Good fusion outcomes wanted!

Fiona_Jo

An Orthopedic Surgeon did my fusion procedure. But, he sent me to a neurologist to do the EMG (Nerve study), he said the nerve study gave him a map of what nerves were being compressed/damaged.

Jo

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080807-Cervical-Stim~071707-ACDF-C5-C7 w/instrumentation/bone graft~'07/06 Lumber instrum. removed 05/04-Fusion(DDD/Collapsed Disc L5-S1)08/99-Microdisectomy(Herniated Disc) ~Lupus/EDS,Migraine

onthemendnow

An orthopedic surgeon did my fusion. I picked him, btw, because he'd operated successfully on a 73 year old woman I know; I figured I'm a spring chicken compared to her, I'll give him a try.

I'm doing very well. Burning sciatica I'd had for 2 years has been gone since surgery. I've had some pain lately in the hip area; I had the bone harvested from that area and had read that it could cause more post-op pain than the back incision. For me, it does. But the hip has been somewhat better the past few days. In any case (even if hip pain were to remain) so far I'm so much better than pre-surgery. Went to one of those town fairs today - I could NEVER walk around for an hour a year ago.

magnetlady45

Hi Jamie:

Good luck with your fusion surgery. I am now almost 1 year postop and am glad that I went ahead and had my fusion surgery. Be sure to listen and follow all of the doctor's instructions. Take it easy, don't overdo, and if you have any questions, know that we are here for you. I will be thinking about you.

Christi

magnetlady45

A very good orthopoedic surgeon did my fusion. I would recommend him to anyone here in Ohio. First surgery I had was neurosurgeon, 2nd surgery by an orthopoedic not the same one that did my 3rd surgery. 3rd surgeon was a specialist.

Christi

oxydave

i had cervical fusion done 2 years ago...c-5,6 and, 7. it worked great! im 99% pain free. the only problem i have now is that im addicted to the oxycontin i took for pain control prior to surgury. so, i DO feel good! seriously.....if you have massive pain from ruptured disks.....find a good doctor. and, HAVE the surgury! dave

JerryZ217

I had my fusion surgery on April 8, 2004. I had the L5-S1 disc and the one above it removed, and replaced with cadaver discs. They also put in 4 rods and 6 screws to complete the fusion. I haven't taken any pain meds in over a month. I am on Neurontin and a muscle relaxer 3 times a day. I am on my 3rd week of PT. I still feel some minor pressure in my lower back and some muscle pain in my butt and hips. I think this is from over exercise though because I walk a lot and up and down stairs for strengthening. From the things I have read on this message board, I feel very fortunate regarding my level of recovery. Prior to reading these postings, I was worried that I wasn't doing so well.

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I want to rock n roll all night and party every day (as soon as possible)

onthemendnow

I had my 4 month post-op checkup today and the doctor said I'm doing great. The x-rays show the hardware where it's supposed to be, and some bone growth is now visible. He said my PT can become more aggressive, concentrating on increasing mobility and strength. And he said I can bend ... that was weird! I was fully prepared to not bend ever again.

I asked about the pain I've been having in my hip area (where bone was harvested) and he allayed my concerns by saying he 'disturbed a perfectly healthy area to help the bad area'. I'm not expressing it well here, but he's able to calm me without dismissing my concerns and without feeding into them also. What I'm feeling is ok, he said, and to just continue exercising to work thru it.

Just wanted to update my good fusion outcome.

lfoster21

Great news from both onthemendnow and Jerryz217. Both of your comments are encouraging. Please keep up the great work and keep us posted. You have experiences many of us need to hear.

Lorie

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Brooke79

Hello Everyone

Im now 5 weeks post op from my second PLIF. The experience the second time has been soooo different to the first time. After my first surgery things never really got anywhere, i was in pain quite a bit and while it did calm down, there was always some degree of pain.

This time the hospital stay was better (pain wise) and things have been progressing along nicely. If i go out (to the shops) its really only 1 trip a day. I am not in any pain really at all. I am on no pain medication. The only discomfort i get is from my graft site, and that is excusable, I dont pay much attention to that because it's not really got anything to do with the fusion.

Unfortunately i can not do as much exercise as i should be doing at this stage because my scar has a stitch poking through from the deeper layers and this causes discomfort if i lay on my back because of the swelling at the site, so i cant do my floor exercises. This has been infected for about 2 weeks now and so my local doctor wishes to cut the stitch out tommorrow ( ).. she said she'd give me anesthetic but im sick of people touching my back..seriously.

I had my second surgery performed with RHBMP2 and that is supposed to be able to achieve a solid fusion within 3 months. The surgeon managed to leave some solid bone in place from the first surgery so we already had a little bit of a head start so really, all the RHBMP2 has to do is build on that. I think because i didnt have any spasms this time and i have been extra careful to be very cautious of what i do, there is no reason fro any fractures to develop in the graft.

I am positive.

Brooke

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October 2003 PLIF for L5S1 Spondy
May 2004 PLIF revision RHBMP2

MistyAtlGa

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][SIZE=3][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I just wanted to "bump" this message back so I'll remember to read it tonight while preparing for in the morning..........

Misty [/FONT] [/SIZE] [/COLOR]

imajica

Hi All,

I am new to the boards...I have just spent the last hour reading everyone's experiences with fusions. Here's my story:

I began experiencing numbness in my fingers about 9 months ago...which has progressively gotten worse. There is not pain involved (thank goodness), but my fine motor skills in my hands are shot. I am going to meet with the surgeon next week about a cervical fusion between my 5-6 vertibrae...and I am scared to death.

I know I should count my blessings, but I am also worried about how much my life will change. I am a 32 year old male that plays competitive volleyball, runs, and lifts weights regularly. Is there anyone out there that has had this procedure and has been able to pick up competitive sports again?

Thanks for your input!

Jacen

Dansgirl

I want to thank everyone for all the good advice, info, and good vibes provided on this site. I am new here and scheduled for a 2 level fusion at S1-L5, L5-L4, on August 10th at 7:30am. I was incredibly nervous (and still sorta am ) before I found this board. I just want to say happy healing to all who have had their surgeries. Wish me luck and a good recovery.

Jess

rkresha

I just had an L5-S1 fusion with the screws, so I do not know what a cervical prcedure might be like, but I did find out something interesting when I was researching my doctor here in San Antonnio area. His name is Dr. Lloyd Youngblood. I "googled" his name and up popped around 250 references, nearly all of them from professional wrestlers with basically the same concern, a return to competitive action.

It seemed to start with an injury to "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who owns a ranch not far from where I live... and he had such a good experience at Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital, where Youngblood has been doing these for 25 years, that he started recommending Youngblood to other wrestlers. Consequently, my faith in his abilities increased a lot. I hope you can find somebody in whatever area you are to do your procedure. It sounds like it may take a year and some physical therapy to "harden" the areas affected, but with a good doctor, a can-do attitude, following instructions, and hard work can do wonders.

I am six weeks post-op and just got my first x-ray. It shows the whole thing holding together and starting out ok. I can't lift more than 10 pounds and do excercises and walk(I do as many chores as I can and plan any lifting or reaching very carefully to maintain a straight back.

I am also looking into a calcuim supplement that I found a link to on this board, EZorb, an anhydrous aspartate calcuim that is from vegetable sources and, according to the website, is 92% absorbable into the body. This compares to the 25% rates you get from calcuim citrate stuff(my wife and I use Citracal religiously - she for prevention of bone loss for osteoporosis and I for prevention of colon pollops). It costs about $40 for a month's supply, significantly more than the $10 for Citracal, but if it is that much more absorbed, my thought is that it might be helpful for promoting a calcium-demanding project like bone fusion. I ordered some yesterday, so have received it or any experience with it. Anybody out there who has tried this stuff?

Ray K

P.S. when I tried posting this, an automatic URL was posted for EZorb. See what you think.

jettsmom

Hey Everyone!
Well, it's my turn to post and kinda weird to be on the other side now..post lumbar fusion at L5. I'm 4 weeks now and I just had my first x-ray. He said everything looked good and could see early bone fusing. I know I have a long road ahead of me but I think I'm doing well. I still have some leg pain eveyday but am able to get around just fine, just keeping my fingers crossed that in time that will go away. I have'nt taken any pain killers since I left the hospital and my back feels for the most part normal. The hip pain was more irritating then anything but that got better over the first two weeks. I hope people who have upcoming fusions know that there is hope and I think that the worse part was the anticipation of the surgery and being scared of getting through such a big procedure and wondering if your gonna be ok. YOU WILL BE OK. At least there's a good chance of it! Anyways, good luck to all that are in recovery and for those who have upcoming surgeries.