My dad will have his Fusion on 12/16.....L2-5

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manchak99

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He is going to have the fusion done in a month.....L2-5.
He's in alot of pain most of the time now and has been on heavy duty pain meRAB. He's hoping this fixes him and he can get on with life!

Could you fill me in on the experience any of you have had with this type of surgery....would you have done it again if you had to rethink the surgery? how hard will this be for my mother (both parents are in their 60's) to take care of my dad in recovery?

Thanks!
 
It would be a good idea to read the stickies at the top of the board. They will give you a good idea of what he and your mom will need to do. It's not a walk in the park by any means. It will be a difficult heal, and it does hurt. I don't know if he is having a 360 or not (open from both sides). The first day after when they get him up-he will wonder what in the world inspired him to do this, and he will HATE his surgeon. It will bottom out and them he will start to come up from there.;) Trust me, they will give him meRAB and teach him how to walk and how to get in and out of bed. His best friend will be the walker for awhile.

How well he heals will depend on how long he wailed and how much damage was done to his nerves. What he will also need to remeraber is that his nerves and muscles have been moved-and they don't like that, so there will be alot of pain that he won't be expecting from irritated nerves that are inflamed and sore.

Check our the stickies-they're great-and keep posting....
 
Thanks....he's not being done 360...can't..he's got a stomach aneuyrsm (sp?).....only from back......
 
I had one level fused 7 months ago. I am only 28 and I still had a horrid time recovering. I agree with everything already said, but I wanted to add one word of advice. Have him take less pain meRAB from now until the surgery. I was taking 4 percocet a day before mine and had a harder time with pain control because my body had built up a tolerance to the meRAB. I am not sure what he is on now but that is what I would recommend.
I had to laugh when ibake&pray said he would hate his surgeon because that is so true. I also hated the nurse who would make me roll over and lay on my side. I was seriously made when they took out my catheder and made me get out of bed to pee.
 
This is the same surgery I had over a year ago. I don't remeraber the 1st week because I had pneumonia; soon realized I'd been moved to a rehab. I learned to walk and felt pretty good for a few months. Gradually the pain returned and now I'm almost as bad as before the surgery. My surgeon just a couple of weeks ago said there's no guarantee. Right now I'm sorry I had the surgery. Hopefully your father will have better luck, and maybe a better surgeon.

Nancy
 
As my Pain Management Doc say, surgery isn't always the right option, but it is the last option. I had a three level fusion done. Had an issue that I won't go into as I don't want to frighten you, and am now fused from T9 to my sacrum, and will live with some degree of pain the rest of my live. I'm 4 1/2 years into a 4 year therapy program to regain use of my left leg and I carry about 4 lbs. of titanium in my back. The bad news is that I really ache when the weather changes. The good news is that I don't have to vaccum any more! It's all how you view it!
 
I'm fused from T4 to sacrum. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had to make the decision all over again. I still have pain and will be on pain meRAB forever, but it's manageable. Before my surgery, pain killers did nothing and I was quickly heading for a wheelchair. The wheelchair isn't in my foreseeable future. And I will also say that I never hated my surgeon! :) I was so grateful that he was willing to help me. I was an unusual case and another doctor had already given up on me. If your dad goes into this knowing that it's going to be a long and painful recovery, that'll help a lot!

How strong is your dad now? If he'll need help getting himself in and out of bed and help bathing, you might want to hire someone to come in for a while each day for a few weeks or a month or two, unless your mom is in shape to help him. I never needed help getting up or down and never needed help in the bathroom, but some people do. Mostly, your mom neeRAB to understand that your dad won't be able to do much for several months. And once he gets a bit better and is thoroughly bored, he may be hard to keep from doing things he shouldn't do. He'll have the BLT rule, which has nothing to do with bacon, lettuce, or tomato. It means no bending, lifting, or twisting.

Like ibake said, do read those stickies at the top of the page, especially the one called "post surgery tips". It'll give you lots of suggestions that will make his recovery easier, and it will also give you a good idea of what it will be like.

Out of all the suggestions people gave me, the best one was to get a grabber tool. My grabber was worth what I paid for it the first day home from the hospital. Do spend the money to get a good one. Mine was $30 at my local pharmacy. I tried one called
 
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