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**CHRIS WBS** · 02-21-2006, 04:30 PM

Sick and Tired

Oh my gosh!!!!!!! It's when I read comments like this that I absolutely cringe and rethink any ideas about surgery. Depends? Is that a normal post-operative expectation? Do some people actually experience weakened bladder and bowel control? Is it temporary or permanent? I'm in my 50s with a severe lumbar curve but very little pain or discomfort (at this time). However, I feel surgery is in my future. I'm beginning to think this is possibly the worst kind of surgery one can undergo. What can be worse?

JoAnn, I hope it gets better for you.

Chris

**Karen Ocker** · 02-21-2006, 04:46 PM

Bladder problems???

Joann:
Have you been checkd by a urologist? What you are experiencing is not expected after this surgery. One possibility is a bladder infection.

[QUOTE]

Originally posted by JoAnn5

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!!! I'm 4 months post-op now and most of the time i can maintain a positive attitude... but sometimesssssssssss.

... It seems like EVERYthing is such a big, complicated thing.. even going to the restroom!!! Just washing dishes or doing simple things around the house... making my bed, etc... grrrrrrr...I have to plan ahead and have the grabber and make sure things are just so beforehand.... How i wish for the days of impulsivity... when i could just DO things without thinking and planning and anticipating every complication. Will i EVER get to that point again???

.....

Four months is not a long time. It took me a good year and half before I really was back to normal. I did experience what you are feeling also.

Anything orthopedic takes such a LOOONG time to heal. There is no speeding it up--just like you can't speed-up a pregnancy; pushing onself is counter productive and can cause setbacks.

Karen

**lelc2002@yahoo** · 02-21-2006, 04:50 PM

Joann,
I'm sure it is rough to take it slow every day. It takes so much patience! I wish you all the best. You will get stronger everyday! I am already trying to prepare myself for slowing down this summer(I'll be forced to!) I buzz around my house mult-tasking now & think it will be a different story end of the summer! I just love to cook & will be sad not to enjoy that for a while. I have already set up a snack & drink cabinet(on the ground level) for my boys to get their own snacks after school & it's working well!
Keep your spirits up....the months really do go by so fast!!! Lynne
(surgery this August...ant/post.)

**SandyC** · 02-21-2006, 05:04 PM

Joann,
I really understand how you are feeling....been there etc. The first year
post-op is just plain crappy

. It will get better.

The bladder problem is however not a post-op problem or it shouldn't be. I think I would be more forceful with my surgeon. I would first rule out an infection and then go from there. If you have been on antibiotics, a bladder infection would be pretty common, also you proabably had a foley cath in the hospital. That also could contruibute to infection. Telling you to do Keigle is rather like patting you on the head and telling you "don't bother me". Don't allow your doc to "dismiss" you

**LindaRacine** · 02-21-2006, 05:22 PM

Hi...

While I don't think bladder dysfunction is a common complication, I do know of at least one woman who experienced the problem. I would continue pushing for an explanation!

Regards,
Linda

**crookedspine** · 02-21-2006, 08:28 PM

Joann, I know how you feel. I am 3-1/2 months post-op, and sometimes feel the same way you do, especially in the evenings. Who am I kidding...I feel that way a lot! I can hardly wait until I can take a pan out of the bottom of the cabinet! Make my bed without turning sideways (does that make sense?). Cook without regreting it (Saturday, I made homemade cinnamon rolls and oatmeal cookies, standing for a long time. By the time I was finished, I was happy I had done it, but had to take a pain pill). Hang in there, you are NOT alone!

Chris, I agree that you should pursue a urologist and/or your surgeon for an answer to your bladder problem. I had several pinched nerves, which caused me to have a bladder problem before surgery. Now, however, I don't have a problem at all.

Good luck to both of you! Linda

**Shari** · 02-22-2006, 12:43 AM

Hi JoAnn,

My heart goes out to you!!! I have felt, and sometimes still feel exactly what you are talking about. I think when you take an active person, like most of us appear to be, and suddenly put a halt to us, it gets very depressing. I know I've gone through my share of tissues.

Everything we love to do, and did with ease, is now a production. We've had our independence taken away, and that's hard to swallow. It gets so frustrating when you try to do something and you can't, or it's so "darn" hard!

I am 8 months post-op now, and I didn't think there would be an end in sight.
But about 2 months ago, I started to be able to do little things I hadn't done in months. And each day now I see some improvement.

I have tried to look at it as a temporary setback. I try to remember that this is an extremely difficult surgery to endure, both mentally and physically. And everyone of us that has gone through it, is one tough "SOB".

Right now though, I get the most pleasure from watching people turn pale when I show them all my scars!!

From one "SOB" to another,
Shari

**bbest** · 02-22-2006, 05:45 AM

JoAnn -

I have not had surgery yet, so I can't say I know how you feel. I sincerely hope things will get better for you soon. I will keep you in my prayers.

Brandi

**JoAnn5** · 02-22-2006, 09:14 AM

Thank you all for your encouragement and prayers...I LOVE this place!

Chris, i'm sorry to have scared you. The good news for you is that the bladder problem must not be a common thing, so it probably won't happen to you

.

I have had trouble with it from the beginning, though... While in the hospital i had a catheter in for 10 days... I had the abdominal incision from above my bellybutton all the way down and when my bladder hurt and spasmed, the nurses said it was because the surgeons had to move it around to get to the spine from the front. My GP recently checked for infection, but found none. I've backed off the caffeine, too... allowing myself only one cup of coffee in the mornings... Partly in hopes of improving my sleep. I'm afraid to pursue much because i definitely don't want any more surgery... i've heard having the bladder 'tacked up' is very painful and i just couldn't stand any more right now. The bowel thing hasn't been a problem other than constipation at the beginning... but Dr. did prescribe a good, mild laxative that i can take daily from now on if need be. Works perfectly for me.

Crookedspine... i know what you mean about the cooking... sometimes after i've cooked a meal, i'm too tired to eat it...lol..

Thanks again for the support, encouragement, and good advice... I kept wanting to get up during the night and see if there were any replies to my whining message.(i'm sorry for whining) What a nice feeling it is to know that there are people here who understand and care about each other! Thanks so much!

**Gail** · 02-22-2006, 07:38 PM

Hi JoAnn,

Your opening statement was the exact words I said to my husband over and over after my surgery, "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!"...and I know he must have been sick and tired of me saying that! I didn't think recovery would ever come. I eventually got through it... and you will too! Today you would never know I had the surgery. I'm working about 50 hrs/week and doing almost anything I want to do. I walk around really fast, go up and down 39 steps a dozen times or more in a day at work. I can squat down and get anything off the floor faster than my coworkers can bend over and get something. Once you recover you will never take the simple things in life for granted. This surgery will give you a new perspective on life.

May God heal your body completely and quickly!

Kindest Regards,
Gail

**cathydownunder** · 02-23-2006, 06:07 PM

Hi JoAnn
Have you thought of taking a low dose antidepressant short term?
I have heard that the stress of surgery and the anaesthetic can often make you depressed afterwards, which makes perfect sense to me.
I developed an anxiety disorder and depression after knee surgery last year when I realised it hadn't fixed the problem. I also have trouble with intubation and am very sensitive to anaesthesia so it was a very stressful time.
I went on low dose Effexor for 7 months and have ceased it recently. It may not be for you but is something to consider if you are very "down".
Good luck and speedy recovery. Cathy.

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