[Spinal Fusion / Lumbar] To All Greg's Supporters -- Fusion (ALIF), L4/L5 & L5/S1

[Greg]

Phew....what a day! Well actually I still have another hour left of driving before I get home (it's 5pm and I left the house at 9am) but I had to pull over and walk for a few minutes because my right sacro joint is acting like I owe it money or something....OUCH!!! Doctor visit went well and they obviously understood my anger last appt about not seeing my doctor and made sure I saw him and not the PA. Which means yes, the meds are finally straightened out and I'm not stuck with week long scripts. And the doctor was more than happy to change my oxy's to 20mg per my request and I told him I wanted to switch from the roxicodone to 5mg percocets so I can continue my efforts to try and wean down on the daily dose of oxycodone. So he was happy to hear that and boy am I glad I got to see him and not have to feel like an addict and jump through hoops for my meds from the PA. I did forget to ask a few things while I was there but I left a message with the PA and hopefully they can send me the paperwork for the temporary handicap sticker, note to return to work and either a script of ambien or flexeril to sleep at night.

We took a few x-ray's and everything looks perfect. One concern I had with fusing L4-S1 is that section of vertebrae's has a nice curve to it and I feared they would fuse it straight. But he did an absolute perfect job of angling and positioning them to keep their natural curve and he was also able to slightly fix some of my scoliosis with the fusion so I am very happy with the surgery. My sacro joints have been my big concern since they got worse after the surgery but they've calmed down lately.....except for this car ride. I asked when I'm clear for epidural injections and he said at 3 months post-op if their still an issue they can do them. So we'll see how it goes but I feel confident I will be getting the injections in 2 months. The scar has sealed up very nicely and he is very proud of it. As long as the fusion takes place and they grow together my surgery will be one of his proudest ones and said he might have to use my films as examples of a perfect surgery. So overall we are both pleased with the progress and the fact that pre-op lumbar pain is gone and sacro pain is reducing. And I got to meet Linda from the SPS after the doctor appt since she was only 45 minutes away. She left work for a few hours to meet up with me and go grab some lunch. She's just as sweet and nice as I imagined from talking to her on the site. So Linda, thanks for waiting around with me at the pharmacy through that debacle and joining me for lunch....had a nice time (not to mention how cool it was to physically meet a good friend I made through the SPS). I thought it was too funny because Carmen called while I was in the pharmacy sitting next to Linda so I got Carmen on the phone, Linda by my side.....I Was surrounded by good friends from SPS. I do hope I get to meet some more of you all because I know you are great people, awesome friends and helped me get through the worst times of my life.

I'll update more later cuz I gotta get back in the car and GET HOME!

[linda]

So Cool to Finally meet Greg everybody! I could tell him my life story and he would not judge me. He already knows a lot of it and I just feel like I could tell him anything. He is the greatest and is getting around really well. You should see him fly with that cane all braced up with his bone stimulator on. Our visit was rushed and it was so hot outside and I wished we had a little more time to chat. If it weren't for those darn sacro issues he would be good to go.
Linda

[mark kim]

Greg its nice to hear you are doing well. Your posts actually give me hope about getting the fusion surgery. I still feel really nervous about it but reading your posts gives me more confidence.

[Jack-of-all-trades]

So far the results from my L5-S1 PLIF with titanium bars and bolts has left me in much better shape than suspected. I'm totally off all opioids as of last week after a slow methodical taper. That part was harder than the surgery.

I probably waited to long, ending up on higher doses of meds than if I would have gone in after the 1st year of constant pain. I used opioids to try and finish two big work projects and paid dearly.

[Greg]

Greg its nice to hear you are doing well. Your posts actually give me hope about getting the fusion surgery. I still feel really nervous about it but reading your posts gives me more confidence.

Thanks! I've had some ups and downs and some really nasty downs but thats gonna happen with most any surgery. I am so amazed and still in disbelief as to the speed of my recovery, how quick I was able to regain mobility/strength/stamina, and how with fusing 3 vertebrae I dont feel any limitation of mobility. Well technically speaking I now have 8 vertebrae fused since the sacrum (S1-S5) is 5 vertebrae's naturally fused together but who's counting I guess since you've read the posts you've probably read about some of the horrible times I've had with this surgery but dont let them worry you or scare you away from it. When it came to the level of pain I had after surgery there are 2 big reasons why I had to feel like I was dying (at least I wanted to) for 2 and a half days.

1. I have taken pain meds for several years and had a massive tolerance and right before the surgery was takin 180mb of oxycodone a day and thats a lot of medication that would put a narcotic virgin into an overdose.

2. So it was going to take even more than that after the surgery to control my pain from all the extra pain from this hige surgery and the nurses at the hospital were scared to prescribe enough meds due to fear of putting me in a drug induced coma. Which was a good reason not to but they didnt want to believe that after all they were giving me I wasnt being affected by the meds. I never felt drugged up or loopy or in "vicodin land" and had a lot more room to go before I would even be close to the drug coma threshold but at least that parts over and once I got hom I felt so much better because I could control my medicine which I took the same amount as before the surgery but they wouldnt even give me my normal in the hospital because they thought it was too much.

So if I can offer some advice for when you get this procedure or any surgery; try to avoid increasing your dosage level before the surgery and take as few pills as you can stand for a few weeks before the procedure to try and minimize your tolerance. I knew what happened to me was coming but I decided to stick with a couple days of hell and be able to function the weeks before b/c my pain was so severe I couldn't function if I didnt have all my meds.....biggest reason I did the surgery ASAP....I HATE PILLS! There just one of those things that "damned if you do and damned if you dont" If you'd like to chat on the phone about this surgery, my experience, my opinions and advice I'd be more than happy to and try to calm some of your nerves as this is a really good operation (given the right situation) and has a bad rap that frightens people when they shouldnt be. I'd love to chat with you as I have so much to tell you about and I can only type so much since I'm working from home and on the computer all day already! Send me a PM with your number or if you want me to give you mine.

So far the results from my L5-S1 PLIF with titanium bars and bolts has left me in much better shape than suspected. I'm totally off all opioids as of last week after a slow methodical taper. That part was harder than the surgery.

I probably waited to long, ending up on higher doses of meds than if I would have gone in after the 1st year of constant pain. I used opioids to try and finish two big work projects and paid dearly.

That is incredibly super-fantastically ridiculously awesome I have basically just started my slow methodical taper of the pain meds as I know it's gonna take me a while to get off of them considering how much I was on and how long I've taken them. And I know this is going to be harder than the surgery as I have ran out of medicine too many times mainly because I wasnt getting enough at those times but holy 5H1T that wasnt no fun. Its gonna be a long journey to get my body used to little to nothing because I WILL NOT be going through that again! Congratulations again, you deserve a big pat on the back for your achievements....well not not too big of a pat

[KBear]

Greg- Your great attitude serves you well in recovery too!

[Cindylou]

Amen to that Kathy! :thumpup:

[JK2234]

Greg how are you my friend?

[Cindylou]

Greg was banned JK, in case you hadn't noticed the "Banned" to the left by his name.....for breaking SPS, State, and Federal Law. It was an unfortunate, but necessary, decision. CL