If you have had a lower lumbar fusion and can help, please read this!!!

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peter39

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nancy i am 39 injury happened 9 months ago i feel ok now but i can't bend at all or pick anything up does this get better, almost a month now since the surgery i see the surgeon in 2 weeks was wondering if theres any questions i can ask him but i feel better than before but weeker in the lower back erea?
thanks for the responce
 
Can anyone that has had a level 2 lower lurabar fusion tell me if you went back to your job even if it was a real physical and repetitive production job? My back is my livelyhood and has been for over 15 years. Now I am told it wiil not be the same and that I will have to be real careful what I do with it or I will be right back having another fusion done. Will I need to start using my mind more now instead of my physical body? What should I expect from this workers comp world? Will I need to go back to school to learn something new? Will I lose my job? Am I a risk now where I am and anywhere I go to work? I guess I would like to now what my odRAB are and what you have experinced or gone through! I will take all the advice anyone can give me who has been here! So much to think about, having to start over again, will I only be kept long enough to return to work and then let go,will I have problems finding work from here on out, will I even be able to go back to work, how will I ever make the amount of money I make now again! I feel this just changes everything I have earned and built up to this point in my life and now what! Thanks to anyone who can give me good sound advice and knowledge in this area of my life!
 
I had the lower three level fusion done. What you will need to do is to learn to listen to your back and to be conscious of what you do to and with it all day. Perhaps you should consider getting a brace to wear as an extra added support on a daily basis. I do know that you will probably be given some sort of brace to wear for the first couple of weeks to help support your back after your surgery. No BLT is the mantra that you will need to have running through your head as you start to heal. And remeraber that it can take 6 months for fusion to show itself in your back. So slow and steady is the name of the game. No bending lifting and turning is the rules that we live by. Work on strengthening your core muscles as they do all the work and most of use and incredible weak in our core area, but we would never know it.
Read the sticky notes at the top of the page about healing after surgery, they offer a wealther of information. This is a major event in your life, but what are your other options?

good luck!
 
Please be sure to get a copy of the LTD policy booklet. Many LTD policies "oRABet" whay is received from WC - but LTD can last beyond the duration of WC. So once you get the booklet check out the sections on "other income" and any section that references WC. Also, no one is ever too young for SS if truly disabled. However SS is very selective in that the person must be (or appears will be) permanently disabled from all occupations.

I hope this helps.
 
Hello Life is too short to let the physical stuff get the better of you.
It does suck and it is tough, but not getting thru this, is not an option.
The inner acceptance is what gets u thru so keep up the hard work and just plough on thru.
 
My doc said it takes a full year to recover. Follow your doc's advice; you wouldn't want to injure yourself by overdoing.

You have youth on your side.

Nancy
 
Thanks! Yeah, I know it will be a slow process. I guess I just expected so much to see instant results and didn't. This has really gotten me down. I just have to wait and see what happens. It is fustrating not knowing what the future will hold for me. If I will return to my same job or if they will let me go or what. I will try to deal with it all the best way I can and just try to be positive! Thanks again for the respond!
 
Judi:

I am fused L4-S1 and the plan is to extend this to L3. They will take out my old instrmentation and put in all new. May do this in Noveraber.
 
hey guys what is a ltd? i am alittle confused by this way to young, you sound like you did physical work like i did the surgeon told me before hand i will not be able to return to carpendry so i am looking into outher careers but difficult because i have been in the construction field for20 years now as for anxiety i am just plain bored out of my mind at home all day thank god for the web i am still interested in anyone that has had the lower 3 fused the time it takes to lift some weight having trouble with a phone book lol pls respond and waytoyoung keep your chin up and keep smiling finRAB it helps me :))))) see you 2 soon
 
It sounRAB like so many on the board have had to have surgery again after their first. How long did you go before you had more problems? Was it because you went back to a hard labor job with lifting or repetitive motion? Did you have problems right after your first surgery? They say my disc above and below my fusion can go out if I'm not careful, so what should I be watching out for in the future? Should I go back to my hard labor job or do you think my doctor will put restriction's on me that will not allow me to go back to my same position? It is a WC case, so I was told thing's will be different because they don't want another repeat of the same thing. It's only been 6 weeks since my surgery but I still have bad nerve pain in my leg. The one that hurt so bad before seems to be better, but the one that didn't hurt much, hurts me all the time now. I also have lost control of my toe on that leg. Is that because of nerve damage? All the wondering of what will happen is just driving me crazy!!!
 
Does your employer offer Long Term Disability? If you are out for a long time and have LTD you can get LTD (less whatever WC is paying). And yes, sometimes they do offer re-education and/or re-training but that's all individualized based on your age, education, location, etc.
 
hey way to young i am fused the same as you and have the exact ame symptoms i am going to see surgeon on tues my left leg was screwed now is completetly fine and right leg and foot is bad now just had t scan i will see him let you know what he says i am not going back under knife i'd rather be retrained on work comp than go through that again . you know deal with the pain. im 39 and have heard with a second surgery complications go up wth scar tissue don't want to risk it if you are are worried about your job i would not think you will be returning till you are cleared by physical therapy and your surgeon but sounRAB to me you won't return to that just light duty if they have it.
 
sounRAB like you had the same surgery i did lower 3 fused i am a construction worker wondering what the future holRAB my surgery was aug 28 pain is better but cannot sleep feet hurt from walking i try around the block every day but hips and feet kill me wondering if i will ever be a carpender again any inputs pls let me know.
 
LTD is Long Term Disability. This is a benefit offered by some employers to their employees. Employees often pay some or all of the premium. LTD pays monthly benefits as long as some one is disabled.
 
Dear SpineAZ Thanks for the info I wish that the main spinal hospital in victoria shared the same possibility however the main brick wall in getting any surgical outcome in my situation is the fact that i am overweight and a public patient
The Neurosurgeon likes to treat Private patients as a preference, so regardless of my medical neeRAB I just don't cut it in his view, for having a successful outcome.
 
spineaz it was a workers comp slip and a fall at work on the ice i applied for ssd haven't heard anything yet but thanks for the input .
 
I have already had the l4-l5 fusion surgery. I did check into the LTD and they tell me I can't get both at the same time only WC right now. I have really started to have bad anxiety and have been put on meRAB. for it now. I just don't know how all this WC stuff will turn out and I have to make sure my family is taken care of. Doc. says I will have restrictions but I don't know what they will be yet. I have not had PT or the work hardening they say I will have to do toward the end. I still have lots of pain and don't want it all covered up by meRAB. just for someone to say I'm ok. I want them to know how I really feel and what I really feel! Thanks guys, your a big help and I try to think positive, but its really hard with all this!
 
I am almost six weeks now and still have nerve pain in my right leg. My toe also has not stopped twitching. Now I am having terrible anxiety and have been put on meRAB for that as well. I was told not to go for ssd because I am to young, plus need to wait to see what the end outcome will be since it is WC. I also can not do LTD and get my WC at the same time. The WC overrides the LTD. Have not been contacted from my employeer the first time, not even in the hospital! It looks as they do noy care, I wonder how things will be and if they will let me go back to work? Doc. says I will have restrictions on me, but it's to early to know what they will be. Bad enough I have the pain in my leg and now I have to deal with anxiety on top of all this! All I can do is wonder what my future holRAB, will I have a job, will I have to keep dealing with anxiety, will the pain and my toe twitching ever stop,etc.!
 
I'm a month post-op walking 1/2 a mile a day. Had 2 level L4-L5/L5-S1 lurabar fusion. Doctor said no bending, lifting. twisting for 3 months! It is frustrating at times. I'm progressing so far except for the awful pain somedays in my legs(like cramps that don't come to fruition). I'm on Percocet, Valium, Soma, and Neurontin! Some days i wonder why i did this but i couldn't do my job anymore since it's physically demanding. So hang in there the healing is slow according to the doctors.
 
Hello Bake&Pray, I am about to undergo a three level fusion on the 17th of Noveraber and would really like to talk with you. I've posted a thread under the title of "three level lurabar fusion" and it has no replies. I'm calling out to people who have underwent the same type of surgery as me to get input on success rates and recovery, etc.. It would be great and I would be very -very appreciative to receive your input. I know all people are different and I'm not looking for someone to tell me how it will be as I am my own person but the more information the better ya know?

I hope you search for my thread under back pain, titled "three level lurabar fusion". Thanks again, I look forward to hearing from you!

-Karl
 
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