spinal fusion surgery recovery-inflamation

I am 27 years old and on February 28, it will mark a year since my spinal fusion surgery at L5/S1. I have titanium screws and cadaver bone that makes up my new disc. Before my surgery, I lived with pain every single day and could not get out of bed without oxycodone. I tried lumbar injections that gave me absolutely no relief.

Surgery was THE BEST MOVE I have ever made in my life. I feel wonderful, I have no pain, my life is 200% better. Support is key, I could have never done it without my family and friends. Good luck to you.

Hello all, I'm 26 and had a lumbar fusion surgery in november 2012. Before the surgery I ranked as the top 4 th worst disk slip in my surgeons career. I have pedicle screws and a cage, as well as the abdomen and lower back scars. What have I done is all I can think so far. I know I'm only 3 months past the surgery but I feel terrible. The surgery was one of the most painful things I have ever endured. I wasn't allowed pain meds because my heart rate kept dipping under 50 bpm. There has been no bone growth yet. If this fails my surgeon said I'm out of options. I'm holding on for now but if this doesn't get better I am not sticking around to live like this forever. Know the risks before you get this done. I may have ended my life without even trying.

I am a firefighter who was injured in August 2012 at a fire and I ended up with a bilateral pars fracture of the L5 from a fall and severe stenosis according to the MRI....I just had my 2nd l5/s1 spinal fusion on 02/27/13 which was the plif approach....my 1st surgery was alif on 11/30/12 which did not correct the severe nerve pain in both legs.....I could be on my feet for maybe 3-4 minutes before I had to sit down or lie down to relieve the pain....it's been 4 days since the plif surgery (2 rods, 4 screws and removal of bone around the nerves} and I honestly have to say that the surgery has worked..........my back is swollen beyond belief but I keep icing it....my dr did not fit me for a brace with either surgery which I feel is strange but I have no problems with it.... there is hope out there you may have to do a little searching but believe me it's out there.... believe me, I never thought this pain would go away after the 1st surgery failed....

I had 3 back surgeries the 3rd was a fusion, and also 3 injections. my fusion was about 9 wks ago. I cant sit/stand very long, have a hard time sleeping, walking I have to take breaks, there is so much I have trouble doing.  Im trying to figure out, will I ever be able to work again, and if so what can I do? I m on medications that makes me sleeping and talk funny. I have gone to therapy and I flare up.  I have been under dr. care, and I talk to them. my surgery was on L4/L5/ s1. I been told my cyattic nerve has some damage done. also was told I may live with the pain.  Im so confused. Is anybody in my situation?that can give me a feed back

 

On March 27th I had a spinal fusion -4-5 and 6-7. I had 5-6 back in 2008. I was involved in another accident so this surgery was much needed. For both surgeries I h received a bone stimulator. Its like a large necklace you wear around your neck for about 4 hours a day for about 1 year. Its stimulates your own bone growth. Again, because of my great surgeon no pain afterwards. This time I have minor ramping on the back of my neck. My doctor even repairs other doctors work. I was in really bad pain prior and even in the hospital no pain right after surgery! Love this doctor!
if you want to know his name - contact me

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People come from different states to see him. I live in Rochester Ny.

Hi, my husband had the bottom 3 vertebrae fused and an abdominal plate put on 10 weeks

ago and he's doing great, I used to read these forums to get familiarised with the

process etc and I was really worried, That's why I'm writing because although

it's a very painful operation for the first month and specially the first 2 weeks it was worth it

and completley changed my husband life. His back had collapsed and was living in pain and

frustration. Now he can lift up to 20lb, go swimming, do stuff around the house etc. He has

not gone back to work because his job was very demanding and he will have to get a different

one. He's 37 years old so that helps to, he walked out of the hospital. I just wanted to tell people

That there are good outcomes too. Not much pain and stop the meds at 3 weeks!.

I had C4-C5 surgery and L4-S1 surgeries two months apart 4 years ago. Prior to that point I had suffered 10 years of Multiple Sclerosis type symptoms. I had to re-learn how to walk 3 times, how to use my left arm several times(I am left-handed). Cervical deterioration was pinching my spinal cord. Lumbar was from old laminectomy of 20 years. I wound up with a listhesis where one bone slides half off the other when standing. If you hear pop and hurt more standing up, have a standing x-ray done. MRI's are taken lying down and the offending vertebra slides in place mostly while lying down. I have had about 80% recovery. I take anti-seizure medicines to mask the remaining neuropathy. We had no choice on the prior surgeries since I was using my ability to walk with both legs and the use of my left arm. To keep the use of my right arm now I'm going for cervical fusion on level lower in my neck. HINT A NURSE TOLD ME YEARS AGO: TAKE A SMALL BATH TOWEL, WET IT DOWN AND FREEZE IT IN A GALLON FREEZER BAG. FREEZE MORE THAN ONE SO YOU CAN CHANGE THEM OUT. THEY FORM TO YOUR BODY SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY LIE ON THEM. IF YOU NEED SMALLER PAIN DISTRACTION, USE WASH CLOTH IN QUART FREEZER BAG. Rule #1: Nerves feel a lot worse when they're waking up than when they were pinched. Rule #2: Swelling, muscles, and surgery site pain will bother you for a couple of weeks, which will probably make you second think your surgery. Rule#3: For cervical surgery, sleep in a way that you can be flat of your back with a very thin or no pillow. I bought a wedge system that elevated my head and lower legs. It worked for both cervical and lumbar surgeries. Rule#4: Walking in moderation as tolerated is always good for you. Rule #5: NEVER do anything that is weight-bearing while twisting. Don't plan on lifting anything over 40 pounds unless you want to risk further injury. Last Rule: If you can get down on the floor with grandbabies or young children, do so. Pile all their toys, diapers, wipes, etc. where you can reach them. I did that so they wouldn't expect me to pick them up to hold them. I was able to sleep with an appropriate mattress on the floor while they crawled all over me and sometimes brought me books to read "before I went to bed." I spent a total of about 16 years successfully having four kids by natural childbirth and raising them fairly normally. They all turned out to be wonderfully compassionate kids.

Years make sure they keep checking to make sure she is NOT allergic to nickel or titaiunm I suffered eight years before they found this out,pain chronic fatigue and a mess of other problems then the screw was giving me problem I have lost function in right leg foot drop I was better before fusion. But in a few years she will be fused she CAN have hardware removed.good luck

am scheduled for S1 thru L4 spinal fusion... am a single guy and need to know how long i will need help getting into and out of bed if at all?? Is walking easy to do following surgery, what other actives can i do myself? Thanks!

I had a L34/45 spinal fusion on 30th April 14 and am progressing really well. three years of severe leg nerve pain seems to have gone away all together. I have not back pain any more, just a very heavy feeling in my back. My fav position is lying in bed but I sit for 20 minute periods, walk around the house, as I find longer walks make me too uncomfortable on the return journey. I had a new procedure called MAS PLIF and I couldn't be happier so far. Im impatoient to get going but realise this will be a 6 month recovery period. so far Im emjoying slowly reducing pre op meds. I am 70 years old, so had a few health issues following the long proceduce but slowly getting things under control. Be paitient with your wife and give her all the support you can muster, as she must rest and take things very slowly to get the best result from her surgery

After 5 slightly varied opinions, I had the same procedure, PLIF on L3-L4 with sponylolysis, spondylolethesis, spondylosis on April 28, 2014.  I am 45 yo and with 3 years of progressive pain in the lower back and tight buttock and hamstrings affecting every day activities, I decided to take the leap (with a lot of fear) and had a PLIF done. I was back to work pretty quick - just 1 1/2 weeks post op, desk job. Could not sit for the first 2 weeks so I stood at work.  While it was definitely premature, it did distract me from all my pains.  I am now 11 weeks post opt and the 2 residual pains are the feeling of muscle inflammation just under the surgical sight across my lower back and into the hips, and the tight buttock/hamstring muscles still.  I was very active before surgery and tried to keep up with running and doing some core strengthening just prior to surgery.  I occasionally get some muscle spasms in the lower back esp on days where the weather is damp/rainy, I definitely feel some nerve sensitivity. The first few weeks of recovery were absolutely excruciatingly painful however each week was so much better than the one prior and now, I am back to running 2-3x per week.  Wondering if anyone has felt a swelling/inflammation feeling in the surrounding fusion tissue. Apparently this a side effect of the bmp used during the procedure, which I also was not aware of my dr using it.  I only found out when I described my extreme discomfort during a follow up.  My husband took off from work to care for me post op and I am so blessed to have him because I couldn't do anything for myself that week.  A lot of pain, tears and feelings of helplessness.  11 weeks later and I wear bone stim (when I remember to) and I am exercising regularly but it does seem to aggravate the side effect feeling of inflammation and have to ice daily. I have learned that everyone's recovery, pain and healing are very individual.  I just kept asking my doctor "is this normal".  Just like a newborn baby reaching milestones, I wanted to know if I was reaching milestones in my recovery and it didn't matter if I was ahead of someone else, or behind. As long as I knew I would get better is all I needed to know.  Good luck to all of you going through these spinal issues and surgeries.  May your recovery be speedy and positive.  Each of us are all alot stronger than we think.   

I had fusion surgery June 5th. I still have pain in my lower back which is getting better everyday.when she starts physical therapy that will help a lot .Walking is excellent for her. keep active and get her off pain killers asap .good luck

I have had the same 3 surgeries and two years after I'm told that I have failed back surgery syndrome. And have severe pain all the time and still on lot of meds

I am a 79 year old male have had recurring back and sciatica problems for several years. Finally an MRI discovered a herniated disc. I had a microdiscectomy but after almost a year I have another herniated disc. After Another MRI he says I have a monster space between my L3 to L5 and that I am in danger of continuing herniation because of this space. He has recommended OLIF followed by posterior fusion with robotic assist L3-4 and decompression on the right at L3-4 and probably on the right at L4-5 with Metrix tube. He has a past history of prostate cancer so we would probably use Vivogen and local bone for fusion*** Has anyone had similar diagnosis and operation.

I've had nothing but problems since surgery. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia but I am allergic to Nickel, really bad. Makes me wonder if this could be the cause of all the daily pain?! I'm now disabled.