Healing very slowly and my body is rejecting my screws has anyone gone threwthis?

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chelle39

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Olay I have lost the beginning of this so i am adding to it . It has been 7 mons. since my L4,L5,L5-S1 Disc infusion and I am not healing and by body is rejecting my screws still can't work or lift over 10lbs right leg is completly nurab lots of back pain and hip pain and now it goin into the tailbone area is ths nomal? I can at least walk 6 blocks now before my main nerve gets inflamed and then I am limping,nurab, and unable to sit. I also can't sit in bath tub without locking up and needing help. It is also alergy season for me and it hurts severly if I cough or try to sneeze I don't want to sound like I am complaining but no one understanRAB and I feel like I repeat eveything I say and most are getting sick of hearing it. So now when people ask me how are you doing I reply with I am as good as bad can get.
 
Thankyou so much for the advice many who don't undestand about this always have a cure. I had a mylegram done back in feb. but everything seemed to be okay, I ended up with spinal leakage and also hda to have a blood patch done which was the worst thing I ever went through they ne er nurabed me before hand and just went straight in and did ti OUCH!! Now i am afraid to have anything else done. Never realized I would benever this incapable of soing thtings or having chronic pain for the rest of my life. Thank you again just need to get appovale from the insurance first!!
 
I had gone back to my surgen for severe pain and thought my screws were coming out and he told me that because my muscle were still alive cause they didn't cut through them insted they set them aside and now they are reacting to the hardware bieng there. He also said that this has happen to other pacients as well and they can't take them ot until I heal which isn't doing so well either I see Him agin in 2 wekks and we will see if things change but in the men time I just sffer I guess.
 
Chelle, I have severe allergies and metals are one of them. They weren't sure if I was allergic to the titanium or not, and my body went through some major unexplainable swelling and then things just got better. I am thinking it was not the titanium at all, but the BMP that was used, which is notorious for causing swelling not just at the surgery site, but all over the body in some. The only way to tell if you are allergic to the titanium is not by a "skin patch test", but by blood testing, which is done at very few labs in the US. Deep implantation of metals verses those that contact the dermis of the skin are very different and a person can be allergic to a metal on the dermis, but not when deeply implanted into the body. Titanium is said to be the least reactive of any metals for deep implantation.

You are right, some people's bodies just dont adjust to "foriegn matter", which the hardware qualifies as. But it could be your screws are just not holding well enough and often does not show on imaging, until they go back in surgically and find the hardware literally is just sitting there and/or ready to fall out.

The hardware does need to stay in tact until you are 100% fused if possible. Then if you are still having issues and they can't determine what else could be causing it.. some doctors recommend removal of the hardware. And in some.. it's made all the difference for them pain wise. Others not.

Before you go the removal route, you should get a second opinion before opting for additonal surgery.

BTW, my muscles were not cut either, but dilated through instead, which made my healing of the tissue a breeze and very little to no scarring. I twas all for the dilation verses cutting the muscles.

Hope this helps some. Hang in there and give it more time. You could just be a very very slow healer. I am normally a fast healer but not with fusion surgery. It's taken me the WHOLE TWO YEARS to heal from this.
 
Chelle, this is very common; however, one can't justlook at it and say this is the problem. A hardware block neeRAB to be done to make this diagnosis or a mylegram neeRAB to be done. Be very careful about having hardware removed.

Here are some Hardware Removal Complications that was shared with me:

*the entire fusion could fall apart if not completely healed
*further risks to nerve roots
*infection - rather common
*vertebrae can shift
*loss of bowel and bladder
*spinal fluid leak
*increase in scar tissue

Also be sure that they have checked you for a hardware infection.

I strongly recommend that you consider going to larger institutions and get a second or third opinion. Good luck.
 
Thank you so much for the advice! I am looking into a 2nd opinion now. Just tring to find one that is network of my insurance. That's another story. Well the best of luck to you and thanks agian!
 
Hi there,

I am not convinced that your body is rejecting the hardware, often if that is the case you would get sick, an infection, fever all sorts of stuff like that. I had my screws break on me. No apparant reason, about 2 weeks after my surgery I knew something was wrong and sure enough after an x-ray, I found out that there was one broken screw and then when it came time to operate to fix it, there were 2 that broke. In my case it was probably faulty hardware. However in my second surgery, I had my new disc break right in half! GO figure hey!!! What the heck?!? I don't know but I guess my suggestion as crappy as it may be, is to hang in there. THink positive and hope that what you are experiencing is recovery pain and what not, cause that in itself can last a long time and do a lot of different things to you and cause more and different pain then you originally had.

As far as allergies...I have the exact same problem. I take Reactine everyday and it most definitly helps. I would strongly suggest trying that if you aren't already on something.

Best of luck. Update me if you can ;)
Beachgirl.
 
Hi beachgirl, thanks for your response I had gone back to the doc. today and he still is saying my body is rejecting my screws wants me to wait 3 more months to see if I have fused or not and then he wants to take them out! I am definetly getting a 2nd opinion cause I really don't need any more problems than I already have. He also put me on Nortripyline for the nerve damage cause lyrica doesn't agree with me and is putting me to through the pain management cause of the chronic pain. Stilll not back to work but I am staying positive with being more activeand pushing myself to do more even if I have to rest for awhile I need start some exersices to build better muscle cause I am so weakbut the pain gets me all the time. I guess the only thing that concerns me the most is not being able to cogh or sneeze without intense pain I feel like my doc. isn't telling me something cause to me that is a serious nerve problem!! Well I hope all goes well with you & thank you again and please keep in touch it's great having someone who understanRAB and cares!!! chelle
 
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