[Spinal Fusion / Lumbar] alif...DONE!

[Catherine]

OMG I drive a 3/4 ton GMC truck, I wonder how that's going to work out? I can get my seat back straight, but I think the little bit of up is going to be hard.

YAY Kimberly!! So glad to hear the detox is finished. It sounds like you are doing really well, and I have been very curious about how your abdominal incision was coming along. It's so nice to hear that you are able to do things again, even if slowly, and have a life! I know there is hope.

Catherine

[Kimberly]

Catherine,

For what it's worth, about 6 months prior to my surgery I rode in my brother's Ford F350 diesel crew cab (and it's also got a lift kit). This truck is a monster. BUT although I did have to literally climb into it, I found it more comfortable than my subaru outback as the bench seats helped me sit pretty upright and my knees were in line with my hips. The ride was a bit too bouncy for my back, but up was better than down! If that makes sense....

[Kimberly]

Hi all.
Things have been humming along without much change so I didn't really have any "progress" to report but I thought it time for an update:

It is now about 5 months (and a week) since my 2 level ALIF (L4-S1) and here is how things are going:

OVERALL - I still find recovery to be a slooooowwww process with lots of ups and downs. Good days and bad days have my recovery trajectory looking like anything but a straight line, but overall, I am improving. Each MONTH I ask myself if I think I am better than the last month and so far the answer has always been yes. I still have pain but do find that at certain times it is low enough that I don't notice much. And, of course, at other times....
well.... &%#@!!!!!

PHYSICAL THERAPY - I began formal PT at 3 months and after 2 months I have officially "graduated." I was very diligent about doing my exercises/stretches and found it brought me relief and my range of motion increased. It also brought me increased pain, but in a "good" way.

SLEEPING - I am sleeping well but still feel my back "popping" when I roll over in bed and I have pain in my tailbone/incision area when I lay on my back too long. On bad days I might wake up once or twice in pain (more annoying than screaming pain though) but on good days I sleep well (unless my husband snores, my daughter comes in, my cat sleeps on my head......)

LEG PAIN - My leg pain is still 98% gone! Like someone turned off a switch. Sometimes I get little reminders of it, but for the most part my leg feels great. I am getting my strength back although my left leg continues to be weaker and is still somewhat atrophied. No more numbness/tingling.

SITTING/DRIVING - These continue to plague my life and I still have to be super careful here. Soft couches and chairs are still not an option AT ALL and I'm still on hard wooden chairs. I have had increasing tailbone pain since the surgery that I am beginning to wonder if it is related to the hardware (I don't think it's as low as the actual coccyx, it's more like (ahem) where....um....the start of my butt-crack is. sorry. don't know how else to say that. I purchased an orthopedic pillow (the "Tush-Cush" .....google it!) and it's very very helpful. It's angled to help maintain the curve of the lumbar spine and it has a cut out portion you sit on so your tailbone area is suspended and receives less pressure. It IS getting better though....at 2 months I couldn't sit for more than 20 minutes. At 3-4 months I could sit for around 30-40 minutes. Now at 5 months I can sit for about an hour (not without pain and with the pillow but this would have been unheard of a few months ago.) Patience grasshopper......

HARDWARE? - I have a lot of pain where the hardware is and it is "new" pain that I didn't have prior to surgery. Sometimes it feels like a hot-stabbing pain or like my skin and muscle are caught in a zipper. Sometimes it is a sore bone ache. If I rub the area where the hardware is it is sore and tender (not the incision itself, that has healed) and I think I can actually feel the screws with my fingers. If I lay on my back too long or to do my exercises I also feel it. Changing positions, moving/walking around usually helps it subside fairly quickly.


EXERCISE - Just walking for now. About 3 miles a day (about 5 days a week.) Love it. Flat areas are usually pretty pain free, uphills, where I have to lean forward, cause me a little pain, but not bad.

MEDICATION - I do not take anything regularly now (not even Tylenol) but only when my pain flairs up and I need some help. Some weeks go by and I do not need anything (just maybe to lay flat and rest for a while with a heating pad) other weeks I might take some Tylenol or if really bad, a single Norco at nighttime. If I am doing something big and new since surgery (like taking thousands of out of town guests into San Francisco for a marathon day of walking, cable car riding, eating and sightseeing.....what was I THINKING?) I will make sure I bring stuff with me just in case.

I will see my surgeon next week so I can add more then. BUT.....

All in all I am very happy so far with my decision to have the surgery. I am not pain free (but did not expect to be) but I am SO much better and more functional than I was prior to surgery. I am optimistic that I will continue to heal and improve over time and will feel better than I do today BUT even if I do not (and this is as good as it gets) I am still glad I had the surgery and would do it again in a heartbeat.


All the best,
Kimberly

[ajj1001]

You are doing really well, keep up with the good rehab work you are doing!

[laid up doc]

sounds like you're making great strides!!! congrats, and keep up the good work!

[Pbchoclovr]

Hi Kimberly,

I'm so glad to hear how you're doing. Like you, I haven't had much change recently. I also go to see my surgeon next week for my 6 month check up. Overall, your current status pretty much mirrors mine, except I'm still on pain meds and in PT (my choice. I was offered to graduate but felt there was still more that she could do. Plus she's the only one who seems to be able to stop the bad spots.) I have good and bad days. All my health care people tell me I'm right where I should be and doing great. When I hit a bad spot, my mantra is ... "This too shall pass."

Keep working hard. It's only going to get better!! Let us know how it goes with your surgeon visit next week.

Have you heard how Catherine's doing??

Linda

[pweir]

I had an ALIF about 4 years ago 2 days after a laminectomy that was not successful. It was very difficult healing with incisions in my back and abdomen. Things will go slow, but keep moving! The more you move the sooner you will be feeling better! The worst thing to do is to lay in bed (the least amount you can handle). Be very careful with the shower and always have someone there. I fell a couple times while trying to get in and out of the shower and it set me back a bit. Try to have someone there outside the door while you shower just to be sure you are safe. Great to hear you are healing and feeling pretty good. I hope things continue to heal quickly. Patty

Just wanted to check in with you all and let you know my 2-level ALiF (L4-S1) is done and I'm doing well.

All in all I had great doctors and nurses taking care of me and I am very happy with the care I received. I had requested a morphine epidural before the sugery and I think that helped A LOT with pain after surgery. The epidural stayed in 2 days after surgery and during that time I also had a PCA morphine pump ("patient controlled analgesic ? I think) that I could push every 6 min. (well, you can push it whenever you want, but it only administers morphine every 6 min.) I think the epidural was doing the lion's share of the work becuse in the 2 days after surgery, I only pushed the button 5 or 6 times (and quite frankly, 2 of those were so I could go to sleep) I ended up staying for 5 days as I had horrible issues with nausea/vomiting and impaction. The doctors kept switching meds to try and find something that would work for me. We settled on a Fentanyl transdermal patch (for pain) and a transdermal scopolamine patch (behind my ear) for the nausea. I also can take dilaudid every 3 hours if needed. It took a while to come up with that lilttle cocktail, and I went home on the 6th postoperative day.

Every day is a little better, but I can now get in and out of bed and use the bathroom by myself, brush my teeth, shower, etc. albeit verrrryyyyyy slowly (think glacial speed) and with pain. Sitting is still hard, so I'm either all the way up, or all the way down. Am trying to walk a few times each day (sometimes it's just laps around the house, sometimes I shuffle my way out to the sidewalk).I'm not using my walker much anymore (my daughter had decorated it with racing stripes to see if that might help me move a little faster.....I thought flames would look nice.) I still have quite a bit of pain (a lot of incision pain) but my leg pain is like 90% gone!!!!!

I'll post more later, but all in all, I'm doing ok.

Just a funny aside, my husband got a phone call from someone from FMLA (family medical leave act) as he's using that to keep from burning all his vacation time. Apparantely he forgot to check a box somewhere on the form, but he said the woman that called was more interested in how I was doing as she is looking at having a lumbar fusion surgery too. Apparantly, she picked his brain quite a bit over the phone and he suggested she come and visit this website. HA!

That's it for now....I will post some more details soon.

Take care,
Kimberly

[Kimberly]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and support.

I met with my surgeon this week and based on a new x-ray he said that I looked fully fused! We talked a bit about my pain that I was attributing to my hardware and he asked a few questions that apparently I got "right" with regard to the possibility that the hardware could indeed be the culprit. We decided to do a CT in a month or two to confirm that my spine is fully fused and if so, then remove the hardware in the spring. Although a third surgery does not excite me, it will be relatively minor compared to the fusion (and outpatient) and shouldn't be too big of a deal. He said that most patients that elect to have their hardware removed are very happy with their results and say that it usually reduces their pain even more. He thought that given where I am today at only 5 1/2 months that a few more months of recovery combined with removing the hardware has the potential to take my residual pain down to a "1" or a "2" (I would say that I'm typically in the "3-4" range with the occasional "5" day). After all I've been through I would happily sign up for another minor procedure to get to a "1" or a "2".

:-)

Kimberly

[Kimberly]

Oh btw....

He said it could be helpful (pain-wise as well as diagnostically) to have an injection targeting the hardware region. He said it might offer some relief in the interim, but did caution that it is typically fairly short-lived (best case: 4-6 weeks of relief).

[Justin]

Congratulations, Kimberly! It sounds like you are doing well!