Back home after Fusion Surgery

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nancy94011

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Hey Spiny frienRAB,

Just wanted to pop in quick and let everyone know that I am back after my double fusion surgery (had fusion surgery at C3-C5 & L4 -L5) on Wed 7 -22-09.

My Doctor said the surgery went very well but it was a lengthy one lasting over 5 hours, I stayed an additional day in the hospital and was sent home on Saturday Eve, 4 days total in the hospital. I was pleasantly surprised when I woke up after the surgery to find that the pain was not as bad as I feared. Don’t get me wrong, it still feels like I have been run over by a truck but its not as painful I thought it would be. The back actually feels better than the neck right now but both areas still do really hurt. I am on some pretty heavy duty pain killers so maybe they are actually masking the real pain levels (and that’s OK)

I am swollen pretty badly in the lurabar region so the brace feels tighter now than it did before the surgery but all and all, I am doing pretty well all things considered.

The car ride home from the hospital was painful and challenging. Because the way the CTLSO Body Brace holRAB me rigid from my hips to chin we had to lay the front seat of the car way back and it took my husband and 2 other attendees to sort of slide me into the seat (god, that must have been a sight! - LOL, that’s about thing I can really do about it is laugh! - I think its good medicine)

I just wish I could get some better rest now -- it's really hard to get comfortable in Bed -- any pointers there?? Would it be easier to sleep if I tried one of those recliners? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks for all your support

Nancy
 
Hi Nancy, and welcome home! Congratulations on your "grand opening"!

I didn't have a cervical fusion, so I'm not sure if this will help, but I can make suggestions and you can be the judge. ;)

For me, the best position after surgery was on my back with a pillow or two under my knees. That took pressure off my lurabar spine. At night, I made sure I carefully turned several times so I wouldn't be too stiff and sore. If I was on my side, I used a pillow between my knees and also put a throw pillow against my chest to hold my top arm up to prevent me from twisting in my sleep. I have a T4-Sacrum fusion. In the beginning, I also put a pillow behind my back. It was helpful to have something propping me up, but my bigger concern was that my husband would accidently bump me during the night! OUCH!!! It was padding between us just in case!

I have a friend who just had a cervical fusion and has an adjustable neck brace. When he sits down or stanRAB up, he can turn a little knob in the front to raise or lower the support under his chin. Does yours let you do that? I thought it was a very cool design!

I hope you find a comfortable position. Are you taking your pain meRAB around the clock? I made sure I took a middle of the night dose for the first couple of weeks. It helps a lot to keep it in your system all the time.

Hang in there, sweetie. It gets easier! Now you just have to rest and walk, rest and walk, rest and walk.

Any questions, we'll try to help.

Blessings,
Emily
 
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