medicare for awhile so I hope I continue with my LTD until then. All the kids and grandkids went to Branson, Missouri to see my in-laws for 4 days and I told them I just couldn't handle a 9 hour drive so I think I was upset about that also. I told my husband he should have gone but he didn't want to leave me alone.You are all doing so much for me just being here and knowing that you understand.

Everyone take care and hopefully this will be a good pain free week for everyone.

Linda

Eva32159 · 06-03-2008, 08:38 AM

HI Kyma - so very sorry you're having such a rough time. You have such high hopes that with the surgery you'll be pain free... now you have another that wasn't there before.

My 2nd surgery L4 thru S1 in Dec /05 sounds similar to your situation. It is likely your nerves taking their first "breath" in a long while. While I pray that is the right answer, please know that there's a possibility that it isn't temporary.

When you have numbness like you've described, especially if it doesn't go away completely in a very short period of time, it would be prudent to do another MRI. With hardware, they'll need to do it with the contrast and it may not be an easy read but they need to rule out slipped hardware or floating bits, or whatever.

I couldn't take Neurontin or Lyrica either. Finally 2 weeks ago he prescribed Baclofen (a muscle relaxer for MS or spinal cord injuries) and after over 4 years, I finally have periods in my day where I'm pain free.

Mine pain and numbness turned out to be permanent nerve damage which showed up on the series of EMGs my PM did. It was the only explaination as nothering showed up on the x-ray, CT myleogram or MRIs

I used to stand on one foot with the other, bent at the knee and resting on my standing knee. My family started calling me "Stork". It would have been funny if I wasn't in so darn much pain.

One caution though. Do not spend more than a few brief moments sitting upright. It is the worst possible position for you for a long time after this surgery.

Rest laying in your bed and continue taking these rest periods for months if your body is still showing signs of pain. This surgery takes a long time to heal properly. You are growing bone over the hardware to solidify the fusion. That can take months. Do your body a favor and rest so it can do the job of mending.

These pain meds do a good job for the most part of masking the pain. It is the pain post surgery that tells you to slow down.

I hope you find the answer to your pain. I hope even more that the pain just goes away and you are pain-free.

Eva

kyma3 · 06-04-2008, 03:20 AM

Eva thank you so much for your posting and information. I know what you mean about permanent nerve damage because I have that from surgery done on my cervical spine twice. After 18 months the doctor told me the damage was permanent and it was confirmed with an EMG test. Of course that still bothers me also with this new pain.

I never thought about still not sitting for very long since it has been 3 months but I guess that does make sense. They have ordered just the simple x-rays when I go back to see him the end of June so we will see what that shows.

I am concerned about the swelling that I am having in my legs and feet and the problems with my bladder so I am going to see my regular GP tomorrow. I am having so many problems with my knees also and my rheumatologist is out of town so they recommend you go see your family doctor. Hopefully I will find out something tomorrow. Will let everyone know what I find out tomorrow.

Linda

I am not having much help with my pain medication but will talk to him about that when I see the neurosurgeon at the end of this month.