1st post surgery Dr visit today

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2Bbackontop

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Hi all! I had my appt with my surgeon this morning. My surgery was on 2/19-- 18 days ago. He looked at the incision (it is practicaly healed). He asked about my pain and pain med usage. I told him I had 22.5 mgs of oxycodone yesterday and 15mg the day before. He laughed at my specificity.:D He didnt want me to not take it if I needed it. I asked him about returning to work time estimates. He said not to rush it but if I wanted to work a couple of hours a day for a few days a week maybe that would be ok in a few weeks if I felt like it. He will see me again on 4/2 and he will do an xray at that time. I asked him to include my hips because sometimes they hurt alot, like arthritis. My knees hurt so much from bending the so called right way, too. :( I asked him if I could resume taking my nsaid and he surprisingly said yes to this. Does any one have thoughts on this? Also, I drove home because my wife was very sick.. It was only a half hour but OMG, I got home and HURT bad. I am flat on my back now. I had no idea driving would do that. Any one have that happen to them? Thanks!

Peace and Prayers,
Brett
L5S1 fusion PLIF and laminectomy 2/08
L5S1 microdiskectomy 10/04
 
Regarding the NSAIRAB, my surgeon prescribed celebrex for me at my first post-surgical appointment after a one level PLIF on Jan. 7th....so I guess some docs will let their patients take NSAIRAB when needed after fusion.

From your driving experience home I hope you'll see that you shouldn't try to rush back to work too soon. Our minRAB are willing but our bodies need to heal. You need to take it easy and give yourself a chance to heal. After all, you don't want to have to do it all over again sometime soon.
 
Hi 2,
I'm very surprised that your doctor said you could take NSAIRAB. Most doctors don't want you taking them until you're fused, as it could interfere with the fusion process. May I ask why you want to take it? Would Tylenol do just as well? Really, I would avoid it if at all possible.

As far as driving, if you can manage it, great. Some doctors are fine with driving as soon as 2 weeks. Mine said to wait until 6 weeks, but even at that point, it was really hard to endure it. Just be careful. It's easy to twist without realizing it, as you need to check over your shoulder to change lanes, etc., and may go too far just out of habit. You don't want to twist while you're trying to fuse.

You sound good! Stay away from your wife, though. (Sorry!) You don't need to get sick while you're recovering.

If you must return to work, take all your supplies with you -- grabber, heating pad, meRAB, ice packs, etc. Some people have gone back to work within weeks out of necessity, but they've not been happy campers. Best to be camping out on your sofa if you can! :)

Take care,
Emily
 
Hey Brett,

SounRAB like you're doing pretty good. Congrats!

I would say if you can get away with not taking the NSAIRAB then don't. You really don't want to impede the blood flow to the surgery area, your healing bones really need that blood! I would go up on all the other pain medicines before taking the NSAIRAB.

As for driving... My doc didn't want me driving at all if I didn't have to. It had more to do with the amount of medication I was on than hurting my back. That said... last week I went on my first little vacation in a while (my TLIF was 4 months ago). I drove 2.5 hours a day for 3 days. Since I got back, i've been really sore in the back (no nerve pain). I wish I 'd taken it a little easier now.

If you don't have to drive I would put it off as long as possible. Driving will never make your back feel better. Maybe psychologically it's good to get away, but if you don't have to I would wait till at least the 2 month mark.
 
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