How much help will I need after surgery?????

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tmvincent30

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I agree with jrRABgrl I had alot of these problems as well.

I had the anterior/posterior fusion at L-4 to S-1. I have 2 cuts in my back and one in front of stomache and i can say as well the backwasnt to bad but it was the front incision. I hate the stretch clothes i have to wear but it helps in the stomache area the most.

I have to wear a brace i have it for 3 months my surgery was March 28 of this year i go back next week and hopefully he tells me i dont have to wear it any longer.

If you have any further questions please ask and we will try our best to answer them!! I wish you and your family the best of luck my surgery was 12 and a half hours mine almost went crazy waiting.

Oh and i thought the same thing i would be ok alone till hubby got off work but due to pain meRAB i threw up and was so weak i couldnt do anything for myself and he had to come home.
 
Hi there my spiney frienRAB, getting closer to surgery date June 30th, Hubby works 12 hour shifts, on rotating days. Will I need someone here all the time?? I have in-laws who are willing to help, & my 30 year old schizophrenic son, who I take care of, that is very willing to help me at any time, since he is within walking distance. My 35 year old daughter is less than helpfull since I can't do as much to help her. haven't even seen her in a month now & has stopped calling, doesn't even ask about me when hubby calls her. I am 50 years old having anterior/posterior,fusion of L4-L5-S1, removing 2 disks & a cyst, & opening up the spine to get it off the nerves. Also I am 4ft 11 inches & wiegh about 108lbs, surgeon made mention that he thinks I am too skinny for this surgery.:confused: Any thoughts on any of this will be a big help. Thanks guys & hope you are having a good back day.
gijuie:angel:
 
My husband only took off for my actual day of surgery. My teenaged sons were around part of the day to help me, but they both have jobs, so they'd get me breakfast and lunch, sometimes hang out and watch a movie with me, then go to work. I was alone for a nuraber of hours each day. I gave a key to two different neigrabroador ladies and put them on my speed dial, just in case. I never needed them, but it was nice to know they could get in to help me if I did.

I never needed help in the bathroom or getting in or out of bed. It wasn't easy, mind you, but I've always been the stubborn independent type. I had about 6 weeks of lightheadedness, almost passing out many times, so I had to be very careful. I didn't go up and down the stairs if someone else wasn't home, but I did get up and walk back and forth as much as I could tolerate.

As long as you have the basic necessities where you can reach them, you really should be okay if you have times that no one can be there. Just be careful and use good common sense.

My two cents worth...

:) Emily
 
Hello gijuie,

Glad to see you are getting things ready ahead of time for the big day. It sounRAB like you will be pretty well set with the help you have available. Recovery and our neeRAB as we go through it is such an individual process that it is really hard to tell you anything concrete...but I can tell you about my experience.

You didn't mention your living arrangements (where your bed is, 2-story house, etc.). I set up a twin bed in our den on the first floor mainly because I wanted to be near the center of action (the computer, big TV, kitchen and my 2 dogs who are not allowed upstairs). I could have gone up and down the stairs a couple times per day, but there would not have been a place that was comfortable-enough for me to spend the whole day without having a bed. I had a PLIF at L4-5 with no complications. I was in the hospital 3 nights. I could manage the bathroom on my own...some people cannot. I didn't have any trouble with medications and I kept myself medicated on the amount of pain medication I was given (didn't take more, but took what I was prescribed).

My son was able to stay with me during the day. It was handy for the first 2 weeks, but after that I was ready to have him go back to his own schedule!! I did not do any cooking for quite awhile. My recollection is that I mostly slept the first two weeks. When I had to use the bathroom, I would get up and then I would take the opportunity to walk as much as I could stand, then right back to bed. This was the routine until about 8 weeks when I started feeling quite a lot better.

I would think between your inlaws and your son, with the occasional help from hubbie you should be in good shape. I hope you have your satin bottom sheet for the bed. This was the single most important tip I got off the board prior to surgery. It made all the difference in the world. I also bought silk pjs, but I found it too slippery when I used both at the same time. :D In the hospital with a cotton nightgown and cotton sheets, I felt like they had used velcro to attach me to the bed! It is hard enough to move or turn over as it is.

Feel free to post with all your questions as they pop into your head. I did the same thing back in January and it helped so much to know ahead of time what to expect. As a matter of fact I had read so much on here for over 2 years about fusion that I was expecting the very worst. I had never had any surgery previously and was really scared...but all that anticipation paid off. I sailed right through and the whole experience wasn't nearly as bad as I had been expecting!!

Try not to be worried. The time will soon come when you have all this behind you and are on the road to recovery.

xx M:wave:M
 
My husband retired a month before my surgery. Thank goodness as he worked 12 hour shifts. I was in the hospital for 4 days. Workmanscomp wouldn't pay for any devices to help me, yet I was told not to bend over. I needed my hubby to help me put on socks and my sweat pants. Yea, elastic pants and tshirts. I laid in bed most of the first week and he made the meals and served them. I was just so sleepy and weak. I used a walker the first day home, then after that I shuffled around on my own. Thankfully, we have a one story house and when we remodeled we raised the toilets, the counters, put handicap rails in the showers etc. Hubby had hips replaced so we knew what we needed. I was only taking tylenol, but I am a big baby and don't like to be alone when I don't feel well, so I am so glad he was here.
My best suggestion right now is to practice getting up and down using your legs to make them strong. When you get up you roll on your side and use your arms to push yourself up to a sitting position. Get those arms strong now. To stand, it's the thigh muscles and they need to be able to get you up.
 
Gijui,

Won't be much longer, huh? Well, I must say that less than 8 weeks ago I had a fusion of the L4/5 L5/S1 levels. I don't know how they are doing your surgery, but my surgery was a 10 hour surgery where they put 4 2" icisions in my back (this is where they put the screws in the hardware) and about an 8" incision in my stomach. They did all the work through my stomach (even taking bone from my hip). I was hospitalized for 5 days and then sent home to recover. I will say that I absolutely could not have done it without my husband. I thought that I would be fine at home until he got off work in the evenings but he insisted on taking off for the first week that I was at home. Boy am I glad he did that because I relied on him a lot!!! But I will say that I believe it was because of the problems that I had with them doing the work through my stomach. I may have been okay if they had done all the work in my back. My back actually didn't give me much trouble at all right after surgery. My bowels didn't "wake up" for 10 days after surgery so I was swelling and swelling and it made it almost impossible for me to function!! By day 8, I looked as if I was 9 months pregnant. If I would sit in the chair, my stomach was so huge that it would cut off the circulation to my legs. It was AWFUL!!!! Finally by day 10 my bowels started working again and I was then on the road to recovery. So depending on what route your surgery is taking, you really should have someone on call to be there with you. Then if you get home and decide you don't need them, send them on their way. It's better to be safe than sorry because I was planning on being fine on my own and I now know that I could not have done it alone. Something else that you may not realize (because I know I didn't until I actually experienced this surgery) is the fact that you can't even wipe yourself after going to the restroom for about the first 7-10 days. I literally could not reach back there -- I'm not kidding! Physical Therapy came into the hospital and gave me some pretty neat tools to help me at home. They gave me this contraption that you wrap the toilet paper around and it reaches back there, but it wasn't real easy to use and I found it better to have someone to help me. Trust me, by that point the erabarrassment disappears because of how much pain you are in from the surgery. They also gave me a "grabber" tool that helped to pick things up and it also helped to hold my pants to pull them up over my feet because you will not be able to bend to put your pants on. You can't put your own socks on either. They also gave me a device to help with that. I suggest that you get some kind of slip-on slippers to wear for a while. Sorry for the lengthy reply to your post, but I just wanted to make you aware of this stuff. If you need anything else, just ask. I wish you well with your surgery. Be ready to rest because you will need LOTS of it afterwarRAB!!!!!!!
 
Again remeraber each person's story is personal. I didn't have any of the problems that jrRABgrl mentioned.

I recommend stocking up on clothes with elastic waists. Will you have a brace? I guess that would make a big difference in everything. I did not wear one and didn't have problems with wiping, or dressing. But they do make tools for all these situations.

Even without complications, constipation is a problem when on the pain medications. Stock up on snacks like Fiber One bars, dried fruits and prunes, etc. Now that summer fruit season is here, blueberries are the best!! Also cherries. Drink tons of fluiRAB.
 
Thanks for the quick replies, I too have purchased a twin bed for the downstairs addition with half a bath. I haven't gotten the satin sheets yet, hoping for today to get that & the matrice pad I need. My son is going with me today to Kmart to get both.
My surgery is suppose to be 5 hours, & they are going in through my back & also through my side. & I am suppose to be home with in 4 days. Hubby is home for the week of the surgery, he couldn't switch it because of a yearly shut down for that week, so I will be relying on family for a bit.
Have to go get ready for pre-admission testing, will check in later. & again Thanks
gijuie
ps yes I will have a brace
 
Hi guys,
Surgery got bumped from june 30th till july 14th, which is just a few days away,I am scared to death, I think I am set up the best we could do. I have the bed for downstairs & a intercom set up so hubby can hear me when he is asleep upstairs. Today was suppose to be my last day of work but I couldn't go in, the pain has been unbareable this week, I can't even stand for more than 2 minutes. I haven't been on this computer for a long time, so I wanted to up date while I still can. I am wishing all of us a better day, than we have had in a long time. & Again thanks for all the tips. I am sure they will be a part of my daily life for a long time to come. God Bless all who have answered
gijuie
 
I am sure the delay was a disappointment but the surgery will be here soon and you will actually start to feeling better once the recovery period is over. It sounRAB like you have been pretty limited already so hopefully once you are fixed you will be able to do those things that you haven't been able to do for a long time. Enjoy your weekend as much as possible and when you get the chance and feel up to it come back and give us an update.

Good thoughts and blessings for a speedy and painfree recovery are coming your way.

Linda:angel:
 
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