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  • My Leg

    I have a question for all of you. I'm officially off the narcotics as of yesterday so of course feeling a little more pain, diarrhea, fatigue, etc. My leg no longer hurts sitting or standing, but walking is very very difficult still. Do you think I should just hang in there and hope it gets better with time? Or do you suggest I get a shot now to perhaps help - don't know if that will help or not with walking? Any suggestions?
    Lynette - 44 years old.

    Pre-surgery thoracic 55 degrees
    Pre-surgery lumbar 85 degrees

    Post-surgery thoracic 19 degrees
    Post-surgery lumbar 27 degrees

    Surgery April 1st 2010.

    Posterior spinal fusion from T9 to sacrum.
    Dr. Cronen at University Community Hospital - Tampa, FL.

  • #2
    Hi Lynette, you are still in the early days of recovery. I think its great that you came off pain meds, but, you may still need something to see you through the pain barrier, so that you could probably walk a little more. I think probably something like paracetamol 1/2 hour before you head off for your walk should be ok. Does it feel like your muscles are shrinking? Are you able to describe your pain? What were you thinking of getting a shot of? Don't try to push yourself too soon Lynette. I think we would all like to fast forward our recovery - but its not realistic. Take it easy and take care.
    Vali
    44 years young! now 45
    Surgery - June 1st, 2009
    Dr David Hall - Adelaide Spine Clinic
    St. Andrews Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
    Pre-op curve - 58 degree lumbar
    Post -op - 5 degrees
    T11 - S1 Posterior
    L4/5 - L5/S1 Anterior Fusion

    Comment


    • #3
      Lynette - I am so proud of you, already off pain meds! I am envious. I have cut mine in half since I left the hospital the first time. My goal is over the next 3-4 weeks to wean off completely.
      How did you do your weaning? I am thinking of increasing hours in between. I am now at 5 hours and 1/2 a pain pill and 1/2 a tylenol. I am going to keep adding an hour every couple of days. With my incision being opened up last week I can't do it too soon. Nurse said don't go off to soon as I won't move around as easily and moving around is really important right now.
      You sound like you are doing so well. Especially caring for your sons. I can't even imagine that. It's enough to take care of me.
      Have a great day!
      Shari - 55 years old
      Pre-Surgery 62 degree thorasic curve with shifting.
      Post op 13 degree curve.
      Successful surgery 4/15/10, T3-L2 fused.
      2nd surgery to reopen incision 10" to diagnose infection, 5/18/10
      Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI - the late Dr. Harry Herkowitz
      www.scoliosisthejourney.com

      Comment


      • #4
        Lynette,

        You sound like you are very goal-oriented. Maybe your body has a slightly different goal. As long as you can get in your walks and get some sleep at night- especially now that you have critter control- but I think Vali has a good point.

        I haven't had back surgery but had other surgeries- I remember recovery as a zig-zag line, not a nice straight shot.

        Really been rewarding to watch your upward progression, Lynette.
        Amy
        58 yrs old, diagnosed at 31, never braced
        Measured T-64, L-65 in 2009
        Measured T-57, L-56 in 2010, different doc
        2 lumbar levels spondylolisthesis
        Exercising to correct

        Comment


        • #5
          Lynette...

          Are you on neurontin?

          --Linda
          Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
          ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
          Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

          Comment


          • #6
            My doctor prescribed neurontin for me. I began having nerve pain on left leg (side of my anterior incesion). I also have areas on left leg that have no feeling. Doctor said that it may never come back, but prescribed neurontin for the pain. You are off pain meds pretty early. I am 6 months post op and sometimes need some pain meds for the pain. I take them maybe once a week.

            rich

            Comment


            • #7
              Had my 9 month xrays.Dr. Pashman said everything looks good.I still take pain pills vicodin 5\500 1 every 6 hrs.I wont start trying to stop until I'm healed, I think that is why I am doing so well.I am not into pain.
              Aug.17,09 Anterior
              Aug.20,09 Posterior
              Fused T-10 to Sacral Pelvis
              Cedars-Sinai
              Dr.Pashman

              Sheri 47 years young
              Husband married 30 years
              3 kids 29,28,25
              4 grandkids 10,8,5,3

              Comment


              • #8
                Linda - No - I tried Neurontin and it did nothing.

                A friend of mine who was an anaesthesiologist and OR nurse, told me she thinks I was placed incorrectly on the pads after anaesthesia and prior to surgery - which sounds absolutely right as I had red marks on both my thighs, and across my chest. My chest still feels bruised, and now I have femoral nerve damage. I am unable to walk - which is terribly upsetting for me as I can't exercise at all. Now I'm panicking and crying because I'm so afraid of this becoming permanent, I don't want to end up a cripple for the rest of my life.

                Linda - any ideas on this? I'm so scared right now.
                Lynette - 44 years old.

                Pre-surgery thoracic 55 degrees
                Pre-surgery lumbar 85 degrees

                Post-surgery thoracic 19 degrees
                Post-surgery lumbar 27 degrees

                Surgery April 1st 2010.

                Posterior spinal fusion from T9 to sacrum.
                Dr. Cronen at University Community Hospital - Tampa, FL.

                Comment


                • #9
                  By the way my doctor said I should get a shot which he thinks will relieve some pain in the leg and then help diagnose the problem. I'm trying right now to get hold of the neurologist to give me a shot.
                  Lynette - 44 years old.

                  Pre-surgery thoracic 55 degrees
                  Pre-surgery lumbar 85 degrees

                  Post-surgery thoracic 19 degrees
                  Post-surgery lumbar 27 degrees

                  Surgery April 1st 2010.

                  Posterior spinal fusion from T9 to sacrum.
                  Dr. Cronen at University Community Hospital - Tampa, FL.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    dear lynette
                    i am so sorry to hear of the serious problems you are encountering...

                    may i ask why you want off the pain meds now?...are you sure you couldnt stay on at least til they figure out some way to help you?...i thought some nerves can regenerate...

                    hope you reach the neurologist...call it an emergency, because i can see how this is wearing you down physically, emotionally, and even hurts the spirit!...pain can be soul sucking when it is relentless and just wont quit, at least that is my opinion!
                    you need a break to get out from under for a while!

                    i take pain meds and havent had surgery...yet..though my surgeon is waiting for my call! i was a drug and alcohol counselor in NYC (2nd job at nite and wkends) and worked in both residential and outpatient...i am well aware of what meds can do, both good and bad! i have quit some pain meds cold, with no ill effects, as i am still on hydrocodone...i dont like most pain meds, but know i need the hydrocodone...i do not believe i am addicted...the days i go off, i have no symptoms of withdrawal, just increased pain...been off for up to 2 weeks at a time..

                    when i was so sick in a wheelchair with Lyme, the joke used to be (support group folks) "give me the pain meds now,. i'll worry about addiction later!" it was just a joke, as we were so sick we just tried to lighten up now and then(Lyme gets in the brain and the body)....but it was a little bit true!

                    have you discussed being off meds with the surgeon and your other doctors while you are still in such extreme pain?

                    i keep you in my thoughts and prayers til you are feeling better...

                    jess

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Jess, after surgery doctor prescribed percocet, oxycodone and norco. I thought I could quit when I wanted to, but when I quit, it took me 3 days. It was bad. If you remember, I needed surgery to S1, but convinced my doctor to go to L5. I already started having pain again in my lower back. I don't want an additional surgery so soon. I have me next appt. on June 15 and doctor will see if my disc at L5 is bad. I started taking some pain meds, but will only take them when it gets real bad, because of the cold turkey I went through.

                      maybe I should have listened to my doctor about going to S1

                      rich

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Jess - the meds weren't helping my leg pain anyway, they just made me feel dull and sick. Thanks for your kind words though
                        Lynette - 44 years old.

                        Pre-surgery thoracic 55 degrees
                        Pre-surgery lumbar 85 degrees

                        Post-surgery thoracic 19 degrees
                        Post-surgery lumbar 27 degrees

                        Surgery April 1st 2010.

                        Posterior spinal fusion from T9 to sacrum.
                        Dr. Cronen at University Community Hospital - Tampa, FL.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          I think I would try the shot, what harm can it do? If anything it will help. I have had shots before. They do numb the area first. It's not so bad.
                          36 year young cardiac RN
                          old curve C 29, T 70, L 50
                          new curve C 7, T 23, L 20
                          Surgery June 11, UCH, Dr. Cronen T2-L5, posterior
                          Revision December 20 L5-S1 with pelvic fixation
                          and Osteotomy to L3 at Tampa General Hospital

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            hey rich...so sorry to hear that you are having trouble with lower back now! dont blame you for not wanting to go under knife again so soon! please dont second guess yourself...no one can blame you for not wanting to go lower...and if you have to have more, you will, eventually.....maybe you can get shots while waiting for things to heal? would your surgeon agree to pain doctor taking a look after surgeon looks?

                            hi lynette...wow...didnt realize the pain meds weren't helping the leg pain..i see why you wouldnt want to take them, then....as far as nerve meds...i personally never got any help from neurontin, but was on a low dose...i've heard folks say they had to be on alot for it to do some good...i hope the doctors can come up with something that will help you...

                            jess

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I was wondering what had happened to the serious leg pain you complained of soon after surgery. IFAIK it was better was for a while, no?

                              DO NOT EVEN THINK OF IT"S BEING PERMANENT! I realize I am the "champeen worry wart", but you have no basis for this worry, much less to jump to this conclusion. It's your panic speaking, not your reason. I.e., your fear is not "reality-based"

                              Have they given you a dx for the leg pain yet? Did you have leg pain before the surgery?

                              Specific pain like you're describing, sounds like it must be the path of a neurome. Someone recently posted a map of the nerve roots. We are all trained to think of pain as indicating danger, but sometimes it's just something misfiring or pinched. Have you seen a neurologist about it?

                              You haven't yet indicated what the "shot" would be made up of (hard for even a doc to arrive at an opinion without knowing) but FWIW my thoughts are that as long as you have a dx, there is NO reason not to block this agonizing pain with an injection of something suitable, until it can be relieved at source.

                              For a specific pain like you are describing (poor, dear Lynette!), you owe it to yourself and your children to relieve it AS LONG AS YOU KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING IT! (Otherwise, blocking the sensation makes it impossible to "tease out" the source! )

                              Modern pain research (one of the fields where the most advances have been made in recent decades), show it's indispensable to stop pain before the anxiety that accompanies it, amplifies the pain - as it does, when it continues unabated. It leads to just the kind of panic you're describing! I favor something, to break the cycle of pain which sounds to be taking you over, multiplied by its being - apparently - untouchable and continuous. Often pain is worst (personal experience) less from the absolute level than from it's being constant.

                              And no, it's not apt to be remediated by a systemic block like the oral narcotics you were taking which just put you in a fog where function (and care giving, including judgment) are impaired.

                              I assume you have gone to a physiatrist? (MD orthopod specializing in pain management instead of surgical approaches). They are expert in the most modern modalities of pain management. There's NO REASON FOR YOU TO CONTINUE IN AGONY LIKE THIS!!! It sounds as there are many techniques you haven't even begun to explore.

                              It's ridiculously easy to "just say" it (but it really is important - specifically from the approach of pain relief itself) but - DON'T PANIC! really matters. Yet, it's virtually impossible to avoid panicking if the pain is in the driver's seat. It doesn't have to be!

                              If you must, justify it for your children's sake instead of your own (they sense when you're in pain, Lynette, and it scares them) - WORK ON THIS PROBLEM and solve it. This means dx and rx - ie., diagnosis and treatment. There is no reason to endure pain, unless a systemic approach will impair your functioning. That doesn't sound to be the remedy or risk here at all.

                              So don't just "tough it out "!

                              Feeling for you,

                              Amanda
                              Last edited by Back-out; 05-25-2010, 06:00 PM.
                              Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                              Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                              main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                              Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

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