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  • Getting home after surgery

    I live around 2 hours away from the hospital where my surgery will be done. Did any of you have problems with riding in a car on the way home from the hospital? Do you have any suggestions?

    Also... (2 questions for the price of one...lol).... did any of you lose weight when you had surgery?

  • #2
    The car ride home was more than uncomfortable, except for the Incredibles movie my husband let me watch in the car =^_^=. I suggest a car that has a very smooth ride to help you out with the bouncing in the roads. My surgery was done in NW DC and you can only imagine how many potholes and speedbumps there were. It was like going through a gauntlet, not to mention I had dura headaches at the time so any movement/amount of light hurt me anyways. And also a really comfortable pillow to put against the seat. Remember to take some pain killers before hand so you don't feel too terrible. As for the weight loss. I don't exactly know how much weight I loss, but it was significant for others to notice, but I think that had something to do with the fact that I couldn't keep anything down for 2 weeks straight. Best of luck to you.
    25 yr old female =^_^=
    Thoracic curve 48 degrees (with kyphosis)
    Lumbar curve 23 degrees
    surgery from t5-l1 25 July 2005
    Two rods and 16 screws later . . . 0 degrees YAY!

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    • #3
      JoAnn, I don't remember the ride home. My husband said that I chatted all the way to the house which is almost an hour away. I don't remember much of the hospital stay or the first few days at home. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks due to having an ilius and they kept me pretty doped up. On the weight lost, I have lost 30 pounds since April 2004. I'm still losing a pound here and there.
      Theresa

      April 8 & 12, 2004 - Anterior/Posterior surgery 15 hours & 7 hours
      Thorasic - 79 degree down to 22
      Lumbar - 44 degree down to 18
      Fused T2 to sacrum
      June 2, 2005 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @L3 7 hours
      MAY 21, 2007 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @ L2, extended the fusion to S2 and added pelvic instrumentation 9 hours

      FUSED T2 - SACRUM 2

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      • #4
        My son lost 24 pounds in 5 days. I think he may have gained them back now that he's feeling better and back to being able to go with his buddies to McDonalds and Taco Bell.

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        • #5
          I was wondering about the weight loss question myself. (I thought maybe that would be a pleasant "side effect".)
          Meg is Spinewhine
          31 years old with thoracic curve
          Wore Boston brace as teenager, but curve continued to progress.
          Surgery on 12/13/2005 with correction from over 55 degrees to under 25 degrees. (Ya baby!)

          The nitty gritty at:
          http://spinewhine.blogspot.com/

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          • #6
            Personally, the ride home for me wasn't all that bad. The trip was around an hour and a half. The doctor made sure to medicate me thoroughly just before I left.
            Do bring a pillow for behind your back. A car seat doesn't feel as squashy and nice as you think it will- in fact, I felt a bit sick to my stomach for the first few weeks at any sort of firm pressure against my back. I took a pillow with me everywhere for the first month.
            And I found that a VERY upright seat felt better than reclining because it supported my head and neck while I was looking around. also, less changing positions to get out of the car.
            Watch your head as you get in and out! You never realize just how much you duck to get in and out until you can't do it easily!
            If you have access to a truck/SUV, use that for the ride home. Easier to step down a little bit than get out of something close to the ground.
            I had to get a different car post op because getting in and out of my Grand Am was WAY too hard (deep bucket seats and low to the ground)
            And ask your family to have your bed/room all set up for when you get home. I was EXHAUSTED when I arrived- took off my shoes and went straight to sleep.
            I lost about 10 lbs initially. However, it came back and brought friends along a little more quickly than I would have liked because I went from being really active to completely inactive.
            Blair

            Dec 15th, 2003 @ age of 20
            Posterior Fusion and CD Horizon instrumentation T2-L1.
            Surgery by Dr. Herkowitz- Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak, Michigan
            Excellent correction of 52 degree single left thoracolumbar curve. Slight curve remains in unfused lumbar region but seems stable.
            February 5, 2005- Failed Scar Revision Surgery
            September 17, 2005- 2nd Failed Scar Revision.

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            • #7
              home after surgery

              I managed to avoid a car ride home. The hospital where I had my surgery was an hour or so away. I had decided to go to rehab, so I was transported from the hospital to the rehab facility on a strecher lying down in an ambulance. When I was released from rehab (which I highly recommend before going home) my husband drove me, which was about 15 minutes. I had a pillow and it wasn't terrible, but I remember my back being really hypersensitive to the touch, even with the brace on.
              I lost about 10 pounds during/after the surgery. I am light weight to begin with, so I kind of looked like a rail for a while. I gained back the weight once I got off the pain killers.
              Heather
              Surgery date: April 20, 2004
              Anterior/posterior surgery
              Fused T-11 to L-5
              Pre op lumbar curve: 70 degrees, thoracic curve: 42 degrees
              Post op lumbar curve: 19 degrees, thoracic curve: 18
              Surgeon: Dr. Boachie-Adjei
              Had successful pregnancy and birth 2 years post-op

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              • #8
                Thank you for all the good tips... I have already located a good squishy pillow and advised hubby to make sure to bring it along, and to make sure i have plenty of pain killers... I just hope i dont remember much of the drive home... Nashville traffic is horrendous!

                How long do you think the stay in the hospital will be after the last surgery? I have to have 3 separate ops... the first is on the upper thoracic done anteriorly and endoscopically..... 3 days later, the second on the lower thoracic with the traditional posterior incision.... and 3 more days later the lumbar correction done with anterior and posterior incisions.. putting in cages and rods, and fusing, etc. Do u think they will have to use a winch to crank me back into alignment? lol..

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                • #9
                  the ride home

                  Originally posted by JoAnn5
                  Thank you for all the good tips... I have already located a good squishy pillow and advised hubby to make sure to bring it along, and to make sure i have plenty of pain killers... I just hope i dont remember much of the drive home... Nashville traffic is horrendous!

                  How long do you think the stay in the hospital will be after the last surgery? I have to have 3 separate ops... the first is on the upper thoracic done anteriorly and endoscopically..... 3 days later, the second on the lower thoracic with the traditional posterior incision.... and 3 more days later the lumbar correction done with anterior and posterior incisions.. putting in cages and rods, and fusing, etc. Do u think they will have to use a winch to crank me back into alignment? lol..
                  Ride home in a car with your seat back at a 45 degree angle (or more). Sitting will be one of the everyday tasks you will need to avoid for any length of time (especially if you are fused to the sacrum. I had all of your procedures at one time. You won't remember the first four or five days. You will remember your rehabilitation ( the next week, plan on 16 days ). You will be sick from the meds (oxycontin seems to be the worst) I lost about 25 pounds and was
                  a thin person to start with. You may be cold for the first two or three months. Try to remember that it will all heal and you will feel better as time
                  passes. Kathleen, surgery at 63 years, fused to the sacrum Feg 8,2000

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                  • #10
                    Thank you Kathleensrose.

                    I am so gald to have this forum. I am postop now 16 days and it has been a rough experience. Each day I get stronger. Support from members helps. I had fusion from T1 to sacrum with removel of old fractured Harrington rod and placement of 2 rods, plus repair for kyphosis. Praying helps too.
                    Judyk

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by JoAnn5
                      I live around 2 hours away from the hospital where my surgery will be done. Did any of you have problems with riding in a car on the way home from the hospital? Do you have any suggestions?

                      Also... (2 questions for the price of one...lol).... did any of you lose weight when you had surgery?
                      JoAnn,

                      i also had surgery at a hospital that was about 90 minutes away. Yes, at first i had alot of trouble riding. But i was fortunate enough for my parents to get me an ambulance to bring me home. But you dont need to worry about that, you can make those decisions while you are still in the hospital. Just make sure if you do ride in a car, to take pillows of different shapes and sizes because you'll need them to help you get comfy.

                      dmb

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