6 weeks post op and concerned!!!

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dijo1963

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HI Guys,

Well it's been six weeks since my 2 level fusion with cage and hardware. I was going great guns up until about a week ago. Suddenly excructiating leg pain and lower back pain has had me sidelined. I have really been careful this last week thinking maybe I had over done it. I have a weakness when I stand in one spot for too long. eg I was at the shop and as I going to my handbag to get my purse I stepped back and my back gave way. I grabbed my partner before I hit the floor. This has happened 3 times in the last couple of weeks. I am now scared to go anywhere alone. I have a Dr's appointment next Tuesdayand certainly will tell him but has any one else experienced this? I am finding this period far more painful that the previous weeks. At night the extreme pains in my legs and sometimes the soles of my feet are like nothing else I've ever felt. When I first emerged from my op the pain in my butt and right leg had gone but has since returned with a vengeance. I am really upset to think I have traded one lot of pain for another.. What is going on.. I want to return to work ONE DAY.. I have orginally said at 6 weeks!!! now I have another 4 weeks and cant honestly say I will know for sure if I'll be ready then.. please guys can anyone shed some light on what is happening to me???
 
Hi there! There is a tendency to feel an increase in pain anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks. Apparently when the surgeons due the surgery they often inject nurabing stuff and steroiRAB in the surgical site and around this time this stuff wears off causing an increase of pain. This is pretty standard if you read the boarRAB. Sometimes meRAB will even have to be increased and people will have to be placed on nerve medication.

I found around this point my spa to be very beneficial. IF you have access to one and if your surgeon approves it, you might give it a whirl.

Good luck and I hope that you will be feeling better soon.
 
It sounRAB to me like you have been doing too much! Whatever happened to allowing your body to rest and recuperate? Perhaps I was very lazy, but I was told to stay in bed except when using the bathroom or walking, and I pretty much stuck to that routine for the first six weeks...and I just had one level fused.

I was also told that it could take anywhere from 6-12 months until I would start feeling "good" again. If you had pinched nerves, it takes a long time for them to start to rejuvenate. Often they are "angry" when the blood starts to flow through them again, and you can develop all kinRAB of new pains that you didn't have before. Hopefully these pains will go away as the healing continues. Also, depending on how long you were in pain, you were probably favoring one side of your body over the other, resulting in muscle irabalances, etc. You will continue to have different pains and sensations as your body heals. This is very typical.
 
You are fresh from surgery and you can't expect too much, but one thing you can expect is "flare up episodes" through your healing process. Plus.. this was super major surgery you just had, so don't be in a big hurry for things to be normal just yet.

Things will indeed get better. Has your doctor scheduled PT for you? I know this made THE TURNING point for me to the beginning of my healing and starting to feel like normal person again. The PT was hard, it flared me up several times, which were to be expected, but what a difference it made for me.

Take it easy.. dont over do right now. All things in moderation and don't push yourself right now. Your body is getting used to a new structure, your soft tissue is mending, and your bones are mending and building up back there.

Hang in there.. it gets much much better of the coming weeks.
 
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