Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

1 year post op check on the 3rd and expected to feel better:-(

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • 1 year post op check on the 3rd and expected to feel better:-(

    I have my 1 year check on Thursday with my surgeon and didnt want to have to tell him how rough I feel.Im SO happy to be straight and 'hump' free that I dont want to appear ungrateful when I see him.

    I had 5 hydro sessions which I feel was helping but ive stopped PT until my check because im having some discomfort around some protruding screws.I felt that hydro was helping me to get stronger but now I feel like ive gone backwards.

    I have backache everyday, some days worse than others depending on what ive been doing, im sick of trying to not do too much for fear of being in pain.My main pain feels like I have pressure within the centre of my back and in my ribcage.I feel like I have to lie down to relieve it.I also have a couple of protruding screws which can be uncomfortable to lie on.Sometimes when I reach for something I get a really sharp pain around there and under my shoulderblade and it can feel like somethings stuck.

    Im worried because I seem to have a lot of screws-28, does this mean that with nearly every vertebra being drilled into it can cause more pain for longer? I also had an extensive costoplasty.

    Am I just being impatient? I just want to have a normal life which doesnt revolve around how my back feels as this has been the case for many years.
    Fused T2-L4 with costoplasty on 3/11/10

  • #2
    I'm not able to help you with answers, just wanted to wish you well for a successful check up on Thursday. Hope you get your answers. Write a list so you don't forget anything. Good luck!
    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


    • #3
      Thank you for your reply.

      My surgeon was very pleased with my xray and there are signs of fusing.
      I told him about the pain im getting around my protruding screws and he said unfortunately until im 2yrs post op he cant remove them because they are where most of my correction was done and he doesnt want to take any risks.I understand that but boy they are painful-even to lean back against a cushion makes me go ouch and if I stretch for something its like im being burned.
      He said he wont hesitate to take them out if they are still being a problem after 2yrs.

      He also explained that so many screws were used because my spine was very stiff and it took a lot to get me straight so im very grateful for that.
      Fused T2-L4 with costoplasty on 3/11/10

      Comment


      • #4
        screws!

        Hi Bluestone,

        I haven't had surgery yet but this is something I worry about too- I fear that I will "feel" the hardware, and worse- feel cold from the hardware.
        so sorry about your pain, but thank God your surgeon gives you hope of removing the screws if they still bother you once you're fused. it is sort of strange, hving to live the rest of your life with hardware. Hope the winter doesn't bother you too much, God bless~ Jamie in Texas
        57 years old.
        thoracic curve 68 degrees
        lumbar-sacral curve +/- 41 degrees
        Cspine C3- C7 fusion Nov. 2011 <done! success!!>, then scoli surgery T2- L4 or maybe to sacrum.
        Discogram/ myelogram pending. Surgery to be scheduled, maybe fall 2015. <scared but I know this is not going to get better>
        THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SHARING EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE!

        Comment


        • #5
          The option of having them removed in a year, if they are still giving you problems, is a pretty good outcome. I hope they aren't, and it's something that improves on its own, but at least you know there is relief coming if the pain continues.

          I think in the first Winter after fusion, you do tend to feel the cold more but I think it's more to do with your body healing and your energy going towards that rather than keeping you warm. I did feel the cold more that first Winter, but I never actually felt the hardware was cold. This Winter just gone (2.5 years out) the cold didn't bother me at all. Not that we get overly cold here.

          Hope those screws bother you less and less with time.
          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
            Feeling the cold

            I had read that one can feel the cold through the rods but that is nonsense. I walk early in the morning and the temps have been in the 30s already here in Georgia. I don't feel any more or less cold than I did before surgery and I am only four months post. I am also very thin so you would think I would be more sensitive to the cold.

            Best,
            Marina
            50 years old!!!!!
            Wore Milwaulkee Brace 1976-77
            Original curve 36 degrees ( measured in the 70s)
            Advanced to 61 degrees 01/2011
            Surgery 07/11/2011
            Fused T1-L2 (curve now in the 20s!)

            Comment


            • #7
              I have always felt the cold anyway so expect that to feel the same-I just make sure I wrap up well as if I get cold I tense my back up and that makes it ache.
              Last winter here was the coldest in 50yrs-I was recovering from my op so didnt feel it.It hindered me being able to walk outside though for weeks as it had snowed and was very icy underfoot, I hope we dont get another winter like that this year! Its actually very mild at the moment.

              The screws are expecially 'stingy' when I stretch which is frustrating as I need to stretch to relieve my muscle tightness which I still get a lot.At least I know that if it continues something can be done about it.
              Fused T2-L4 with costoplasty on 3/11/10

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Marina63 View Post
                I had read that one can feel the cold through the rods but that is nonsense. I walk early in the morning and the temps have been in the 30s already here in Georgia. I don't feel any more or less cold than I did before surgery and I am only four months post. I am also very thin so you would think I would be more sensitive to the cold.

                Best,
                Marina
                For some of us, it isn't nonsense. Try being in New England or the central northern states in the winter and being thin and in your 60's.
                Sally
                Diagnosed with severe lumbar scoliosis at age 65.
                Posterior Fusion L2-S1 on 12/4/2007. age 67
                Anterior Fusion L3-L4,L4-L5,L5-S1 on 12/19/2007
                Additional bone removed to decompress right side of L3-L4 & L4-L5 on 4/19/2010
                New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA
                Dr. Frank F. Rands735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/butterflyfive/

                "In God We Trust" Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Try being "heavy" and still getting cold very easily! I'm not thin and I still get cold easily. LOL!

                  I think the cold makes our muscles tense up, which increases the discomfort/ pain. But I cannot tolerate a fan blowing on my shoulders or neck, even if it's warm air from when the heat kicks on. I'm sorry to seem like a whiner, but- I describe it this way: I have a very narrow window of comfort: I can't sit in a restaurant too long, I can't walk too long, the discomfort becomes so annoying and distracting that I get very sharp with people, if I'm distracted enough - with work, with a lively conversation, I can hang in there - because distraction does help me deal with the pain- but when I'm allowed to realize how badly i am hurting, it's over, I need to go home and lie down. pretty pathetic. I am just starting to realize how much I have been hurting, but the ibuprofen helped me to function. Now it seems everything hurts. just one Ibuprofen and I will be all better.... <sigh> have to wait .... my scolie surgery is not even scheduled yet and I know it will be one year post- scoli surgery before I can get that blessed relief. no fun..... I hate narcotics. OK sorry to go off topic, but yes, even relatively minor temperature changes increase my discomfort level. I dread having hardware and being cold.... Brrrr!
                  57 years old.
                  thoracic curve 68 degrees
                  lumbar-sacral curve +/- 41 degrees
                  Cspine C3- C7 fusion Nov. 2011 <done! success!!>, then scoli surgery T2- L4 or maybe to sacrum.
                  Discogram/ myelogram pending. Surgery to be scheduled, maybe fall 2015. <scared but I know this is not going to get better>
                  THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR SHARING EXPERIENCES AND KNOWLEDGE!

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X