2 years out of L-4 L-5 s-1 fusion

  • Thread starter Thread starter charitymp
  • Start date Start date
C

charitymp

Guest
I'm 32 yrs old, I have had the L4-5 & S-1 fusion. I was born w/o a disc on my S-1. theyput in bone material. I still have alot of pain , I did the pain management, got addicted to lortab and morphine. I have chronic pain, also have osteprosis, and arthritis, along with(DDD) Disc Degenerate Disease.
I want to exercise and get back to a semi- normal routine, but I have so many restictions. I did PT. and now my insurance won't pay for anymore, a time limit thing? I can't run, or ride bikes or or sit ups or benRAB, I love to swim but I can't move the next day:(I can't lay flat w/o it bothering me, house work is still hard, basic cleaning -vacuum, mopping.
Anyone else have these issues?
Charity
 
Fusion does put limits on you. You could go to yoga and explain to the instructor that you have had a fusion. There are still things that you can do in yoga to help you exercise and strengthen your back.

I am lucky, my insurance covers my PT-and I go twice a week and have for the past four years. I'm very lucky. But it your PT gave you exercises to dom keep them up..they help.

When you lay flat, put pillows under your knees so that your back will lay flat naturally. I sleep with a wedge under me knees all the time and it helps alot.

My surgeon told me not to vacuum, as it was hard on the back with the twisting and pulling. Perhaps you can ask your hubby to do it, or if you aren't married, enlist a friend for the price of a desert....

Are you under the care of a PM doctor? Just asking as you said you had chronic pain. You might find that they are a big help in getting your pain under control....

good luck.
 
Hi thanks for the reply,
You must have great insurance !
I am married, but housework isn't his thing, lol.
I have the exercises from my PT. I do have a PM Dr. I doing the lidocane patches, along with tylenol and Ice.
 
Lidocaine patches just hit the area they are on. You might want to ask for something stronger as far as meRAB go. Too much tylenol in your system isn't good for your liver. You shouldn't have to be icing to take care of pain. Tell you pm that what you have isn't controlling your pain and you need something stronger. That should be enough. You don't want to go in asking for certain meRAB..
 
Thanks for your thread I am waiting still for my L4 to S1 fusion, under 5 months to go but I am always looking for info on recovery from fusion and on what I have to expect. I am very concerned not just about the surgery but after as I am pretty much on my own apart from my elderly parents. I do live with my sister but she is only home after 6pm and away at 6am so all she will be able to help with is a meal at night. So what can I do? Can I get through this on my own or am I going to be in a lot of problems. I really don't know what I can do other than move in with the parents. I am scared I will not get the treatment I may need physically and emotionally. It really has me up at night contemplating what to do about it. I don't know if there is any where near to do physio etc. Also the worrying is not good for me and it is bringing back my depression. If anyone can give me some help I would really appreciate it. Allan
 
Allan,
I am glad I had the surgery, I was in so much more pain, and the nerve damage in my leg was unbarable, I got to the pouint were I couldn't walk, far -only around the house, drive or just moving around. I have a son who was in the 2nd. grade at the time. My husband worked all the time, it was tough but I made do. I couldn't even sit up to go pee w/o taken me for ever to sit up. I was in the hospital for 5 days. normal stay time is 2-3 days. I had a blood clot in my groin right after surgery, they wanted me to lay flat until the clot was gone, but usally they want you up just a couple hours after surgery. I'm alot better off now, than prior to my surgery. I have alot of pain but atleast I can walk, drive and do alot of stuff I couldn't . I just have to watch bounderies,which is very hard for me, I'm very active and always have been. That is alot of the causes of my pain .
Good luck with your surgery, I was scared at first just like you, but now, I'm very thankful I had it done. Yes, you will need someone to look after you for your recovery.
Charity
 
Every insurance plan is different, but most limit how many physical therapy visits you can have per year.

And most insurance plans run 1/1 - 12/31 of each year. That's how my plan is and I can have 26 PT visits per year. So I'm being conservative since I may need back and knee PT. I always make sure the therapist knows how many sessions I have left so that we can utilize my sessions well and I can do as much at home as possible. Now some plans run on other dates, I have a friend who has an insurance policy that runs 10/01 - 09/31 each year. So she's in PT now and trying to make sure she uses all her PT by 09/31 to get the most benefit out of what is available to her.

With my back surgeries things like cleaning house have been difficult. I do the light stuff (dusting) and my husband does some of the vacuuming and we have someone come in to do the bathrooms and kitchen since I can't scrub those as much as I'd like.
 
Back
Top