Question regarding recovery time

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2Bbackontop

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Hi,
I posted a couple of days ago "Scheduled day for surgery". With the procedure I am having (L5S1 fusion with laminectomy), should I plan on staying in the guest bedroom downstairs, or will I be able to get up and down the stairs?

Thanks in advance!
Brett

Previous post:
"Hi everyone. I am new to this board, however, I feel as if I have found long-lost family merabers. I am 43, I had a L5-S1 microdiskectomy in 10/04. This was the result of a bicycle accident. I had just spent the previous 4 years exercising and improving my health/eating/diet and went from 284 lbs to 184 lbs. I never could exercise like before the surgery but I kept trying and failing and getting more and more depressed until I finally quit all together. My job requires standing for long 12 hour shifts. Finally, last April, I had to go on stronger pain meRAB to survive. They helped, but either the underlying condition worsened and/or I built tolerance - I think a corabination of both. My wife and I had our 2nd baby in 19 months in August. My weight has gone up to 240 lbs, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression and anxiety. I felt I was going mad and nobody understood. My wife was sick and tired of what she interpreted as complaining. All these things corabined made me realize I have got to do something. I should mention that I have tried other conservative methoRAB, epidurals, RACZ, etc. So while I am scared, I am relieved that a decision has been made. It was hard to make this decision as my dad had back problems and finally decided to have surgery after being confined to a wheelchair. He developed a post-surgical infection and died in the hospital 2 weeks later.

My surgery is 2/19 and will be a fusion of L5S1 with a laminectomy.

I am out of work from now on until I recover and I will be frequenting this board often to learn/share what I can.

The above is the briefest synopsis of my story - like many here, I could write a book, but the story is far from finished"
 
Hi Brett,

I had fusion at L4-5 four weeks ago. I could have gone upstairs to sleep as I could clirab stairs without any additional pain, but, for a variety of reasons, I decided to set up my recuperative headquarters on the main floor. In your case, with two small children, I would think you might rest and recuperate better in the guest room. You will need to impress upon the kiRAB that they cannot get in bed with you. You don't want to risk an errant foot accidentally kicking you in the back, etc. :eek: I just reread your post and see the kiRAB are a bit too small to be jumping on the bed to greet you...so I guess my advice would be to figure out where you could get the best rest, and then sleep there.

The first thing the physical therapist at the hospital will ask you is how many stories is your house and where is the bedroom. S/he will then work with you accordingly. My PT asked what steps were involved getting in and out of the house. After we figured out that the easiest way to get in and out involved a 10" high step, she set up a situation in the hospital "gym" that involved a 10 inch step and that's what we practiced with. She only seemed interested in getting me able to do the things that applied to my house and my situation.

But, again, going up and down the stairs would not have been a problem. If you have other questions, I'm happy to try to answer them.

xx MM
 
Hi, I had laminectomies, but not with fusion. But I can say that I did not even think about going down the stairs for at least a week after my surgery. There was no way. I ended up just sleeping on my couch. Thankfully my couch was newer and pretty firm. You have no idea just how much you use your back muscles for doing things. And boy do you use them going up & down stairs! When I finally did try going down, though, I found it MUCH easier to hold on to the rail and slowly go down backwarRAB. I am pretty sure some fellow spineys have found this easier, also and will post their comments. So I would say you should plan on staying wherever you don't need to use stairs. And also get everything ready beforehand to make your day to day things easily accessible in places where you dont have to bend for them. Keep your most used things at waist level somehow.
 
At the time, my bedroom was on the main floor.. I was happy about that, cuz I was up and down all through the night and could get at everthing I needed without needing assistance or worrying about a mishap on the stairs.

I did start using our stairs at day four. One or two trips each per day but no more and I think a snail could have beat up and down each time! It got easier as time went by, but as my doc told me.. let pain be my guide.

I would initially take refuge in the guest room.
 
I asked my doctor how many times a day I would be allowed to go up and down the stairs after my fusion. His mouth said, "As many times as you want," but his eyes said, "You're not gonna want to!" The eyes had it! But the therapist in the hospital did teach me how to go up and down, including hauling my walker with me. I didn't go up and down more than once for several weeks, and some days I didn't go downstairs at all. Fortunately, my two teenaged boys are homeschooled, and although they both have part time jobs, they were there to give me breakfast and lunch and do whatever else I needed them to do. They even hung out and watched movies with me sometimes, or did their schoolwork in my room to keep me company.

It's good to think about these things ahead of time so you can get all your ducks in a row. If you have other questions, please ask away. We'll try to help.

Take care,
Emily
 
I wish you the best of luck! I 'escaped' scheduled surgery 12/24/06 and now after 7 epidurals and loaRAB of PT, 6 day pack of methylprednisolone before last in this year's series of 3 epidurals had another MRI showing same but worse hernation. Am now considering surgery again but my Dr. informs me I am "not psychologically" ready for it???

After your surgery when you are feeling better I would love to hear back from you! No pun intended! Best of luck to you,
Sam
 
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