Just a brief check in after my surgery. Doc said things went very well -- no surprises. I was wrong -- he did not use BMP, says it causes too many problems in cervical spine, just donor bone and plate.
1st 24 hours were not a lot of fun, but that is to be expected. My urinary tract was not responding, so needed a catheter, but that resolved quickly. (Nothing like incentive!) Biggest problem was right side of throat, where incision was, and muscle spasms upper back and shoulders, as many here have described.
Did enough laps around the floor yesterday that doc sent me home last night about 7 PM -- about 34 hours after surgery ended. Unbelievable . . . next step will be "drive through" ACDF!
Pain is not too bad right now -- I'm trying 250 mg Vicodin every 6 hours. plus muscle relaxant. Throat soreness up to my ear, swallowing and the spasms are biggest complaints, but really not bad for so soon after surgery. I am hopeful that the surgery worked -- once these spasms die down a little bit, I'll be able to tell better, but I am cautiously optimistic.
Good day Ohio........Glad to hear no major problems.........can "feel you" on the urinary problem........Embrace the help at home.......Slow goes the recovery....but focus on the healing journey......each day will be a little better.......but if there is a day that seems to be a tiny set back...don't worry, it will pass........Blessings to you and your wife and family.......Embrace them also for being there for you.......angela
Hey OhioGolfer--So glad to hear you did well, and no complications... Love the drive-thru ACDF comment and nothing like incentive comment. Made me laugh. Glad to see you still have a sense of humor about it all. Very glad to hear that things went well for you. Hang in there...By the way, where in Ohio are you?
Glad to hear you are feeling well and on track. As to the drive thru ACDF, I hear you. I think at this point the insurance companies all want any type surgery to be no more than a 24 hour stay. Just signed a petition for breast cancer. They are trying to make mastectomy patients an outpatient type surgery. This is crazy. My mother had a mastectomy and had to wear the drain bag for days. Next they will be making heart surgery patients outpatient. Don't you feel like you are just a piece of meat at the butcher shop?
Melinda , that is so true, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES, THEY RUN THIS DAMN COUNTRY, YOU can bet when one of their family members (of a CEO) are in the hospital they probably stay as long as they want. I have never seen "MD" after the name of someone I deal with in the insurance business...........Why don't we just start going to the insurance office for our medical care.?
Now that's an idea. Have our surgery done at an insurance office. Then they could do the billings, denial of care, etc. all in one location. Sounds economical to me (for the insurance). The whole process is amazing. The hospital and docs, etc. billed my insurance for thousands of dollars. The insurance would only pay about 1/3 of what they were billed. Then it was up to the docs to decide if I owed the difference or just owed the difference between what the insurance would pay and my percentage. Thank heavens they opted for just my 25% of what the insurance agreed to. I finally figured out the docs can then right off the rest for tax purposes. It seems to be just one big cycle. I feel so sorry for people who are not insured or are underinsured.
Good day Ohio........Glad to hear no major problems.........can "feel you" on the urinary problem........Embrace the help at home.......Slow goes the recovery....but focus on the healing journey......each day will be a little better.......but if there is a day that seems to be a tiny set back...don't worry, it will pass........Blessings to you and your wife and family.......Embrace them also for being there for you.......angela
