fusion with instrumentation

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santex56

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:dizzy: hi , I am new here and have a question for anyone.
I have had l3 l4 l5 and l5s1 fused with roRAB and screws. I am about 3 months out of surgery. I still have pain in my right hip when I do any walking. I also have what feels like grinding or rubbing when i move or bend. MY family can hear it. Has anyone else ever had this with their fusion? My Dr. has put me on celebrex i also take neurtin(spelling) My last visit he game me a cortiosne injection none of which has made any difference. any help would be welcome
 
Yes, I had that grinding that I could feel and hear and my husband could also hear. It concerned me because I figured it meant there was movement. I thought that was probably a bad thing, as I wanted to fuse where I was supposed to be, not where the hardware allowed me to shift to. I wore my brace every time I was up, as directed, except in the shower. I was not going to let all that pain and recovery not be worth it! If you don't have a brace, you might want to wear one of those non-prescription lurabar supports, not so much for the support as for the constant reminder not to bend, lift, or twist.

I'm surprised your doctor put you on Celebrex. That's one of the NSAID medications, and most fusion patients are told not to take them until they're fused. There is research that has shown that NSAIRAB can interfere with bone growth for fusion patients. Maybe he feels that at 3 months out, it's no longer an issue. I didn't have the hip pain with walking after my fusion, but I did a year later when I had one piece of my hardware removed. It was an irritated nerve and took quite a long time to calm down. Nerves are that way, unfortunately. I used a cane during that time and it helped a lot to just have something to lean on, especially when I was standing for more than a few minutes, like in the line at the post office.

I wish you the best as you continue in your recovery. Hang in there!

Emily
 
Hello Santex56,

A year ago I had a fusion with roRAB and screws of L2, L3, L4, L5, and S1. I wore a corset for just a few weeks; never had any grinding or rubbing at the fusion areas.

3 months post-op I went back on Celebrex, but I can't say that it helps my arthritis at all; Blue Atlas is right that all nsaiRAB are a factor in inhibiting fusion, but the normal length of time, I've heard, to wait to resume their use is 3 months. I also take Neurontin, but have to take several capsules for relief.

6 months ago my back and hips felt better than they do now. My doctor told me to keep walking, and I walk 2 to 3 miles a day, but I'm not sure that walking is helping. The no bending, lifting, or twisting is the best advice; after Swiffering my floors each day, bending and twisting to get under furniture, my back really hurts and my walking would be described as "hobbling". But sitting for more than 20 minutes is also a killer.

I hated writing this because my earlier posts have said how great I felt. I just hope that the pain doesn't get any worse; otherwise I'd have been better off not having the surgery.

The best advice I can offer you is to get some kind of back support and lie down to rest your back several times a day. Remeraber not to bend any more than necessary and don't twist yourself at all.

Keep in touch.

Nancy
 
Maybe it is hardware causing irritation? Can your Drs do a hardware injection to see if it is the problem?
 
I am new to this message board and am so glad to have found it. I need a fusion from L2 through S1. I Am unable to do much now as any walking causes severe thigh pain. My doctor tells me he will use roRAB and screws put when I asked him if he would be using bone he said no. How will the bone fuse, and what if I need the hardware removed. I don't understand.
 
hi having a surgery on its own is traumatic having the surgery you say you have had is really huge. How else is your body going to cope after it has had to be invaded with such a proceedure as the one or ones you have had to endure.

Unfortunantly we dont replace the bones in our spine and have to mend them or patch them or bolt them,together just so we can keep on being able to use our legs if we want to stay upright as we are being human beings and all that.

The bit between our bones the discs they should just not be there or have developed in us for those of us who end up having to get them removed or fused
etc etc.

Sadly there is no easy answer to what our body should not do after our surgery(s)
and there is just no one rule for all of us who have had to undergo such proceedures. No manual or verbal set of instructions to tell us what to expect before during or after the event of surgery and no quick or happy solutions to our individual responses to our pain as a result of having to endure such changes to our bodies and our mind and spirits, hopes and future arabitions.

All we can do is work with what we have and deal with what is a life threatening situation for some of us, when this has had to happen.
 
Hi DottyLou, and welcome to the board!
Your doctor is probably planning to use BMP, which is a bone protein material, mixed with donor bone. They'll form a graft which will grow into bone over time. When you asked him if he would use bone, he more than likely meant that he wouldn't be using YOUR bone. Fusions used to be done using bone harvested from your hip area. That's still done, but many doctors have moved away from that method because it causes a lot of pain in the area where the bone was harvested from.

If you need the hardware removed, it can be done. But unless there's a specific reason for it, it's usually left in place. I've had two fusions, 30 years apart. After my first one, all the hardware was removed. That was just the way the doctor did things back then. My doctors now say that I would have been better off if he hadn't taken it out. I've had one piece of my hardware removed this time around due to a small problem, but I don't expect to have any more out. I'm fine with it staying right where it is.

Have you seen the thread at the top called "post surgery tips"? It has a lot of very helpful suggestions that will make your recovery much easier. Please start a new thread and ask whatever questions you have about this surgery. There are lots of us who have been through it and are happy to help you from our own experiences. (The board rules are to start a new thread with your own questions rather than adding onto someone else's. Adding onto someone else's is called hijacking and takes away from their answers. It also "hides" yours. It's better to start a new thread so more people will see it. But I didn't want you to not get any answers. :))

Blessings,
Emily
 
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