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6 weeks post-op =)

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  • 6 weeks post-op =)

    I am off the oxycodone!!! yay! I feel like a whole new person now that I am not feeling so drugged up. I am taking hydrocodone instead, and it helps with the pain without causing such stomach pain.

    I am walking for 30 minutes a day, and am able to sit up without support for around 2 hours at a time now. I am still wearing the bone growth stimulator 4 hours a day which gets annoying, but it does encourage me to be up and walking around so that's good.

    My post-op swelling is almost completely gone, though there is one stubborn area that seems to want to just stay, right in the middle of my back. I almost cried last night when I was washing my back and I felt where my rib hump used to be and it was completely flat. I knew it was gone, but when there was so much swelling it was still bumpy back there. It is amazing to have a normal waist, and a flat back. I am so happy with that change.

    I still have a lot of pain in my left shoulder, both legs, and where my rib hump used to be. But the pain comes and goes, and it doesn't usually hurt everywhere all at once any more. I do have moments where I don't have pain at all.

    Sleeping is still challenging, but I decided to stop taking the sleep aid, because after almost 5 weeks of taking it every night I noticed it wasn't helping as much and I didn't want to be dependent on it. I have to get up and walk around about every 4-6 hours, which isn't as bad as a few weeks ago. Any tips on sleeping better? I take a hot shower before bed which helps relax me, but staying asleep is so hard! Does it get easier?

    I feel less and less "robotic" as the days go on, and am so happy with my decision to have the surgery. I feel stronger, I don't feel crooked, and I don't feel like the changes to my spine are going to hold me back at all. The unknown hasn't turned out to be nearly as hard as I thought it would be, and I feel such relief that I don't have to worry about my curves progressing any more. I have to do some things differently, and there are things I can't do yet, but I am already doing so well at 6 weeks, I'm not worried about the day to day things like I did pre-op.
    Rebecca
    Age: 28
    Dx w/ scoli @ age 12 S curves T-40* L-42*
    wore night bending brace as teenager
    Curves changed to 50's plus or minus
    herniated disc L2-3, Discectomy October 2007
    fusion L2-3 November 2008
    Revision L2-3 Fusion, Removal of hardware August 2009
    Curves measuring 52 T&L September 2010
    Fused T4-L4, all posterior December 27th 2010
    gained almost two inches in height

    Before and After Exterior
    Before and After X-rays
    My blog: http://herscoliosisjourney.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    I could have written this... I'm so glad another one is past the waiting and nerve wracking wondering, and happy with the results.

    I, too, am amazed at how much better off I am already- much better than I thought I would be. I don't think this will slow me down, either! There is more flexibility than I imagined there would be. Those fears of being "stiff and rigid" were all for nothing. And it IS so amazing to look at my back, and not feel all humpy and crooked. I can't wait to wear my sundresses this summer. It was getting impossible to wear almost anything with the fabric pulling and bunching with the curves. It is so weird to sit in a chair and feel all of my back touching, and not just the one side.

    I'm having trouble sleeping, too. Not sure why. It isn't because of pain. And I have always been one to be asleep nearly as soon as my head hits the pillow. I'm not taking anything for it, prefer to try to work through it. Not crazy about meds. I am almost off my pain meds, too. I would be completely off by now if I weren't trying to do it slowly so that I don't have those nasty withdrawal symptoms. It has been working, and I hope to be off them by 6 weeks too...

    I am SO glad you are doing well.
    Jenee'-52
    Bend, Oregon

    Braced 3 years in high school
    Lumbar 70'+ Thoracic 70'+
    I had 3" shrinkage in 6 months...

    Surgery Jan 10, 2011
    9 hours
    T3 to S1 with pelvic fixation
    Both curves now 35'

    Possible revison for Flatback Syndrome
    Non-fusion
    Loose/broken hardware-awaiting CT results

    Here is the link to my before and after pics..
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt......&highlight=

    Comment


    • #3
      Yay

      you guys are such an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your experiences with me and the forum. Thank God for this place that we can all talk. So glad that you both had good outcomes. I am keeping that in the forfront of my mind when I get scared. Keep up the good work!

      Sarahcant
      Sarahcant
      Surgery March 15
      Dr. Errico NYU
      Fused T-3 to S-1
      an inch and change taller
      nice and straight
      49 years old (yikes)

      Comment


      • #4
        Really glad you're feeling a lot better Peach!
        Son 14 y/o diagnosed January 20th. 2011 with 110* Curve
        Halo Traction & 1st. surgery on March 22nd. 2011
        Spinal Fusion on April 19th. 2011

        Dr. Krajbich @ Shriners Childrens Hospital, Portland Oregon



        http://tinyurl.com/Elias-Before
        http://tinyurl.com/Elias-After

        Comment


        • #5
          So happy for you guys. It helps me keep going . I WILL get past all this

          Donna
          51 yo
          dx 13 never braced
          DJD and osteoporosis ,Fx ribs 10/09(from osteo) downhill since,vertebral slippage w/ nerve damage and rotation
          Surgery 08/09/10 T1-S1 decomp,fusion w/ instrumentaion
          Sacral/pelvic fixation + 4 osteotomies and dura repair
          C 20 degrees to 4 degrees
          T 57 degrees to 15 degrees
          L 38 degrees to 5 degrees

          Comment

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