L4-S1 Fusion, Oct.21st and I am scared to death!

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emtlee2002

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On October 21st I will bite the bullet and go under the knife for an L4-S1 fusion.

I am SCARED TO DEATH!!

The research of the surgery seems very informative, but the forums info is very scary. It seems that most people have a very hard time after the surgery, people find that the surgery was unsuccessful or that the recovery time is longer than expected.

Is there anyone out there that has a success story?

I really have no choice but to go forward with the surgery. I have exhausted all other options. But, in that regarRAB, I do not want to be miserable after the surgery.

A million things go through my head. Who will care for the children, who will care for the house, who will help my husband so that he does not carry the load. :confused:
 
Welcome to the board, emtlee!

Please keep in mind as you read posts here that most people DO have successful outcomes from this surgery. They just aren't hanging around here anymore. I could rattle off a whole bunch of names of people who have been here, healed, and after a few weeks post op, we never heard from them again. There is about a 97% success rate. That doesn't mean 97% of people will be pain-free. But those people successfully fused and had enough of a reduction in pain that they were able to go back to work, shuttle kiRAB around, go to the movies, and have a regular life again.

I would call myself a success story, even though I still have pain and am disabled. I was quickly heading for a wheelchair. That is no longer in my foreseeable future, and for that, I am grateful! I've actually had two fusions, and if I had to make the decisions all over again, I'd still do it. It was the best thing I could have done!

You will need help with your kiRAB for a while, depending on their ages. But lots of us here have gotten through this surgery just fine. It's a big one, make no mistake, but if you need it, it's the right thing to do. Prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Read the stickies at the top, especially the one called "post surgery tips," and ask away with your questions. We'll do the best we can to help you from our own experiences.

REMOVED

I wish you the best.

Emily :wave:
 
I am unable to locate the "Sticky notes". Exactly where are these notes?
Thanks for your reply.
Glad to hear it was a success for you.
 
Thank you so much for responding.
I did begin my own thread. Thanks for that suggestion as well.

I am glad to hear that you have a success story.

By the way, question. Why does the doc want me to be off of my meRAB for 2 weeks before the surgery? Not sure that that is even possible.
 
Hi again, emtlee,

I won't repeat what I already said on the other thread, but I just wanted to add that there are lots of little things you can do to make your recovery easier. For one thing, make sure you have a good quality grabber tool. It will give you a lot of independence. Since you won't be able to bend or stoop down to pick up anything you drop, that grabber will really come in handy. I used it lying in bed when the kiRAB came in and flipped channels and then left the remote an inch farther away than I could reach. Or I wanted to reach my meRAB without getting up and they were an inch too far away. Or I needed a tissue --- poof, right out of the box with my grabber! :D It was worth its weight in gold my first day home! Be sure to spend a few extra dollars to get a good quality one. I also put a satiny type bottom sheet on my bed. That made it so much easier to turn, as I could slide instead of have to shift my weight. Put a plastic garbage bag on the passenger seat of your car for the ride home from the hospital for the same reason, so you can slide getting in and out. Also put a large zip lock bag in the car in case you get nauseous on the ride home. Your husband will be so grateful to not have to clean anything up! And get yourself a little notebook to keep track of your meRAB. You're going to be drowsy and it will be easy to forget what you took and when. Every time you take anything, write down what you took, the time, and how much. I also kept a running list of questions for my doctor in the same little notebook.

Are you a meraber of a church? Our church provided meals for us for quite some time. What a huge help that was! I also stocked up on easy frozen meals, like pizza and such.

How old are your kiRAB? If they're little, you'll certainly need some help. If they're school age and can get themselves dressed for the day, you'll probably be fine. Someone else will need to be the chauffeur for a while, though. Most of us have been told not to drive for about 6 weeks, some more and some less. But even at 6 weeks, you're probably not going to be up to doing much driving. If your kiRAB are teens, yahoo!!! They get to serve mom now! My teens were a great help to me! Even little kiRAB can help out, though. Don't try to be supermom. You're going to need to rest after this surgery.

Get new batteries for the remotes. Join a movies by mail club. This is actually a good time of year to have this surgery. If you have a brace, it will keep you warm in the cold months. Much better than wearing it in July! :) You can hunker down in flannels with a cozy blanket and a cup of cocoa and rest!

Please post whatever other questions you have. We'll do our best to help you from our own experiences.

I wish you the best,
Emily
 
Hello emtlee~

Most of us were scared to death prior to our surgeries. That is the norm. Even when you've done all the homework, feel comfortable with the doc, and know that surgery is really your only option, it is still normal to be afraid.

Did you see the "Sticky note" near the top of the first Back Board page entitled :Post-Surgery Tips?" It has tons of tips that will make your recovery easier for you and the people around you who are trying to help you out. Depending on the age of your children, you will need someone to help you out for the first week or two.

The recovery itself is very individual. We all feel pain differently and our bodies heal at different speeRAB. I had a one level fusion in January (and consider it a success, by the way) and felt quite OK by about 12 weeks out. At 8 weeks I was still on pain meRAB, was not driving a car (and really had no desire to go anywhere!!). My husband was preparing most of the night meals. I think I probably could have, but I could afford to baby myself, so I did. I didn't have to worry about going back to work, either, so I wasn't under any pressure to hurry along my recovery.

There have been other people on the board who were itching to go back to work in 2 weeks...so it is all very individual.

Most important is that you have found a spinal specialist that is well qualified and experienced...a guy that you trust and that doesn't have law suits filed against him.

If you have specific questions, be sure to ask them. We do better with those questions than with more general ones.

xx M:wave:M
 
Do not post the same message in multiple locations. Please start one thread for a post.

Your two posts and their responses have been corabined into this one thread.

Thank you.
Mod 08
 
It depenRAB on the doctor, what you're on, and how long you've been on it. I've read that if you've been on the heavier pain killers for a long time already, they'll have a hard time controlling your pain after surgery unless you've been able to clear out your system before hand.

That could be it, or if you're taking ibuprofen, they need that out of your system as it's a blood thinner and it will be hard to stop the bleeding.

Emily :wave:
 
The "Stickies" are just the first posts on the first page of the Back Board. They are like a regular thread, but it says "sticky" on the lefthand margin.
 
I am 30, also new here and having a one level fusion of L5/S1 on Oct. 1st. I too am scared to death. This board has been very informative and its comforting to me to see someone else has been in my shoes before so they understand how I feel. I mostly lurked for awhile trying to gain as much info as I could.

Its great advice about keeping a meRAB/questions notebook and helped greatly for my discectomy in July. Its amazing how many questions you forget to ask once the surgeon is in front of you. Also, when you're in pain its hard to remeraber the last time you took your meRAB.

My feeling about the house right now is "It will get done when it gets done." I know I'm not able to do much and hubby is usually gone from 5:30 am to 7:30 pm Mon-Fri. and sometimes longer. Don't be afraid to ask for help from family, frienRAB, your neigrabroadors, or even your church. It's hard going from the caregiver to being the one needing care. Good luck to you!
 
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