Weight Loss After Lumbar Fusion?

S

SuperStressed

New member

Hi everyone!

I will have a lurabar fusion, discectomy and decompression on L5-S1 in a few days. My doctor told me to expect a long recovery period. Have any of you (who needed to lose weight) had trouble losing weight after surgery? I know it's gonna be hard to move around for awhile, but I don't wanna gain any extra weight. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
 
Be careful about your intake. It's too easy to eat convenient fooRAB like crackers and munch all day. You need to take in the right amount of calories to help your body heal but know you won't be burning much so to be really conscious about what you are eating If you have having surgery around the holidays I imagine this could be much harder. And you may have frienRAB/family who send you food gifts while you are recovering.

I've been out of work for 7 months due to back problems and am likely facing what is called a 360 degree fusion soon. I've been able to hold my weight in these 7 months by doing a lot of portion control and resisting higher calorie and higher carb items. Sometimes it's a struggle (today I really wanted a ciabatta roll with butter but instead had two slices of our dobule fiber bread. Kind of met the craving but not by much :-)
 
It's where they go in from the abdomen and the back to fuse the spine. Going in from the abdomen they move all your internal organs aside to get to the spine.

However, I may be having a lateral fusion instead as of today (where they go in from your side).
 
I had the 360 fusion and found that I had a real lack of appetite after the surgery and I ended up losing 20 lbs. In fact that is what my surgeon said usually happens with his people. The trick is to keep it off. I have to remeraber that I carry an extra 4 lbs of Hardware in my back. I don't need to put extra weight on also! You feel better without it. It does make a difference.....
 
Thanks! I really wanna get this weight off safely. I gained a lot of weight from a flat foot reconstruction in 2001, so that's why I'm nervous about weight gain after back surgery.
 
I had a 360 8 months ago. It was awful and I lost a ton of weight. So much so that I was hospitalized twice with severely low potassium. Once it was so low that I wasn't breathing properly. It was a major emergency and they had a hard time stabalizing me. I remeraber none of it. Be careful, the pain meRAB and pain can take away your appetite. Also, I vomited a lot from the pain. It was so bad that it happened on the floor once, or in the kitchen sink because my pain prevented me from getting to the bathroom on time. I was sent to a psychiatrist and diagnosed with anorexia! I wasn't anorexic, I just had no appetite.
Be careful and yes it is along recovery. My fusion didn't work (I have a hunch from my poor nutrition) and I am having a 2 level fusion next.
 
Back
Top