TLIF at L4/L5 & L5/S1

**Katie** · 01-03-2010, 12:40 PM

Hi Brutus,

The side effects of the morphine....well there's not too many to be honest (for me, at least). Constipation of course, as with any narcotic, but I find a steady diet of dried apricots and a lot of water helps that a lot.

I work from home, so my commute time is short

But I do drive occasionally, very carefully. The meds do make me sleepy, so I time my driving around the doses; I normally take 20 mg every two hours or so, depending on my activity and pain level. About twenty minutes later, sleepy time mode hits, but passes quickly, so if I am going anywhere I usually leave after an hour to an hour and a half and make sure I don't have to drive home close to my second dose. Or just suffer until I get to where I'm going; just take half a dose or less so as not to put anyone at risk. These are all short trips of course.

I am extremely careful about this. The good thing is that I have become quite tolerant of the meds, and they do not affect me nearly as much as they did at the beginning.

I started taking the long acting version just a couple of months ago. Various doctors had given me stronger doses of it which made me very ill, so I avoided it altogether. Finally I clued in and asked for a lighter dose, 30 mg instead of 100

So if I am going on long trips, I use that, which doesn't have the spiking effect that stops me from driving. I just stay moderately comfortable for six or seven hours.

There was no way that I would drive when I first started taking the narcotics, but my system adjusted after a month or so. Just remember that everyone is different, and also reacts differently to each medication.

I really hope that you can find relief. Just trust that there is something out there, and keep after your pain management doctor until you find it. Justin has given us a lot of information about this topic. There is a thread somewhere that compares all of the different drugs, their doses, etc. I'll try to find it this evening, unless someone can put their finger on it sooner.

**BRUTUS** · 01-03-2010, 04:41 PM

Does anyone have any advice as to what type of chair it is best to sit in and what is best for post surgery...I usually sit in a straight back padded rocking chair with a pillow at my lower back and a lazy boy reclined with a heating pad on low to watch TV... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated-
Thanks/
Andy

**Katie** · 01-03-2010, 04:52 PM

Justin posted this thread in the Lounge a little while ago:" I'm saving my pennies for one of these..."
It was a listing of the 'perfect' chair he was hoping to get one day when he could afford it.

It is a little out of my league, but I did find one in IKEA that was extremely comfortable. It doesn't fit my decor, but I'm almost ready to go get it and forget about fashion

I'm not sure there is the perfect chair per se, just whatever works for the individual.

**BRUTUS** · 01-03-2010, 05:29 PM

Jeff,
How long did it take you to recover from your last surgery and be pain free? Also what type of pain meds did you take and how did you function on them, and finally what are your limitations now??
Thanks,
Andy

**BRUTUS** · 01-03-2010, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by Katie

Justin posted this thread in the Lounge a little while ago:" I'm saving my pennies for one of these..."
It was a listing of the 'perfect' chair he was hoping to get one day when he could afford it.

It is a little out of my league, but I did find one in IKEA that was extremely comfortable. It doesn't fit my decor, but I'm almost ready to go get it and forget about fashion

I'm not sure there is the perfect chair per se, just whatever works for the individual.

Thanks Katie and Justin for your replies and help-
R/Andy

**Justin** · 01-03-2010, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by BRUTUS

Thanks Justin,
I had 4 screws and a spacer of some inert material that the surgeon packed bone fragments around. The hardware is Dynesis Dynamic Stabilization. The last Xray showed hardware correctly placed and L5 and S1 fused.

Thanks, Andy. :thumpup: BTW, here's the thread Katie is referring to: I'm saving my pennies for one of these... (Herman Miller's Aeron Chair).

**jss** · 01-04-2010, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by BRUTUS

Jeff,
How long did it take you to recover from your last surgery and be pain free? Also what type of pain meds did you take and how did you function on them, and finally what are your limitations now??
Thanks,
Andy

Andy,

Recall that all three of my spine surgeries have been cervical, which is much easier to recover from than is a lumbar procedure.

Two days post my double ADR (Nov 25, 2009) I checked out of the hospital and walked 1.1 miles to my hotel dragging 45 pounds of luggage. I then walked 10+ miles every day touring Barcelona. I was free of the surgical pain within the first week. I resumed running at four weeks post-surgery, and will be running in the Cowtown Half-Marathon on Feb 27.

I don't know what they gave me for pain in the hospital as no one spoke English. After checking out I took ibuprofen for a further two days.

My only limitations now at six weeks post are self imposed. I've given up my motorcycle. I can still ride, I just can't crash! I've not lifted anything heavier than a fork, but that's just because I haven't needed to.

The ONLY problem that I have is that swallowing is still very difficult. Where a sandwhich used to take four minutes to eat, it now takes 20 minutes and a quart of water.