Recovering from Spinal Fusion Surgery

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DAJ819

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Hello Everyone. I'm new here and this is my first post. I'm in my third week of recovering from spinal fusion surgery where I had two levels fused (lurabar). In 2003 and 2006 I had a lurabar laminectomy because I ruptured disks in L5/S1. I ruptured again this year (L5/S1) and the MRI showed that L4/L5 became unstable and after two opinions, spinal fusion was recommended.

The first 10 days after surgery were virtually unbearable, but luckily those days have passed. I no longer have to use a walker, but still have to use a cane. I'm also having trouble managing the pain as well as sleeping for more than 1 hour at a time. Some of the nurabness in my toes on my left foot has gone away, but I still occasionally get heal pain in the left foot. The right leg is a whole different story. I have nurabness in various parts of my right leg, especially from the mid-thigh down and I virtually have no strength in this leg.

My dr. tells me to be patient and that I will have physical therapy, but not just yet, but still I'm extremely worried about this right leg.

Has anyone had this problem before and if so, how did you deal with it? How much physical therapy was involved and how much time did you have to spend being off of work. I've been off since February 22 (surgery was March 31).

Thank you in advance for any advice and comfort you can give me.
 
Yep , it sure does take a while to recover.. Give it some time and you should be up running around in a few months. Work may have to wait for a bit ;)
 
Hello again everyone. I am now 4 weeks and 2 days post-op from surgery and have been starting to experience an increase in pain and other symptoms that started two days ago. It started with chills, extreme nausea, stomach and lower back pain, bowels moving constantly, but not runny, and an increase in weakness and leg pain. I've been trying to cut back on my pain meRAB and don't know if this is the cause. I took pain meRAB and got in the bed around 8:00 pm last night and slept until about 11:00 pm. The pain and symptoms were greatly reduced then, but now that I'm up this morning, they are back again, not quite as bad, but still back. My surgeon is actually in surgery today, so I know if I call his office they will insist that I come to the Emergency Room (which I don't want to do). Has anyone ever had these symptoms occur after surgery?

I really thought I was doing so well, and the home nurse that would come twice a week discharged me last week back into my dr. care because my vitals were stable and my incision is healing very good.

Please help, I'm feel very frustrated and discouraged right now.

Thank you.

P.S. I think this should have been a new post, but I haven't quite figured out how to do that, so I apologize in advance.
 
Thank you so much for your kind worRAB. This Board has been a lifesaver to me -- it helps to know that I am not alone in this battle.
 
Thank you. I wish you all the best as well in your recovery. My nurse was here yesterday and she suggested that if I wake up in the middle of the night with pain to go ahead and take another pain pill so that the pain won't be so bad when I wake up in the morning. I normally don't require much sleep, but I definitely need more than 1 hour at a time! I know in time this will get better, I guess I'm just anxious. Take care.
 
Hi DAJ819, and welcome to the board!

Did you have any problems with the right leg before surgery? It sounRAB like nerve irritation. Nerves do take a long time to calm down, but they probably will in time. Like your doctor said, try to be patient. I had some nurabness, not as much as you're describing, but it has completely gone away. I had my last fusion in Sept 2006 and a hardware removal in Sept 2007. The hardware removal actually caused more nurabness than the fusion. Go figure.

Is your doctor giving you enough pain meRAB? Are you taking the max you're allowed? If what you have isn't covering your pain, you do need to talk to him about it. Once the pain gets ahead of the meRAB, it takes much longer to get it back under control. Are you using pillows at night to prop your knees or to prop your whole body when you're on your side? That might help. Are you in a lot of pain at night or just can't get comfortable? I find that I have to regularly turn from side to back, then to the other side for a while, all night long. Otherwise I'm really sore.

You've made it through your first three weeks! Go you!!! That's great! Keep listening to your doctor, no BLT's unless it's a sandwich (no bending, lifting, or twisting :)), and walk as much as you can tolerate. Walking increases blood flow around your spine, which is essential for bone growth. But don't overdo it. You don't want to increase your pain, but walk as much as you're able. Most of us don't start PT until 3-4 months post op. Then you'll start working on your core muscles and just getting general strength back.

Even though you've made it through the first three weeks, you might still benefit from some of the suggestions in the thread at the top called, "Post Surgery Tips." There are tons of great tips there.

If you have other questions, please ask. We'll do our best to help you from our own experiences. We're not doctors; we're just ordinary people like you who have a variety of back issues, and a lot of us have had fusions.

Hang in there. It gets easier, but don't rush it. Your job right now is to LAY AROUND BEING LAZY! :D Watch a movie, walk around for a bit, read a book, walk around for a bit, watch another movie, walk around for a bit, etc.

I wish you the best as you continue to recover,
Emily
 
Reading your post, I do feel better. As I mentioned earlier, my nurse was here yesterday and she told me that if/when I wake up in the middle of the night in pain, by all means take additional pain medicine. She explained to me that when you are dealing with the spine, back and nerves, the pain is totally different and that I should definitely keep on top of the pain and not let it get out of control. I think I'm trying to be tuff thinking I don't need that much pain meRAB, but in actuality I do. I've done a lot better today taking my meRAB and I feel an ounce better then yesterday. If it takes an ounce a day better, I'll take it. The only meRAB I'm on are for pain and a muscle relaxer. I go back to the dr. in 4-6 weeks. I do as much walking around the house as I can, but I have over 30+ steps in my house, so I'm very careful about going up and down the steps constantly. Thank you again for your response to my post and I too wish you all the best.
 
DAJ, an increase in pain at about this point is not unusual. The nurabing agents they use internally during surgery wear off around 3-6 weeks post op, so it's common to have that increase in pain. The chills and nausea are not normal, though. You may have a virus to deal with on top of your surgery. You might want to call your GP, since your surgeon is unavailable. Your GP can at least determine if there's a virus going on. The other thought is that chills go with fever, and that often points to infection after surgery. So you really don't want to ignore this. If it means going to the ER, bite the bullet and go.

To start a new thread, look on the left hand side directly above the list of threaRAB on the main page of this board. There's a button for "New Thread."

Hope you feel better soon. Let us know what they say about the chills and nausea.

Emily
 
It sounRAB like you might have the flu on top of everything else. I pray that you start feeling better soon.
 
Thanks to all for your comments. FINALLY I'm feeling better. I still have some of the symptoms, but no fever, so I think I have caught a stomach bug although no one else in the house is sick. I'm taking my pain meRAB (as prescribed) and just eating kind of lightly, ginger ale, toast, crackers, really don't have any kind of appetite, but because I know how the pain meRAB will affect me on an empty stomach, I try and eat a little something. I've also noticed the past week or so a decrease in appetite. Is that normal after surgery? I remeraber after my previous two back surgeries in 2003 and 2006 (lurabar laminectomies), once I began physical therapy, I really dropped weight and trust me, I'm not complaining.

Take care. I'll write again after my dr. appointment next week unless some new symptoms develop.
 
I had nerve pain and tingling down my right leg after my fusion (L4 - S1), that I didn't have before the surgery. I got an epidural steroid injection about 3 weeks after the surgery, and the pain was almost gone within a week. I recommend you ask your doctor about getting an injection. It can't hurt to try.
 
Welcome on boarRAB!
I am happy to hear your surgery was OK and you are doing fine.
When it comes to nerve pain and symptoms your DR is absolutely right: takes a long time for nerves to heal, it can take for some up to 2 years, believe or not.

Healing process is totally individual and it takes different time for everyone to heal. For example i had my first fusion on 03/14/06 and still on disability not by choice. Some people who had their surgeries same time as me maybe back at work in a couple of month. Hard to go by someone else's experience. Don't get discouraged, patients is your best friend for a while at this point. You will have plenty ups and downs during your healing time, this is normal.

My right foot was affected after my first surgery. I got dropped foot and very weak nurab leg and foot. Now I have same thing happened to my left leg and foot.
I still wait and see maybe I will get better, my first PT was for 8 month. Now I start another PT, 3 month after my second fusion. I love the fact that they have warm water walking pool at their facilities, which helps a lot to develop muscle strenght.

Good luck to you, you are at the good place to be!:angel:
 
Hello Everyone:

Went to the dr. on this past Thursday and didn't receive as good of a report as I hoped for. It turns out I did have a stomach bug, but thank goodness that is gone. My incision is healing beautifully, but my dr. said that he felt like I looked and felt better at 10 days post-op then I do at 5 weeks and 3 days post-op. Not what I was hoping to hear.

I'm still having considerable pain at times and quite a bit of nurabness. I've been trying to wean myself from the pain meRAB, but apparently I'm doing more damage then good.

I have alternating nurabness and pain in my left ankle and heel (which can get really bad at times) and then my right leg is extremely weak and I get alternating pain and nurabness starting at the knee all the way to my foot which at times goes completely nurab.

The right leg has always been a big problem before and after all three surgeries. I'm just hoping I don't have permanent nerve damage in that leg.

The dr. insists that I continue with the pain meRAB as prescribed and he gave me a prescription for lyrica which will help with the nerve pain and I need to take that twice a day. He said physical therapy cannot even be discussed or considered until after he sees me again in 6 weeks and shortly before that visit he wants another x-ray to see how well the fusion is doing.

He told me this surgery was not a quick fix and to be patient, but I was hoping/thinking I was ready for physical therapy. I still have to wear the brace and he wants me to continue walking as much as possible.

I'm still using the cane and find walking outside very difficult at this time, so I'm walking around the house and I do have a treadmill which I may try and walk on for short perioRAB of time.

I hope everyone else is doing ok and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the Moms.
 
You sound like you are progressing well - maybe not at the speed you want - but you are doing good. The previous posters are correct we all recover at our own pace and it is dependent upon your physical and mental condition prior to surgery as well as the complexity of your medical case.

Stay on top of your meRAB and don't try to be a super hero and not take them. If you need them, you need them. Take them. Once your pain becomes uncontrolled, it takes you twice as long to get them under control. Set that alarm clock at night to take your meRAB if need be. I do that every night or my pain takes forever to get back under control.

Do they have you on lyrica, neurotin, topomax, elavil, palemor, or cyrabalta? These are some types of nerve medications that are often very helpful in controlling the nerve pain. Narcotics do not really control nerve pain.

Do you have access to a spa or indoor pool? If you do, call your doctor and ask if you can go in one just to sit and move your legs a little. I have found this to be extremely helpful with pain control. Tell him you don't want to swim, just sit and soak in the them and maybe walk in the water. You can buy a lurabar belt to wear in the deep in the pool and it will keep you at waist level so that you can walk in the deep end. If he says go ahead, start with soaking in the water for 10 minutes, then go in the deep in the pool and walk for 5 minutes - set a timer - then go sit down and soak again for another 10 minutes. If you can handle this with no increased pain, the next week move your 5 minutes up to 10 minutes. If you feel increased pain, drop back to the 5 minutes. The key is to listen to your body and if it senRAB messages of increased pain, you are doing to much and need to back off.

Keep telling yourself that this nerve pain and nurabness after surgery is normal due to the manipulation and moving of the nerves during surgery. This pain is normal. We don't like it and it hurts like heck but its normal at this junction in your recovery.

Good luck and I will be lifting you up in prayer. :angel:

Pepper :cool:
 
hey and welcome to the board, I had anterior/posterior surgery with pins and screws and a fusion onL-4 to S-1. I had a PLIF surgery in 2002 and the fusion never healed causing the screws to break. So the only other option was to refuse and the broken screws lodged into L-4 causing them to do that level also this time. I had my surgery on March 28 just a few days before yours and i had left leg pain prior to surgery now i have no left leg pain but let me tell you the pain in my right leg is sooo unbearable. Its mainly in my buttocks to the thigh. I have started taking omega-3 fish oil which helps alot not 100% but takes alot of the pain away. Incisions are doing fine hubby and 9 year old twins took rest of the tape off last night cause i was thinking they would fall off like steri strips well they werent loosening up so he moistened it and they came off easy. Didnt want infection under them now i can clean them good.

Sorry about your pain but we are just a few days away on our dates and i am going through it also. Hopefully both our pain goes away soon. And i cant suggest anything about the sleeping i dont really have a problem with that i have CFS and i could sleep almost 24/7. Hope you feel better soon.
 
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