New Member asking for input on pain after L4 and 5 disectomy/cage/fusion

[Suz]

Hello everyone, my name is Suz. I had a disectomy and L4 and L5 fusion with a cage. The surgery went very well and I think I'm recuperating well. I had the surgey on 11/26/11 and I started back to work 5 weeks later because I could not take another day of Court T.V. or other mind-numbing shows and I missed the people. Yes for the first couple weeks it was okay watching the shows, but oh my gosh not 6 weeks or more of it. I'm am being careful not to over do it and as you all may have experienced, we have good days and bad. Here is my question: I realize everyone heals at a different rate but in general, when does the pain the back from the surgery go away (completely). The surgery fixed the pain, numbness and tingling in my legs but at the surgical site I still have pain and the back is pretty weak. No physical therapy has been scheduled yet. I want to tolerate the pain drug free but haven't been able to reach this goal. Is this unrealistic?

[trkdoc714]

Suz,

You're right about the different rates at which we heal. There is no way to forecast when you'll hit the day when the pain is only a memory but for most it comes anywhere from 3 months to 2 years.

For me, it seemed to ease more rapidly after starting PT. It was rough for the first few weeks but soon I could feel the difference.

Congratulations on the successful surgery. I hope you're one of the quick healers.

Bob

[Justin]

Hello everyone, my name is Suz. I had a disectomy and L4 and L5 fusion with a cage. The surgery went very well and I think I'm recuperating well. I had the surgey on 11/26/11 and I started back to work 5 weeks later because I could not take another day of Court T.V. or other mind-numbing shows and I missed the people. Yes for the first couple weeks it was okay watching the shows, but oh my gosh not 6 weeks or more of it. I'm am being careful not to over do it and as you all may have experienced, we have good days and bad. Here is my question: I realize everyone heals at a different rate but in general, when does the pain the back from the surgery go away (completely). The surgery fixed the pain, numbness and tingling in my legs but at the surgical site I still have pain and the back is pretty weak. No physical therapy has been scheduled yet. I want to tolerate the pain drug free but haven't been able to reach this goal. Is this unrealistic?

Hi Suz,

Welcome to the Spine Patient Society.

Congratulations on being on the other side of surgery! It's really great to read that the surgery take away your pain, numbness and tingling in your legs. Bob's comments above are spot on. I would say that most Spine Patients post-fusion really start to "turn the corner" around the 6 month mark.

In terms of being drug free: it might be a good idea to schedule an appointment with the physician that is writing for your pain meds to make a taper schedule in which you could slowly step off of your meds. You are pretty "fresh" out of surgery--there's no need to rush things at this point in my opinion (if your pain is well controlled, you will be better able to get back in the swing of things, which will ultimately help you heal). I a HUGE proponent of physical therapy--it would behoove you to speak with your medical team about engaging in a formal program down the road (give your fusion some time to heal properly before going full steam ahead with physical therapy).

I wish you the very best and please keep us posted on your progress. BTW: if you haven't started a post-op thread in the Surgical Outcomes Forum, it might be a good idea to help document your progress and really show you how far you have come if you hit a rough patch. Be well.

[Pbchoclovr]

Hi Suz,

Like you, I've wondered when I was going to return to "normal." As you've said, everyone heals at different paces. I'm now 7 months post op from a one level fusion at the L4/L5, which resolved my pre-surgery issues. I began physical therapy right around the 2 month mark and returned to work about that time too. It's only been since about month 5 that I have started to experience days where my pain levels are low to almost non-existent. The almost non-existent days have only started in the past month. I still have days when I hobble through the day and have only recently (the past few weeks) experienced days where my gait has returned to normal. Several of my colleagues actually commented on it the first time they saw me walking normally since surgery!

I haven't been able to get off my meds yet. I have been able to reduce them to about half of their original doses overall. At one point, I was taking some type of pain med every 6 hours. I'm now only taking something when I first wake up and in the evening. My original goal to be off the pain meds completely was Christmas. I had to re-evaluate that in light of my pain levels at that time.

Like Justin said, I can't stress the importance of walking and PT when you begin that. I noticed a significant amount of improvement when I began PT, and even more when I began walking backwards in a pool (keeps you from bending forward). If I miss doing the exercises or going to the pool, I notice an increase in my pain levels. Consistency is key!


Just keep in mind as you heal, everyone reaches the milestones at different paces. There's no one timetable that works for all. As long as you see progress as you look back over the weeks and months, that's most important and all that counts.


Best wishes as you continue healing.

Linda