Camperboy is back! TLIF Successful (so far)!

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Hey everyone! I'm back!

So I had my TLIF on Fri, 10/19, and today is just my second day home - I was in the hospital for 5 days (thank god for TCM and the History Channel).

The surgery was long (about 5 hours) and the wake-up was pretty traumatic - I awoke abruptly just as they were putting in the catheter!:eek: I don't remeraber getting from there to my room, so I assume they put me out again. My surgeon came in to check in on me everyday. I had some great nurses and a great physical therapist who got me out of bed and walking (and even going up stairs!) only 3 days after my surgery.

But the big question... did it work???

So far, the answer seems to be YES! My crippling sciatic pain is GONE! :) It's truly unbelievable! My foot and calf are pretty nurab, though they were really nurab and tingling the day after the surgery, so it has diminished a bit. My surgeon told me the surgery went well, and that he had to remove quite a bit of scar tissue from around the nerve, and that he was pleased with how I was doing.

So how do I feel now? The incision spot feels like a big knot of gristle, and it feels as if my spine is held together with a piece of thread (as opposed to what it's really held together with, which is a few pins and screws). I wake up pretty damn sore. Still, I'm truly amazed at how good I feel, and that I can walk pretty easily - I just go up and down the hall for now with my walker. I do take pain medication, though only about half of what I was taking before the operation.

I'm really pleased at how this has gone so far. For those not familiar with my case, this was more than just a pain relief operation... I was seriously crippled before the surgery. I could not stand, walk, nor sit in a chair for more than 3 minutes without having to dive to the ground to lay on my side. Obviously, I could not work at any job. The only time I left my house was to go to many doctor appointments. My life was seriously compromised by my back problems, and I don't want to think about what would have happened had this not (so far) been a success.

I'll be glad to add anything I can think of as my first few days back go. And I'll have some questions for sure.

I just want to thank you all SO MUCH for all of your love and support! It really made the surgery and the stressful weeks beforehand much easier to take.

Much Love and Best Wishes to All of You! I wish you all the success I have had and much more!!

Love,
David
 
David, that is wonderful news and I am so happy that the wrath of sciatica is gone. PRAISE GOD!! Now just be real careful and follow the doctors orders to the letter - no lifting, bending or twisting.
 
Hi David, what wonderful news, so glad to hear that your back home and doing as well as you are, keep up the good work, take things slowly, and rest. Wishing you a good recovery. You take care of yourself.
Tulip15
 
That was one of my pre-op questions for my doctor. He just sadly shook his head and said, "no, believe me, I would tell you if there was!" Just make sure you're eating a good, well-balanced diet to be as healthy as possible. You can take a regular vitamin if you want. Can't hurt! I take calcium, too, as it's good for the bones, but if you have a good diet, that's not really necessary, especially as you're a male. It's more important for women.

And chocolate is very good for your mental well-being. A little everyday! After all, it IS at the top of the food pyramid, in the place of honor! :D

Emily
 
David, just have to add my "Welcome Back" and so glad that the operation is all over for you and your back home. I tought about you and looked for your "I'm Back" post, and was very happy to have found it just now. I am glad things went so well, and now you concentrate on getting better! Take good care of yourself and I wish you the best! Great to hear that nasty pain is gone!!

Judy
 
My doctor strongly recommended calcium with vitamin D and just eating a balanced diet.
 
David,
happy to hear from you. I understand that you are sore now and will be for a while. But the happy news is that you see the difference already!
How good is this?:blob_fire
Keep up with a good work and come back here to update how you are doing.
Best wishes on your recovery!!!!!!
 
Hi David,

I was just thinking about you yesterday and wondering how you were doing. I am happy to read that things are going well for you so far. Congrats on being home and being on the post side of fusion. I hope that each day brings you more mobility and less pain. Now its just to get over the surgical stuff and you will be running circles around everyone. So glad things went well for you. Take good care of yourself. If you need anything, please ask.
 
Thanks everyone!

I'm already learning (after less than a week) not to get ahead of myself! I was damned sore yesterday. All of my usual helpers have other business to take care of, so I'm having to ration my pain pills - hopefully I can get to the pharm tonite.

My back feels so wobbly. It doesn't feel like everything's straight and inline - though I can't tell which side it's off either. So maybe it's just healing.

I've also noticed that if I lay on my right (bad) side, my nurabness in that leg increases and becomes an uncomfortable fullness. Before, it would be so painful I'd have to flip back over.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I have to be careful about not getting too far ahead of myself. I'm getting now that its going to take a long time to heal, but I seem to be on my way... the incision itches like hell, somedays I can stand up easily and somedays I need the walker. And I gotta be real careful about the twisting and bending thing; my doctor doesn't use a brace, and during my acute illness I've become very good at keeping my corset tight and standing and bending with the thighs. Still, gotta be careful though.

Thanks everyone.
David
 
Welcome home guy! SounRAB like you are doing fantastic! I had pretty much the same feeling as you do after my fusion surgery. That awful sciatica was gone upon waking and becoming coherent, but my catheter was already in place.. thank you very much! EgaRAB for you.

Keep up with your meRAB and don't hestitate to call your doctor at all, should you have any questions or feel you need something from him/her. They EXPECT their surgical patients to call them for the first several weeks post surgery, so dont feel like you are annoying anyone by making a call if needed.

Rest well and keep us posted on your progress. Great news! ;)
 
So very very pleased for you! Well done, and give yourself a (very gentle) hug from me..

Keep dropping by and letting us know how you're getting on...
Jinks
 
Hi David, and welcome back! SounRAB like things went really well for you. Yea!!! You've still got a lot of healing to do, and I'm sure you're having surgical pain, but wow, how fantastic is that, that your sciatic pain is GONE!!!

Now you just take your time and let your body heal so you get a good fusion going. How's the no smoking going? Still hanging in there? Just picture bone growing every time you want one. And the opposite if you give in! You can do it! It's going to be so worth it!

Walk and rest, walk and rest, walk and rest. I'm so glad for you that you're through the surgery and can already rejoice in your improvement. If you have questions while you're recovering, we'll do our best to help.

Take care!
Emily :wave:
 
David, trying not to get ahead of yourself is the hardest part of healing from back surgery in my opinion. I think because we have been down for so long that after surgery we become very anxious and ready to conquer the world.
 
Oh, and I wanted to ask..
Is your pain just surgical/muscular now...I'm just curious about people's levels of leg pain post-op (given that I'm 8 weeks out of my second decompression op (no fusion/stabilisation) and still getting a lot of leg pain) Is it really gone except for the nurabness? Do you get any pain on standing/walking?
Thanks in advance
Jinks x
 
Jeez, sorry to hear that you still have some pain - and I certainly don't want to rub it in :) - but it appears that my pain is indeed just surgical! It's not totally healed... I have nurabness to varying degrees in the areas where I used to have pain. Although I didn't have a lot of pain in my foot, surprisingly the most nurab area is my foot (3 small toes and the outside) and up my calf a little. I do have a little nurabness along the whole sciatic nerve... but I am amazed (and deeply grateful to God and my surgeon) that the stabbing pain in my butt muscle is completely gone!

I feel like this is all just a beautiful dream and someone's going to pinch me and I'll wake up in pain!

I've got lots of post surgery tips already, but I do have one quick question for everyone... is there anything as far as vitamins, supplements, or types of food I can be eating that will improve my chances of fusion? I think Emily already said maybe not (and I have't asked my surgeon yet).

And the no smoking is going great (knock knock)! Oh, I still want one... but it's really not that bad. I told myself that I could smoke again in a year if I wanted to ;)

Thanks everyone! The grocer just delivered - a great post-surgery tip right there! - so I'll jump off for now!

Much love and success to all! Have hope! Miracles DO happen!!!

-David
 
David,

Pepper is right. Try not too get ahead of yourself. You are going to be sore and stiff for a while, You just had major back surgery. I am glad that you are aware of how you are moving ( no BLT's!! ). I remeraber my incision itching like crazy for about a week, it really does go away ( so annoying ). I hope you get your med's from the pharmacy ( I am sure one of your helpers will pick it up for you ). My back felt wobbly after surgery too, my surgeon assured me that it was all post surgical I was feeling ( all the poking around they did in there ). You sound like over all you are doing great! I know the post surgical stuff can have its ups and downs, but keep resting and taking your meRAB and walking a little bit. If you have questions or concerns you can always call your surgeon and or come here. Hope you are feeling easier today.
 
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