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9 months post op pain & depression

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  • 9 months post op pain & depression

    I haven't been here in ages.. I can't believe how well I was doing last time I posted.. I wish I had kept writing to at least have a record for myself. But Now all of a sudden it feels like I'm in constant pain and more than before the op.. I'm having trouble sleeping and I'm getting really depressed. I feel like I have made a terrible mistake by having the surgery. I don't know what to do. Maybe I am overdoing things but I just want to get back to living and doing what I want.. I only used to get pain once or twice a week and now it's everyday.. And not just at night.. I get sharp pains and tightness pain and itchyness and numbness.. Neck pain and even chest pain and i have plantafacitius in my heels which hurts to walk.. Is there any special exercises to strengthen & help the back muscles and pain? My doc has only said I can walk, swim and do light exercises which I'm doing but it's not doing any good.. I have put on weight too nit much but I can't do sit ups and I'm hating my post op body.. I need some encouragement.. Was anyone else feeling this crappy at 9 months? When did it get better for you?
    Kellie 25yrs
    Melbourne, Aus
    Diagnosed 1998- brace for 3 years
    2006 curves showed progression
    Before surgery T45* L43*
    25/5/10 posterior fusion T4-T11
    Post surgery T<20* L27*
    Fingers crossed for more improvement on lumbar before 12 months!

  • #2
    Have you told your doctor about this pain? I've read on here that it takes some people 1 to 2 years to feel normal again. That might sound depressing right now, but there still may be some light at the end of this tunnel. Is there any way that you can be specific with your doctor about what type of pain you are having? I have curves of 46 and 38 degrees, both thoracic. My doc told me he didn't want to do surgery for this very reason. However, he said that when I do have surgery, then he can remove the hardware once the fusion is complete if I am having pain from it. Do you know if this is a possibility? My doctor said the actual hardware can cause pain due to the muscles rubbing across it. It's worth asking him. I certainly hope you feel better soon.

    Take Care.
    Be happy!
    We don't know what tomorrow brings,
    but we are alive today!

    Comment


    • #3
      I'm sorry you're not feeling well. I can't address what the specific causes of your pain might be, but I do know that I was still a mess at one year post-op. It took me two years to really feel like myself again, although I improved a lot between a year and 18 months. I continued to improved between two and three years. Depression is really common after a surgery of this magnitude (and it can contribute to pain), so I hope you talk about it with your doctor. Good luck to you!
      Chris
      A/P fusion on June 19, 2007 at age 52; T10-L5
      Pre-op thoracolumbar curve: 70 degrees
      Post-op curve: 12 degrees
      Dr. Boachie-adjei, HSS, New York

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by kassie84 View Post
        I haven't been here in ages.. I can't believe how well I was doing last time I posted.. I wish I had kept writing to at least have a record for myself. But Now all of a sudden it feels like I'm in constant pain and more than before the op.. I'm having trouble sleeping and I'm getting really depressed.
        Very sorry to hear that. I noticed you mentioned plantar faciitis which by coincidence I just developed this week in one foot. It isn't resolving, I can't function without ibuprofen, and need to get pro help fairly soon. I think you might need pro help for your case also. I have weird feet - congenitally flat and have a case of Hallux rigidus on my right foot. Do you have that also? I think the years of "nursing" the right foot have finally taken a toll on the left. I think these conditions ping pong back and forth exactly like lamenesses ping pong around horse's legs/feet.

        Do you have much pain in the lumbar or is it elsewhere?

        I take from the fact that they only fused the T curve that your lumbar was not structural even though it was the same size as the T curve. You seem like one of the rare cases (only about the fourth I have read about on this forum) where only the T curve was fused of two equally sized curves. The other people are all kids.

        Good luck. These guys have to help you.
        Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

        No island of sanity.

        Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
        Answer: Medicine


        "We are all African."

        Comment


        • #5
          Hi Kellie, I'm sorry to hear things are not going easily for you. You do not say if you've spoken to your surgeon about this pain, or had any follow up x-rays to check that everything's as it should be. Are you getting any cooperation/advice from a doctor about it?

          It may be as Singer suggests, something that will resolve itself in time. But at 9 months I would be keen to know what's going on. If it's just time that's required, you can bear with it, but not knowing is really hard.
          Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
          Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
          T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
          Osteotomies and Laminectomies
          Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

          Comment


          • #6
            Jennifer makes good points.

            You were L27* post op. Do you know if you are still at that angle? For that matter, are you still at T20*?

            My one kid's curves stabilized as of 4 days post-op and has never moved since (we are coming up on three years). The other kid's curves increased a bit since surgery but then stabilized. They have different types of T curves and I suspect those particular trajectories come with the territory.
            Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

            No island of sanity.

            Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
            Answer: Medicine


            "We are all African."

            Comment


            • #7
              I'm really sorry to hear your having this pain now. I'm only 14 weeks post op and I have alot of pain. I didnt know it was OK to just have the hardware removed later if it bothers the muscles. I too wonder if it will cause loss of the correction.. Does anyone have answers to this? I'm pretty unknowlegable. My Dr wont discuss anything regarding problems.

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