8 weeks post op L4-5 fusion, aches all over

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I think most of us who've had fusion would agree that we feel worse on damp days. I know I do.

I got the construction thing from my physical therapist who was describing watching a fusion surgery -- she said spinal surgeons are just fancy carpenters...they drill, they saw, they use a screw driver to put in the pedicle screws...and all their tools look just like the ones from Home Depot. Nothing fancy about them. :dizzy::eek::dizzy:

Glad you're feeling better. Just rest as much as you can. Lie down when you can, rather than sit. Be kind to yourself!!
 
I had my L5/S1 fusion in January. I hurt all over alot from having to adjust sleeping positions and all over movement to protect my back. So hard to get comfortable. I still can only lay on my back comfortably for a few hours. I had fibro too but there was alot of difference. Even now I have other places that hurt because I have to protect my back. Its an adjustment for our whole body i think.
Shannon
 
Hi, I remeraber my pain 8 weeks post T4 to L4 fusion. Some days will be better then others. There is so much involved and it takes time to heal. Stay positive and relaxed. K
 
As luck would have it, I spent the entire night in the emgergency room. Earlier in the day, I saw my surgeon (decided not to wait until the end of Oct for my next follow-up). I explained to him the serious aches and pains I was having specifically in the shoulders, thighs, knees and neck that are worse at night and seem to get better as the day progresses. He checked my reflexes and took an x-ray. Nothing to suggest a problem related to my fusion but when he checked my reflexes, he was concerned (though he didn't elaborate). Long story made short, he instructed me to have an emergency brain and cervical MRI done that night with a radiologist on hand to read the results and get back to him. That was done along with an EKG, chest x-ray, blood work, urinalysis, you name it. All came out normal. The on-duty ER doc was stumped. What he and what I are leaning towarRAB is some kind of arthritic condition that suddenly popped up, possibly related to the stress of the surgery (though there is no proof of that).

The pain in my arms and shoulders laying still for so long in the ER was like nothing I ever experienced. Doing my own research, I seem to have all the sypmtoms of PMR - polymylagia rheumatica.. I plan to see a rheumatologist as soon as possible. The good news from my 9-week x-ray is that I am fusing but now it appears I have another problem to work out. I am 58 and PMR tenRAB to kick in after 50.
 
I had the same problem. I always ask myself if I feel better than last week or even 2 weeks ago. Healing is just like life; some good days and some bad days. I am almost 6 months out and late July and early August I had a couple of bad weeks due to nerve pain. Just pay attention to your body and realize that you had major surgery and it's going to take some time.:angel:
 
If nothing shows up in the blood work and you are left feeling it is something from your back surgery, you seem to have two choices. One would be to go to another spinal surgeon and ask for a consultation. It could be that the surgeon's diagnosis was not accurate and you were given the wrong surgery (unlikely). It could be that the surgery was botched somehow (possible, I suppose). And, more likely, it is too early in the healing process to really know how the surgery is going to turn out. I guess how you proceed depenRAB on your relationship with the surgeon.

Sometimes "things happen" during surgery or in the way the body reacts to surgery and how it heals that the surgeon has no control over. Just because you do not get the outcome you were expecting, this does not automatically mean it must be the surgeon's fault. That's why I always emphasize that it is important to get several opinions prior to a procedure to make sure you have a decent relationship with the surgeon.

I am a bit extreme in this regard, and I freely admit it. I consulted with 8
different specialists before I finally felt comfortable enough to have my fusion. I too ended up with a pain in a different location and different quality from what I had prior to surgery. My doctor has been very up front in discussing how unpredictable results can be. And I now am more willing to realize that some outcomes are really beyond their control. They never know until they get in there what they are going to find. Nerves can be tangled to such an extent that it is very difficult to decompress them, for example.

I think of spine surgery as being this delicate procedure but my PT has viewed a fusion and she said the docs are just fancy carpenters. They have saws, drills and hammers -- screw drivers and long tweezers that they use to pull and free up the little nerve endings. She said it's no wonder we are all so sore afterward!

So, sorry this is so long...but think about some of these things as you're figuring out how to proceed. Maybe you went back to work too soon after your surgery and your body is over-reacting somehow. I really do think things will settle down in the near future. Stay positive. I'm sure someone will figure out what is causing you all the pain.

Hang in there ~~

xx M:wave:M (maye I should change my screen name to Pollyanna's Mom!)
 
Hi, I had t-4 to l4 fused 2 yrs ago and am now going back to have l-5 to s-1 fused. They will also be stabilizing my hips. ( possibly with roRAB). How is your pain now and has anyone had these surgeries in the past. The displaced hips and the " flat back" are caused from the curvature. Hope you all are well. kris
 
'Now 8 weeks post laminectomy and L4-5 fusion and I seem to have aches all through my body - not sure whether it's joint pain or muscle pain - neck when I turn side to side, forearms, legs, knees, you name it. Once again the question is, is this part and parcel of the recovery process? I went back to work last week and I now think that was premature. Thanks.
 
I do believe stress from a variety of different things can bring out an autoimmune disorder if it was already there, latent and waiting.

The woman who runs my department is in her sixties, and suddenly developed rheumatoid arthritis after a series of vaccinations needed for travel to India. Her rheumatologist believes the vaccinations were the catalyst.
 
I am 18 weeks post L4-L5 fusion surgery, and still in alot of pain. I have times the pain is so intense it brings me to my knees. I am not back at work yet, I have a physical job. I was told i am still early on in the recovery process and it may take awhile. What do you do for a living?
 
Shannon, I also wanted to ask, " can you get comfortable in a recliner". That is what saved me for my first surgery. It took about 5 weeks before I could lay on my side. Well wishes, kris
 
Back to Basics, thought I would chime in about the aches throughout your body. I was told that this other pain is simply do to the healing process. As you healing you are holding yourself a little differently due to the pain and using muscles a little differently than before hence causing new aches and pains.

Just remeraber to try and not bend forward to compensate for the pain because you can cause the fusion to fuse in the incorrect position. Also if you are leaning forward it could be affecting your neck.

Remeraber that your case is different from everyone else on this board and we all heal at different rates. My first fusion I had done in 1982, I healed quickly and was back to work at 4 weeks full time. My fusion in 2007, I am still recovering from and have had alot of complications. I have had to return to the OR once since my fusion and it looks like I might be going back a second time. I am not sharing this to scare you but show that we all heal at different rates and not on the same time schedule.

I can remeraber when I had my fusion, my doctor told me no cooking, cleaning, driving, lifting, bending, twisting, etc. for the first 12 weeks. Most people are allowed to start doing this waaaay before 12 weeks and as early as 3 to 4 to 6 weeks. My surgeon was firm about this because of my history and the problems I had. My second surgery done last Noveraber I was not allowed to clirab stairs for the first 12 weeks.

So with this said, you should probably bring this to your doctors attention and he may decide that you need to back off on some of the stuff you are doing to allow the achiness to calm down and allow you to fully recover. Remeraber your spinal column is the main support of your body and once we have surgery we need to take extra special care with it and consider our recoveries an investment in our future.

Good luck, I pray that you find some relief soon, and God Bless.
 
Thank you. All my muscles seem to ache and turning from one side to the other in bed is quite an effort. I feel it in my neck, shoulders, forearms, knees, thighs, you name it. I guess I do need to slow down a bit, and not sure if returning to work last week was such a great idea. I am just not one to sit around and there are so many things I want to do. The problem for me is determining whether my symtoms are a normal part of the healing process or whether they deserve special attention. At what point do you say, "Whoa, this isn't normal!" I will slow my activities down, not sure what to do about work.
 
Richard, it's been a while since I've been to the board and I am so distressed to hear what's going on! I do hope they find out, and soon!

I am returning to work on Monday and I pray I can handle this. Had a long heart to heart with my doctor yesterday. As far as he's concerned, it's up to me. He'd approve another year out of work, or let me go if I want to. I can't hurt anything. So, I asked if I'd be feeling much better in a month, and he agreed with me...I wouldn't. So, might as well bite the bullet.

So, of course, what happens today? Sharp pains in my back - first since surgery.

PLEASE let us know how you're doing, okay?

Paula
 
I am thinking the same thing Paula. Go in for one thing, come out with something else. I am calling my GP first thing Monday morning. I am hoping he can treat it vs. having to go to a specialist. The good news is that my fusion seems to be taking. The bad news is that I am still exhausted from the 10 hrs. in the ER last night. And that was one long MRI (had both the neck and the brain done at the same time).
 
Polyanna, we'll see what the blood tests yield tomorrow. Film at 11. Thanks as always.
 
Will do Paula. The pain in my arm and shoulders from lying motionless in the ER last night was intense and I have a fairly high threshold for pain. I guess I have a new battle now to fight.

I am rooting for you. At least, the MRI's ruled a tumor or a failed back surgery. Arthritis board here I come.
 
Fortunately, my work is primarily deskwork, no "heavy lifting." But I am also 58 and don't bounce back as quickly as I used to. If I could, I would have stayed out a lot longer but sick leave was running out and frankly the boredom of being home was driving me nuts. This weekend I am exhausted.
 
Hi. I saw the rhemalogotist today. Not all the tests were back and tomorrow I go for a CT scan of the chest but she immediately put me on prednisone and I feel 200 percent better!! She said that the blood test results so far indicated major inflamation throughout the body. Last night was the worst pain yet. The Prednisone is a like a gift from heaven. I firmly believe that the stress from the back surgery was just enough to trigger an autoimmune disease and I feel better knowing that my back recovery at least, is on track. When the results of all the rheumatology tests are in, I'll report back. Thanks.
 
My surgeon's motto was "If something hurts, don't do it." While I found it somewhat annoying and difficult to determine, I do now understand what he meant. He didn't believe in putting specific restrictions on people, as we are all different in what we can do and how we heal.

What I can tell you just from reading your comments, is that you need to develop a little bit of patience. You are typical in that you hated having your activities restricted by pain; you had surgery, and now you're in a rush to get back to "your life" as you knew it. But you can really get into trouble if you rush things along. Almost always, you end up paying for it.

Luckily most people find this out because their body talks back to them...and they cut back a little bit...and, no permanent damage is done. So you need to figure out what you can comfortably handle and what is causing you pain. None of us can tell you specifically what those things are. Now is a really good time to slow down and start listening to your body. I don't think there is something like "pushing through pain" when it comes to your back.

Remeraber it will take at least 6 months for your bones to make a solid fusion, and it can take longer. During this time, you don't want to do anything or have anything happen that will put this process at risk.

But like we've all said, this early in the process, you will still hurt all over and in places that seem unlikely. A lot of this is just the result of the surgical process -- the "weird" way you were placed on the hard operating table, the reverberation of the saw and drill, etc. You were the object of a major construction project!!:eek:

If you decide to stay returned to work, try to make it as easy on yourself as possible. Be very sure your work station is set up as ergonomically as possible and that you have a very comfortable, ergonomic office chair. Try to get up and walk every 20 minutes, even if it is just across the room and back. You could try taking a cold pack along and use ice if you start becoming uncomfortable. Perhaps a "back brace" would help. I'm talking about the kind you can find online that is about 6-8" wide, that is a heavy elastic material and closes with velcro. The one I have has two additional "wings" that you pull even tighter and stick with more velcro. This allows you to snug it up even more. If nothing else, it will remind you not to bend or twist and to use good posture and body mechanics.

Hope one of these ideas helps!!

xx M:wave:M
 
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