Aa
What can I do now?
After 3 level fusion in 2010.
After a year I can not stand more then 10 min, I can not sit up right in a chair for more then 20 minutes at one time without chronic pain in lower back, between shoulders, neck, hips, tail bone and pelvis, The longer I sit up the more pain I have along with numbness in my feet, toes and fingers, and more sharp pain radiates down both legs. I must lay down every 30 minutes to feel a little relief.
This fusion did not work it has left me disabled. I can no longer work. I can not even make my bed or complete simple tasks at home, must have husband assist me in bathing, dressing, putting on socks and shoes, shaving my legs Small jobs now seem to be a huge deal for me to finish but I keep trying. My head is telling me I can do something then my body show me I can’t. My pain is now chronic pain in the lower back, hips, legs, feet, radiates to upper spine to base of head causing chronic head aches ever few days. This is more pain then I experienced before surgery. I now experience severe pain in my hips and pelvic region radiating from my tail bone. I deal with excruciating pain daily. A bad sickening pain in pelvis when I sit up, bend, lift my legs or twist.
I take my pain medication 4 times a day. I feel they are no longer working for me. I can not stand up right for 2 or more hours when I get out of bed. I often need to sleep in a reclining chair to get 2 hours of sleep. I am awake in pain every time I move. We have bought new mattresses in hopes this may help. The reclining chair seems to keep me from moving or turning during my sleep. Since this new sickening pain in my pelvis I can NO LONGER enjoy sex with my husband. I just try to avoid it all together and this makes for a very argumentative
and unforgiving marriage.
I have not had one uninterrupted night of sleep since surgery. I need to take 3 to 4 naps during the day in a reclining chair. I am experiencing bad weakens and sharp pain in both legs that causes me to fall often. I have fell 6 times since surgery due to the legs pain and weakness with pain. One fall ended me up in bed for 4 days. Another fall ended me up in a daily use of the walker for a few days. I no longer go out unless I really need to. I no longer visit family and grand kids in fear of falling. I have gained over 50 pounds Due to being inactive. I noticed I can not even hold my grand daughter any weight more then 5 ponds in the front causes the severe pain to radiate.
When you try so hard to make up for sleep loss due to chronic pain it makes you feel like life is worthless anymore. I can not concentrate on any one thing because of pain. The pain causes severe mood swings. Can not go to store with out something to lean on. I must have my husband assist in Walking or standing more then 10 minutes. I need to still use the walker
I have falling in to a depression in witch I am being treated for. I feel I have no quality of life anymore I am miserable every day of my life.
After a year I can not stand more then 10 min, I can not sit up right in a chair for more then 20 minutes at one time without chronic pain in lower back, between shoulders, neck, hips, tail bone and pelvis, The longer I sit up the more pain I have along with numbness in my feet, toes and fingers, and more sharp pain radiates down both legs. I must lay down every 30 minutes to feel a little relief.
This fusion did not work it has left me disabled. I can no longer work. I can not even make my bed or complete simple tasks at home, must have husband assist me in bathing, dressing, putting on socks and shoes, shaving my legs Small jobs now seem to be a huge deal for me to finish but I keep trying. My head is telling me I can do something then my body show me I can’t. My pain is now chronic pain in the lower back, hips, legs, feet, radiates to upper spine to base of head causing chronic head aches ever few days. This is more pain then I experienced before surgery. I now experience severe pain in my hips and pelvic region radiating from my tail bone. I deal with excruciating pain daily. A bad sickening pain in pelvis when I sit up, bend, lift my legs or twist.
I take my pain medication 4 times a day. I feel they are no longer working for me. I can not stand up right for 2 or more hours when I get out of bed. I often need to sleep in a reclining chair to get 2 hours of sleep. I am awake in pain every time I move. We have bought new mattresses in hopes this may help. The reclining chair seems to keep me from moving or turning during my sleep. Since this new sickening pain in my pelvis I can NO LONGER enjoy sex with my husband. I just try to avoid it all together and this makes for a very argumentative
and unforgiving marriage.
I have not had one uninterrupted night of sleep since surgery. I need to take 3 to 4 naps during the day in a reclining chair. I am experiencing bad weakens and sharp pain in both legs that causes me to fall often. I have fell 6 times since surgery due to the legs pain and weakness with pain. One fall ended me up in bed for 4 days. Another fall ended me up in a daily use of the walker for a few days. I no longer go out unless I really need to. I no longer visit family and grand kids in fear of falling. I have gained over 50 pounds Due to being inactive. I noticed I can not even hold my grand daughter any weight more then 5 ponds in the front causes the severe pain to radiate.
When you try so hard to make up for sleep loss due to chronic pain it makes you feel like life is worthless anymore. I can not concentrate on any one thing because of pain. The pain causes severe mood swings. Can not go to store with out something to lean on. I must have my husband assist in Walking or standing more then 10 minutes. I need to still use the walker
I have falling in to a depression in witch I am being treated for. I feel I have no quality of life anymore I am miserable every day of my life.
My first fusion was in 2003, L4,5 and S 1. I believe I did quite well. However, as much as I tried, I was never able to again work full time. I had sciatica down the right leg, and that has never changed. In 2004 I went back into surgery to have the hardware removed. It caused constant pain as if I were being stabbed.
In 2013 I was told I needed a fusion in my cervical area because I have a bone spur that presses against the spinal cord. That was a result of a car accident from 30 years before. I fought the idea since my first fusion did not really change things to the point of making it worth surgery. I finally scheduled the C5,6 in Oct,2015. Meanwhile I have started having severe pain in my left butt cheek and down the right leg. I could not walk straight but as if I were drunk, and had no balance. My doctor determined that I have sacroiliitus.. Went through the fusion for cervical, and now they say the only cure for my new symptoms is a fusion of the sacral bones.
The cervical surgery has resulted in uncontrollable incontinence, so I am now in depends. Also,I have severe spasms in my legs, buttocks,,..the list goes on.
The cervical fusion was to protect the spinal cord as we all know is the motherboard of our bodies. I am hoping swelling from surgery is causing the spasms and incontinence. Once the spelling goes down, I pray it disappears as well. The S.I. they want to treat with injections.....I had one and it took me a week of Benadryl to stop the itching and hives. That leaves pain pills,which I am totally against. But, that is an option.
The good news is that I can walk, I can stand and I can sit. I do none for very long. I look forward to my naps which sometimes are most of the day. I don't believe I have been up an entire day in over a year. Up at 10, down at 2-3, up at 6, back down at 2-3. That's my day. My house is a wreck. And I don't really care.I doubt I will even tell the doctors about the recent spasms as I am sure of one thing. At this point, my pocketbook is fused!!
Keep up the fight guys, I see so many that are so much worse than me. To God be the Glory!
In 2013 I was told I needed a fusion in my cervical area because I have a bone spur that presses against the spinal cord. That was a result of a car accident from 30 years before. I fought the idea since my first fusion did not really change things to the point of making it worth surgery. I finally scheduled the C5,6 in Oct,2015. Meanwhile I have started having severe pain in my left butt cheek and down the right leg. I could not walk straight but as if I were drunk, and had no balance. My doctor determined that I have sacroiliitus.. Went through the fusion for cervical, and now they say the only cure for my new symptoms is a fusion of the sacral bones.
The cervical surgery has resulted in uncontrollable incontinence, so I am now in depends. Also,I have severe spasms in my legs, buttocks,,..the list goes on.
The cervical fusion was to protect the spinal cord as we all know is the motherboard of our bodies. I am hoping swelling from surgery is causing the spasms and incontinence. Once the spelling goes down, I pray it disappears as well. The S.I. they want to treat with injections.....I had one and it took me a week of Benadryl to stop the itching and hives. That leaves pain pills,which I am totally against. But, that is an option.
The good news is that I can walk, I can stand and I can sit. I do none for very long. I look forward to my naps which sometimes are most of the day. I don't believe I have been up an entire day in over a year. Up at 10, down at 2-3, up at 6, back down at 2-3. That's my day. My house is a wreck. And I don't really care.I doubt I will even tell the doctors about the recent spasms as I am sure of one thing. At this point, my pocketbook is fused!!
Keep up the fight guys, I see so many that are so much worse than me. To God be the Glory!
I've been through the same thing with appointment mix ups and them not calling to let you know, many of them don't really treat you very well. Probably because they have so many patients. And your right, a lot of Doctors don't take the time to explain that the outcome of the surgery might not be all that great. And a lot of people have unrealistic expectations based on what they've been told. He's probably avoiding your Husband, because he doesn't know what to say.The guy that did my neck, told me that I might have a little tingling in my arm and aside from that I would be fine. Total b.s. and he wouldn't help me after surgery either.
I don't know if its that they don't have any concern or if it's that they don't know what to do or say. But a lot of us have been abandoned by our Doctors and it's definitely not right and it's the last thing a person needs when their scared and in a lot of pain.
It's time to see someone else, just get copies of your pre and post op MRI's and make an appointment to see another Doctor. Just keep this one until you find one that'll help you, and don't give up.
Take Care
I don't know if its that they don't have any concern or if it's that they don't know what to do or say. But a lot of us have been abandoned by our Doctors and it's definitely not right and it's the last thing a person needs when their scared and in a lot of pain.
It's time to see someone else, just get copies of your pre and post op MRI's and make an appointment to see another Doctor. Just keep this one until you find one that'll help you, and don't give up.
Take Care
I have someone fighting with me my hubby he went with me to see the the Dr. who did the surgery but every time we get there we see an assit. because they tell me hes in emergency surgery. My hubby went with me the other day because he wanted to give the Dr. a piece of mind. It took us well over a month to get an appt. He also takes off work for this. As long as this Dr. avoids me my hubby will just have more to give him hell for. The doctors assist sent me to get another MRI done in the mean time and gave me stronger pain killers. I have a feeling he knows the surgery did not go well so he's trying to avoid me. The other day when I went in to see this doctor we waited for 30 minutes in the waiting room until another patient came in and the receptionist told her that he was in surgery and she can resched!!!! WTF why didn't she tell me that when we came in at 9 am after over an hour drive? They have my home number and cell number. At this time before we left to drive to see him my Spotted Bengal started having her first litter and we wasn't able to be here so I was upset. We lost 3 kittens and one very rare albino Bengal kitten. So you can see I am so upset over this appt with him. It's like i'm just getting the run around I am sure they told him my hubby was in there too and he was very unhappy. This Doctor did not have to tell me before surgery that I would be doing all the same things I used to do after this surgery. It was like giving me false hope. He said nothing about it not working. I guess the $105,000.00 had something to do with that. Why do they cut us open give us false hope and then treat us like this? They seem as if there's no concern at all. This pain is killing me daily I have no energy left to fight anymore. I feel like im giving up. I'm tired
My surgery was a little over a year ago and I have a lot of titanium in my lower back also I have 2 of the large plates, 8 screws, 4 bone filled cages. Thank you all for the support and comments. It does help knowing im not alone
I was in similar shape before and after my fusion, but by the grace of God and a lot of hard work, I was able to get back to almost normal.
Where is your Surgeon and Primary through all this? I know things look bad right now but you can’t give up. I have an Aunt she’s 73, she had a 3 or a 4 level, I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, she had horrible pain, couldn’t walk, and was in a wheelchair. She had a real hard time trying to find a Surgeon, mainly because of her age and the complexity of the procedure, we tried to see the one that did my back, but he was too busy at the time. She finally found some hot-shot that was supposed to be really good and came highly recommended. She did okay for the 1st 6 months after surgery, she still had pain, but it wasn’t as bad. Then all of a sudden she got worse, worse than before,and she was back in the wheelchair. The SOB that did the surgery would not help her, he said there was nothing else he could do, we went to about 3-4 others and they wouldn’t do it either. We finally found one through a friend of mine, who was really happy with his results.
My Aunt never gave up, she got very discouraged and was severely depressed, but she didn’t give up .She knew she couldn’t stay the way she was, she told me there wasn’t enough pain medication in the world, and I knew exactly what she meant, because that’s why I had my back done. I don’t remember how long the revision was, but involved a lot of hardware removal and he had to go up another level as well. It’s been almost 2-1/2 years now, and she’s doing really well, she’s not 100%, but she not in constant pain and she can get back to living her life.
I don’t know how you feel about another Surgery, but if the Surgeon that did it won’t help you, it wouldn’t hurt to get your scans together and go see another one, it couldn’t hurt. Preferably a Surgeon through someone you know. I don’t know if you’ve had a post-op MRI, but you need one and you also need someone with you, to advocate and raise a little h@ll when needed, a son, daughter, anybody. We were right there with my Aunt needling those Doctors and asking a lot of questions. And if additional surgery is not an option, you can look at Pain Management, but there’s no reason you have to stay the way you are. The way you are now doesn’t have to be the way you’re going to be. Don’t give up yet, you have fight for yourself or get someone to do it for you.
Take Care
Where is your Surgeon and Primary through all this? I know things look bad right now but you can’t give up. I have an Aunt she’s 73, she had a 3 or a 4 level, I don’t remember exactly. Anyway, she had horrible pain, couldn’t walk, and was in a wheelchair. She had a real hard time trying to find a Surgeon, mainly because of her age and the complexity of the procedure, we tried to see the one that did my back, but he was too busy at the time. She finally found some hot-shot that was supposed to be really good and came highly recommended. She did okay for the 1st 6 months after surgery, she still had pain, but it wasn’t as bad. Then all of a sudden she got worse, worse than before,and she was back in the wheelchair. The SOB that did the surgery would not help her, he said there was nothing else he could do, we went to about 3-4 others and they wouldn’t do it either. We finally found one through a friend of mine, who was really happy with his results.
My Aunt never gave up, she got very discouraged and was severely depressed, but she didn’t give up .She knew she couldn’t stay the way she was, she told me there wasn’t enough pain medication in the world, and I knew exactly what she meant, because that’s why I had my back done. I don’t remember how long the revision was, but involved a lot of hardware removal and he had to go up another level as well. It’s been almost 2-1/2 years now, and she’s doing really well, she’s not 100%, but she not in constant pain and she can get back to living her life.
I don’t know how you feel about another Surgery, but if the Surgeon that did it won’t help you, it wouldn’t hurt to get your scans together and go see another one, it couldn’t hurt. Preferably a Surgeon through someone you know. I don’t know if you’ve had a post-op MRI, but you need one and you also need someone with you, to advocate and raise a little h@ll when needed, a son, daughter, anybody. We were right there with my Aunt needling those Doctors and asking a lot of questions. And if additional surgery is not an option, you can look at Pain Management, but there’s no reason you have to stay the way you are. The way you are now doesn’t have to be the way you’re going to be. Don’t give up yet, you have fight for yourself or get someone to do it for you.
Take Care
Hi there....I'm sorry your going through such a rough time. I'm new here- I have had (2) 2 level fusions since December, also have lots of titanium in my lower back. You did not mention when your surgery was..?
Oh my heaven hun!!!!! I'm so sorry for all you've gone through!!!!! I don't know what to tell u but I will pray like hell that you find some peace and pain-free days and like yesterday!!!!!! *hugs*
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