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  • surgery next week

    I am scheduled to have surgery next Thursday. Has anyone had surgery recently, Please let me know how you are feeling. I am really nervous about it, everytime I think about it I want to throw up. I am also worried about taking the painkiller, Oxycontin. I have heard that it is highly addictive and is an opiate derivative. Has anyone taken this medication? Please let me know.

  • #2
    lexy, good luck with your surgery next week! i'm sure that everyone who reads your post will send positive thoughts your way. i had surgery 8 weeks ago and i'm doing very well. i didn't have to have a thoracoplasty and they were able to do everything from the back, so i had a much easier surgery (10 hours) than many here on the forum. i was very calm right up until the last day...i hadn't left any preparations for the last minute, so i had the whole day to freak out! walking into the hospital the morning of the surgery wasn't easy, either, but think of it this way; once they "put you under", your work is done for awhile! faith and attitude will pull you through. i imagine oxycontin is saved for pain that doesn't respond to anything else; surely your doctor will try other things first. when i was in the hospital we tried darvocet ('urp') and lortab, but we settled on norco for pain and flexaril for spasms; i take these medications twice a day now and they let me feel and function like a human being. so see as many movies as you can and eat some lovely meals before you are (temporarily) confined. good luck and let us know how you're doing....
    Sue


    Milwaukee Brace from ages 8 - 16
    T36 degrees/L56 degrees Pre-Op
    Fused T3 - S1
    Surgery done Sept. 15, 2004
    Dr. Robert G. Viere
    North Texas Spine Care @ Baylor

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Lexy!
      I had my surgery not quite 11 months ago. It wasn't the most fun Ive ever had, but it was well worth it as it reduced a thoracolumbar single curve of 52 degrees to nearly nothing.
      I was given Vicodin and Valium for pain relief (valium for muscle spasam pain) following my surgery. The side effects eventually started adding up and i had to come off of them except for occasional doses at 2 weeks post op, I was getting along pretty well on Ibuprofen 800's and Flexeril.
      I've been told that if you follow the dosage instructions and aren't on these types of meds (narcotics, etc...) for a long time, and you only take them as is absolutely necessary, you aren't at high risk for developing an addiction to them...
      If you're still concerned, perhaps you can request alternative pain relief? I mentioned that I had a problem with a particular pain killer in a previous operation (basically, the world didn't stop spinning for a week after I was taken off of it), and they made sure I didn't recieve it this time around.
      Best of luck on tuesday!
      Blair

      Dec 15th, 2003 @ age of 20
      Posterior Fusion and CD Horizon instrumentation T2-L1.
      Surgery by Dr. Herkowitz- Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak, Michigan
      Excellent correction of 52 degree single left thoracolumbar curve. Slight curve remains in unfused lumbar region but seems stable.
      February 5, 2005- Failed Scar Revision Surgery
      September 17, 2005- 2nd Failed Scar Revision.

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      • #4
        impending surgery

        Lexy:
        We will be thinking about you. My
        surgery is February 10. After questioning
        every nurse, radiologist, Dr. etc, I could
        find, Dr. Shelokov comes out at the top
        of the Dallas area list. For those of you
        who have been infected in a previous
        operation, he will open me up on the
        10th, take a culture to see if any staph
        is left. If infection is found, he cleans area
        adds some kind of cement compound, sews up, sends you home with an anti-
        biotic drip for 2/3 weeks, then enters
        for the final operation. Even after 20 years, one can still have staph spores.
        He says this is absolutely necessary, but
        some doctors don't still don't do it.
        Hopefully, there will be no staph in my
        back. kathleen

        Comment


        • #5
          Kathleen...

          I'm unclear. Do you have any symptoms of infection? Or, is Dr. Shelokov opening you up just to see if there's infection?

          --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
            staph spores

            Linda:
            He will be opening my back to take a culture for the
            possibility of staph spores. He says even though My
            infection was 20 years ago, sometimes spores remain
            and become viable with re-entry surgery. I am not now
            infected.
            Kathleen











            Originally posted by LindaRacine
            Kathleen...

            I'm unclear. Do you have any symptoms of infection? Or, is Dr. Shelokov opening you up just to see if there's infection?

            --Linda

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi Kathleen...

              I'd like to encourage you to get a second opinion, maybe even from an infectious disease doctor. I've NEVER heard of anyone looking for an infection prophylacticly. Even if you have an infection, why would you look for it if it wasn't causing any trouble?

              egards,
              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


              • #8
                oxycontin

                Hi Lexy:

                Oxycontin is just a sustained release form of the same drug that is in Percocets and works very well but in my opinion I have found that the Duragesic patches work great and because you are getting the medication thru the skin at a steady rate the addiction thing is far less than with oral meds. Ask about them for your post op pain control they are awesome and the steady rate takes away the highs and lows that are experienced with oral pain meds - I don't know why more Dr's don't use them because the highs are what get people hooked.

                Nancy
                Nancy

                Comment


                • #9
                  OXYCODINE

                  Hi, I'm new to the site and as to your question about the pain
                  killer, Oxycodine, I was taking it 3 times a day and had no adverse effects except constipation. I now take morphine as
                  the VA wouldn't give me Oxycodine because of the cost.

                  For your information, I am a 73 year old widower and am
                  scheduled to have a spinal fusion at Duke Hospital on 12/1/04.
                  I had bi-lateral hip replacements in 1994 and after the fact, one leg was shorter than the other. Since 1996 xrays compaired to current ones, my spine has curved 55 degrees. I have lost
                  3 1/2 inches in my height and can't stand or walk for any time without severe pain. I'm looking and praying for an improved
                  quality of life.

                  I would appreciate any feed back on my situation.
                  Good Luck!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Jim/Surgery

                    Jim,
                    With your surgery date fast approaching, I just wanted you to know that you will be in my thoughts and prayers. I had my scoliosis surgery (only one) at 57 in 1992 and have never been sorry. Actually, you give me hope that revision may not be impossible.

                    Back to the subject: Good luck Jim, and know that I'm sure there are many of us who will be rooting for you!
                    Carole
                    Carole

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