2 weeks post-op questions

[beachrose]

Hello, my name is Sarah and I'm 18. Today marks two weeks post op of my kyphoscoliosis surgery. I was fused T2 to L2 and my scoliosis measured about 65 degrees pre op and is now virtually 0 degrees. I lost a lot of blood during my 10 hour surgery and I was not transfused with donor blood because of the risk of infection. I feel extremely exhausted and am worried that because of my exhaustion I am not sittng or walking enough, and not giving my fusion the stress it needs to heal. Has anybody experienced this, and if so how long did it take to feel more energized? I try to sit up at least an hour a day, my back is hurting less each day but my neck is feeling worse. I have no difficulty moving it side to side, up and down but i find it extremely difficult to hold my head up while sitting and walking. Is this normal? I have found it comfortable only to lay on my back and have started to notice a craking sound in the back region of my upper chest when I take a deep breath. Should I be concerned that it is has to do with the fusion? Thanks!

[kennedy]

hi sarah! my name is Kara! i also had scoliosis surgery when i was 18 years old. Well it took me about 4 weeks to get my engery back. it differnt for each person. well i try to keep my head up but it really hard. well sometime ago i had brocitist it had nothing to do with my fusion

[Lilysaidwhat]

Hi Sarah,

Why would infection be a risk? I lost a lot of blood and was fused T3-L4 3 weeks ago. I received 2 units of pre-op blood I donated, as well as an additional four. If you lost that much blood then your hematocrit would be severely low and you are likely anemic.

Call the dr and ask for the last crit count before you were released.

Take it easy and walk a little each day. You had major surgery a matter of DAYS ago. You'll heal fine.

[asccbodypro]

neck

[QUOTE=beachrose;118703] my back is hurting less each day but my neck is feeling worse. I have no difficulty moving it side to side, up and down but i find it extremely difficult to hold my head up while sitting and walking.

I had a tremendous amount of difficulty holding my neck up after my surgery. I mostly felt it in the shower. I have very long, thick hair. My husband had to assist in my showers and I had to use a shower seat and physically hold my head up while he did the rest. I begged him to just chop my hair off. That took a few weeks to pass. It also took me a very long time to have any kind of energy. Once I was up and moving around on my own I would only get up for maybe an hour and have to head back to bed. My first surgery was 7 1/2 hours (it was suppose to be 4). My second surgery a week later was suppose to be 7 1/2 and ended up being 14 1/2 hours. That's a lot for a body to go through. I had a lot of frustration and anxiety because I felt I wasn't progressing quickly enough. It took a lot of reassuring from my husband on a daily basis to keep me in check. They did have to give me 2 units of blood during the second surgery. I'm not sure where that falls on the scale to your situation. Try to focus on what you can do vs. what you cannot. It's easier said than done, I know. Even if you can stay awake a little longer one day than the previous day it's something. It's hard to measure one's progress with such small goals but for some of us that's what you have to do. You will get there in time. It has take me 2 years to finally start feeling like my old self. Hopefully you have a good support system at home. That's where I drew my strength from!