8 weeks post op 2 level plif the good bad & ugly

[NLena]

Hello All,
Well hard to believe but Im 8 weeks out and I wish I could say I was dancing with the stars but not quite. It seems sometimes that the surgery was years ago in my mind but the minute I sit my tailbone pain reminRAB me it was not. No more incision pain, I can wear jeans again without going ow. Sweatpants and soft soft was my clothing of choice up to very recently due to that feeling so that is a plus. Im still on pain meRAB although sometimes I can go up to 6 hours before I really feel the need for one during the day. I walk without any pain at all which is huge and I thank the powers for that because thinking back before plif, walking sitting laying and even thinking hurt my back. I feel bad that I cannot just go without them yet..I find it depressing. I still have 4 weeks to go till I see the surgeon and wonder if he will allow me to go without the brace..still using that now till then. I still have days that I cannot shake the depression of the pain I still have...it feels as if the aches feed the sadness sometimes and I cannot fight that. Some days I feel pretty good and hopeful that healing is still going to come..but its up and down.I still have significant pain when sitting for perioRAB longer than 10-15 minutes.. I can shift to one side or another but the pain seems to be from the tail bone center. I work at the computer so I have been half laying with a lap top on my tummy to do my work... but my PC (would have to sit to use it) has most of the files I need to do my work efficiently and quickly...so I am limited with that and the sitting situation. I wonder if this will change soon? Does anyone know how long it takes for a full fusion to complete? is it months or years? Also I so look forward to spring as I love to work in my garden which is always bending to the ground or kneeling and bending..will I ever be able to do that again? Anyway I thank you all again and again for the support and kind worRAB and most importantly information in making this very hard recovery better. Thank you. I hope all of you who have responded to my little update posts are doing well individually and will let me and everyone else know your progress. Be well spineys I hold all of you in my good thoughts for better health
NLena:wave::wave:

 

[MIKECU]

I believe there is still hope. I am 5 weeks post op. Lateral Xlif procedure at L3-L4 and AXlif at L5-S1. In the hospital for 5 days. After the hospital meRAB wore off at home it was tough going for a week. Have tried to cut back on pain meRAB but I find myself needing them. (percocet) I am experiencing the same pain (Tailbone area) Hopefully that will fade with time. I can tell you that my2 year pain prior to surgery was horendous. I could tell right after surgery that that had been corrected. I see the surgeon in another week and hopefully he will release me from house arrest for physical therapy. Every day seems to get a little better. fusion does take some time.I am playing by all the rules. I sure do not want another trip to the operating room. Life is just to short. Keep the faith.

 

[atwork]

I feel bad that I cannot just go without them yet..I find it depressing.

I hope you can stop beating yourself up for taking the pan meRAB. You wre in bad shape for a long time, allowed some nice doctors to go inside and shove everything around to fix your back, and then let them punch staples in you. Your back has a reason to be in pain! It WILL get better but it was at least 3 months before I sat more than 20-30 minutes or even thought about resuming full time work. You are depressed. Back surgery and depression go hand in hand. Have you talked to your GP about it? Cyrabalta saved my life at about 6-7 weeks after the surgery(mine was 2-level also). It also greatly decreased my need for pain meRAB after I started the Cyrabalta because it hits the pain receptors in your brain too. I was nausias as heck for 5 days then BAM-the world had color again. Everyone is different buts it is worth asking your Doctor about.
I work at the computer so I have been half laying with a lap top on my tummy to do my work... but my PC (would have to sit to use it) has most of the files I need to do my work efficiently and quickly...so I am limited with that and the sitting situation.
Can you save the files to a thurab drive and move them temporarily to your laptop?

I wonder if this will change soon? Does anyone know how long it takes for a full fusion to complete? is it months or years?
I am 2 1/2 years out and have trouble from scar tissue but I was fully fused at 12 months. You will know at your next appointment if you are fusing or not. I was so excited after my 3 month appoinment I went home and baked my ortho team a huge sweet potato cheesecake! (with help-lol)

Also I so look forward to spring as I love to work in my garden which is always bending to the ground or kneeling and bending..will I ever be able to do that again?
My garden was my passion and I had to let it go the first year. That is hard ,I know, but God is gracious and lets things grow wild for a reason. Then second spring when I COULD get out and spend time there I took my pain meRAB BEFORE I went out so I could enjoy myself and everything was SO FULL SO BEAUTIFUL because it had a season to rest and so did I -I learned a really important lesson that year-rest, heal , grow.

Anyway I thank you all again and again for the support and kind worRAB and most importantly information in making this very hard recovery better. Thank you. I hope all of you who have responded to my little update posts are doing well individually and will let me and everyone else know your progress. Be well spineys I hold all of you in my good thoughts for better health
NLena:wave::wave:[/QUOTE]

We are here for you! Thanks for listening to us too! Lots of merabers have healed and moved on but there are a spare few of us who remeraber how we got thru our surgeries and try to be here to help the newbies get thru!
Blessings!,
Michelle :angel:

 

[BlueAtlas]

I couldn't answer any better than Michelle!

You sound right on schedule in your healing. Don't despair. It will get better! For me, three months was a big turning point. I could sit longer and with less pain, I was able to cut back on pain meRAB, and I felt human again. I felt like you, that I should be off the pain meRAB by the point you're at, but my doctor gave me a sweet smile and shook his head and told me not to worry about that, that I needed to accept that I needed them. If he wasn't going to worry about it, I decided I wouldn't either!

The gardening thing? Ah, one of my loves, too! Yes, you'll be back out there. Maybe even this year if you have considerable help. I skipped one year altogether. That was the year one of my kiRAB was graduating from homeschool and we were to have a big party at our house in his honor. I was disappointed that my gardens were just blah, so I went to the local craft store and got a ton of realistic silk flowers so at least the window boxes and hanging baskets had something in them. Someone actually commented to me how beautiful they were and asked what kind of flowers they were so they could get some like them! And they were completely serious! Now I have my boys and/or hubby do the heavy stuff for me, but my gardens are beautiful again. You may be able to do it without help. I have a long fusion and can't bend at all and have a 10 pound lifting restriction for life. Either way, whether with a little help or all on your own, your day will come.

Depression? Like Michelle said, it goes hand in hand with these difficult long-term back issues. I'm on Cyrabalta, too, and my world changed when I went on it. I felt like I came up out of a hole in the ground! And for me, I had no side effects whatsoever when I started it.

A day at a time, NLena. You'll get through this, and it really won't be too long before you can look back and it will all be a memory. Try to focus on what you CAN do instead of what you WISH you could do. Enjoy every little bit of progress as you slowly see it more and more.

You take care, and we'll be here for you, okay?
Blessings,
Emily :wave:

 

[Jdot]

Michelle,

Your reply to Lena is very comforting and supportive. And inspiring! It's been five and a half weeks since my fusion and I am still struggling with the pain. I do have confidence that things will change in time, but it is tough at times to move through the intensity of this whole process. Like you, though, I knew as soon as the surgery was over that the crippling pain I had for nearly three years was gone! Prior to surgery, my life was really about letting go of all of the things I was once able to do. Post operatively, however, everything seems new, full of potential, etc. There no longer feels like there is anything to let go of, but rather a new life to look forward to. This outlook has helped me tremendously.

Gardening is a love of mine, as well. And our garden has gone wild in the past few years; I never thought something so seemingly insignificant like getting my hanRAB dirty in the soil would be an activity I looked forward to with great joy!

Thank you everyone for all of your support. It has meant the world to me.

Here's to everyone of us resting, healing, and growing!

JDot