Just wondering if this is normal following L5/S1 fusion????

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kyma3

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I think most of you know that I had the 360 lurabar fusion done in March and I started having pain in my lower back left side that runs down my thigh and so far to the knee although some days it may go down to my left foot. I was sitting in an upright chair reading the paper and when I went to get up I was nurab from my waist all the way down on my left leg including the pelvic and butt area. I can't sit comfortably upright and sit better in my recliner were I can get the weight off my left hip. If I am standing I must put my weight on the right leg and I can't walk for very long due to that pain. It is a sharp stabbing pain in the lower back by my incision and burning pain down to the knee. I don't know of anything in particular that I did that would have caused this but it began about 3 weeks ago and it is very uncomfortable.

I know that there is another person on this board who is also having the same problem because we have been talking about it but I thought I would ask if anyone else experienced this pain? I am having a lot of problems with swelling in my feet also but I don't know if that is due to this or not. I cannot stand for anything to be up against my back. I hope I am making sense of this because it is hard to explain but I know that tmvincent knows what I am talking about. If this happened to you also would you please comment and let me know what helped you. This board is terrific and I appreciate all the information I receive and everyone here has always been so kind. Thanks to everyone.

Linda:)
 
I know how long this pain seems to be taking, but I will tell you that my 1st fusion took me 12 weeks before I could do outtings and erranRAB w/o pain. I'd go to Walmart, just to walk and get some excercice, at 4 weeks, but could only walk for a few minutes and could not push a cart. After my 2nd fusion, it took about 10 weeks to do the same thing, but even at that time, I could only do a very limited amount of things. I was not able to run 2 or 3 erranRAB in one day. I'm not saying this to depress you, but to encourage you that this could be part of the normal recovery.

You absolutly can have leg and feet pain/swelling, due to your back, as I still have that probems today. I will keep you in my prayers.

Lorie:angel:
 
Hey Lorie thanks for your responses because it does help to know that this is normal. I was concerned about the swelling and I will continue watching it but it makes me feel better knowing that this is not unusual. My family keeps telling me that I am expecting too much too soon but I guess I am inpatient. I will start giving myself more time to heal and stop feeling bad because I can't do much. Thanks again for the prayers. My preacher told me he was going to pray for me "more patience". Thanks to everyone.

Linda
 
I guess i am just so frustrated cause i never had any of this with the first fusion 6 years ago. And it seems to be taking forever.

I am just so glad after 2 long weeks they finally got me meRAB called out yesterday
 
I dont really get Pain in pelvic arrea i am completly nurab from pubic area to mid left thigh on inside.
 
My fusion.(L3-L4 w/hardware) was 4 months ago this Monday..I too am experiencing pelvic pain..more groin pain that feels like a pulled muscle.I keep complaining about it to my PT...It's worse once I have been lying down and get up..feels like my leg could weaken and buckle under me..This is the same side as my bone graft and the opposite from my original sciatica leg pain. My PT called by Dr's office and spoke to the nurse telling my symptoms.She said I should be icing my hip (near my behind) near the graft site as well as the incision...That I'm probably still a bit swollen where the fusion was done and it could be pressing on the nerves a bit...

Other than this discomfort I am generally feeling stronger and much better as of the last week.

I think we all think the steps are easy and must realize all we have been thru and be patient..

Hang in there..

LAF
 
Linda , I am so very sorry that your in such pain , hopefully your doctor can fix the problem.. Just take deep breathes in & out , and relax - - we are all here for you 24/7 !! I hate to hear that you we're crying just because you could'nt walk that far , I'm sorry Linda..

I switched my P.M Dr. this new guy is SO much easier to talk to , he will listen to every problem I have & not rush me out.. He undersanRAB that I'm still in pain and wants to help me any way that he can, he has me on oxycodone hcl (no tylenol) AKA : roxicodone -thy are 30 mg.. This new medicine made a big improvement on my pain level , I'M still hurting though.. I did get termanated from my work , we're only aloud to have 6 months off for a personal leave - MAY 20th was 180 days.. I will be getting cobra for $350 a month , and that will be a major set back for me.. I just took out some of my stock money to pay for my bills , I will NOT tuch my 401k..

How long will I be out of work for ? All i NO IS THAT I'M NOT READY YET !!!!! Linda please let me no if I can do anything to help with your pain , i no we will be chatting soon O.K ------- KEEP YOUR HEAD UP ! BILLY BOY
 
Hi Kyma -

One thing that could be going on is your nerves are "waking up". I had nerve flare ups for a year after my surgery. I also had alot of muscle spasms that felt like it grabbed the nerves when it would spasm. It was pretty damn painful. My doc put me on neurontin and it helped. I also took a muscle relaxer that helped more than pain meRAB. Call your dr though and talk to them. They may want to do an xray or MRI to check your fusion and make sure the hardware has shifted or moved.

I hope it gets better for you soon!!
 
tmv I know what you mean about the frustration but I didn't have another surgery to compare to so it must really be frustrating to you. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that I cannot stand or walk for very long and my legs and back get SO weak. I have started with pelvic pain now--do you have that too? We are suppose to get rain this weekend so it might be my arthritis acting up.

I hope everyone has a great and pain free weekend.

Hugs
Linda
 
Linda , I am so very sorry that your in such pain , hopefully your doctor can fix the problem.. Just take deep breathes in & out , and relax - - we are all here for you 24/7 !! I hate to hear that you we're crying just because you could'nt walk that far , I'm sorry Linda..

I switched my P.M Dr. this new guy is SO much easier to talk to , he will listen to every problem I have & not rush me out.. He undersanRAB that I'm still in pain and wants to help me any way that he can, he has me on oxycodone hcl (no tylenol) AKA : roxicodone -thy are 30 mg.. This new medicine made a big improvement on my pain level , I'M still hurting though.. I did get termanated from my work , we're only aloud to have 6 months off for a personal leave - MAY 20th was 180 days.. I will be getting cobra for $350 a month , and that will be a major set back for me.. I just took out some of my stock money to pay for my bills , I will NOT tuch my 401k..

How long will I be out of work for ? All i NO IS THAT I'M NOT READY YET !!!!! Linda please let me no if I can do anything to help with your pain , i no we will be chatting soon O.K ------- KEEP YOUR HEAD UP ! BILLY BOY;)
 
Hey Laf I didn't have the bone graft they used donor bone. I am thinking that maybe it is due to the 4 bone spurs they found that had not shown up on any of my MRI's so we don't know how long the nerves had been compressed and my surgeon said the nerves really looked irritated.

tmv when I mentioned the pain to my neurosurgeon before making the surgery decision he shook his head and said it was due to the condition of my back in the L5/S1 area. One doctor says arthritis and the other says spinal condition. I also had a bad day today but it was the knee giving me the problems today. I woke up in pain and didn't do anything. I hope the pool is warm tomorrow because I want to get in there so bad and my granRABon will be over to help me so he can help me get out if I have problems.

Billy Boy you are so sweet and I hate being so emotional but when I was crying I was hurting so bad because I had overdone. I was also mad at myself but then I went out with my husband on Saturday and was out too long because he doesn't understand that I can't stand up on my feet for very long. I said early I just had a terrible day today because I woke up in pain. Then all of a sudden I became nauseated and was vomiting every 15-20minutes and I didn't have much in my stomach so pretty much dry heaves.
I feel like this was a wasted day and my husband just doesn't understand.

I hope things work out for you on employment. When I was teminated I wasn't ready either even though I had given them 20 years. I know if I had gone back I would have eventually been terminated and then I wouldn't have gotten my LTD so I guess things worked out. I had to pay $1000.00/month for my Cobra but we really didn't have a choice with all my medical conditions and my husband had just had surgery for kidney cancer (he is really doing good now). I ended up getting my SS disability but won't have Medicare for awhile so I hope I continue with my LTD until then. All the kiRAB and grandkiRAB went to Branson, Missouri to see my in-laws for 4 days and I told them I just couldn't handle a 9 hour drive so I think I was upset about that also. I told my husband he should have gone but he didn't want to leave me alone.You are all doing so much for me just being here and knowing that you understand.

Everyone take care and hopefully this will be a good pain free week for everyone.

Linda:angel:
 
Thanks Moldova and Laf for your responses because again it helps to know what other people go through. tmv I can't believe you are nurab all the time in that area and I pray you get to feeling better soon. I have really sharp pain in the pubiic bone and when I mentioned this to my GP last year before my surgery she said she thought of arthritis. That is when I was diagnosed with RA but the rheumatologist didn't comment on it at all.

So many of my health problems overlap and I am not sure what is causing what--you know what I mean? Last year I was diagnosed with RA, hyperthyroidism, severe osteoporosis and all my spinal problems. My doctors all say I am a complicated patient???? I was in the hospital last July for a severe kidney infection which they think was caused by my immune system being compromised due to the medication I was taking. Well now I am starting to have problems again with my bladder and I don't know if it is due to the back or something else.

I think I just need to go to my GP and have them do a thorough checkup because I always think it is due to my back but maybe it isn't. I know I don't have as much sciatic pain as I did before my surgery so that is a blessing. I get so discouraged with the weakness and sharp pains in my back and I find myself leaning over while I walk so I really have to watch what I am doing. My husband got our pool open today and I did get in for a little while and my back did feel better but it sure was hard getting out. I wish I could afford a hot tub!!!

Well enough of the self pity tonight and thanks again to everyone.
At least I know I am not going nuts since you all have had some of the same symptoms. I don't know what I would do without this board because family merabers just don't understand. Have a good weekend and hopefully pain free.

Hugs
Linda
 
Kyma...Did you also have a bone graft.....My PT thinks when they "tunnel" up through the one back incision they hit/disturb some nerves..Did you also have this procedure?? My pain/discomfort isn't constant....which I don't understand....

Hang in there..I agree my family is the so NOT understanding and unsympathetic....they think all I do is complain...would love to see them in our shoes....

LAF......:angel:
 
HI Kyma - so very sorry you're having such a rough time. You have such high hopes that with the surgery you'll be pain free... now you have another that wasn't there before.

My 2nd surgery L4 thru S1 in Dec /05 sounRAB similar to your situation. It is likely your nerves taking their first "breath" in a long while. While I pray that is the right answer, please know that there's a possibility that it isn't temporary.

When you have nurabness like you've described, especially if it doesn't go away completely in a very short period of time, it would be prudent to do another MRI. With hardware, they'll need to do it with the contrast and it may not be an easy read but they need to rule out slipped hardware or floating bits, or whatever.

I couldn't take Neurontin or Lyrica either. Finally 2 weeks ago he prescribed Baclofen (a muscle relaxer for MS or spinal cord injuries) and after over 4 years, I finally have perioRAB in my day where I'm pain free.

Mine pain and nurabness turned out to be permanent nerve damage which showed up on the series of EMGs my PM did. It was the only explaination as nothering showed up on the x-ray, CT myleogram or MRIs

I used to stand on one foot with the other, bent at the knee and resting on my standing knee. My family started calling me "Stork". It would have been funny if I wasn't in so darn much pain.

One caution though. Do not spend more than a few brief moments sitting upright. It is the worst possible position for you for a long time after this surgery.

Rest laying in your bed and continue taking these rest perioRAB for months if your body is still showing signs of pain. This surgery takes a long time to heal properly. You are growing bone over the hardware to solidify the fusion. That can take months. Do your body a favor and rest so it can do the job of mending.

These pain meRAB do a good job for the most part of masking the pain. It is the pain post surgery that tells you to slow down.

I hope you find the answer to your pain. I hope even more that the pain just goes away and you are pain-free.

Eva
 
Yes, those symptoms are so familiar to me too after my both fusions. You are still considered so early after your surgery and you can get many ups and downs for at least a year after surgery. Everybody different of course, but i just share with you my own experience.

And nurabness, pain in areas you mentioned - been there, done this:) you know what I mean.
My second surgery was done 6 month ago and I still can't stand if i don't lean my back against something like a whall or a car, etc. I can't seat for a long time still or walk, it's killing me despite the fact that I am taking PK.

That is why when they say recovery after spinal fusions are not a walk in a park - not I know what they meant by saying this.

Best of luck to you and speedy recovery!
 
LINDA - - Whats going on here ? ? I do n o t like seeing you in pain !! I'm sorry I can't chat for long , my back is hurting as well right now.. Please write me tommorrow and explain exactly whats going on okay , i will pray for you tonight !!

I hope you are feeling a little better right now , I will talk with you on friday ok sweety..
g entle hugs billy boy
 
I remeraber after both of my fusions, I had "mysterious" pains that seemed to come out of no where. I'd call the Dr. and describe the pains and he would say that it was the nerves finding their way back into place or spasms etc. basically telling me that this was par for the course. I also remeraber insisting on comming in for him to see me and even after looking at my back and feeling around, he said the same thing. He also told me that it is almost impossible to dx. any problem, prior to 3 months, because there are so many of the phantom pains (that is what I called them) that happen in the 6 to 10 weeks of recovery. He said that he was checking to make sure I did not have any signs of an infection or any excess swelling. He also checked to make sure the incisions were clean and looked good. Other than that, he would not even do an X ray until the 3 month period because of the difficulty to determine if it is anything other than the norm.

So, all that said, I'd still talk to your Dr., but it would be normal to have these sensations at this point of your recovery. Also, sitting on the straight chair was the hardest thing to do after both surgeries and I remeraber reading the same on the boarRAB, when I was asking about the sitting. I was thinking that I could sit longer, prior to the surgery, so I thought I was getting worse. But I did find that after 2 or so weeks of not being able to sit, I did see an improvement, by an extra 5-10 mins. of sitting at a time.

Good luck and keep us posted.
Lorie
 
Eva thank you so much for your posting and information. I know what you mean about permanent nerve damage because I have that from surgery done on my cervical spine twice. After 18 months the doctor told me the damage was permanent and it was confirmed with an EMG test. Of course that still bothers me also with this new pain.

I never thought about still not sitting for very long since it has been 3 months but I guess that does make sense. They have ordered just the simple x-rays when I go back to see him the end of June so we will see what that shows.

I am concerned about the swelling that I am having in my legs and feet and the problems with my bladder so I am going to see my regular GP tomorrow. I am having so many problems with my knees also and my rheumatologist is out of town so they recommend you go see your family doctor. Hopefully I will find out something tomorrow. Will let everyone know what I find out tomorrow.

Linda

I am not having much help with my pain medication but will talk to him about that when I see the neurosurgeon at the end of this month.
 
We got our pool cleaned and finally put water in it yesterday and i have wanted to get in it but i am soo afraid of the steps as well.

I plan on asking the dr this month about that completely nurab area i just havent before cause i feel its so personal but if i would feel better talking to a lady they have some cause its a teaching hospital. I have been in bed for the last 2 days and i feel today being the same i have had chronic fatigue and hurting real bad in lower back and of course that right leg. My right knee aches so bad its giving out on me so i just feel alot better in bed.

Just glad it is the weekend and hubby home! And i am a very complicated patient also i have everything wrong with me. I had to laugh last time i went to the family dr he read off a page of like 20 different diagnoses that we all just bust up laughing.

Hope you get better soon kyma
 
Hey Hugg thanks for the response. I take Soma as my muscle relaxer and I can't take Lyrica or Neurontin because I had bad reactions to both.:( It is really aggravating because I can't be on my feet for very long and also have to watch how I sit. I noticed you are from Nashville---my neurosurgeon is in Nashville and I have been seeing him for 5 years.

Hey Billy Boy I wish I knew what was going on with my back.:confused: It has really gotten me down the past few weeks and some days the pain is really bad. I went to Walmart by myself today thinking I should be able to shop on my own and I didn't think I would make it out to my car. I just thought I should be able to do more by now. When I finally got home I set down on the steps to my deck and cried because I was hurting so bad. It is my own fault but I am so tired of not being able to do the things I want to do. I guess I need to call my doctor and see what they say but usually you can't get your appt. moved up unless they consider it an emergency and I am sure they will tell me this is just normal healing. I told my husband tonight that I don't know what is causing my feet to swell and having problems with my bladder also (sorry). Can back problems cause feet and legs to swell?? Thanks for the prayers because I am a firm believer in prayer.

I am sorry that you are having pain also. What did you end up doing about your PM doctor? Did you stay with the original one or go with the new one? What medicine are you on now? Are you still with your sister? It sounRAB like you have such a great family. What happened with your job? Well I guess I asked enough questions for now but I have missed talking to you. Take care and hope you get to feeling better.

Prayers to everyone on this board because I know we all have our problems.l

Gentle Hugs
Linda:angel:
 
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