20 months out from double fusion - feel good!

  • Thread starter Thread starter deviphish
  • Start date Start date
D

deviphish

Guest
ZEROMAN =_=_= Hello 0man , my name is BILLY and i am new to this site.. I think this is a wounderfull site , i thank god that i did find it ! EVRY ONE on this site is amazeing , it shows that there is a lot of love out thare.. Even when people are out and down + in lots of pain , they are here for me to talk with , and just cope to what i'm going threw.. I'm having a posterior 2 level fusion on 2.20 {2 days} at my l4/l5,l5/s1 levels , they are removing bone from my pelvic area for the graft - having 2 roRAB and 6 screws inplanted in my back !!
I think it's awsome that your fusion is 100 % and fused beautifully !!! i love hearing success stories , and my friend thats exactly what your story is. Congratulations on your recovery , how long did it take for you to really feel better ? I'm pretty nervous right now ZEROMAN , and i have all the emotions running thre my head am i making the right choice , how long is recovery , and how long will i be out from work ?? typicall i'm sure , i just noo that this a major surgey - i had a lamenctomy in 2004 , so i sort of no what to expect , heard the pelvic area thats used for the graft hurts pretty bad after surgery..

god bless 0man , good luck - -my name is BILLYbOy
 
Hi folks

havent been on for a while, been enjoying a more or less pain free existence so I havent had much time to check in here.

brief history: blew my L3-4-5 discs after a fall, had a double ALIF fusion in july 06 with cages and BMP. "enjoyed" a long recovery with all its ups and downs. had all the "joys" of back surgery.. wondering if I did the right thing, bit of depression over how long it took to heal, scares that I messed it up, all the things you back folks know so well.

well last month saw the back surgeon again for a follow up and I am now 100% fused solid. "very good fusion" were his worRAB. NICE!

not to say I still dont feel a bit of pain now and again, I still do on occasion. nothing really bad, just enough to let me know that Im not young anymore and have 2 less discs in my back. I can forecast the weather pretty accurately now :) if I over do it I can get sore. however I would say 90% of the pre surgery pain is gone.

about the only thing that sucks is I now have a permanent 20 lb weight limit and have been told to vary my positions during the day.. no one position for more than 30 mins or so. not a big deal now except I have to be retrained as I was in construction before and thats a big no no now.

so for those in doubt THERE IS LIFE AFTER FUSION! for those recovering now after surgery, WALK WALK WALK, it will do wonders and youll feel better (dont overdo it though check with your surgeon as to how long and how many times a day).

thats about it for now, and a big hello to all you folks who helped me when I needed it.

best of luck and all my prayers for you all!
 
Hi there Zeroman, delighted to see your back, you gave me some good advice in my early recovery days I am now nearly 9 months since surgery. Still need to lye down after about 5 hours and then again later. So from about 8 am to 6 I would have spent 2 and half hours in the bed. Not bad for someone who was nearly totally bed ridden !!!! I am delighted you are doing so well, and I would watch the weight restriction its very easy to do. "Think of what your life was like with the back being bad". Mind what you have.

Question for you. You say walk walk walk, that is one think that makes me sore............... I gave up doing my 20 min walk on the threadmill as I found I would have to lye down after it and sorer for the day. Since Christmas I have found that I am able to stay up much longer without this walk. But do my physio exercises about 3 times aday. But to be honest I dont think they are of much good. Its lying on the floor pelvic tilt, lye on side and do the leg clamp...... lye of the stomach and lift leg, which I find hard as I have extremely tight hamstrings and quaRAB............... when I get up then I feel pressure feeling where the hardware is. Can you throw any light, or can anyone advise me on any other exercises that they feel loosened them out.
My physio has me now once every 3 weeks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (do you ever feel someone has given up on you !, say no more !)
Thanks Round 1
 
CONGRATULATIONS!!

I have missed you and am so happy that things have worked out for you!!
 
Dear Zero,

Congratulations!!! That is wonderful news! I know how happy I was the day my daughter's dr told us that. She is about one year ahead of you, June '05, and is also feeling great. Her dr told her to take care of her back and we continue to see him about every nine months for a recheck. He never gave her a 20 lb lifting limit. I will have to remind her of that, especially as she tries to help us move things in and out of her dorm.

Enjoy your time of feeling well. My daughter has been able to continue with many of her previous activities now - went snow skiing for the first time in three years and felt great, water skiing last summer. So I hope you can do that too! Best wishes. cas
 
Hi Zero, congradulations! It's awesome that it sounRAB like you had a successful surgical outcome and complete fusion. SounRAB like everything worked out for you, now you have to follow docs orders about weight limits and positioning and what you can do, etc. I know that will be very hard, but just look at how far you've come. No need to risk harm if you dont have to. Yup, construction would not be a good idea anymore. You mentioned retraining....any ideas what you will train in now? Are you in any kind of program or are doing this on your own?
 
What super-dee-duper news! Congratulations. I remeraber you from the boarRAB because my fusion was around the same time as yours. I felt about 80 percent success for the first year (Not too shabby, eh?) and now new problems have sprung up. Still, it's SO good to hear your news and it gives all of us hope for the future.
Schragie-girl
 
hi folks

sorry for the delay in replying, got busy.

thanks for the good wishes everyone. in one way its good to see familiar names again but in another its not as it means youre still having problems :(

Baybreeze, workmans comp is going to handle the retaining, I have an appt Monday to get it started. was going to be today but we are in the middle of a snowstorm so it was resheduled. Ill probably go into a computer field like IT or something. should be about right given my restrictions.

Justoneofus, sorry to hear about the flairup :( do you know what caused it? maybe once a month or so Ill be sore enough to wish I had a painkiller but its usually because I didnt pay attention to my restrictions.

deviphish76, well youve already had your surgery and hopefully recovering nice. post when you can and I and others will be glad to share our recovery tips.

Round1, my walks did make me sore but everyone from my doc to my frienRAB who had back surgery to all the folks here said to walk, so I did even when it hurt. its needed to stimulate bone growth as well as keeping the muscles around the surgery site in good shape so they can support the fusion.as far as hardware I dont have any screws, roRAB or plates, just cages which are now completely encased in bone. so I cant give any advice on that.

best of luck and all my prayers to everyone! :)
 
Hey. Not sure what's going on back there yet, but I think I know what set it off though. I workout and I was feeling my wheaties a bit too much one evening and was really stepping out on the treadmill and the sciatica decided to step in and stay for awhile. lol. I have noticed for the last 4 months or so, my walking gait (stride) had to be shortened. When I would step out.. I could really feel it.
Doc gave me a medrol pack and that helped, now we are going to try PT with his two therapists and see how I do. Then take it from there. Thanks for asking. Im glad you are doing so well. I do still take 1-vicodin daily and a 1 muscle relaxer.. and had that down to 1/2 tab of each for the last 2 months, but now back to the 1 of each daily for now. Hopefully PT will be fruitful.

You keep doing so well!!!
 
Hi Zeroman! How nice to hear from one of the old regulars!

I'm so glad for you that things are going so well. Just keep to that weight limit and take special care of your back. Hopefully you'll get to 100 with no more problems!

Take care!
Emily
 
Zero,
thank you for sharing with us your good news. We need good news here for a change. :):)

Enjoy every day, and continue a good work!:angel:
 
Hey there! Good to see you post and how well you are doing! My fusion was done a few months before yours, and I am about 85% improved pre-surgery for improvement. I have my limitations as well, and having a nasty flare up at the moment, but other than that I can not really complain at all, and have a modified version of a normal lifestyle.

Glad you came back to give us such a positive update! All the best to you. ;)
 
Oh, that's great, Zero about the retraining! At least that is some sort of help for you. If you go into IT just make sure it's not something where you'd be required to repair computers or put together computer networks and such. Those might involve all sorts of lifting & bending and such. Other than that, it wouldnt be a bad idea.

Workman's comp - isnt that another program through your state government such as unemployment or temp disability would be? I only ask b/c I might be able to get some sort of training through unemployment because of my physical limitations, because I said I cannot do certain things, like a stand up job or lifting or driving too long. I just wonder if the procedure for getting trainging thru work comp is similiar to the procedures for getting it thru unemployment.
 
Back
Top