How long did it take you to heal from surgery?

[MaddySpondy]

I appreciate this thread because I was wondering if I should be better at the 4 month mark, post fusion for grade 3 spondy. I'm still taking narcotics, and keep getting the lecture from my nurse when I ask for refills. My surgeon reminds me often that my surgery was BIG and the slippage severe. Though, I wonder if I'll ever be off pain pills, and when will I be able to ride a bike, take a yoga class?
Madeline

[Katie]

Maddy, I would like to tell your nurse to stuff it. I'm still on narcotics for the pain which seems to be from my SI ligaments, bi-laterally. It is fairly strong, but improves when I do stretches and try not to irritate them.

You had very bad pain generators, and my surgeon warned me that I could have memory pain, that the tissues/nerves were in pain for so long that even when the generators were taken away, that the pain would/could hang around for quite awhile. It sounds like it would be like phantom pain when a limb is removed.

So don't feel like you are an addict or should be following someone else's schedule, especially someone who has never gone through this kind of surgery. If you have the pain, you need to address it...to not do that interferes with the healing process.

I was quite worried about my growing pain until I went to my chiropractor/PT and was reassured about the cause. The fact that after a treatment, the pain disappeared and I felt loose and able to remember what life without pain is really like helped a lot ;-) Perhaps there is a bit of that involved too? Just a thought, and certainly not a diagnosis!

Hang in there...it does get better, but not on a strict time schedule...everyone is different.

[Susanna]

Maddy,
I asked this question when I first got on this forum. It was put into this questionnaire by one of the other members and I so appreciated it. I never realized it was more than a quick ....6 month or 1 year.... answer. The way the member, I think it was Kathy, but I can't remember, put it into a questionnaire, and got so many people to answer the question, really not only helped me to realize that my pain wouldn't be gone the day after surgery, which is what I thought!!!! but would actually take months to a year or more, all depending on the person, and their condition. I just love this group. It is because of this group, and probably this one question, that I was able to begin the true search and find the right answer for me and my surgery. And if it wasn't for this very question, I would have thought that I was going to come out of this surgery with relatively no pain. In fact, I would say, I have LESS pain than I had expected to have, I was so prepared! lol.

The fact that I had a four level fusion in my neck, doesn't help me too much because it was masked by the extreme pain I was having in my arms and shoulder with the Encapsulated Shoulder (or layman's terms Frozen shoulder).

I believe that every member on here has something they can contribute. They may not think so at first, but it is amazing, and what they have to share helps someone in a way they never imagined!

Sorry everyone, I got off topic! I am a bit buzzed right now, cause my pain got out of control NOT BECAUSE I DID TOO MUCH just wanted to make that clear! but because I slept through two pain med alarms, due to benedryl. Woke up and didn't look at the clock, just started to get dressed and do my morning routine and BANG! it hit me! I looked at the clock for the first time. I called out to my son, and asked him what time it was, cause I couldn't believe I had slept that long and sure enough I had. Had to take two percocets to get out of pain. UGH I hate that overwhelming feeling! Sorry, didn't mean to go on and on and on.....

Susanna

[MaddySpondy]

Thanks Susanna and Katie for your replies.

Katie, do you think I should go back to my nurse? My surgeon never said i needed to go off the oxycodone so fast. My nurse called me back before she even talked to him, I'm sure. I only take it when I REALLY need it.

I agree that I'm extremely thankful for this forum and all the feedback and assurances from others that have gone through this tough surgery.

Susanna, I do have a lot of nerve pain and it's getting better with neurontin. I didn't realize I'd get that kind of pain, which is so different than the pain prior to surgery. I was getting a little nervous that the surgery wasn't a success, but I realize I'll need a lot of time before I can see results. I also thought I'd be hurting for a few weeks and then everything would be fine...LOL!
Madeline

[Katie]

"Katie, do you think I should go back to my nurse? My surgeon never said i needed to go off the oxycodone so fast. My nurse called me back before she even talked to him, I'm sure. I only take it when I REALLY need it. "

In a word, NO...contact your pain management doctor or surgeon, whoever is really in charge. These overly opinionated professionals (nurses) are often quick to give advice based on observation and their opinions, not on what is best for the patient. I had a close family member who had severe Crohn's disease and had over two dozen surgeries, many of them major abdominal reconstructions.

If we had the nerve to ask about pain control because his dose was inadequate...(boy, don't we know that one)...they would get very annoyed that we questioned them and withhold his next dose for up to half an hour. If we went over their heads to the surgeon, the retribution would be even worse next time. Of course it took twice as long for the medication to make a dent after the pain spiked so badly, and it was never really under control because of it.

There are wonderful nurses out there, but the ones who have an attitude do a great disservice to the profession. Even though I had what I consider to be a very successful surgery, there were a few times when I started to worry, when pain returned or spiked. I will get off my meds when I can carry on my daily routine without being overcome with pain, no matter what the cause. It's between me and my DOCTOR, not my family, friends or anyone else with a less than intimate knowledge of my situation.

[Cindylou]

Very well said Katie.

[Rob]

Hi Maddy,

I had a 2-level ALIF on 3/15/10. I was only a grade 2 though, I can't imagine the feeling at Grade 3. I wrote a fairly wordy post about my experience in a blog that Justin posted for me on 7/20/10 under 'Surgical Outcomes' because it was too long for me to post. If you have an interest it goes from pre-op to ~14 weeks post-op and notes my experience with surgery, pain and meds.

The link is http://www.spinepatientsociety.org/forum/attachments/surgical-outcomes/260d1279129514-robs-anterior-lumbar-interbody-fusion-alif-experience-before-during-after-hope-will-help-someone-1.pdf. If the link doesn’t work you can find it under ‘Surgical Outcomes’ posted on 7/20/10 by Justin titled 'Rob’s ALIF Experience…'.

For what it's worth, I was on Hydrocodone until ~14 ½ weeks post-op. But as the SPS certainly helps us all understand, everyone is different and every surgery and outcome is unique.

If I can help please let me know.

Take care.

Regards,

Rob

[bman]

Typing this on iPhone- apologies ahead of time. I had L4/5 Pro-disc done 13tg Dec, imam back to work (PT) as of tomorrow. Only real lingering issue for me is L inguinal numbness as well as testicular "drop" same side.
I will b lite-duty (as much as feasible, but it's all good,
I recommend ambulation as much as possible, fir as long as possible.
Good luck
Bert (Bman)

[Justin]

Typing this on iPhone- apologies ahead of time. I had L4/5 Pro-disc done 13tg Dec, imam back to work (PT) as of tomorrow. Only real lingering issue for me is L inguinal numbness as well as testicular "drop" same side.
I will b lite-duty (as much as feasible, but it's all good,
I recommend ambulation as much as possible, fir as long as possible.
Good luck
Bert (Bman)

Great news, Bert! BTW, on most males the left testicle is lower than the right (this is a normal finding).

[dancen1]

As many of us know, healing times vary greatly from person to person and are there are many factors to healing. So, I would like to do an informal survey of healing times. I think this will be helpful to show that there is a very wide range of 'normal'.

Here are the questions (if you want just copy these and put your answers beside or under the questions)

1. What surgery did you have? What level(s)?
I had the XL TDR L4/5 left side

2. How long were you in pain prior to surgery?
a little over one year

3. What are your pain levels before surgery? What were you pain levels now
8/10, I am now 2/10

4. How long until you felt you had healed completely? (or reached the maximum relief you were going to get)

I am just 9 months post op but by 2 months I was pain free and 3 months doing 10 mile bike rides.

5. What percentage of improvement do you feel you received from surgery?
90%, I still have some left sided nerve pain in my lower left leg.

6. What medication are you on? Or how long into healing did you wean? (not sure if this is real clear, but trying to find out if when people report no pain, are the completely off medications or still taking medications)
I take Naproxen but this is for another injury. I take Neurotin 300 mg at night for the nerve pain.

7. Do you feel your surgery was a success?
yes absolutely.

8. Would you have your surgery again?
yes

9. Anything that you did that you feel helped your recovery go quicker?
I started exercising as soon as I was told I could, doing the exercises I learned from previous PT then I started biking slowly and was up to 10 miles by the 6 month mark.

10. Anything that you did that you feel made your recovery take longer?
not resting the first few months and allowing myself to be temporarily immobile.

11. What was your diagnosis prior to surgery? ruptured disc at L4/5

Here is a link to the survey Greg started about driving after surgery How long after surgery until you can drive