spinal fusion surgery recovery-inflamation

Hi all
Im a Dubliner and have had back pain for the past 10 years. I have had many steroid injections and rysotimies done with some
relief at the start but after a while no relieg at all. The pain has got much worse in the past year so last nov I had my joints L5 and L5
scraped and a nerve removed and a disc repaired. It took me a while to recover and my surgoen did tell me that my joint surgery was a 50/50
Well it didn't work at all and my pain is getting worse, so much so that I am finding it hard to get around and even sitting in certain positions is
very painful. Sleeping at night is a big problem. All I seem to be doing now is lying on the couch and living on painkillers and muscle relaxents.
Which make me like a zombie. I can not do anything at all as regards activities or even going out with my husband or daughters. I am a 52 year old very young mother and granyy to a 2 year old whom I adore and now can not even lift ar play with.
My specialist has just told me that the only choice I have now is to have my L4 L5 joints fused together. This means as far as I know, putting
a metal plate in and nuts a bolts to hold the joints together. I am very worried about having it done as he said the succes rate is 75% which
I hate as I do not like odds everything has to be 100% for me or no thanks. But my family who have watched me for the past 10 years really
feel that I should go ahead. They feel if I have 75% chance for a repair then it is 75% more than what I have now. Let me say they are all very supportive and I know will get me through it. I told my specialist last weeks I would go ahead but I still can not stop thinking am I doing the
right thing. I keep reading all these posts and now do not know what to think. I know everyones surgery and back pain is different but if anyone has had the same problem as me would they be so kind as to tell me how they got on.
And keep on posting they are great.
Katrina, Dublin

I had a 2 level fusion done on May 26, 2010. I am only 29 yrs old and have had 2 ruptured discs (l3-l4 & l5-s1) along with spondylolisthesis grade 2 of l5 (forward slippage of the vertebrae). The surgery consisted of 8 hrs on the operating table, cleaning out the disc spaces, insertion of hardware (screws rods and cages), and bone graft from my hip. I was in daily pain, fluctuating from a 5 to a 9, b-4 the surgery. After the surgery the only pain I have is surgical/healing pain about a 3 to 5. I am a very healthy and strong person, I played baseball through college and have a "get out of the way I'll do it myself attitude", and the men of my family have a history of back issues as well. Everything combined probably got me into this mess in the first place! I am the only one who elected to have the surgery, one reason being is my father has moderate to severe pain daily and I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. The other reason is I have a 12 week old son who I want to be active with.

I am now about three weeks out of surgery. The back and leg pain I had b-4 is gone. My daily routine is get out of bed, eat lunch, and walk for 30 min to 1 hr (that time gets me anywhere from a mile to 2 1/2 miles). After walking, either the neighborhood or treadmill, I will take a shower and lay back down and rest before dinner. The muscle spasms only occur after I walk (Robaxin is great for them), which bring minor pain, but are diminishing now. I know I will have to change some of my activities and ask for help when lifting heavy objects, but I am fine with that in exchange for no pain!!!! I hope this helps someone trying to make the surgery decision or recovering from surgery. The person who has helped me the most with recovery is my baby boy, he has kept me smiling, laughing, and thanking GOD!

my daughter is 8 years old and she has scoliosis a 70 degree curvature of the spine,the docters say her spine is pressing on her lungs and she needs spinal fusion but only grow rods,she has no pain right now but i am frightend of this surgery,can anyone make me feel better!!!

I had my spinal surgery on June 28th this year. L5/S1 fusion, laminectomy, removal of disc and titanium cage with bone graft from removed partial vertabrae. 4 screws. 2 rods. In hospital 5 days because of serious spasm issues on day two. It's been 7 weeks. Externally - Minimally invasive surgery. Internally - very invasive!

I went in with the attitude that recovery would be quick for me as I heal well and push myself. 7 weeks in and I realize I still have a long way to go. I held out for my city's best neurosurgeon and I'm sure it was worth it. This week I was told to remove my "turtle brace" and I don't like it! It made me feel secure. Now I am like jello between steel arms and shoulders and legs, But doc says it's how I have to strengthen muscles. Ouch. And sleeping? The worse part of it all; I can not turn with out terrible pain. Getting out of bed is a major procedure. I feel like a wussie. Once I am up and walking I am much better. I know I need to give it time, but patience is not one of my virtues. Leg pain is gone (knock on wood) and I am regaining some sensation in my right toes that were affected. (Though this morning I woke with such terrible pain from sleeping and no sensation in those toes.) An hour later and I am better. My doc is not pushing PT. I want it;, he wants me to wait. In all seriousness I would reccomend anyone doing this to rent a hospital bed for the first two -three months.. Sleeping in a semi-sitting position is MUCh better than flat or on your side. And rest is so important to recovery. By Christmas I should be able to resume normal activities and be much better. It's a long road, but one I would rather walk, than not.

I had my spinal surgery on June 28th this year. L5/S1 fusion, laminectomy, removal of disc and titanium cage with bone graft from removed partial vertabrae. 4 screws. 2 rods. In hospital 5 days because of serious spasm issues on day two. It's been 7 weeks. Externally - Minimally invasive surgery. Internally - very invasive!

I went in with the attitude that recovery would be quick for me as I heal well and push myself. 7 weeks in and I realize I still have a long way to go. I held out for my city's best neurosurgeon and I'm sure it was worth it. This week I was told to remove my "turtle brace" and I don't like it! It made me feel secure. Now I am like jello between steel arms and shoulders and legs, But doc says it's how I have to strengthen muscles. Ouch. And sleeping? The worse part of it all; I can not turn with out terrible pain. Getting out of bed is a major procedure. I feel like a wussie. Once I am up and walking I am much better. I know I need to give it time, but patience is not one of my virtues. Leg pain is gone (knock on wood) and I am regaining some sensation in my right toes that were affected. (Though this morning I woke with such terrible pain from sleeping and no sensation in those toes.) An hour later and I am better. My doc is not pushing PT. I want it;, he wants me to wait. In all seriousness I would reccomend anyone doing this to rent a hospital bed for the first two -three months.. Sleeping in a semi-sitting position is MUCh better than flat or on your side. And rest is so important to recovery. By Christmas I should be able to resume normal activities and be much better. It's a long road, but one I would rather walk, than not.

Wow...reading some of these stories makes me feel very fortunate. I am a 42 yo, 6'-2", 250lb, male who plays ice hockey 2x a week all year round, as well as an active father of three young kids, and very active worker around the house. I had been living with increasing acute lumbar pain for at least 10+ years and tried EVERYTHING in the book to solve the problem (PT, Chiropractic, Traction, Epidural Injections 3x, Acupuncture, and anti-inflammatory/pain meds). I did not have any radiating pain down my legs, but had very severe pain right in the small of my back. It would typically be a 10+ the morning after any exertion. Sitting or standing for long periods of time would lead to severe discomfort. Even sneezing would make my eyes water....Good thing I developed a high tolerance for pain. After numerous consults with Orthopedic Surgeons, Neurosurgeons, etc, I decided to finally go for the 'final solution' to my problem - while I was still YOUNG.

On July 28th, 2010, I had an 8 hour surgery to fuse L4-L5-S1. It was a two incision, laproscopic surgery to remove two severely degenerated disks, replaced with PEEK cages, morselized bone with growth stimulant, 6 pedicle screws, two titanium rods, and cadaver bone grafts. I was in the hospital for 5 days (mainly extended 1.5 days due to the incredible nausea from all the narcotic pain meds and anesthesia and I wasn't eating). I stopped taking any and all narcotic pain meds the day before I was discharged from the hospital and felt much better and started eating. I only took 1500g of Tylenol for any pain from that point on. I felt much better. I stayed home for one week, in bed 1/2 of the time, and walking and climbing stairs the other half. Every day was better than the previous day.

I just passed three weeks post op on 8/18 and I feel amazing. The pain that I used to have is no longer there. I have a 'healing pain' now that is much less than I expected (about a 3 or 4), and I only take Tylenol once in awhile to take the edge off, uisually before going to sleep. I do have the spasms in my upper thighs/butt muscles that are annoying, but will go away after an hour or so.

My Dr. has prescribed an Ortho-Stim bone growth stimulator that I wear 4hrs a day for at least one month. He also doesn't think I will need much (if any) PT at the end of that treatment as I was already in pretty good physical shape prior to the surgery. I returned to work part-time last week (desk job with some walking and stairs) without an issue. I drove to work without an issue (and was ok because I wasn't on any narcotics). This week I have put in even more hours at work and expect to be back to full time starting next week (including a day business trip).

So, moral of the story is some people will do better with a surgery like this than others. If you have trouble healing from injuries, then this kind of trauma may knock you out for a long time. I am fortunate to be a quick healer, so my prognosis is to be able to return to ice hockey by November (barring any complications). If all continues as it is now, I will have NO regrets for doing the surgery.

Good Luck!

Well i have to be honest with all you fellow spine surgery patients, I am a former oilfield worker and it is a seriously heavy duty job. On Feb. 10 2009 was a normal work day for me until i bent over to pull drill pipe slips and heard a cannon go off in my head, dum
old roughneck "it is a pulled muscle"suck it up you'll be fine after a few beers (after work of course). Little did I know. I continued to work for about three hours and the pain grew to something I had never felt before. I told the driller i was going to go have a cig and take a tylenol and that would be the downfall of me. I sat down for a few minutes while smoking, finished my cig and was on my way back to the rig floor and holy mother of Jesus, i could not get up. Like many of the stories i have read online the pain was intense enough to make a grown man cry. Off to the ER for x-rays which found nothing out of the ordinary, but i knew difference between a little pain and whole lot of pain. Any ways I was sent to occupational doctor who took me off work immediately. I tried the injections in may 09 without success. So off to the surgeon they sent me. Had a MRI done and found spondylosis with myelopathy lumbar ( over worked spine and used to hard). On aug 20 2009 i was off for the ride of my life surgery was set and there i was. I had a L5 S1 fusion in Dallas stayed in for 3 days and sent home. I was sent to therapy three times a week for a month or so and my last visit to pt i felt something shoot down my leg to my toes. So i scheduled a visit with the surgeon in jan 2010 he scheduled a cat scan. It revealed cracking in vertical and lateral sections around the cage and hardware. He recommended a second surgery repeating L5 S1 fusion with bone morphogenic protein and instrumentation(it has been found not medically neccessary for texas worker compensation) this is aug 23 2010 and the pain from the surgery has increased the pain from the original injury to unbearable proportions my symptoms are can't sit for over hour to hour and a half, my walking is off balance, I haven't had a good nights sleep in over 18 months. I have even bought a Sleep Number bed which was a waste of money. And as for pain med well they have prescribed norco10/250 which if I take them they constipate me more than I ever dreamed possible. Now Sept 7 I have what Texas Department of Workers Compensation an impairment rating to see if i can go back to the drilling rig. I have suffered from financial hardship to my sex life has crashed. If there is any help out there for the injured in Texas I would love to know. Texas workers compensation is the employers way out of taking care of its employees that more blood, sweat, and tears for the employer to just get away with minimal support not to mention if I was able to return to the rig I would be fired for some B.S> reason so that i am not a liability for them. My career is over in the oilfield and at 37 years old it will be hard to do something different as i have done this for over 17 years. And all i have to show for it is a broke down body.

Thanks everyone for giving me some insight into what I'm in for. I have DDD and sponylosis etc. My surgery is set for Oct. 4th L2-L3. I also need a cervical double fusion but I'm not dealing with that right now. I've had too much to handle already. The day I was scheduling my surgery I fell on ice and broke my ankle in Feb. It didn't heal after 10 wks. I had surgery,plates and screws, another 6 wks. recovery. I was in a wheel chair for 4 mos. and it's been 6 mos. so far and I still have some pain. Who knew an ankle break would last so long.

Now I'm concerned because my ankle didn't heal will my back heal? The dr. is using hip bone mixed with donor. My question is how much will the hip hurt? I've read stories that it hurt more than the back at first. Can you drive earlier than dr.'s orders? I am a single mom with 3 kids and no other drivers.

This fusion better work because I can't take much more.

I had an L4-L5 spinal fusion done on May 27, 2010. All of my back and leg pain are gone. I do have other issues that I was wondering if others have experienced. My feet always tingle and go numb if I stand or walk a lot. Sitting in a chair for long periods produces numbness also. When I arch my back to stretch I get a warm nerve sensation from my neck to tmy feet. Has anyone experienced these post surgical issuses and figured out how to make them go away. Is stretching often and creating the nerve sensation a good idea?

Hi, I am replying to the last post by indoubt... I am in almost exactly the same situation you were when you posted. I have my surgery scheduled for Oct. 2010. I am really going back and forth with my decision. I was curious to see if you went through with your surgery and if you did, how your recovery is going. We are roughly the same age, and have the same disc problems and also the same sensations. While I do have back pain- my biggest complaint is the numbness and leg pain I have in my right leg. I am scared to have this surgery, but was told by 2 doctors that I need it.

Please describe your experience of the op. and after.. i believe you had one in June? I also have L5-S1 prob. and not much pain at all, just some leg soreness and that numbness sensation that you described so well..
I wonder if i should risk exchanging this tellerable condition..annoying but tolerable. for a much more painful one ..
please tell your op and after op description. Would be much appreciated, as now am at the cross-road of yes or no..
with best wishes for a speedy recovery.. if not yet completed.

jack

My husband had fusion surgery on lower lumbar in May. He had herniated discs from lifting a heavy file cabinet 20 some years ago. Lived with the pain and cold/numbness in one leg, which was tolerable. Then while at work he slipped and fell on a wet floor, MRI showed a new tear had occurred during the fall causing increased pain, cold and numbness in both legs plus feet and he would be standing and knees would give out bringing him to the floor. I witnessed this several times. It was scarey, we were afraid of more injury with this occurence. So he finally opted to do the surgery. It was done in an out patient setting. He went home after, for me to take care of him. He is not quite six months out but is dealing now with, coldness in one foot, terrible back spasms/pain day and especially at night. I think it has become a vicious circle for him, no sleep, staying tense because he is so tired, back spasms and ect. Flexiril was prescribed but does not do the trick, I think if some how he could brake the circle maybe it would resolve some of the pain. He is feeling like he has traded one pain for another. Any comments?

I am sorry about your husbands pain and I am no expert but, I have had five surgeries on my spine three on my low back, the most recent last week 10/4/10. I knew there was something wrong with the other surgeries and my husband and I pushed and shopped around till we got the help I needed. My last surgery has seemed to have gone really good. I have have all the horror problems I can go into latter including spondylosis and sicatictica for over 2o years! I switched doctors and this one did a good job. My husband is going through all the WMC horrors your can in mange and more . They refuse to treat his fractured torn crushed very very painful back. I have had doctors not diagnose me ,when it was plain as day what was wrong. So long story short get him in for more test even if you have to take him in to the ER. Take him to another Doctor if yours is stuck with there is nothing wrong with my surgery.... How I know that one well. boy oh boy.....

I sure do hope that I am posting in the correct category.
here is my story.
I had a neck fusion back in 1983 all is great. In 2003 my ortho doc said my back was " broken" and did a fusion, four screws and that had been great.
In Mid Sept of 2010 my left hip started to hurt, then my right then all across my back ( lower) I thought I had MS or something really bad. I put up with the pain until I could hardly walk. Finally went to ER. They did a CT scan and " oh my " they said my spinal cord was severely crushed, something about my spine being twisted and made a call the the neurosurgeon who did my last surgery. I met with him the next day. Due to the fact that I have a pacemaker he ordered a myelogram. That took two weeks, then two weeks to meet with the doctor again. All along, my pain is horrible. Can hardly walk, tilt posture, weak legs, cramping in legs and feet especially at night, sweating really bad which I never do. I had to stop doing my job as I have to climb 80 stairs twice a day. All along kept waiting for the doc to figure out what he would do. Finnaly I got a call to meet him on 11/02/10. In the meantime I am taking diauladid 2mg (2) every four hours, which is causing me no appetite and my face to break out . When I met with the surgeon he told me I had a blown disc, wants to put in a plastic one, spinal stenosis, has to clean it out and make room as about 3-4 inches is compressed badly. Both of my legs are now going numb, tingly and the pain is near unbearable. I feel like I have no life at all. Stay home, cant drive, cant walk it is horrible. When I met with the doc on 11/02 he said he could do the operation soon, I wanted it the next week as I need to get back to work. I am single, live alone and just want this over with. He said sure. Then when I get to the schedule lady, she has a whole different story. First has to come the insurance approval. I kept calling the insurance carrier and they had not yet received the referral for spine surgery. Finally they did. So I keep calling the doctors office. The ladies refuse for me to talk to him. Today they give me my surgery date of December 29th. I threw a fit. I have read and researched that I can lose control of bowel and bladder and that the sooner it is fixed the less chance of long term injury or being paralyzed. I threw a fit when they told me the end of dec, another six weeks away. There was no talking to this person. They will not recommend another surgeon. I do not know what to do, am becomming very depressed along with all the other symptoms. Is it or is it not true that the longer I wait it could be much worse?
Nothing helps with the pain. The doc wants to put in the plastic disc, two screws a rod and clean out the canal. What might I do to get in faster? Any helpful suggestions would be wonderful !

Male, 52 and an R.N. I had a L4-5-S1 spinal fusion 11-19-10. I am three weeks post op and doing well. I was afraid, before surgery , because everyone said how painfull it would be. When I woke up my the pain was nothing I couldn't handle with the PCA. Understand me, it is a painful operation. It was no where as painfull as I had anticipated. The worst part was turning in bed, log rolling, and getting out of bed. I walked on day 2 with a walker and went home on day 4. At 3 weeks post op I can drive ,shower and dress myself. I am take some pain meds but not as much as anticipated. I can walk about a mile without to much difficulty. Getting very bored not working. If I can answer any questions for anyone thinking of having this surgery just post question. You will know when it's time for this surgery because you will feel that you can't live the rest of your life like you are now!