Lumbar spinal fusion surgery

[floodmaster76]

I am 34 years old now. I had an accident at work 2 years ago(07-07-09) when a rock retaining wall gave way and I fell 15 feet or so. I landed on a rock on a 40% decline. When I fell I twisted and landed on my back/buttocks, elbows, hands and on my right leg. I went to the emergency room and was referred to an optho. spine surgeon. Months of seeing him and being on pain meds went by before workers comp approved an MRI and it showed the I had a tear in my spine/disk at the L5S1 level and it was so close to the nerve on the right side my Doc said that haxd to be getting pitched. Therapy went on for several months and I was still in a lot of pain but it kept getting worse. I couldn't bend down to even tie my shoes pain would shoot down my legs all the way to my foot it was turning into a nightmare. I got approval to try the injections and they didn't work for more then 3 or 4 days. The Doc put in to try to get approval on a micro disceptomy(sorry for the typo) to remove part of the disk to make room for the nerve. Well that finally got approved and that was done 07-19-2010. The surgery was a little painful and took quite a while to heal but the only problem was that the original pain never went away. So serveral months of more therapy that too me til 1-1-2011. Nothing helped and pain seemed to be getting even worse yet. More injections got approved and once again they didn't work. My Doc said the only thing left to try is a lumbar spinal fusion at L5 S1 level. Well it took til May 2011 to get approval on this. I had to try everything cause I couldn't go on living like this. I get a second opinion by a Neuro surgeon who is supposed to be one of the best in the country. He agreed that there would be about a 60-70% chance that I would get relief from this Lumbar Spinal Fusion Surgery. He would be partnering up with my Orthopedic Spine Surgeon and they would be doing this together to make sure everythings goes good. I had the Lumbar spinal fusion at L5 S1 level done on July 15, 2011 which has been about 4 weeks ago. I am in an extreme amount of pain and it hurts to walk for more then a few minutes, sit for more then 10 minutes, stand in one place for more then a few minutes, and lay in the same position for more then an hour. I can't sleep for more then 2-3 hours at a time. I have pain obviously in my lower back that wraps around my stomach, up my back, and shoots down both legs. I am trying to cut back on the medicine that I got from my Doc. but it's like taking one step forward and two steps back. If I don't take my medicine it feels like my spine is disconnecting from my tail bone which I know isn't happening but that's what it feels like. Is this just part of the healing process? It don't seem to be getting better and the pain I had before the surgery is still there.  

[nurseaudrea]

Don't be so hard on yourself. You are just one month out, wow. You will be in a lot of pain for a while. You will need your pain meds for more than a month and your doctor should expect that, especially when you start pt. Doing pt does aggravate but it also helps to strengthen the area and gets it mobile again. It does hurt but it does it more good in the long run. It gets you going a lot faster than if you don't do it. I know first hand. Each time I had a fusion I was up and going and yes it was VERY painful but you get through it and the time will fly by before you know it. You will be more thankful that you got up and moving because you heal so much faster. It gets the blood going to that area to heal it faster. If you did some research on it you would know what I was talking about. When the blood gets circulating around the area the white blood cells heal the area and the process is very interesting. It's really to hard to explain.

Anyway, don't get discouraged due to the amount of pain you are in. I know it's hard to go through  the first time around when you have never experienced anything like this. Just know there is a tunnel at the end you will come through just fine. If you need to vent that is fine too. I know I didn't expect a lot of things I went through too. It's really hard to relate to a doctor who doesn't understand when they have not been through it. Thankfully I had several doctors that had been through it and were very compassionate, and some that weren't, so I understand your predicament. But, I think you will do just fine, stay positive. It all has to do with your mental attitude and fortitude to get through it. Just remember that you are a strong person and you can get through anything that is put before you. Be positive about the future and believe that everything will turn out good. You are in control of you.

Good luck and God bless!

[meniere135]

No problem!  Leave a message any time you need to have a good complaining session.
It's not easy going through this kind of thing.

Hang in there!

[floodmaster76]

Thank you for responding and wow three fusions, and I am crying about one!?! I am in good shape so I hope that helps. The reason I was trying to cut back on the medicine so early is cause my Dr. gave me a little bit of a hard time when I needed a refill so I didn't want to get on bad terms with him. I know he deals with it everyday but I don't think he has had a fusion surgery and knows what it actually feels like first hand. I just started PT the day before yesterday and that really aggravated the hell out of things now my back is feeling even worse. I guess that is to be expected. I just didn't realize how hard it is on you physically not to mention mentally. I just wish the pain would let up just for a day so I could keep my sanity. Thank you for letting me know what you have been through. I will try to not be hard on myself as long as my Dr. isn't. Thanks again. Tony

[floodmaster76]

Thank you for the encouraging advice. I just get worried about being stuck with a bad back because I have a long way to go that’s all. The other problem is I have very little patients and too much time to sit around just thinking about how bad my back feels. I will hang in there though. Thanks again for your response. Tony

[nurseaudrea]

It is way too early for you to be cutting back on your pain medicine. I have had three spinal fusions and I understand wanting the pain to go away. It takes time to heal and depending on your age and what shape your body is in will determine how long that will take. I was 22 when I had my first fusion. After about a good 3 months I was finally in relatively good shape and doing things I used to do like roller blading and biking again for exercise. I was in excellent shape. I was an avid mountain climber and worked out 5 to 6 days a week at that time. The next fusion I had took a bit longer to come back from. I was a bit older then. The next one I was 26 and it took about 4 months. I was not up to working out yet but I was up to going back to work this time around. I was time in relatively good shape. I had always worked out and stayed in shape. I do remember though that it did take over a year before all the pain to really calm down. But for the really bad post-op pain it takes a good six weeks before you can even think about weaning your meds. With my second surgery I was not ready to wean my meds until well after three months, maybe a little longer.
I can remember going to see the doctor for my one month follow up and still being in a lot of pain so for you to think about weaning your meds, you are being a little hard on yourself. Give it some time to heal.

[meniere135]

This is not my specialty, but I've been hearing from several people lately, who've had spinal surgery and they were told it takes up to a year after having surgery for things to calm down.  I see my one friend about once a month.  He had surgery about 4 or 5 months ago and he'll still about the same.  His wife helps him out of his chair.  He is still optimistic, but he admits it gets a little scary waiting up to a year to see if things will get better.  My sister's dentist had spinal surgery and he said it took him a year before things healed.  But he says he's glad he did it.  So hang in there.  Continue to treat your back gently and follow all the instructions you were given.