L2-S1 Laminectomy with instrumented fusion, getting ready

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Richard, lived in Vienna for a while, a nuraber of years ago.

I think after looking at all of my options, even today at 1 1/2 weeks out of surgery, there really was no choice for me. The disc between L5 and S1 was completely collapsed on one side resulting in bone on bone pain, and the disc above was heading there. My pain has been progressing for the past 3 years and there was nothing that was going to help it. My only other choice was to try to live through the rest of the collapse and hope the vertebrae would eventually self-fuse. The risk there is alignment - would it self-fuse and still maintain correct alignment? No way to know.

I've also been worried about becoming a burden, but I was already becoming one. Over the past year my entire focus has been getting to work, lasting through the day, getting home from the work. I could do less and less at home, have less and less enjoyment in life, and everything was requiring narcotics just to do something as simple as empty a dishwasher. I've always been very independent, it was devastating.

So, here I sit in my brace, even more dependent but looking at a future of less pain. I can already say the leg pain is gone, so that's step nuraber one. Most of the pain right now is back/incision related, so not too shabby. I was told I'll be even more comfortable tomorrow after the staples come out. I hope they're right :D

Happy Fourth! Enjoy the day!

:jester:
 
Hi Debbie,

That's exactly where I'm swollen but I was told not to worry about it. She said it's from the staples and brace causing an irritation.

Well, just did my first treatment with the stimulator. As I was told, you'd never know anything was going on. Seems this type of device isn't that unusual and has been used for years for people who have broken bones that have had difficulty healing.
 
Im glad there is no pain involved. I went reading a bit more about the fusion and now realize with the help of people here that i really do need to be more careful, so my fusion can get nice and strong. I am already taking it easy - er.

Debbie
 
Paula, Netflix even better!! This site is great! :)
I don't dare ask my doc if I can have a cigar every so often - for medicinal purposes of course.

As for returning to work, in a sense this might be a vacation and give me a chance to think about what I really want to do the rest of my life. It's not like I won't have time to ponder right?
 
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