A couple of questions

[laurad]

I had my surgery about 10 months ago now. I've been to my follow-up appointment with my surgeon but I forgot to ask him about a few things. My parents are taking me away to Disneyland in the summer and I was wondering whether anyone was advised whether they can go on rollercoaster rides or not?

Also does anyone know about lifting post-op? I was told by my family doctor and my surgeon not to lift anything heavy, but they didn't tell me what they meant by 'heavy'. Does anyone know what the limits are with lifting?

Thanks, Laura
:)

[Mary Lou]

Laura,

I would suggest that you contact your doctor and ask him. I've learned that every person is different and each person's restrictions are different. Example: my daughter is three months post-op today and still isn't allowed to lift more than 5-10 pounds and isn't allowed to take gym and those are only a few of her restrictions and they are in place until at least her six month follow-up. Others on this forum, have had all of their restrictions lifted at three months.

Mary Lou

[laurad]

Thanks for replying. I'm not due to see my surgeon again for another year so I'll have to write to him.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Laura...

How old are you?

--Linda

[laurad]

I am 20 on the 16th of March.

Laura

[LindaRacine]

Hi Laura...

I agree that you should contact your surgeon's office. I'm sure that you could call and they would have someone get the information and call you back.

Most surgeons seem to say that almost anything is OK once you're fused. I've heard from any number of doctors that it takes about 12 mos. for an adult's fusion to be solid.

Although your surgeon may say that it's fine for you to ride a rollercoaster, you should be aware that the discs above and below your fusion are at significant risk for degeneration because of your long fusion. Any activity that puts stress on those discs (bouncing, lifting heavy objects, any impact sport, etc. may cause problems. There are no guarantees. We each have to decide if the risk of having to have our fusions extended in the future are worth the rewards.

Regards,
Linda

[laurad]

Thank you for replying. I'm going to contact my surgeon as soon as possible.

Laura